The Daily Vault Review Panel

The qualifications to become a member of The Daily Vault's reviewing staff are simple: love music, write well, keep your commitments, don't expect to earn a dime. If you're interested in being part of a team that writes about music purely for the love of it, e-mail us at editor@dailyvault.com.  

David Bowling Staff Writer sdbowling83@earthlink.net	BORN: The Truman Administration JOINED THE DV STAFF: May 2007 HOMETOWN: Woonsocket, R.I. NOW LIVING IN: Whispering Pines, N.C. SPOUSE / KIDS?: Daughters Amy and Stacey and two grandchildren FAVORITE ARTIST: The Beach Boys OTHER ARTISTS I LIKE: Roy Orbison, Lou Reed, the Jefferson Airplane, Dire Straits, Dusty Springfield, Etta James, Pat Benatar, Mary Chapin Carpenter, early Santana, Bob Dylan. BEER: All OTHER HOBBIES: Reading and traveling PERSONAL MOTTO: Relationships are temporary. Vinyl is forever. I WRITE MUSIC REVIEWS BECAUSE: ...it is a way to express publicly the interaction between myself and the music.
Duke Egbert Staff Writer xgrundy@gmail.com	BORN: “Love Is Blue” by Paul Mauriat was number one. JOINED THE DV STAFF: September 1998 (the first time...) HOMETOWN: Ottawa, Illinois NOW LIVING IN: Louisville, Kentucky SPOUSE / KIDS?: Some of each FAVORITE ARTIST: Alan Parsons, solo or Projected. OTHER ARTISTS I LIKE: Duncan Sheik, Vertical Horizon, Spock’s Beard (Neal Morse era only), Peter Gabriel, Carrie Newcomer, Heather Dale, The Smithereens, Rush, Amanda Marshall, James McMurtry, Vienna Teng, Eva Cassidy, Marillion, Kansas, Kacey Musgraves, Icon For Hire, Jim Croce, Susan Werner. BEER: Odell 90 Shilling, Save The World Lux Mundi, Strange Land Entire Porter. OTHER HOBBIES: Reading, writing, gaming. PERSONAL MOTTO: "Our life is what our thoughts make it." – Marcus Aurelius I WRITE MUSIC REVIEWS BECAUSE: …Rolling Stone pissed me off at an early age.
Tom Haugen Staff Writer tomstevenh@yahoo.com	BORN: June '76 JOINED THE DV STAFF: March 2012 HOMETOWN: Minneapolis, MN NOW LIVING IN: Dallas, Texas SPOUSE / KIDS?: Amanda / Moz - cat, Lucky - dog, Ringo - ferret FAVORITE ARTIST: The Smiths OTHER ARTISTS I LIKE:Chuck Ragan, Unbroken, Banner Pilot, Rival Schools, Radiohead, Heroin, Maritime, Face To Face, Chain of Strength, Snapcase, Bad Religion, Fugazi, Seaweed, Superchunk, Jimmy Eat World, Green Day, The Cold Beat, Jawbox, Jets To Brazil... BEER: that doesn't go too well with my straight edge tattoo... OTHER HOBBIES: Bmx riding, fitness. PERSONAL MOTTO: “Never Is All Ways Around" - The Hated I WRITE MUSIC REVIEWS BECAUSE: ...I feel it's necessary to let people know there is so much great music out there beyond the heaps of garbage littering the FM dial...
Scott Hill Staff Writer scotthillproductions@gmail.com	BORN: The year Doc Brown invented time travel JOINED THE DV STAFF: July 27, 2022 HOMETOWN: San Jose, CA (until I was 7), then Lehi, UT (aka “The town where Footloose was filmed”) NOW LIVING IN: Saratoga Springs, UT SPOUSE / KIDS?: wife, with a son and daughter FAVORITE ARTIST: Tori Amos OTHER ARTISTS I LIKE: Brandi Carlile, Depeche Mode, Haim, Pink Floyd, Loreena McKennitt, Childish Gambino, Florence + the Machine, Joe Hisaishi, Arcade Fire, Daniel Pemberton, Within Temptation, Ruby Tina, Vast, Lindsay Katt, Propellerheads, Peter Gabriel, The Protomen, Zeal & Ardor, Rich Douglas, the Beatles, and many, many more. BEER: Don’t drink alcohol. Root beer & ginger ale count, right? OTHER HOBBIES: Movies, writing, movies, video games, movies, making playlists that work like a concept album, movies, daydreaming, learning about anything Halloween-related, reading, and movies. PERSONAL MOTTO: “Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.” — Hanlon’s Razor I WRITE MUSIC REVIEWS BECAUSE: ...the kind folk at this website are foolish enough to let me!
Max Kaplan Staff Writer mkappy33@gmail.com	BORN: 1997 JOINED THE DV STAFF: March 2021 HOMETOWN: NYC NOW LIVING IN: Memphis, TN SPOUSE / KIDS?: Not yet FAVORITE ARTIST: James Brown, Hendrix, B.B. King OTHER ARTISTS I LIKE: Bill Withers, Al Green, Ann Peebles, Otis Redding, Albert King, Freddie King, Otis Rush, Johnnie Taylor, etc. BEER: Yes OTHER HOBBIES: Guitar, bass, piano, basketball, chess, bicycling PERSONAL MOTTO: Create with soul I WRITE MUSIC REVIEWS BECAUSE: Because I’m always annoying my friends with all my music opinions so I’m using this an outlet to stop annoying them.
John Mulhouse Staff Writer jmhouse@cityofdust.com	BORN: One minute ‘til midnight on 1/18/73 JOINED THE DV STAFF: July 2022 HOMETOWN: Minneapolis, MN NOW LIVING IN: Norman, Oklahoma SPOUSE / KIDS?: Shacked up with cats FAVORITE ARTIST: Mark Lanegan OTHER ARTISTS I LIKE: Gun Club, Emma Ruth Rundle, Samiam, Charlie Parr, Angel Olsen, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, Big Thief, Neko Case, Tinariwen, The Who, Wovenhand, Fugazi, John Moreland, OM, Descendents, Black Flag, Kristin Hersh, High on Fire, Chelsea Wolfe, Hüsker Dü, Son House, Laughing Hyenas, Charlie Parker, Dave Alvin, Earth, Billie Holiday, Rowland S. Howard, Mike Watt, Bikini Kill, Vic Chesnutt, etc., etc. BEER: Rarely. But a Guinness may sometimes sway me. OTHER HOBBIES: Exploring and photographing ghost towns, western history, observing creatures, non-survivalist survival. PERSONAL MOTTO: “It’s better to regret something you have done than to regret something you haven’t done.” I WRITE MUSIC REVIEWS BECAUSE: ...Reviews have steered me toward so many great records, books, and films that I figured it was time I returned the favor. Also, I have occasionally composed reviews in my head, which seems like a big waste of time if I’m the only one that could ever find them useful.
Peter Piatkowski Staff Writer ppiatkowski@mail.roosevelt.edu	BORN: 1981 JOINED THE DV STAFF: December 2020 HOMETOWN: Chicago, IL NOW LIVING IN: London, United Kingdom SPOUSE / KIDS?: Partnered, no children FAVORITE ARTIST: Dolly Parton OTHER ARTISTS I LIKE: Janet Jackson, Diana Ross, Sylvester, Wynonna, Rosanne Cash, Emmylou Harris, Barbra Streisand, Sheila E., Bette Midler, Wendy & Lisa, Madonna, Prince, Hole, Bikini Kill, Klaus Nomi, Rachael Portman, Linda Ronstadt, Yoko Ono, Marianne Faithfull, RuPaul (early stuff only), Sandra Bernhard, Deee-Lite, Donna Summer, Lil' Kim, Karen Carpenter, Crystal Waters, Lily Tomlin. BEER: Teetotaler, so Pepsi OTHER HOBBIES: Writing, reading, collecting music, collecting weird celebrity cookbooks PERSONAL MOTTO: "Maybe we should stop trying to figure out the meaning of life and sit back and enjoy the mystery of life." - Jane Wagner I WRITE MUSIC REVIEWS BECAUSE: I love writing and I love music and I like having fellow music geeks read my musings.
Christopher Thelen Founder / Staff Writer christopher.thelen.13@gmail.com	BORN: 1970 JOINED THE DV STAFF: Joined?!? I founded the fargin' place! HOMETOWN: Chicago, IL (go Cubs!) NOW LIVING IN: Kenosha, IL SPOUSE/KIDS: Dawn / three of my own, three stepchildren (none of whom are kids anymore) FAVORITE ARTIST: AC/DC OTHER ARTISTS I LIKE: Geez, got a year? Anthrax, Black Sabbath, Miles Davis, Eddie Harris, Melissa Etheridge, Frank Zappa, Grateful Dead, Phish, Led Zeppelin, Sur Sudha, Dave Uhrich, Rick Wakeman, Joe Satriani, Motorhead, Thelonious Monk, The Who, XTC... the list is endless, really. BEER: Nope... sorry. The older I get, the less I discover I desire the old moonshine. Cherry Dr. Pepper Zero for me, thank you. OTHER HOBBIES: Playing guitar and working on my music (and dreading the day someone from the site critiques it), reading, continuing to fall behind on my DVD collection. PERSONAL MOTTO: "Never judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes. That way, if he's an asshole, you've got his shoes and you're a mile away." - Rev. Billy C. Wirtz I WRITE MUSIC REVIEWS BECAUSE: ...I've got 25-plus years' experience in this field. Do I really need a reason?
Jason Warburg Editor editor@dailyvault.com	BORN: when Pete Best was still a Beatle JOINED THE DV STAFF: October 1997 (Editor since January 2003) HOMETOWN: Ross, CA NOW LIVING IN: Seaside, CA SPOUSE / KIDS?: Karen / Josh, Sarah & Eric BLOG:  jasonwarburg.com FAVORITE ARTIST: Bruce Springsteen OTHER ARTISTS I LIKE: Montrose, Yes, the Beatles, Big Big Train, Switchfoot, Tom Petty, Fountains Of Wayne, Jason Isbell, Gin Blossoms, Al Green, Courtney Barnett, Ben Folds, Ian Hunter, Semisonic, Shawn Mullins, the Who, Marvin Gaye, Pretenders, James Taylor, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, John Hiatt, Jimi Hendrix, the Jayhawks, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Counting Crows, U2, and and and and and... BEER: Occasionally. OTHER HOBBIES: Writing, reading and the San Francisco Giants. PERSONAL MOTTO: "I don't know. I'm making this up as I go!" -- Indiana Jones I WRITE MUSIC REVIEWS BECAUSE: ...Rock'n'Roll Jeopardy said no.

Contributing Writers: Jeff Clutterbuck, Pete Crigler, Vish Iyer, Mark Kadzielawa, Melanie Love, Ben McVicker, Benjamin Ray, Gus Rocha

Alumni: Luke Adams, George Agnos, Josh Allen, Eric Atwell, Benny Balneg, Alison Bellach, Brian Birnbaum, Michael Broyles, Greg Calhoun, Andrea Callahan, Daniel Camp, Tammy Childs, Mike Cirelli, Steve Cooper, Elizabeth Crowder, Sarah Curristan, Ken DiTomaso, Graham Drennan, Eric E5S16, Corwin Egbert, Ben Ehrenreich, Michael Ehret, Laura Elise, Mark Feldman, Scott Floman, Roland Fratzl, Richard Fulco, Cory Galliher, Gordon T. Gekko, Sandra Gilraine, Kent Glenzer, Paul Hanson, Chris Harlow, Denise Henderson, Herb Hill, Allen Hunter, JB, Tommy Johnson, Curtis Jones, Phil Jones, Paul King, Emily Kinsella, Tom Lancing, Shane M. Liebler, Loznik, Sean McCarthy, Riley McDonald, Kenny S. McGuane, Adam Mico, Mark Millan, Alfredo Narvaez, Giselle Nguyen, Candy North, Casey O, Hansen Olson, Darren Paltrowitz, Mark Phillips, Jedediah Pressgrove, Bruce Rusk, Sam Rusk, Jono Russell, Julia Skochko, Dan Smith, Michael R. Smith, Jon Southwood, Alicia St. Rose, Marshall Terrill, Jason Thornberry, Matthew Turk, Peter Vissers, Eric Warburg, Conrad Warre, David Welsh, Larry (Duke) Williams, Ludwik Wodka, Bill Ziemer