Will West - Journal

goodbye 2008..... i'm stoked about heading into 2009. Just a date & a time... but a new year can be used as a chance to start somethings fresh... To reflect but not dwell too long..... Everyone be safe 2nite...... cheers !!!

a mellow gray Saturday morning in Portland. Chilly outside.... I'm going to head over to a local pub to catch the second half of the UNC/NC State football game.
I've been hiding out in the studio for the past few weeks. Feels good to laying down some songs --- working through some ideas. I put together a mix CD of 8 songs & one live recording. It's interesting to hear the ideas & mixes on different stereos & sound systems. I'm still hoping to have an EP --- 4-5 songs album put together by the end of the year..

It's nice to put a timeline on it.... if nothing else it'll help keep me focused.... I've been writing 3 new songs as well over the past couple weeks. That feels good....

Well.... i'm off to watch some Tar Heels. I'll be getting more active on this journal with updates on the album progress over the next few months. Also, i'll be putting up new song mixes on the Myspace page. I'll keep rotating in new ideas & experiments --- so check them out when you get a chance. The link is at the top left of this page.... :)

all is well in the world of "will". feeling good & tired from 2 nights up in Seattle over the weekend. explored a nice part of a cool city on a wonderfully sunny fall day. thanks for some nice sunshine.....

played some nice tunes with Noah Peterson & Drew Norman. "The Friendly Strangers" --- starting to turn into something fun.... it's only getting better. I'm excited about the dynamic.... and the potential.

layed out 4 new recordings last week. hoping to outline a few more songs in the studio this week. feels good to be working on this new album..... it's still gonna take some time, but the pace feels right.

supposed to be some another nice day of sunshine tomorrow.... some friends are tempting me to head to the coast for some camping... but i think i'm going to lay low.... lay low.

They featured "Rose City" on Get Local. It kicked off their friday new music session at 8pm. It was sweet -- he gave alittle info about me & the album.

Now that the CD is in their hands --- I could use alittle help.
Call them & make a request !!!!
Say I wanta here "Rose City" by Will West
Request line
503.733.5470
800.777.0947

Also, you can send a message to the on-air DJ's at
www.knrk.fm ... click "Talk to Me"

Any & all help here is a good thing....
Huge thanks to all of you & thanks again to Mark Hamilton & KNRK
cheers.
-ww

all is well in Portland. I've been laying low for the past few weeks. Sneaking out to the coast, camping & taking a few hikes... hope for more of that over the next 2 weeks. Reset & Relax... have a great day ---
more soon,
-ww

sprinkles of rain today... on this fine Tuesday. I rode up to Seattle on Sunday --- Noah & I played a wedding by the water on Whidbey Island. Chilly & rainy leading up to the wedding time.... then the rain stopped & the clouds broke just enough to see about 10mins of sunshine to close out the day. It was beautiful... Big congrats to the newly weds -- Christine & Garrett. Nice folks....

We crashed in Seattle with some friends & headed south to Tacoma on Monday. Walked through a 5 building art/glass tour with works by artist Dale Chihuly. Some beautiful displays & a great chance to see Tacoma on a beautiful summer day...

Now back in Portland --- relaxing abit today. Heading into my last stretch of shows before the break....

Final show at East Burn this week... Whiskey Wednesday. I'll be getting ready to take August & maybe Sept off from shows to record & write abit... check the calendar for more info....

All is well & feeling good --- I'm excited about taking this break. I'll still be playing alot of music -- just at my house for awhile. Most of the early recording work will be in my home studio.... hoping to lay down another 6-10 songs over the next 4 weeks...

more soon ---- very soon. if you're reading this & have comments, insights or any random information you'd like to pass my way.... please email & say hello .... willwestmusic@yahoo.com

Living well & feeling fine.... Taking today off to reset & relax abit.... following 4 fun days of music last week. Kicked things off on Wednesday at East Burn with Drew & Dave sitting in for the Trio.... Played "eagle time" Thursday at the White Eagle. Then headed over to the Grand Lodge in Forest Grove on Friday with the band. Played outside for a great dancin' crowd. Finished things off Saturday by closing out the 13th annual Webber BBQ in northwest Portland. A great benefit BBQ raising donations for the Oregon Food Bank -- around 300 people made it out. It was really sweet !!!!

Another bright and sunny day today --- but i'm not minding the idea of staying in & catching up on some paper work. A more mellow week coming up --- I'll be at East Burn again on wednesday with Bob Soper on fiddle. Then I'll be heading up to Whidbey Island (outside Seattle) on Sunday for a wedding on the beach. Playing a duo set w/ Noah Peterson on Sax.

Then a few more shows heading into August --- then I'm thinking about taking a much needed break. My fire is still burning strong --- and i'm playing alot of music. I just believe I'm overdue for abit of performance break...

I've been writing some new materiel & it's getting time to focus more on the next album. It all seems to be working itself out just as it should....

Really hope that all is well in your world. I don't yet know if I'll make it back east this Fall --- it's looking like Springtime '09 for the next tour --- hopefully promoting the new CD !!!! Just needing to put those thoughts out there.... :)

Sometimes it seems that the whole idea is to find that balance....
that crazy thin line of --- living the moment or reflection on the past.

Get caught up in either too much.... And we get lost along the way.
Easy to get caught in a fast.... fast vibe & life. No preparation or vision....

Also easy to caught up in too much reflection --- destroying your happiness by too much thought & worry. Getting all caught up in what didn't happen.... or how things didn't work out.....

It's a tough line --- keeping that edge without falling off too far on either end.
Perception --- Love --- & Positivity...

Creating these habits doesn't happen overnight ..... years even seem to becoming a different idea now..... this is lfe --- why draw lines & limitations.

Old visions die hard ---- and damn it, I know it hard to step into something new.... it's scary.

Let's push things abit --- live it, then smile & think back abit. But don't beat youself up.... you me & everyone in between.

the last month has been rather hectic, crazy & fun. 15 shows in the month of June. I knew it'd be a busy few weeks.... but wasn't quite sure how it could wear on me after the tour. I'm feeling good & really trying to take care of my mind & body. Also being sure to rest my vocals on my days off.... In other words... trying to limit my late nights in smokey bars sippin whiskey :)

My performance schedule should gradually mellow out over the next month.... I think I'm due for it... It's been a heckuva run over the past 2 years playing shows in the Northwest along with the east coast tours.

Now it's getting time for alittle downtime.... Continue working on this new album & revamping the live sounds abit....

Hey friends..... feeling good to be back in Portland. The sun is shining nice today....

Sunday May 25 2008 -- big thanks to the Mr Mouse & the Cave in Chapel Hill for putting us up... Huge thanks to Tain Collins for hanging & making some nice music. We had a solid crowd out even with the big holiday weekend.... Thanks to the Independent Weekly for giving our show a recommendation...

"West's clean guitar and polished voice feel like warm sunshine through a car window."
Andrew Ritchey - Independent Weekly (Raleigh, NC)

Monday May 26 2008 -- Big thanks to Eric-Scott & the Evening Muse in Charlotte, NC. This was highly recommended & it makes sense....Great vibes, great sound & a really great collection of local art & music. Despite how tired I was.... this was a wonderful way to finish off my tour.... Thanks again !!!

Got stuck in Philadelphia Tuesday night.... followed by long flights and extended waits in airports. I finally made it back to Portland Wednesday night. And I even found my luggage right away....

I'm finally getting my energy back.... had to reset & watch movies all day yesterday. And today I'm feeling fine.... oh yeah... the sun is shining.... I'm gonna go catch a few rays before I head down to Salem for tonites show....

Huge, Huge thanks again to my family & friends on the east coast. I had an amazing 3 weeks of travel. I haven't even really had a chance to process it all.

Now for 7 shows over the next 9 days..... looks like I won't get much time either... more soon. Much love & thanks ( I can't say that enough)

All is well.... abit tired & feeling great. I'm relaxing in Nash County.... home --- it's so nice to decompress.... A wonderful hometown show at Via Cappuccino last evening.... but first a quick recap of the week.

Made Atlanta last weekend.... Scored a couple of amazing seats at the Braves/A's game Saturday night. Chilled out 3rd row between home & 3rd base on a beautiful Saturday night. I'm not a huge baseball fan, but that was really fun...
Monday May 19 -- I stopped by Eddie's Attic for the open-mic competition. That room & the musicians are amazing. That's is one of the top acoustic venues I've seen in my years of performance. I met some wonderful musicians from all over the US & heard some inspiring music. This is a great networking space.... well worth any musician to check out.

Tuesday May 20 -- Made Athens around 4pm.... found Flicker Theatre to check out the layout. I liked the vibe of Athens from the beginning.... This is a cool city. Grabbed my guitar & headed to the center of downtown to warm up.... it turned into a make shift street performance.... Met some locals, handed out flyers & even made alittle $$.
Met up with Elli Perry & Kate Morrissey. The Flicker show was pretty amazing. Elli & Torin sounded great again & Kate Morrissey was wonderful to see live. Her vibes & songwriting are lovely. She was accompanied by great drum & bass players as well. Huge thanks to Kate Morrissey for being our local host & being such a cool person... I (heart) Athens as well...

Wednesday May 21 --- slowly back to Atlanta after a late night... Off to Smith's Olde Bar for the songsmith's showcase hosted by Sean. The crowd was great.... big thanks again for the friendly faces that made it out. I tried quite a few new songs & I'm really excited to see how the video turned out...

Thursday May 22 ---- tooook almost 9 hrs for the Atlanta to Rocky Mount, NC drive ..... a loooonnnng day after a longer weekend. ;) Huge thanks to the Lloyd's (Karl & Jess) a couple of amazing people... for hosting my stay in the ATL.

Friday May 23 --- had a few issues getting the sound system ready for the Via Cappuccino gig. But we got things clicking just in time. Thanks to John & Gayle for letting this happen. This venue space is really cool... Big thanks to Bill & Jill Lewis for rallying some friendly listeners. Thanks to the Bryant's, Bailey's, Aycock's & West's for showing some love. Huge thanks for all the support & CD sales.... I was ready to have something family friendly & this couldn't have been any better.

Went fishing till the late wee hours of the morning.... Now I'm feeling good & about to lay down in the hammock. It's tough, I know.... I'm gonna chill with the the folks tonite & head off to Chapel Hill tomorrow....

Playing at the Cave w/ Jule Brown & Tain Collins -- a songwriter's mix-up & rotation. Then off to Charlotte on Monday for the final show... The Evening Muse has an open mic each Monday. They feature a touring or local performer each week. I'll play a 45min set at 9pm.... This should be a really cool night. I've heard great things about the Evening Muse as a venue & the surrounding neighborhood.
Then off to PDX from Raleigh on Tuesday -- mid-day....
Wow.... what a recap.... I'll check for spelling & grammer errors later.
Cheers !! much love & thanks if you're reading this.... and for all the great support so far...

Some chilly weather for this springtime in Portland.... But still very nice. Scattered flurries, rain & sunshine all day today.... We need alittle healthy chaos in our lives.... helps keeps us on our toes.

All is well in the northwest. Had a fun show on Wednesday at The East Burn. I'll be playing each Wed night through the end of April. The I'll be taking off for May ---

I like calling it touring/vacationing. I'm really looking forward to relaxing on the beach in Wilmington for a couple of days.... Then exploring days in Charleston, SC (where I was born) & Athens, GA. A couple of days hanging with some good friends in Atlanta. I'm still hoping to set-up trips to Savannah & Asheville... but I don't know quite yet.

Either way.... this looks to be a really fun trip. My first tour was in April of 2007. I packed 8 shows and 2000+ miles into 9 days of travel. That was brutal.... For this trip, I'm really looking forward to some relaxed time. Hopefully even do some writing....

Heading south to Cottage Grove this Friday -- my first time playing at the Axe & Fiddle. I've heard some great things about the vibe down there.... I'm even kidnapping Bob Soper for the weekend to lay down some fiddle & percussion. We'll meet up with bass player - Dave Bamberger at Netarts Bay for the Saturday gig at The Schooner. Another spot with sweet, sweet vibes....

It's been a busy few weeks.... Some crazy good sprintime weather in Portland. Today ---- A snow/sleet combinations while the sun was shining.... amazing. Bright afternoon sun to the west & dark grey rain clouds to the east... I love it !!

The May travels are coming together.... My first appearances in Charleston, SC & Athens GA. I'm hoping to also pass through Savannah, but I won't know for another week or so.... Everything should be locked in over the next few weeks....

I'm also looking forward to relaxing abit on this trip.... I'll have a few days to chill in Wilmington, NC --- Maybe even get a few days on the beach.... hmmm those atlantic waters...

I'll have alot of new material to perform on this trip.... I'm excited to be trying out these new songs. This is alot of the material that will be on the next album -- so it's a great chance to travel, practice & fine tune some of these new ones....

a fantastic weekend. I opened for Jim Walker & Tim Ellis at Matt Miner's house concert on sunday evening. What a wonderful evening. Huge thanks again to everyone involved. Great vibes, music & food....

Every Wednesday night in March -- I'll be joined by special guest at The East Burn. A sweet new bar on Portland's Eastside ~~ the events calendar has more info..

debuting quite a few new songs over the next couple of weeks.... next week week will be busy one & I'm excited. Stops at the White Eagle, Mock Crest & another 'acoustic review' at Alberta St Pub. Hope to see you !!!

Also, I'll have more info on the May Tour over the next couple weeks ... I love springtime in the Southeast...

SHINE -- got a sweet review at Indie-Music.com & a feature for the month of February. (click here for article) -- Thanks !!

Hey... getting this website back online. All is well in the Northwest... this wintertime was broken by some beautiful sunshine this morning. It's suppose to stay dry until Monday.... yeah. Took a nice hike along the Sandy River today... a beautiful morning to be in the woods.

This website is on a new type of server... some hi tech things... but it should allow for some nice changes coming up. Keep an eye out for updates & new features over the next couple of weeks.

During that time, we'll be finalizing details on my southeast travels this May. I'm excited -- Springtime in the South is hard to beat ... Stopping through Charleston, Savannah, Atlanta, Ashville, the Triangle, Wilmington, & of course Rocky Mount baby.

I layed low last night. Put new strings on the guitars & jammed into the new year. I picked up the electric guitar last night... it's been a long time, but it was nice.... i'm thinking you'll see some of that in the live shows this year...

I'll be touring the Southeast again in May '08.... Atlanta, Savannah, Charleston, and all across NC. It looks like possible trips to Alaska & Southern California in the spring/summer as well. And the early workings of a Northeast Tour in the Fall of '08.

For now... it's writing & recording scratch tracks for the next album !!! I'm hoping to be finished by late 2008.

Christmas eve in the Great Northwest. It's chilly & rainy in Portland. I'm laying low... relaxing over some lazy food & brainless comedy/action movies... Not a bad day...

I miss my family back east... but I have some good friends to hang with here....

I like the holiday season... i just find myself trying to slowdown while everyone else is speeding up to get all the 'last minute' things finished.... Alot of stress in the air.... Let's all just take a deep breath...

...can't believe the end of '07 is moving in so quickly. I'm heading up to Timberline Lodge for the next couple of days. A very good friend of mine is renewing his wedding vows on the mountain. I'm going to play a few tunes, relax, and hopefully get a couple of days skiing in... they're calling for some crazy amounts of snow... sweet

I had a photo shoot with Tim Gunther last week... so we'll be getting some new shots up as this website gets reconstructed....

- December 5 -'07

Hello...hello... It's been quite awhile. But it looks like we are finally back online... Let's just say we've been jumping over all sorts of high-tech obstacles....

Life is cool and comfortable in the great Northwest. I'm sure you've heard about all the crazy weather last weekend. We got some heavy rain & some heavy wind in Southeast Portland... but nothing like the coastal communities and to the north. Reminds me of some of the hurricanes we'd get in North Carolina.... crazy.

My last journal entry was just before I left for the east coast in October. A quick recap... It was wonderful. Thanks to NashArts in Nashville, NC for the wonderful evening with Adam Stone to kick off the tour. I (heart) NY --- thanks to all the old & new friends that made it to the Living Room in NYC. (I'll do that again in Oct '08). Then down to Arlington at the Iota Cafe...

Thanks to Hell's Kitchen & all the cool Wilmington folks for making the coast stop a sweet one. Big thanks to Encore Magazine for the nice interview as well. Then across NC to Asheville for the John & Nicole Caldwell wedding... that was amazing. I saw alot of the old UNC crew... go Heels !!!

Then down to see Karel & Jess in Atlanta. Thanks again to Eddie's Attic & Sean at Smith's Olde Bar. Much Love.... Then towards Chapel Hill -- thanks to the Cave (Mr. Mouse) and the crew that made it to that show.... And finally back to Rocky Mount for some decompression. It was a truly wonderful trip & experience.... Thanks to everyone again !!!

In more recent news... we had a wonderful show last weekend at the Green Room. Mr. Aaron Paul opening evening with some great tunes. Then we played a full band set for a wonderful crowd.... some sweet vibes indeed. Thanks again to Noah Peterson (sax), Drew Norman (banjo, slide guitar), Dave Bamberger (upright bass) & Drew Shoals (drums). That was a night to remember....

In other recent news.... I was playing a new guitar last friday. I had been flirting with this beautiful Taylor acoustic over the past couple of months at Portland Music. I think I'm falling for it... it's a fantastic guitar... & it was about time...

I'll stay in Portland throughout the holidays.... hunkering down into some recording. Working to layout the rough tracks for the next album. It's going to be a process... and i'm really excited about it.... much love & more soon. -w