Otherwise Lost Thoughts....
Friday Feb 17 2012
Messy day of rain in Portland!...... Glad to be inside mixing down some tunes.... We just wrapped a pretty intensive week in the studio. Capturing some really nice moments and jams.
We mixed down one song for the new EP. It's called "Miles and Miles". Featuring Drew Norman on banjo, Jeff Simpson on trumpet, Sam Howard on bass, Drew Shoals on drums & Tanner Cundy on keys.
I'm really excited about the vibe... Sounds big! With a groovy jazz/blues edge to it.
We're wrapping up 5 other songs for the new EP. 6 songs total with a couple of instrumental interludes.... It'll touch on a quite a range of styles.
I'll head over to EchoTone Studio to work with
Matt Brown again this week for a few days. I'm hoping we can wrap up most of the other tracks this week..... They're getting so close.... It's almost time to set them free....
That can be the hardest part sometimes.... Saying that you're "done" with something. With recording and performance.... I always feel like I can do better. Maybe that's what keeps me moving and pushing myself to practice and get better. I'm approaching 10 years in Portland.... Wow... what a trip it's been.
I felt so green when I first moved here... scared even. It was a long ways from home in Nash County, NC.
I was certainly passionate about music at the time.... I think I'd written maybe 6 songs by the time I moved here in July of 2002. But I'd never played a gig... aside from a few open-mics in North Carolina.
All I really wanted was a place that would let me play more than 2 or 3 songs. For my first 3 years here I busked on downtown sidewalks and played every open-mic I could find in town. Meeting some amazing musicians and people.... Some who've moved away, some stayed, some gave up music and some are touring the world.
I've burned my fair share of bridges, but I feel like I've built many more.... as I continue to learn and narrow the gap between intention and performance.
I always try to reming myself that it's all about networking and having some fun.... even when it's work.... it's gotta be fun....
"we've gotta quit living for the weekend"
Thanks to Portland and the wonderful people that make up this city for the continued inspiration to keep this music thing moving....
Thanks to all my other friends and family across the world that are doing what they love and striving to inspire and make change....
wow... that got a bit out there... but it's true. Smile!
Thanks and much love! Have a great weekend.
-will
Friday Feb 10 2012
Clouds & Rain!...... Studio, studio, studio today..
We tracked some banjo & keys already this week.
Vocals, percussion & trumpet this weekend....
Mixing next week.....
Much Love....
Have a grea weekend...
March 3.... Save the date!
:)
-ww
Wed Feb 1 2012
Sunshine & Clouds today in Portland!...... Wow.... what a killer weekend of tunes....
Friday night at Rock Creek Tavern with Groovy Wallpaper was a blast!
Thanks to Tim Gunther for the great photo after the show.
WW with Don Henson & Skip vonKuske at Rock Creek Tavern Jan 27 2012.
Saturday at the Wildwood Hotel in Willamina was fantastic...
What a great crowd.... dancing until almost 1am...
A couple of days of rest (were much needed) and then we played at The White Eagle last night for the "Add Love" Showcase....
A new monthly idea that we tried out in December & January.
Thanks again to The Druthers & The Sale.... Plus all the Friendly Strangers that joined in for the jam....
That was a great time.
Catching up on some studio work today....
We're really close to having the song list set for the 1st EP.
It's taken longer than we anticipated, but that tends to be the nature of things. I'm feeling really good about the new material...
We're working on a quite a few songs, so it feels good to be fine tuning the final tracks for this CD.
We're hoping to release one of the new songs as a Single before our March 3 show at Mississippi Studios.... just about a month away....
back to work :)
As always.... thank YOU for stopping by!
I couldn't do this without your support, listening, sharing the vibes and coming to shows.
Have a fantastic day!
Your fan,
-will
Thurs Jan 26 2012
Lovely Sunshine today in Portland!...... We've been working hard in the studio.... The album is starting to come together....
it's been tough picked the songs that will make this EP....
We've been working on 18 songs, but only 6 or 7 will make this CD.
What a fun process.... Full of excitement, fear and everything in between....
We're hoping to release a new single from the EP for our Mississippi Studios show on March 3. More info soon on that.....
It's should be a killer show....
Today, Tanner Cundy & I will rock "eagle time" at the White Eagle....
Our thursdays have been really fun each week.
On Friday Jan 27... I'll be at Rock Creek Tavern in Hillsboro w/ Groovy Wallpaper, aka Skip vonKuske & Don Henson.
And on Saturday Jan 28.... we'll head to The Wildwood Hotel in Willamina, OR. This should be a blast.... Our first trip to the Wildwood and we'll have Jeff Simpson, Tanner Cundy & Don Henson as Friendly Strangers for the night.
Then on Tuesday Jan 31.... ADD Love Showcase at The White Eagle Saloon. Featuring The Druthers Trio, The Sale, Don Henson, Skip vonKuske & Tanner Cundy....
Great stretch of tunes this week.... We hope to see you!
Have a great day....
-ww
Tues Jan 17 2012
Wintery Mix in Portland!...... Nice couple of days to clean house and work on some tunes.
We're working hard on our new EP.... should be finished with a new Single by early March. Hoping to wrap the new EP by mid-April.
Our first big Band show of the year is coming Saturday March 3 at Mississippi Studios....
Local Band Showcase w/ Lewi Longmire Band & The Ascetic Junkies. I'm looking forward to sharing a bill with 2 great bands. It should be a stellar night of music.
Tanner & I are playing each Thursday this month for "eagle time" at the White Eagle Saloon....
Also this month, I'll be joining Groovy Wallpaper... aka Skip vonKuske & Don Henson at The Rock Creek Tavern on Friday Jan 27. We had a blast when we played there last August.
On Jan 28 we'll head out to The Wildwood Hotel in Willamina, Oregon. Our first trip to The Wildwood. We'll have Don Henson, Jeff Simpson & Tanner Cundy as Friendly Strangers and it should be a blast!
Oh yeah... Tanner Cundy & I will join Christopher Neil Young for Cut, Cut Loose Thursdays again this week! Thursday Jan 19 at Ted's Berbati's downtown Portland. It's a cool format songwriter's showcase that starts the night. Followed by some great music....
Thanks for stopping by!
Have a fantastic week.....
-ww
Wed Jan 4 2012
Happy New Year!...... I hope all is feeling fine with you.. Thanks for stopping by....
We had a great time playing at The Grand Lodge in Forest Grove for New Year's Eve
The last couple of days were spent prepping for the studio session we had yesterday. We had Drew Shoals in the studio to track drums on a few new songs. Sam Howard played bass and they put down some really exciting sounds. We're shooting for early Spring to release the new EP.... Much more info soon as we head back into the studio over the next couple of weeks. All I can say right now is wow... that was a fun studio session.
Quite a learning experience too...
thanks again for stopping by.... I hope to see you soon.
Cheers & Much Love in 2012!
-ww
Friday Dec 26 2011
Happy Holidays...... One more week in 2011....
I hope everything is fantastic in your world.
We'll be in the studio all week.... and we have a few sweet shows coming up too....
Tues Dec 27 ~ Add Love Showcase at The White Eagle 8:30pm
Thurs Dec 29 ~ WW & Tanner Cundy Duo at The The White Eagle 5:30pm
Sat Dec 31 ~ NYE show at The Grand Lodge ~ 9pm to midnight
Monday Jan 2 ~ Edgefield Winery w/ Skip vonKuske 7pm
check out the Calendar page for all the details....
Much love and warmth on this final week of the year.
Thanks again for the wonderful support in 2011.
I(we) couldn't do it without you!
-ww
Friday Dec 16 2011
Lovely sunshine today...... a great week of music so far....
Off to Hood River tonight to jam at the Cebu Lounge.
Looking forward to some nice vibes tonight.
Back into the studio for the rest of the weekend.
A warm happy holiday season to everyone...
Cheers!
-ww
Oh yeah.... Here's a quick shot of KINK fm's playlist from last Tuesday Dec 13th.
very cool ~~ Thanks again for tuning in...
Head Full Of Doubt/Road Full Of Promise The Avett Brothers 9:26pm
Life Will West 9:19pm
Lonely Boy The Black Keys 9:10pm
It's Hard to Be a Saint In the City Bruce Springsteen 9:07pm
Pink Houses John Mellencamp 9:02pm
.................
Monday Dec 12 2011
Fall pushes into wintertime...... all is going great.
I'm heading into the KINK fm101.9 Studio tomorrow for brief interview. The new song called "Life" we've been working on is being released as a Single. We've released it to a few regional radio stations and it's available for a limited time on BandCamp.
Check it out here
The New "Life" Single!
(Click The BandCamp Link Below)
http://willwestmusic.bandcamp.com/
You set your price... FREE or you can choose to donate towards our album by Paypal. We're working hard on our new album and are raising money to support the upcoming studio cost.
Thanks for your help.
Tune into KINK fm Tuesday Dec 13 at 9:15pm to hear the song!
Cheers!
-ww
Tuesday Nov 29 2011
Lovely Fall Days Continue.... we're still in the studio.....
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend.
Life is living well in Portland...
We're just wrapping up a new song that we'd like to release as a Single in December.... More info really soon.
Great news ~ 2 nominations by The 2012 Portland Music Awards!
Album of the Year... wow....
and Best Male Artist. Thanks to everyone who nominated us....
More than anything, it's an honor to be listed along with such great bands and musicians. Thanks again!
Voting is open until the end of the year.
It's quick & easy... check it out.
Click Here to Vote
We've just released our limited press album called "To Inspire" for digital download at BandCamp. A killer new website for independent musicians. Check it out here.
http://willwestmusic.bandcamp.com/
It's available on a floating scale... starting at $5 through Paypal.
All proceeds go towards our new album & touring in 2012.
Also, we saw the Portland premier of the new movie Bucksville by local director Chel White. It is a fantastic movie. We're really excited to have a couple of songs on the soundtrack. It was really cool to see it on the big screen.
more soon! thanks for stopping by!
-ww
Monday Nov 14 2011
Fall Days.... we've been in the studio....
More local shows coming up in December.
Cheers!
Tuesday Nov 1 2011
Hello November.... Some nice Fall days in the Northwest.
We've been tracking heavily in the studio for the past couple of weeks. Instead of trying to rush the new songs, we've decided to release the new album early next year. Likely in February or early March for the album release.
Only a couple of shows this month.... The Friendly Strangers are off for the month of November.
I'll play a few duo sets with Drew Norman this month.
Wednesday Nov 9 ~ Boon's Treasury in Salem, Oregon
Saturday Nov 19 ~
Imperial River Company in Maupin, Oregon.
I'll also join a crew of performers/songwriters at Al's Den at the Crystal Hotel in Portland on Tuesday Nov 29.
We'll pick things back up again in December...
Tanner Cundy & I will pick up Thursday Happy Hours in December at the White Eagle Saloon. We've been working out a fun new set list with some fancy new instrumentation and songs....
Also, keep an eye out for our new project called Add Love coming together in late December.
Much love on this November day.... or whenever you may be reading this..... Thanks for stopping by!
-will
Tuesday Oct 18 2011
Lovely Tuesday in Portland.... Some time to work in the studio this week..... We'll be working on a few tracks at my home studio throughout the week. Then heading over to finish up a song at a friend's studio on Friday.
We're working on some pretty interesting things.
We still don't have a timeline on the new EP's, but plenty of music is in the works....
Back to tracking.... Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers.
-ww
Monday Oct 10 2011
Hello Monday... Nice day to get things done.... Fall cleaning, Fall cleaning.... it feels nice to clean things up as we get ready for the colder, darker days of wintertime in the Northwest.
Repainting some parts of our house.... re-vamping the studio space.
Plenty of recording over the next couple of weeks and I want the space feeling good....
Nothing like putting some fresh energy and a new look into a space to spark some creativity...
Hope all is fine in your world. Thanks for stopping by!
-ww
Oh yeah, 2 songs off our last Album made it onto a sound track for a wonderful new movie called Bucksville, by Portland director Chel White.
We're excited and honored to be involved with the movie. It's beautifully made...
The movie had its debut at the Bend International Film Festival last weekend and it'll be playing in various US Festivals over the next few months.
Monday Oct 3 2011
Some cooler gray days in Portland... Feels Like Fall.... A great weekend of tunes... Played at the 1st Annual Barn Dance/Autumn Harvest Party in Silverton last Saturday. Nice crowd and some fun folks dancing the night away...
It's been nice to have some time off over the past couple of weeks.
Spent a lovely few days in Montana for a quick road trip... Missoula and Bigfork are a couple of fine spots, Such amazing landscape.....
We've been Fall cleaning around the house.... re-organizing the studio space for some work this week. Even hit up Trade-Up Music in Portland for some new studio toys... Thanks to Jeff Simpson for loaning me a few mics to experiment with.... We should have a dial on the new EP in the next couple of weeks!
Couple of cool shows this week.... Heading to Hood River on Friday for a cool jam at the Cebu Lounge.
Much love & Thanks for the support!
-will
Monday Sept 19 2011
Nice Monday to catch up on some things around the house .... After a busy weekend, we wind down these Summer days....
Some great news! Will West & The Friendly Strangers launched as a new station on Pandora Radio last week. Check it out here....
In other exciting news, 2 songs of our last album are going to grace the soundtrack of a lovely new movie called "Bucksville" by Portland director Chel White. The movie will have it's premier at the Bend Film Festival ~ Oct 6-9. We're really excited to be a part of such a great project.
The 2 songs are "New Shoes" and "A New Day".
I'll be joining Skip vonKuske at the Edgefield Winery later this evening and then I'll be off from performing for the next couple of weeks....
back into the Studio.
Thanks for stopping by! More really soon.....
Cheers.
-ww
Tuesday Sept 12 2011
Clouds today .... After another beautiful few weeks in the Northwest. We camped for 2 nights in Nehalem, Oregon last week.
We played in Bend on Saturday and played 2 shows in Astoria on Sunday.... Some wonderful traveling over the past week....
Back into the studio this weeks as we continue to ease into fewer and fewer performances this Fall. 16 events in August to 7 events in September and 4 or 5 in October. Feels good to be planning some rest over the next few months...
More info coming soon on the new album(s) coming together this Fall.
Thanks for stopping by....
Happy September!
Monday Aug 29 2011
Cloudy Monday.... After another beautiful weekend. Big storm on the East Coast. My fam in NC is doing fine, just still without power or phone lines. My parents have some coastal property that took the main force of the storm, but they won't know the condition of things until later this week.... But at least everyone is doing OK.
Off to the studio today and much of this week....
Thanks & Love! Have a great week.
-will
Monday Aug 22 2011
Monday Monday.... After a great weekend of Music....
A lovely ride out to Hood River on Friday. I played a short acoustic set to open for Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside. A wonderful Portland band that's really been making waves over the past few years. It was great to meet the band and promote our Sept 3 show at the Cebu
Lounge.
Then we jammed at Biddy McGraw's on Saturday. Always a fun room.... Thanks to Tanner Cundy, Don Henson & Skip vonKuske for laying out some nice vibes.
Little bit of rest last night, now i'm about to head into the studio for some tracking today on a new song. Then we'll be grooving some tunes at the Edgefield Winery later this evening....
And then we'll be locked in the studio for the rest of the week.
We have a really exciting Summertime inspired song that we're hoping to finish up this week!
More info really soon on a potential FREE download from our website.
I hope your summer has been wonderful so far....
Cheers from the Pacific Northwest. Thanks for stopping by!
-ww
Tuesday Aug 9 2011
Thanks Pickathon!........ We had a blast last weekend. Camping and listening to plenty of bands at Pendarvis farm.... Our 3rd year enjoying the festival. It's getting pretty big, but it was still really fun. We must of have seen 20 bands... Some wonderful inspiration.
Some cool shows this week.
Wed Aug 10 ~ Boon's in Salem 8pm
Thurs Aug 11 ~ White Eagle "eagle time" 5:30-7:30pm
Fri Aug 12 ~ Cebu Lounge in Hood River 9:30pm
Sat Aug 13 ~ Brasserie Montmartre ~ downtown Portland 9:30pm
It's gonna be a busy month in August... then we'll be easing things back and spending more time in the studio, studio, studio to finish up this EP....
Hope all is fine in your world this summertime!
Thanks for stopping by.
-ww
Monday Aug 1 2011
Another great weekend of Tunes........ Tired but feeling great.
Thanks to everyone involved with the music this past weekend.
Some killer shows...
It started in Oregon City at 1:30pm for the 1st City Celebration.
With Drew Norman as a Friendly Duo.
Then we moved to Bridgeport Brewpub for the 5:30pm set.
We added Ji Tanzer on drums, Sam Howard on upright bass, and Skip vonKuske on cello/mandolin for a sweet 5-piece Set for a fun crowd on a lovely afternoon....
Drew, Skip & I then headed north to meet up with Don Henson at the Mock Crest Tavern for 2 late sets. Some stellar music and great vibes... Thanks again everyone!
Great way to play 3 shows in one day.
Tired and almost ready for some rest.
Off to the coast tomorrow for a couple of nights of relaxation.
Back on Thursday for "Eage Time" with Bob Soper & Tanner Cundy.
Then we're off the Pickathon 2011 ! 3 nights of camping and music....
Thanks and love! And once again Happy Summertime!
-ww
Sunday July 24 2011
Feels like Summertime again in Portland......... Hope all is well.
Love, Love on a beautiful weekend.
Stay cool on the East Coast.
-ww
Wednesday July 20 2011
Lovely day in Portland......... catching up on some yard work and house cleaning today. Quite a busy week last week. Crashed hard yesterday after the week of steady performances. Plus my parents were in town all week too.... So glad they were able to see a wide range of music events.
Big thanks to Skip vonKuske & Don Henson for coming strong all weekend. The music got better and better with each gig....
Playing 2 shows tomorrow.... 3pm set at the NW Portland Farmer's Market. Then a 5:30pm set at the White Eagle for The Friendly Cover-Up!.
Back into the studio on Friday!
We're going to keep a pretty busy performance schedule through August, then we'll pull things way back to finish up the new EP.
Very few Portland performances in September & October while we get ready to release the new CD in November!
More info soon....
Thanks for stopping by!
-ww
Tuesday July 12 2011
Some light rain last night and clouds today......... but a nice day to get caught up on things...
Really fun looking week of music coming up.....
Wed 7/13 ~ Boon's Treasury in Salem with Drew Norman
Thurs 7/14 ~ White Eagle Saloon ~ Cover-Up! with Tanner Cundy
Friday 7/15 ~ Sandtrap Pub in Gearhart with Groovy Wallpaper
Sat 7/16 ~ Rock Creek Taver in Hillsboro with Groovy Wallpaper
Sun 7/17 at 12pm ~
Columbia County Fair with Groovy!
Mon 7/18 ~ downtown at Pionner Sq for the Farmer's Market 12pm
Mon 7/18 ~ joining Skip vonKuske at Edgefield Winery
7pm
My folks are in town too! Should be a fun week.....
Cheers!
-ww
Wednesday July 6 2011
Lovely Sunshine....... what a great holiday weekend! I hope yours was safe and fun! We had some fun shows and enjoyed some sweet sunshine on the 4th. Thanks to our friends at Hood River, the Cebu Lounge... We had some fun. We'll return on August 12 for another night of tunes in the Lounge.
Also, great night at Muu Muu's Sunday for our Acoustic night. Justin Kerr, aka Kerrnandez, rocked another fun set. We'll play some more at the Webber BBQ on Saturday July 16 in NW Portland.
Also, big thanks to Tanner Cundy and Skip vonKuske. We had some fun.....
Into the studio for few hours today....
yeah yeah... summertime cheer!
-ww
Thursday June 30 2011
Nice day today....... getting ready for a nice warm up this weekend. We're supposed to have a few nice, hot, sunny days over the holiday weekend. Yeah yeah summertime!
It's been a busy couple of weeks. July looks like another fun month of tunes. We've been writing plenty, recording some and practicing a lot of new ideas....
We also posted a new mix of tunes on the music player.... check 'em out when you get some time.
A new friend named Joshua Zirschky took some killer photos of our recent Mississippi Studios gig. Check out his page when you get a chance.... Great work.
We'll be putting more of the new pics online over the next couple of weeks. But for now you can check them out on the Facebook Link on the left side of this page.
Hope all is well in your world these days.... We're planning an east coast jaunt in late September ~ early October timeframe. More info soon.
Thanks for stopping by!
cheers.
~will
Thursday June 16 2011
Cloudy and cooler today .... but a beautiful clear night last night. Working in the studio with Shayla Carpenter this week. It's been fun working on a song with her. It's sounding great!
I've been testing my skills as a "producer" on a few friend's songs. They'll put down the rhythm guitar and rough vocals, then leave me with the song for a few days to fill out other instruments ~ bass, percussion, guitars, keys and whatever I can find around the studio.
Also songs by Bali Ingraham and Justin Bennett are in the works.
We'll work on putting together a new site for the studio "Sessions on 12th" and we'll post a few mixes soon.
We had a fun gig last Sunday at the Bar Bar patio. We opened for the Lumineers, a killer band outta Denver, CO. We dodged raindrops and had fun great time on a Sunday afternoon. The folks at Mississippi Studios have asked us to play next week on the main venue stage to support a wonderful band from San Francisco called Rupa and The April Fishes.
The show is Tuesday June 21 ~ 8pm ~ $13 advance $15 day of the show. We'll be playing a special string and vocal heavy mix of acoustic tunes to open the night. Should be fun and interesting.
Everything else is feeling fine.... back recording a bit and mixing today. Then off to the White Eagle for the Friendly Cover-Up! with Tanner Cundy & Bob Soper.
Off this weekend to work on the yard and clean up the house!
Cheers! have a great weekend.
-ww
Wednesday June 8 2011
Hi to Wednesday.... a lovely week in Portland.
We had a busy week of show last weekend. Off to Salem in about an hour with Drew Norman to play the Boon's Treasury. We jam every 2nd Wednesday in Salem. Should be some fun casual vibes...
We played the Bar Bar Patio last Saturday to a fun crowd and some delicous sunny weather. So much fun that they've asked us back this weekend. Sunday June 12 ~ on the Patio with Drew Norman and special guests. More info is on the Calendar page.
Gotta run.... Hope all is great in your world! Keep smiling and I hope to see you soon!
Cheers.
-ww
Thursday May 26 2011
Hello Thursday.... Nice week so far..... Lots of practice. We have a busy couple of weeks coming up....
Today, Tanner Cundy will join me for the Friendly Cover-Up! at the White Eagle. Chill afternoon mix of gospel, old-timey's and not so old-timey tunes....
Busy upcoming weekend in the studio and then we'll sneak off to the coast on Monday night for a quick coastal treat.
Next week.... Come check us out at the Bar Bar Patio at Mississippi Studios ~ Saturday June 4 ~ 4pm. Then we'll take off to East Burn later that night....
Check out the calendar for more info....
Have a great upcoming weekend. Love and thoughts to everyone dealing with the heavy storms in the Southeast US. Love to my family back east too....
-ww
Friday May 20 2011
Happy Friday .... Hope your week was great. It's beautiful in Portland. Just a quick note to say all is well in the Northwest.
We just got word that the song "Understand" from our recent album "Take this Moment" was picked for the KINK fm101.9 Locals Only Sampler Volume 4. Thanks to everyone who voted and to KINK fm in Portland.
We had a fun show in Bend last Wednesday. We played at the Old St Francis School to a fun crowd. I was joined by Groovy Wallpaper for the evening. Thanks Skip & Don!
It was my first trip to Bend and I'm really looking forward to our next! Thanks to McMenamins for having us down.
Much love to you on this Springtime weekend.
Have fun & Be safe!
-will
Monday May 9 2011
Hello Monday.... Hope your weekend was great. Tanner Cundy and I picked up a last minute gig in Silverton last Friday. We played at the Seven Brides Brewery, followed by a fantastic set by The Druthers. They sounded great, keep an eye out for the CD Release Party coming up in June at the Someday Lounge!
Thanks to our new friends at Seven Brides for making us feel welcome.
Hopefully we can take the band down there more this summer.
I had Saturday off, so we snuck off to the coast for the day. It was supposed to be rainy, but just as we pulled up to Arcada Beach the sky opened up.... couple of hours of nice sunshine for a beach walk with the dogs. Fish and Chips in Canon Beach before we cruised back to Portland. It began to rain just as we were leaving the coast.....
In the studio most of this week. Also working on some tour ideas for August and September. Likely getting on the road through Washington, Idaho, Montana in August. Then 2 to 3 weeks on the East Coast in mid-September. More info as things come together.....
Some fun action this week.....
Monday May 9 ~ Edgefield Winery with Skip vonKuske 7pm
Wed May 11 ~ Boon's Treasury in Salem with Drew Norman 8pm
Thursday May 12 ~ White Eagle Saloon ~ 5:30pm with friends
More info on the Calendar Page!
Keep Wednesday May 18 on your radar... it's our first trip to Bend.
With Groovy Wallpaper!!
Thanks for stopping by, have a great week!
-will
Monday May 2 2011
What a weekend.... Lovely sunshine on Saturday and Sunday. Bob Soper and I played some tunes downtown at the Portland Saturday Market. Bright sunshine and lots of people walking around. Made some fun new friends.... what a great way to kick off a lovely Sunday.
Then we played a late set a Muu Muu's last night... Fun jams with Drew Norman and Skip vonKuske.
Editing in the studio today and tracking new material most of this week.
May looks like a fun month of music ~ we'll be heading to Bend on May 18. My first trip to Bend, Oregon.... with Groovy Wallpaper too. We'll be playing at the Old St Francis School. More info is on the Calendar page.....
We're working on initial plans for some east coast travels in September... This should be fun.
Happy springtime everybody.... turn off the news, turn off your TV's.... turn off your internet for sometime and go outside..... Time to talk walk, take a ride... it's time to feel Alive!!!
Much love,
-ww
Monday April 25 2011
Rainy Monday.... But only after a lovely weekend. Friday and Saturday were beautiful in Portland. Sunshine and warm weather.....
The Portland Trailblazers had a really exciting game on Saturday as well..... I'm not a big basketball fan, but it's hard to not follow the city's excitement into the playoffs.
Huge thanks to KINK FM101.9 in Portland for featuring another song off the new CD last week. They played "Understand" on the KINK local Spotlight on Thursday April 21. Then they played part of an interview I had with Inessa earlier that day.
See more at KINK.fm
It's the last week of April.... wow.... springtime seems to moving on quickly. Hope to see you tomorrow night at The White Eagle (4/26).
FREE tunes with Skip vonKuske & Tanner Cundy. Plus music by The Sale and Peter Rodocker.
Cheers! Go Blazers!
-ww
Monday April 18 2011
Some sun shines on Monday too.... Happy Tax Day!
I was one of many folks who braved the post office today, but at least I already had stamps.
Hope all is great in your world today..... We had a nice mellow weekend of recording and writing (plus finishing up taxes).
I'm back in the studio today... We have 12 new songs in the works already. Many are still pretty rough, we're bouncing around ideas for tempos and arrangements. Plus experimenting with some new sounds and beats. But it's certainly fun.
I hope you can make it out this Thursday ~ our final Winter Songwriter's Showcase at Alberta St Pub for this season.
Thursday April 21 ~ 8pm start time.
Bali Ingraham, Tyler Fortier, Jenna Ellefson & Amanda Breese, Ian Mouser, myself and maybe a special guest or 2.
Should be a nice night of acoustic tunes....
Back to the studio now.... have a great week!
Thanks for stopping by.
-will
Monday April 11 2011
Some sun shines on this Monday.... What a great weekend....
I joined a stellar night of tunes at The Secret Society on Saturday for Quake Relief/Japanese Red Cross.
Thanks to Anna Tivel for joining me on violin. Nice to be a part of a good thing.
I'll be in the studio today... couple of guitar lessons this evening, then we'll take off to see some music tonight.
Feels great to be recording, there's some interesting new music coming together.
Remember next week, we'll be at Alberta St Pub....
Thursday April 21 ~ 8pm It's Springtime!!!
So this is our fourth & final installment of "Winter Songs"
Featuring short acoustic sets by Tyler Fortier, Bali Ingraham, Ian Mouser, Jenna Ellefson & Amanda Breese, myself and some other surprises....
Hope you can make it!
I hope you are feeling fine and moving along nicely on these Springtime days. Cheers from Portland!
As always.... thanks for stopping by!
-will
Monday April 4 2011
Another chilly, rainy Monday.... I Love Portland Springtime!
Of couse it's tough to wake up today.... but that's mainly because of a fun night of tunes at Muu Muu's last night.
We had a pretty mellow crowd most of the night... but the music was great. Kory Quinn, Skip vonKuske & I rotated short sets all evening with some great moments of sound. It was a blast. Thanks Kory & Skip~!
I'm doing some editing in the studio today, then I'll be heading over to Music Millenium for their Community Day. Jack McMahon is hosting a long running songwriter's round. I'll join Jack and Michael Charles Smith for a rotation of original tunes.
We'll have copies of the new album available and Music Millenium will also be carrying "Take this Moment" in their Folk Section after today.
We'll be in the studio much of the week.....
But you should mark your calendars for this event.
I've been asked to play at a Japan Quake Relief Benefit on Saturday April 9 ~ at the Secrety Society Ballroom in NE Portland.
A night of some really fanastic world music and dancing. I'm playing a short set with Anna Tivel on violin ~ and it's for a great cause. Come cleanse that Karma!
More info is on the Calendar Page.
I hope you have a great week!
see ya soon.
-ww
Tuesday March 29 2011
Hoping all is well on this gray Tuesday.... chilly and rainy again, but it feels like a great day for a jog.
We had a fantastic jam at the Edgefield Winery last night. I sat in with Skip vonKuske for his guest songwriters series in the tasting room. Don Henson joined us on percussion to warm-up for our White Eagle gig tonight.... This should be a blast!
"Last Tuesdays" at The White Eagle Saloon.
The Friendly, The Strange & The Groovy.
featuring Don Henson on percussive sounds (you need to see & hear)
Skip vonKuske on cello, mandolin & looping madness
I'll be on guitar, vocals & harmonica....
This is a really fun line-up with plenty of improvisation.
We'll explore a wide range of sounds & styles.
I'll be back in the studio the rest of the week...
Feels great to have some springtime vibes easing into Portland.
It's gray and cool.... but it's springtime in the Northwest!
My 9th Winter in Portland! It'll be 9 years in July.
I certainly miss North Carolina and I wish I could make it back more often... (next tour is in September 2011).
But I do love Portland. The city has been great to me.....
Thanks for stopping by.... Hope to see you soon.
Cheers!
-ww
Monday March 21 2011
Happy Springtime.... chilly and rain in Portland....
What a great week of music and vibes....
Thanks again to the musicians....
Drew Norman & Sam Howard rocked it Thurs, Fri & Saturday nights.
Ji Tanzer joined us in Hood River on Friday...
Anna Tivel joined us Saturday at Edgefield Winery for the Acoustic Jam.
Special thanks to McMenamins and our new friends at The Cebu Lounge in Hood River.
We had some fun!
I'm off much of this week (from performing). That means we'll be grinding away in the studio. I'm hoping to catch some shows this week too....
Feels great to have Springtime arrive once again.... Still plenty of rain in Portland, but that's OK.... flowers bloom.
It's hard not to be thinking about the current affairs in Libya and Japan. My thoughts go out to everyone...... i hope that flowers bloom.
Love from Portland.
-will
Monday March 14 2011
Big Clouds and Bright Sky today....
Catching up on some computer work today.... No shows this past weekend. Felt nice to relax and work on some writing.
Had a fun trip with Drew Norman at the Boon's Treasury last Wednesday. Then another spectacular night at the Alberta Street Pub last Thursday . An intimate, attentive audience and the music was wonderful.... Wow!
I opened with 4 songs.... followed by Michael Jodell with Matt Brown, then Redray Frazier, followed by Mary Tebbs w/ Matt Brown, and then Lincoln Crockett with Nicolas Miranda to close the night.
Some fantastic music was made..... Thanks again!
Our 4th and Final Session this season is Thursday April 21 ~ 8pm
Full line-up is coming soon....
A great looking week of celebration and music coming up....
Lincoln Crockett is going to hold down "Eagle Time" this week while we're out of town....
It's St Paddy's day on Thursday!!
Thursday March 17 ~ The Grand Lodge in Forest Grove, OR
Garage Door Bar with Drew Norman (banjo & lap steel)
& Sam Howard (upright bass)
7pm all ages & FREE
On Friday March 18 ~ We're taking a trip to Hood River
Cebu Lounge at The Hood River Inn. 9pm FREE tunes
With Drew on banjo, Sam on upright bass & Ji Tanzer on drums.
Should be a great jam......
Then on Saturday March 19 ~ we'll be part of a property wide celebration at the Edgefield Winery.... Free Music and Party all weekend. This should be a blast!
We'll be playing cozy acoustic tunes in the Winery 7pm-9pm
With Drew on banjo, Sam on Upright and Anna Tivel on violin.
Tiny touches of Springtime are in the air..... Hope all is great in your world today. Thanks for stopping by!
-will
Monday March 7 2011
Sunny & Warmer today....
Feeling good.... What a nice start to the week....
We had a blast at Muu Muu's 1st Sunday last night.
Some fine acoustic music by The Sale, Chris Lay, Tanner Cundy & Shayla Carpenter. Thanks to all the musicians and fun crowd....
We'll return for another session on Sunday April 4.
In the studio much of this week. Working on some percussion and vocal ideas today on 4 new songs that we're recording. We're still laying out the arrangements and tempo ideas, but the songs are coming together quickly. Feels good to be recording already....
Some fun shows this week.... Drew Norman & I will head down to Salem on Wednesday March 9 ~ Boon's Treasury 8pm (FREE show)
Friday Feb 25 2011
Cold & Sunny day in Portland....
After a beautiful snowy day yesterday.... I happened to be downtown when a snow shower pushed through the city. A wild combination of sunshine and snow.... lovely to see between the tall downtown buildings.
It's been a great week of tunes at The White Eagle....
We continued our Last Tuesday Series ~ #3
Gary Furlow & The Loafers once agained joined us as a featured artist... They joined us for our 1st session last December and it was great to hear them again. Thanks fellas!
For our set, I was joined by Tanner Cundy (guitar), Anna Tivel (violin) & Jeff Simpson (trumpet). What a fun night of music.....
We'll return on Tuesday March 29 with an exciting line-up.
On Thursday Feb 24 2011
The Friendly Cover-Up! Session 8
w/ Sam Howard on upright bass & Skip vonKuske on cello/mandolin
Set List:
Natural Mystic ~ Bob Marley
Typical Situation ~ Dave Matthews
Won't Back Down ~ Tom Petty
I shall not be moved ~ Traditional
Love Gets Sweeter Everyday ~ Finley Quaye
Help From My Friends ~ The Beatles
Them Belly Full ~ Bob Marley
Shady Grove ~ Traditional
Walkin Boss ~ Traditional
Lewis Collins ~ Mississippi John Hurt
Bad Moon Rising ~ CCR
People Are Strange ~ The Doors
My Girl ~ Leadbelly
Jackass ~ Beck
Way Over Yonder ~ Billy Bragg/ Woody Guthrie
All Away ~ Will West
We'll have new videos from the CD Release Party coming out soon.... Keep your eye on the video page!
Thanks for stopping by....
Hope to see you soon!
-ww
Thursday Feb 10 2011
Another Lovely, Chilly & Sunny day in Portland....
A fun show with Skip last night in Salem at the Boon's Treasury...
The Friendly Cover-Up! continues today at the White Eagle w/ Drew Norman & Skip vonKuske.... Prepare for tunes by M Ward, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young and Bob Marley... to name a few.
We're really excited about our LaurelThirst Pub show this weekend!
Sat Feb 12
The LaurelThirst Public House
NE Glisan & 29th
9:30pm w/ Groovy Wallpaper and Laura Meyer (on tour from NYC)
Should be some great vibes in a casual, fun spot.
We've posted some new videos online ~~ Check out the Video page or click here!
Have a great day!
Monday Feb 1 2011
Lovely, Chilly & Sunny today....
I've been hiding in the studio for much of the weekend. Sessions on the 12th is rolling nicely.... We have 2 new songs mapped out with rough vocals. And we've been working on a rendition of "walkin boss", an old timey tune.
I'm thinking about 2 EP's for this summer.... Each with 4-6 tunes.
One CD will be a combination of uptempo bluegrass and traditional music and the other will be much more experimental.
Hoping all is great in your world today!
Friday Jan 21 2011
Rainy and slow moving today....
What a great day of music yesterday!
Eagle Time was a blast ~ fun crowd of Blazer fans.
The Friendly Cover-Up!
Sesssion 3 ~ 1/20/2011
w/ Bob Soper on fiddle, djembe'
Sam Howard on upright bass
Will West on vocals, guitar, harmonica
Set list:
Natural Mystic ~ Bob Marley
Rainbow Song ~ G Love
Walkin Boss ~ traditional
Jackass ~ Beck
Them Belly Full ~ Bob Marley
I shall not be moved ~ traditional
Tape Loop ~ Morcheeba
The Wind & Rain ~ traditional (sung by Bob Soper)
Paradise ~ John Prine (sung by Bob Soper)
Shady Grove ~ traditional
In the Pines ~ Leadbelly
Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key ~ Billy Bragg & Woodie Guthrie
Sesame Street Theme Song
Typical Situation ~ Dave Matthews
Won't Back Down ~ Tom Petty
Be prepared for Cover tunes by The Doors, CCR, M Ward, Leonard Cohen and more in the coming weeks....
----------------------------
Winter Songwriter's Series
Last night we also had the 1st of 3 monthly songwriter's series at the Alberta Street Pub.
I opened the night with some hello's and a few songs.
Followed by fantastic sets from Ian Mouser, MidLo, & Bali Ingraham.
Thanks to the musicians and attentive listeners last night!
We'll be back on Thursday Feb 17 & March 10 for the 2nd & 3rd Showcases.
More info soon on the line-ups.
I'm heading to the Post Office to mail out some promo CD's today. Then, back into the studio!
have a great weekend....
-ww
Friday Jan 14 2011
A cloudy day, but warmer in Portland....
A relaxed afternoon to catch up on some computer work.
We had a blast at the White Eagle yesterday.
The Friendly Cover-Up!
Session 2 ~ 1/13/2011 (my birthday!)
w/ Skip vonKuske on cello, mandolin
Sam Howard on upright bass,
Tanner Cundy on vocals & guitar,
Will West on vocals, guitar, harmonica
Set list:
Rainbow Song ~ G Love
Jackass
~ Beck
I shall not be moved ~ Traditional
Them Belly Full ~ Bob Marley
Shady Grove ~ Traditional
Won't Back Down ~ Tom Petty
Way Over Yonder ~ Billy Bragg & Woodie Guthrie
Kasmir
~ Led Zeppelin (performed by Skip vonKuske)
Walkin' Boss ~ Traditional
Lewis Collin ~ Mississippi John Hurt
In the Pines ~ Lead Belly
Watchtower ~ Bob Dylan (sung by Tanner Cundy)
Understand ~ Will West
Plus a few loopy space jams between songs.....
We're continuing to add more content to the new website.... including Lyrcs & Background information about the songs. We're even giving Chords for some of the tunes.... Check out the Lyrics Page for more info.
I'll be playing some downtown tunes with Tanner Cundy on Saturday night at the Bo Lounge ~ at Hotel Lucia.
Then we're jumping back into recording next week.....
I'm excited!
More soon.... Thanks for stopping by!
-ww
Monday Jan 10 2011
A beautiful day in Portland... chilly, but sunny and nice.
Just took a nice walk through Southeast with the dogs.... They're sprawled on the floor as I type.
All is going great here.... I'm stoked to be back recording for the new something ~!~ Likely a new EP in the next couple of month. Hoping to put 2 out by this summer.
4-6 songs on each CD. Both with a different kind of vibe... More soon as things develop.
Had a blast at The Friendly Cover-Up! last week.
Session 1 ~ The White Eagle Saloon 1/6/11
Set list:
Natural Mystic ~ Bob Marley
Rainbow Song ~ G Love
Typical Situation ~ Dave Matthews
Lewis Collins ~ Mississippi John Hurt
Jackass ~ Beck
Walkin Boss ~ Traditional
Them Belly Full ~ Bob Marley
Shady Grove ~ traditional
Watchtower ~ Bob Dylan (sung by Tanner Cundy)
Way over Yonder in a Minor Key ~ Woody Guthrie/Billy Braggs
In the Pines ~ Leadbelly
Help From My Friends ~ Beatles
Won't Back Down ~ Tom Petty
Thanks for stopping by!
Enjoy your day!
-ww
- Wednesday Jan 5 2011
Happy New Year... I hope your kick-off to 2011 has been fantastic!
All is fine here. Resting abit this week, after a great weekend of music.
We're kicking off a new happy hour series this week....
Returning to The White Eagle for our Thursday Happy Hour sets.
But with a new twist.....
Every Thursday ~ 5:30 to 7:30pm.
The White Eagle Presents: Will West & The Friendly Cover-Up!
* all cover tunes & traditional songs
Family friendly and FREE too. We'll have guest members of The Friendly Strangers joining us each week. Plus special guest singers and musicians as well as new songs each week. Bob Marley to Black Sabbath ~ we'll be trying out all sorts ideas. More info is on the Calendar Page.
We've some fun events this month ~ so keep an eye on the Calendar.
Thanks for stopping by!
-will
- Tuesday Dec 14 2010
Hey friends..... First off ~ thanks to everyone who made it to the CD Release Party on Friday. That was fantastic.... The audience was wonderful and band was so much fun..... We packed 10 people onto the stage at one point.....
Big thanks again to Skip vonKuske & Don Henson from Groovy Wallpaper.... stellar opening set & thanks for joining The Friendly Strangers too....
Thanks to Drew Norman, Bob Soper, Chance Hayden, Sam Howard, Tanner Cundy, Mary Beers, Breanna Paletta & Justin Bennett for the great music.
Thanks to Brent Rogers and company for filming the event ~ we hope to have some video samples in a few weeks.
Thanks to Bryan Appel for the sound and the cool Secret Society staff.
Special thanks to The Portland Mercury for recommending the event & big thanks to KINK fm101.9 for playing New Shoes the night before the show!
We had a blast ~~ we have a few scattered events left this year ~ so check out the calendar and come say hello!
Thanks for stopping by!
-will
- Thursday Dec 2 2010
Hey friends.... I hope all is fine in your world today. Having a nice slow start to the day here.... another beautifully rainy day in Portland. Had a great night of tunes at the Edgefield Winery last night and we made some lively new friends....
Only 8 days till the Portland CD Release Party!!!
Friday Dec 10th at the Secret Society Ballroom ~ w/ Groovy Wallpaper
But we've just launched the album online through iTunes & CD Baby....
Check it out:
Thanks for for stopping by!
Cheers.
-ww
- Sunday Nov 21 2010
Chilly days in Portland. It's been nice to hide out and catch up on some homework over the past few days. Winterizing this old house to cover up some chilly windows.... Began working on 2 new songs this week as well.....
Wheels are in motion for the December CD Release Party ~~
Friday Dec 10th at The Secret Society Ballroom
116 NE Russell St ~ Portland, Oregon
s/ Special guest Groovy Wallpaper.
It'll be a special night of music at a stellar new venue space....
The big band! There's more info on the Calendar Page....
The album should be available online early in December as well....
Until then I'll keep rotating in new tracks on the Music Page.
Much love and thanks for the holiday week ~~ be safe & have fun!
-ww