John West
John West
Santa Monica, CA
R&B/Soul / Acoustic / Ambient
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About
With simple honesty about complex emotions, John West creates soul without crooning, and pop without gloss. “In life, it’s scary when you’ve never experienced something before, but if a song can be a guide, or a road map, that’s a beautiful thing,” says the Baton Rouge native who cites Otis Redding, Cat Stevens, Jill Scott and Jack Johnson as primary influences. “What I love about people’s reaction to my music now is that people tell me it soothes and relaxes them. It helps them get through hard days easier. And the reason I wrote half of these songs was to get through my own hard days.”
Much to John’s satisfaction, his songs are providing similar relief to his ever-expanding audience. He’s seen it for himself while performing at venues as prestigious as The Roxy and The Hotel Café, or as down-to-earth as street performing on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade. “The idea that I can bring different types of people together seems like a real calling,” he says. “And if you can do that, then all of a sudden you can break down a lot of other barriers, because fear is usually the lack of knowledge and a lack of commonality. Music can bring people together so well.”
Highlights:
Much to John’s satisfaction, his songs are providing similar relief to his ever-expanding audience. He’s seen it for himself while performing at venues as prestigious as The Roxy and The Hotel Café, or as down-to-earth as street performing on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade. “The idea that I can bring different types of people together seems like a real calling,” he says. “And if you can do that, then all of a sudden you can break down a lot of other barriers, because fear is usually the lack of knowledge and a lack of commonality. Music can bring people together so well.”
Highlights:
- Over 2 millions MySpace plays and 27K friends
- NACA National 2008 - Roving Artist Showcase
- Opened for Tyrone Wells, Colbie Caillat, Raphael Saadiq & KRS-ONE
- Sponsored by Palm (maker of the Treo) & Cordoba Guitars
- Perez Hilton blogged about John's cover of "Umbrella" - calling it the "best ever"
- Has played over 130 college, club, & festival shows over the past 3 years
