to the the street spotlight
By DANIEL ARCHULETA Managing Editor
DOWNTOWN To passersby, he may appear to be just another street performer trying to earn a little extra change on the Third Street Promenade.
But to those patient enough to stop and listen a spell, this Santa Monica-based singer/songwriter takes on a whole different look. John West’s slick delivery and jazzy style belie his modest appearance. Beneath his shaggy hair and bohemian threads there sits an accomplished musician who is finally starting to break free from his meager beginnings and potentially head into the big time.
His MySpace page has 26,570 friends and he’s personally sold nearly 10,000 copies of his first two independently produced CDs while performing on the promenade and at gigs. He’s booked to play the Malibu Inn later this month and will play a show with Matthew Santos (the guy who sings the hook on Lupe Fiasco’s current hit, “Superstar”) at the Roxy in Hollywood next month. From the looks of it, West appears poised to take his place in the entertainment industry.
“I’ve got a lot of music now. It’s an exciting time for me,” West said during a recent interview. “I’m just taking all the elements and starting to squeeze things together.”
Hailing from Baton Rouge, La., West has been singing since he was a 5 year old performing in church choirs. He’s been playing the guitar since he was in high school, strumming along to Nirvana tunes every chance he could get. It wasn’t until West, 28, got to Columbia College Chicago that he began to seriously consider music as a possible career path.
After spending a few years as an art major and drawing comic strips for student newspapers, he decided to invest some time into cultivating his musical talents. He later produced a demo tape working with friends from school and used it to gain entry into a student music festival at the college. It wasn’t until that time did he realize that if he was going to take this seriously, he would need to put together a band and work on a stage presence.
The appearance was successful enough to convince him to put down his pursuit of being a cartoonist for a while and take up music as full-time.
“That was the beginning of something. I knew then that I wanted to devout more time to music,” he said.
West played gigs in the Chicago area for a couple of years before realizing that frigid winters and a limited music scene were reason enough to consider a change in scenery.
“It was then that I realized that I needed to consider moving to either New York or Los Angeles,” West said. “I tried New York for a while and it was cool, but I wanted to check out California.”
Not long after arriving in Southern California, he was directed to the promenade as a potential place to work on his craft and earn a little money while doing it.
“At first it was the best. I just worked on the songs and met people,” he said of his time on the promenade. “Some of the people I met promised things that they couldn’t pull off, but it has been all good.”
He’s been pleased with the response he’s received from visitors to the popular shopping district and said that it has helped him become confident enough to take the next step.
Crediting the Internet for much of his initial success, he said he’s interested to see what direction the music industry heads in and hopes to be a part of it. He currently has his music posted on iTunes and receives a “nice” amount of money from it each month. Due in part to his success on MySpace, he recently held a meeting with representatives from the social networking company’s new record label.
While he gears up for a spate of upcoming shows, works on his next CD, and discusses potential deals with major record labels, he’ll continue playing the promenade and keep “trying to keep it humble.”
“I’ll be playing the promenade until they drag me off,” he said with a laugh. “I hope to be out there for some time to come.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 8, 2008. Read the original PDF.