and sometimes...
A Piano
A Djembe
or Merlin the Banjo
also... Pete Solomon - saxophone & percussion
(which makes Solomon-West)
Influences
Alanis Morissette, Rebecca Riots, Sarah McLachlan, The Cranberries, Loreena McKennitt, Kate Wolf, Tracy Chapman, Heather Nova, Melissa Ethridge, Garrison Starr, all the Lilith Fair Ladies. My professors - Bettina Aptheker and Triloki Pandey. My little home town (Albany), Berkeley, Santa Cruz, and California in general. The ocean, the redwoods, all the beautiful countries I have seen... the world in general. Humans. Sunsets and rises, moons, stars. Every song I've ever heard. The days and nights, the comings and goings, in and outs, ups and downs... Everyone I have ever encountered. The meanderings of my life path, and of all those I know. Joy and pain. Love. Gratitude. Overflowing hearts. Being alive.
Meet the "folk songstress who captures the essence
of out-the-window daydreaming and introspection-by-candlelight... "
"It Will Be" ~ Recorded live at the East Village Coffee Lounge, in Monterey, CA ~ June 2008
"Para Salir" ~ Recorded live at the Brookdale Lodge, Brookdale, CA ~ Jan 9, 2009
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Amanda's album THE WAY TO THE WATER available NOW!
REVIEWS:
"In full-fledged support of the Socratic statement, 'the unexamined life is not worth living,' local singer-songwriter Amanda West releases her debut LP. The disc, aptly entitled, The Way to the Water, is a bold examination, both outward and inward, that delves deep into such universal themes as trusting one's instincts in the face of expectations, the search for truth and satisfaction and love's palpitations and travails. Sparse instrumentation, lush and intimate, focuses the attention on West's voice, gorgeous, selfless and emotive."
~ A. Martinez, Good Times, Santa Cruz, CA
"... absolutely engaging, stunning... a music manager's dream... This is an album to savor and enjoy, a musical journey through comtemporary Folk music with some bluesier elements for good measure..."
~ Peter Merrett, Music Manager, PBS Radio, Melbourne, Australia
" Songs written from the heart and most beautifully sung from the heart."
~ Peggy MacNeil, Isles FM Radio, Scotland
“Beautiful, sensuous, warm, vulnerable.”
~ Justin Mayer, Owner, Bear Creek Studio, Bonny Doon, CA
"This album...hits all the right notes"
~ Tony Bates, Highlands 100.7fm Victoria, Australia
ABOUT:
Born and raised in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, Amanda had the best of both worlds growing up – the small town community of Albany, surrounded by the big city life of Berkeley and San Francisco. She was singing before she spoke, and began learning guitar around age 11, and songwriting shortly thereafter. At age 15 she started performing at Freight & Salvage open mics in Berkeley, testing out her "stage legs".
Amanda does not come from a particularly musical family, though she listened to plenty of her parents' old folks records as a child, and treasures memories of singing around the fire on family camping trips. She was also greatly inspired by the women singer-songwriters of Lilith Fair in the late '90s. Specific notable influences include Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morissette, and Loreena McKennitt.
In high school, and then college, Amanda had a band, Walpurgis Night, which dispersed after their self-organized, 10-day tour into Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. They released one full length album "Live from Amanda's Living Room" in 2000 featuring 12 of Amanda's originals, and then a self-titled EP in 2003, composed of five more of Amanda's songs.
Since graduating from the University of California with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology, Amanda has traveled the world (though still maintains a long list of places to go), and enjoyed trying on different identities including waitress, baker, truck driver, farmer's market vendor, preschool teacher, office assistant, researcher, anthropologist, writer, and of course, musician.
Returning to the music scene several years ago, Amanda went solo choosing the second name West, for its associations with California, water, sunsets, a time of reflection, and beauty. She released her debut solo album,The Way to the Water, in February of 2008. "Sparse instrumentation, lush and intimate, focuses the attention on West's voice, gorgeous, selfless and emotive." (~ Santa Cruz Good Times)
Amanda now performs regularly in and around the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Areas, as well as the occasional show in other parts of the U.S., North, East, and South. Her hope is to give back to the world some of the joy and awe which has been afforded her in this lifetime....
Summer 2009 saw Amanda at the San Lorenzo River Arts Festival, The San Francisco Free Folk Festival, Freight & Salvage Coffee House in Berkeley, and the Yakima Folk Festival, the Downtown Berkeley Music Festival, among other shows, including ones in New Mexico, Oregon and Washington. In August she produced & performed in Womansong, an 8 artist event benefiting the Monterey County Rape Crisis Center.
Currently Amanda is preparing for the Folk Alliance Regional West Conference in Irvine in November, and beginning work on her second solo album.
Hi Amanda! Thanks for the invite, but I will be in the middle of a month of teaching at music camps... probably won't be able to get away at all for a few weeks. But thank you so much and I hope it goes well. Sounds like a wonderful event and I am sorry to miss it. Happy singing, Jesse
Hey Amanda!! I see you're on tour and I must say that I give you my warmest congratulations for this step in your passion. Keep up the vibe and show the world what you're made of!!
Hi Amanda, you had me at Illuminate My Soul girl...beautiful song and your voice sounds lovely as ever :) Hope this finds you in a good place...I'm in one, when I'm listening :) It was also a joy to see you perform in the video's... keep on shining, love your light :)
I'm so glad you still have me on your e-mail list, despite my not living in Santa Cruz anymore. Ever since you were my T.A. for Feminism's "Women in Music" section I have been a fan of your talent and creative spirit and would love the opportunity to see you perform---hopefully one day! In the mean time, I'm happy to have looked you up on My Space so as to hear your lovely tunes and see what you are up to! Well wishes to you always!! Peace & love, Ashley
Hi Amanda! Happy New Year! Thanks for another amazing show at Asana! Such a special afternoon! And a great place to 'hear' singer/songwriters! Wishing you happiness and sucess in 2009!
Thanks 4 the add & your friendship ♪ Merci pour l'ajout & ton amitié ♫ Molto grazie per la tua amicizia ♪ Bedankt voor vriendschap ♫ Mange tak for venskabet ♪ Dziekuje serdecznie wszystkim za dodanie mnie ♫ Muchas gracias por la amistad ♪ Takk fyrir addið og vinaboðið ♫ Obrigada pela amizade ♪ Ευχαριστώ γιά την αποδοχή και την φιλία ♫ Danke für die Freundschaft ♪ Tack för vänskabet ♫ Arkadaslıgın icin tesekkur ederim ♪ Trugarez deoc'h 'vit ho keneilded ♫ Спасибо за поддержку ♪ Takk fyri vinskapin ♫ Multumesc de prietenie ♪ Takk for ditt vennskap ♫ Faleminderit për shoqerinë tuaj ♪ Hvala na prijateljstvu ♫ Благодарим вас за вашу дружбуe ♪
Hi Amanda! Thanks for your note! We are doing well. Hope you are too! We both work at Staff of Life, so this is a crazy time of the year, with so many people shopping for family feasts. I am glad to see that you enjoyed your tour! Are you still working at the B&B? If so, give Kristine and Brian our greetings. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! take care! Rich
