Review Fix chats with singer/songwriter Christopher West, who discusses his new single, Baby.
Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?
Christopher West: I suppose it goes back to when I was 7 or 8 years old when my mom bought me my first acoustic guitar. It went slow for a few years, but by 12 I was playing in my own horribly named punk cover band. I was obsessed with learning and performing for years, I guess I still am in some sense.
Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?
West: I have to feel the music, the moment, the energy. I can’t make myself write, it seems I have to be in the mood for anything decent to come out. The songwriting is overwhelmingly determined by my feelings and thoughts in that moment, in an attempt to coral my scattered mind, to tell a story.
Review Fix: What inspires you?
West: Realizations in life. Good or bad. Almost every time I learn something that changes my perspective on life, I feel compelled to write about it.
Review Fix: What does music mean to you?
West: Almost everything. It’s my main form of expression. It allows me to be honest under the auspice of art on a level I feel I wouldn’t regularly. I feel I’m able to safely tell the story I want without slight or sighs. I suppose it’s somewhat therapeutic for me. A short escape to reflect on reality rather than being in it.
Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?
West: I’m honestly not sure, I try to keep that out of my head entirely during the songwriting and recording processes. Though I suppose alternative or indie would be the most accurate.
Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?
West: Energy comes up x10. It’s hard to explain but being on stage is somewhat meditative. Everyone’s energy weaves together through the sounds coming from the stage. It’s a special feeling and I’m starting to miss it a lot during this lockdown. Can’t wait to get back to it!
Review Fix: What inspired your latest single?
West: Irene was the name of my friends Grandmother. In 2013/14 while practicing for my former project “Great Chamberlain,†she would sit in on our jams to enjoy the music. She was a bright light in this life; she deserved to have at least one song written for her.
Review Fix: What are your goals for 2021?
West: Moving to Gatineau February 26th. Finding band members. Another EP by this summer and a full LP by the end of the year. Touring if I’m able!
Review Fix: What’s next?
West: Getting and listening to as much constructive criticism as possible, learn, then get back in the studio. I’ve got material stacking up on the GarageBand app on my phone, so I’ll be back to recording A.S.A.P!
Leave a Reply