Here's something you might be interested in.
Scott West's music video for "Standing on the Moon," from his album Sex on Sunday, passed 100,000 views this week.
West began developing Sex On Sunday with Ian Samwell in 2002. “I used to have lunch with Ian on Fridays, and we’d talk about the craft of songwriting and how to capture the personality of a song in the studio. Ian was an amazing songwriter and producer.”
Warner Brothers producer and A/R man Ian Samwell once shared an office with the Rolling Stones famous manager Andrew Loog Oldham. Perhaps best known for his work with the musical group America and the discovery of London singer Rod Stewart (Small Faces), Samwell also worked with Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, and Cliff Richards (from whom Samwell wrote the early top ten rock and roll hit “Move It”).
As West tells it, “Ian was helping me choose the best songs to group together for the album. We were planning to record them in Sacramento, but Ian’s health was declining. The last time I saw Ian, he made me promise not to come back to see him and not to remember him that way. I remember being devastated, because Ian was both my musical mentor and close friend. Ian also made me promise to finish our record in the way that we had planned. For two years I couldn’t even think about the music. It was just too painful.”
(Ian Samwell)
After considering how to make good on his promise to Samwell, West went over to Tesla bassist Brian Wheat’s house to ask for advice. Wheat pulled in Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon and Tesla drummer Troy Luccketta to help finish the full-length.
With the Tesla players, West recorded SOS over the next nine months, using Cake’s bassist Gabe Nelson on two tracks and Mercy Me’s bassist Jim Morris on another.
West credits Tesla for making SOS happen, saying, “I really owe everything to Brian’s friendship and help. He didn’t have to take nine months of his life to help make the record, and Frank Hannon didn’t have to put his heart and soul into the recording and band the way that he did either. And Troy flew in from Phoenix to make things happen, so the Tesla boys really came through for me.”
Both Wheat and Hannon performed with West at the SOS CD release party, and Hannon continued to perform with West’s band.
Five years later, SOS has distributed over 170,000 copies and downloads, all without the help of a label or major distribution channel, while the video for "Standing on the Moon" has logged over 100,000 views on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDylobu9hx8
“Looking back," says West, "it was a tragedy losing Ian [Samwell], and I think about him every day, but it was a blessing to have Brian, Frank and Troy help keep my promise to him. I’d like to think that Ian would be proud of the album we made and that we have him out there somewhere standing on the moon.” West has begun performing "Standing On The Moon" again at his live shows.
In 2008, West’s band was ranked number one on MTV's Best Music On Campus for 36 straight weeks.
In 2010, West’s music video “Keep It Clean” was one of only ten music shorts (among thousands submitted) selected to the London Independent Film Festival in April 2010. The video was directed by 17-year-old Phillip Stucker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4j-v0vLgMI
“Phillip’s mother noticed his love of art and drawing,” says West, “and saved up the money for a computer he could use to do his own animation. He made a homemade video to the Shiny Toy Guns song ‘Don’t Cry Out,’ and it blew up on YouTube, with over 300,000 views. I was amazed when I first saw it, especially when I found out how young he was.”
However, the DIY video wasn’t authorized by the band or their management at Universal Music Group. “They made him take it down, even though he was using this video to raise money for his mother’s cancer treatments.… I ended up asking him to do my ‘Keep It Clean’ video.” To their eventual credit, Universal decided to adopt the STG clip as “official,” reposting it on YouTube and racking up an additional 150,000 views.
West recorded “Keep It Clean” with London singer/songwriter Anton Barbeau and bassist Gabe Nelson from the band Cake.
West’s album Austin includes guest players Mick Fleetwood, Daniel de los Reyes (the Killers), James Baker (War), and Frank Hannon and Brian Wheat of Tesla. That summer, the Sacramento International Film & Music Festival chose West’s “Keep It Clean” music video as an official selection of the 2010 Festival.
His Xmas 2010 album California Christmas was recorded with Tesla members Brian Wheat and Frank Hannon, at the band’s Sacramento studio.
“I remember sitting on Brian’s couch in his studio with a trash can in my hands, in case I were to lose my cookies,” recalls West. “I had just come down with a stomach flu that afternoon, and I was so sick that I wasn’t able to stand up sometimes. I was throwing up between takes.”
West didn’t have the option of rescheduling. “It was the only day they were available. They had to be on the road early the next day to record the new Tesla album in El Paso. Brian said their wives were probably going to kill them, but we’d have one day, 24 hours. to do the entire album. I told him that if they were willing to pull an all-nighter, then I’d be on board too...I actually wrote the title track, ‘California Christmas,’ on my way to their studio.”
Shortly after the session came news of a three-alarm fire at the facility. “The apartments next door caught fire, and it jumped across to the roof of the studio. I’m fortunate to have recorded there before it burned down. Many of the items lost were irreplaceable. The Neve board that we recorded on is the same console used by Fleetwood Mac to record their Tusk album. Brian had a lot of memorabilia from his tours and gigs over the years, including mementos from friends such as Paul McCartney and Queen. I just hope the insurance helps him get it back up and running.”
During its first month on sale, California Christmas saw one tune score over 34,000 downloads on Myxer.com. “Frank Hannon and I tracked a live version of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ with just piano, MIDI-ed keyboard strings, and electric guitar. We only made one pass, then Frank laid down some harmony electric-guitar lines and we were done with the track.”
On New Year’s Eve 2010/2011, his “Auld Lang Syne” ringtone hit over 127,000 ringtone downloads. It hit number two among all ringtone categories on Myxer, one of the most popular download sites.
West, who studied audio engineering at Mesa Community College, performs regularly with his own Scott West Band, which now includes Hollywood rock guitarist Roni Lee (the Runaways, Joan Jett, Steppenwolf).
This past summer, the West band opened for touring acts such as John Waite (the Babys), the Motels, and Yes.
Scott West's music video for "Standing on the Moon," from his album Sex on Sunday, passed 100,000 views this week.
West began developing Sex On Sunday with Ian Samwell in 2002. “I used to have lunch with Ian on Fridays, and we’d talk about the craft of songwriting and how to capture the personality of a song in the studio. Ian was an amazing songwriter and producer.”
Warner Brothers producer and A/R man Ian Samwell once shared an office with the Rolling Stones famous manager Andrew Loog Oldham. Perhaps best known for his work with the musical group America and the discovery of London singer Rod Stewart (Small Faces), Samwell also worked with Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, and Cliff Richards (from whom Samwell wrote the early top ten rock and roll hit “Move It”).
As West tells it, “Ian was helping me choose the best songs to group together for the album. We were planning to record them in Sacramento, but Ian’s health was declining. The last time I saw Ian, he made me promise not to come back to see him and not to remember him that way. I remember being devastated, because Ian was both my musical mentor and close friend. Ian also made me promise to finish our record in the way that we had planned. For two years I couldn’t even think about the music. It was just too painful.”
(Ian Samwell)
After considering how to make good on his promise to Samwell, West went over to Tesla bassist Brian Wheat’s house to ask for advice. Wheat pulled in Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon and Tesla drummer Troy Luccketta to help finish the full-length.
With the Tesla players, West recorded SOS over the next nine months, using Cake’s bassist Gabe Nelson on two tracks and Mercy Me’s bassist Jim Morris on another.
West credits Tesla for making SOS happen, saying, “I really owe everything to Brian’s friendship and help. He didn’t have to take nine months of his life to help make the record, and Frank Hannon didn’t have to put his heart and soul into the recording and band the way that he did either. And Troy flew in from Phoenix to make things happen, so the Tesla boys really came through for me.”
Both Wheat and Hannon performed with West at the SOS CD release party, and Hannon continued to perform with West’s band.
Five years later, SOS has distributed over 170,000 copies and downloads, all without the help of a label or major distribution channel, while the video for "Standing on the Moon" has logged over 100,000 views on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDylobu9hx8
“Looking back," says West, "it was a tragedy losing Ian [Samwell], and I think about him every day, but it was a blessing to have Brian, Frank and Troy help keep my promise to him. I’d like to think that Ian would be proud of the album we made and that we have him out there somewhere standing on the moon.” West has begun performing "Standing On The Moon" again at his live shows.
In 2008, West’s band was ranked number one on MTV's Best Music On Campus for 36 straight weeks.
In 2010, West’s music video “Keep It Clean” was one of only ten music shorts (among thousands submitted) selected to the London Independent Film Festival in April 2010. The video was directed by 17-year-old Phillip Stucker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4j-v0vLgMI
“Phillip’s mother noticed his love of art and drawing,” says West, “and saved up the money for a computer he could use to do his own animation. He made a homemade video to the Shiny Toy Guns song ‘Don’t Cry Out,’ and it blew up on YouTube, with over 300,000 views. I was amazed when I first saw it, especially when I found out how young he was.”
However, the DIY video wasn’t authorized by the band or their management at Universal Music Group. “They made him take it down, even though he was using this video to raise money for his mother’s cancer treatments.… I ended up asking him to do my ‘Keep It Clean’ video.” To their eventual credit, Universal decided to adopt the STG clip as “official,” reposting it on YouTube and racking up an additional 150,000 views.
West recorded “Keep It Clean” with London singer/songwriter Anton Barbeau and bassist Gabe Nelson from the band Cake.
West’s album Austin includes guest players Mick Fleetwood, Daniel de los Reyes (the Killers), James Baker (War), and Frank Hannon and Brian Wheat of Tesla. That summer, the Sacramento International Film & Music Festival chose West’s “Keep It Clean” music video as an official selection of the 2010 Festival.
His Xmas 2010 album California Christmas was recorded with Tesla members Brian Wheat and Frank Hannon, at the band’s Sacramento studio.
“I remember sitting on Brian’s couch in his studio with a trash can in my hands, in case I were to lose my cookies,” recalls West. “I had just come down with a stomach flu that afternoon, and I was so sick that I wasn’t able to stand up sometimes. I was throwing up between takes.”
West didn’t have the option of rescheduling. “It was the only day they were available. They had to be on the road early the next day to record the new Tesla album in El Paso. Brian said their wives were probably going to kill them, but we’d have one day, 24 hours. to do the entire album. I told him that if they were willing to pull an all-nighter, then I’d be on board too...I actually wrote the title track, ‘California Christmas,’ on my way to their studio.”
Shortly after the session came news of a three-alarm fire at the facility. “The apartments next door caught fire, and it jumped across to the roof of the studio. I’m fortunate to have recorded there before it burned down. Many of the items lost were irreplaceable. The Neve board that we recorded on is the same console used by Fleetwood Mac to record their Tusk album. Brian had a lot of memorabilia from his tours and gigs over the years, including mementos from friends such as Paul McCartney and Queen. I just hope the insurance helps him get it back up and running.”
During its first month on sale, California Christmas saw one tune score over 34,000 downloads on Myxer.com. “Frank Hannon and I tracked a live version of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ with just piano, MIDI-ed keyboard strings, and electric guitar. We only made one pass, then Frank laid down some harmony electric-guitar lines and we were done with the track.”
On New Year’s Eve 2010/2011, his “Auld Lang Syne” ringtone hit over 127,000 ringtone downloads. It hit number two among all ringtone categories on Myxer, one of the most popular download sites.
West, who studied audio engineering at Mesa Community College, performs regularly with his own Scott West Band, which now includes Hollywood rock guitarist Roni Lee (the Runaways, Joan Jett, Steppenwolf).
This past summer, the West band opened for touring acts such as John Waite (the Babys), the Motels, and Yes.