Hi Everybody!
I would have blogged sooner, but I was having technical difficulties with my domain name swap. Thankfully, everything is fixed and you can now find me at brittneywestover.com. Pretty cool, eh?
Speaking of things I'm thankful for, I realize I sure do have a lot of blessings to count! I'm especially thankful for my family and friends, my bandmates, and my wonderful boyfriend, Mike Escamillo, all of whom have been incredibly supportive throughout my musical career.
I feel incredibly inspired today, thanks to Mike. Last night we recorded vocals on one of my original tracks that we've been working on for awhile. It feels good to have an engineer and co-producer who believes in my talent and is able to bounce his creative ideas off of mine. I think we're very good team, and I'm ever-so-thankful for this union. I will post a link to the song once we finish it. We still have a little more tracking to do, and mixing and mastering, of course, but I'm super excited about it! I know it'll turn out great. :)
Mike also helped me upload a video he took of my last performance at Roman Holiday, which you can watch here: Don't Doubt/Brittney Westover at Roman Holiday
That same night at Roman Holiday, just one week ago, the Richie West Band had their debut West Coast performance. I can't tell you how thankful I am to the boys for coming out and playing (Adam Kurtz, Kevin Milner, John Ennis, Mike Escamillo) and Nick Weidner for filming. Thank you also to everyone who attended that show, especially my mom, Barbara Westover-Raach, my brother and sister-in-law, Dustin and Gaby Westover, and Mike's mom and sister, Kim McWilliams-Escamillo and Jennifer Escamillo. While Nick is going through his reels and editing together the best moments of the evening, let's watch a little sneak preview of a song that Jennifer Escamillo filmed during the performance (thanks, Jen!)
Time for Daddy's Stone to Roll/The Richie West Band at Roman Holiday
It looks like The Richie West Band is getting our rhythm section back! We'd like to welcome back Charlie Woodburn, who just came back from touring with Drunk on Crutches. No, I don't think he was drumming while drunk and on crutches, he just played with a band called Drunk on Crutches. And I'd also like to welcome Keith Karman of the Belle Brigade, who will be sitting in on bass at our next rehearsal! I can't wait. :)
The Damselles will be filming the 3rd leg of our newest music video for our upcoming single, "Man Like You" this Friday. I'm curious to see how those gold hotpants are gonna fit me the day after Thanksgiving. Be sure to check out my youtube page for more fun, newly-posted Damselles videos.
He's Got the Power/Damselles & TC's warming up outside the Echo
I would like to end this blog by posting a few pics of some of the people and things I am most thankful for. I hope each and every one of you have a super fabulous and delicious Turkey Day filled with blessings too numerous to count. I know I will. :)
Love & Grace,
Brittney
Is this thing on??
Hello out there! I'm Brittney and this is my first time here. I'm new to this whole, blogging thing. In fact, this is the first time I've had a real website of my own, aside from social networking sites and my YouTube page. But I think it's about Dam time. I've been working my tail off playing music in various projects for years now, and I just had a recent epiphany. You see, it occurred to me that although I've been working hard at promoting my projects on my personal Facebook page, a better way to connect with friends and fans on a more personal level would be to start a blog! I mean, duh, right? Why didn't I figure this out years ago? I read and enjoy my friends' blogs. One of my bands even has a blogspot of its own, but since I didn't take part in the creation of it, I didn't realize how easy it is to create one! I thought you had to be web-design savvy and know lots of different types of code in order to create a web page, but I guess that's kind of a nineties thing. Code is SO passé. These days, ANYONE can create a website! Well, that's good for me, because I've got all kinds of fun things to blog about now! For starters, you can check out the pages listed on the right. If you want any more info on any of my projects, feel free to ask!
I have a show coming up this Wednesday, November 16th (tomorrow night!) at Roman Holiday Wine Lounge in Valencia, CA. It's gonna be awesome.
In the first set, I will be trading off songs and collaborating with my gorgeous and tremendously talented boyfriend, Mike Escamillo. We will be playing a hodgepodge of covers and originals, solos and duets. I will be kicking off the evening with a tribute song to my favorite singer, the late Jeff Buckley, whose 45th birthday would have been on November 17th of this year.
The second set is the Richie West Band's West Coast Debut! Featuring the singing talents of actor/comedian John Ennis (Mr. Show, the Warm-Up Guy, The Thrilling Adventure Hour), the rock-your-sox-off guitar talents of Adam Kurtz (the Damselles & the TC4), the choir of angels will be produced by Kevin Milner's pedal steel, the twinkling stars on a clear night on the prairie will be provided by Mike Escamillo's piano, and I'll just be there to round out some sweet vocal harmonies and add a little rhythm on my jingle-jangle tambourine. The first set starts at 8pm and the second starts at 9. We are so excited to finally get to perform in our home state of California. I know the announcement for this show came out a little late, and Santa Clarita might be too far for most of you Angelenos and out-of-towners, so if you can't make it to this one, I'll be sure to keep you posted as to when and where our next show will be, and I promise to give you more notice next time! Also, we are blessed to have the creative film-making genius of Mr. Nick Weidner on board for this show, so perhaps he will be kind enough to edit together a video of some of the show's best moments for your future viewing pleasure.
My 60s girl group, the Damselles & the TC4, have a couple upcoming shows, as well. We have a show December 1st at Harvard and Stone in Los Feliz, and we will be playing two sets at Roman Holiday Wine Lounge in Valencia on December 14th. The Damselles have decided to limit our public engagements this holiday season because we are getting ready to go back into the studio beginning in December, to start recording a whole new batch of groovetastic hits! So be sure to catch one of our last shows of 2011!
Well, that's all for now. I got so carried away in the writing of this blog that I am missing my Zumba class at LA Fitness right now. Sad face for Brittney. :( I guess I'll have to watch some trashy daytime tv on the elliptical machine instead today. And then, after a proper shower, it's back to the lab to practice my solo songs. The Richie West Band will be meeting up for a refreshing libation at the Red Lion in Silverlake tonight at 9, and then walking next door to the Hit Joint at 10 to practice our set for tomorrow night. If you're in the area, feel free to poke your head in for a listen!
Thanks for reading my very first blog. If you have any tips, pointers, suggestions, information, etc for me, please feel free to email me at brittneywestover@gmail.com. Or leave a comment. I appreciate all constructive feedback. Have a fantastic mid-November day!
Love & Grace,
Brittney
