Exposed Vocals Interviews Vernon West

Formerly of the Boston based rock band, “Sass” which included myself and my brother, Dana West, had some great years in music, playing Europe as well as across the US with our original brand of rock music. When the Millennium hit, I took time off from full-time music to focus on being a father and husband. I had seen what traveling musicians’ families were like and I made a conscious choice to put family first.

About the time my kids were graduating, I was diagnosed with cancer, and after a couple of years battling the dread disease, I was blessed with a complete healing but something had shifted in me. My life took a big bounce back into music with a passion. Soon after the healing process was over, my son and daughters, with their passion for music and writing, helped ignite a new flame in my soul and a new and improved passion for writing & performing music re-inhabited my being and became an undeniable force. The only difference was that this time, it was intensely personal and the songs had to fill deeper soulful needs. I no longer even cared what people thought, as long as what we were doing we felt in our souls to be the Truth. It became, “Go Real or Go Home”. The filters were gone. It wasn’t about being a rock star or the limelight anymore–it was about real things that mattered and what better way to handle this than with my family at my side!

Jackie West, vocals/guitars/percussion, graduated college and the first thing she did was perform a set at Ryle’s a local Jazz Club and blew me away with her rendition of “God Bless the Child”. Since then, she’s worked in art, putting on a few gallery installations in Boston & NY; joined a Bulgarian Women’s Choir in NYC and kept performing music, as well. Jackie had moved to New York and was traveling between Paris and NYC working in the art community, but her inspiration and love of music drew her like a moth to the flame to come to Boston and help write and perform on songs like “One True Heart” as well as every other song in the current repertoire, including “It’s Raining”.

Vernon West III, vocals/guitars/drums, graduated college a year later, and as soon as he got home from school, we collaborated and recorded, “Can’t Stop Dreaming” as the first crop of songs began to take shape. Vernon also continued writing songs for his solo project which can be heard on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/vernonwestmusic We also perform Vernon’s songs in our live show. He is committed to writing and performing and has many projects, besides his own, that he is involved in. We are always working on new collaborations together and his drumming, guitars and vocals are all over our YouTube videos.

I think a fan described the VW Bus Band most accurately when she said, “it’s like the Partridge Family with edge” as each show is full of cool and often comical interactions between us, which lighten the atmosphere. When we play, we’re very focused and have a “take no prisoners” approach to performing, making sure that every person in the venue is involved.

We have one more video to put out (slated for release next month), then the first actual CD of songs should be done right after and released. In the meantime, we performed “live” in the studio and recorded videos of all the songs that will be featured on the upcoming CD release.

We are very grateful for the lovely response our YouTube videos have gotten and can’t wait to release the studio CD of these songs this spring!

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

Vernon West: I grew up in Beachmont, a blue collar section of Revere, Massachusetts, just outside Boston. My family were musicians. They all played jazz and when Louie Armstrong would come on the TV playing “Saints Go Marching In” they would all shout, “It’s the Doctor!” So for at least a few years, I wanted to be a doctor. I started playing trumpet at age 7. I also had a paper route. One day, I was hired to play “Taps” at a funeral. I was paid $5.00 for five minutes. I earned maybe $4.00 a week delivering papers. I decided that day that “music was for me”! Of course, the money was a SMALL part of that decision, since what really made me decide was seeing how much music affected people in a positive way. I think I still want to be a doctor, just that the medicine I prescribe is music!

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

Vernon West: My initials are “VW” and I drove a VW Bug that I loved. I always wanted a VW Bus. Never got one. I had been thinking of my band as a vehicle for my music, but also for my son and daughter’s music. Plus the VW Bus is a kind of symbol for the sixties, a bohemian lifestyle, with a free spirit to roam across the land, pick up anyone who put out their thumb and just drive. The idea of the VW Bus, from it’s inception, was to involve myself and my family, but also to get other artists “on the bus” to help foster a musical family that would promote and produce great, authentic, American music, but even more, to bring back the feeling of Love and harmony that were the essence of the Summer of Love that to me, the VW Bus is a symbol of. That’s why our logo is a heart with VW in it.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

Vernon West: I know it’s not always conducive to being able to earn a living with your recordings, but it’s a great way to get people to listen. I’ve always felt that it’s not as important to get one song out there and “make it” as it is to get a body of work out there that people will want because they feel the message and want to hear what you have to say. If sharing your music for free can get them to pay attention to the words and message, then if your message has substance, people will want to hear what else you have to say.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Vernon West: The most important thing is to write and play the music that you feel is like sharing your soul. It’s easy to cave to popular opinion and try to write something “like” another song that was a hit, and hope to get others to like you cause of it. But that’s a short lived approach and isn’t very fulfilling or satisfying. When you write something that reflects something deeply personal, when others “get it” it can be very fulfilling, as all art should be. Put your heart first and don’t worry about the flavor of the month. Sing & play it like you have nothing to lose because you don’t. On the more practical side, getting out there and playing live as much as you can is also important. That’s where you find out if what you’re writing is connecting or not. Then, once you have all these ducks in a row, Life will put some opportunities in front of you. Say yes to every opportunity. Participate, collaborate, and be generous to other musicians. You never know who you are talking to now, and where they may be in a year or two. Connecting and circulating is how things happen. There will be a lot of “no’s” and a lot of doors slammed in your face, but in this business, it doesn’t always take a thousand eyes…sometimes just two…the RIGHT two.

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

Vernon West: I gather songwriting inspiration from life. I try to write something every day, to create something. I have, at any time, several works in progress going. Sometimes it comes as a snippet of words with a melody. Sometimes it comes as a melody. The trick for me is to be constantly vigilant. That’s why it’s not unusual for me to run into my studio at 3 in the morning, after waking up with an idea. As far as I can tell, I have to be as much of a transparency as possible (no ego),and then the ideas flow through me from somewhere else. My job, seems to be to be as fearless and courageous as possible, since sometimes the ideas that flow are very personal and I am afraid what people will think. That’s when I know I should keep working on it!

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

Vernon West: We have only existed for 10 months, but yes, we have a band website: www.vwbusband.com I also share my music through YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMqZhQ7ovAHQk8QSYawklBg, CD Baby:http://www.cdbaby.com/Search/dncgYnVzIGJhbmQ%3d/0, iTunes, SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/vernon-west-2, Spotify an all the other streaming services that CD Baby offers.

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

Vernon West: I would complete our first Album/CD, put it out on vinyl and CD, and plan tour of South Africa (we have been getting over 100 likes a week from South Africa). I think a tour like that would get us very tight and sharp, and tune up our live show to the point that when we came back to the US, we’d be even better. I also love these people in South Africa. They’ve left some comments on our FB page that have really moved me and made me realize, more than ever, that music can really heal, help and give people hope.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

Vernon West: At the moment, it’s putting out YouTube videos, recording for the first CD/Album, and releasing things on Facebook and Twitter to drive people to the YouTube channel to get a taste (hopefully to return for more!) All that, and playing live, are the best ways I know. Of course, I’d love some wider exposure on any platform that will have us!!

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

Vernon West: Finishing up our first CD/Album and putting out the last video for that album is what’s on the docket. I am excited for the next video and song we are releasing. It’s called, “We Are the Lonely” and I am super psyched to release it as soon as it’s ready!

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

Vernon West: I am an artist. I paint, play music, and write. I would probably concentrate on my writing. I have a couple of books I’ve written, including one that is all about music and how I see it as a bridge to another, higher dimension.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

Vernon West: That’s a great question. My first impulse is to say, “with great difficulty” but the truth is I just live and breathe it. If I work a non-musical gig, I am thinking of music and connecting to people for inspiration to go home and write music. I feel like it’s a good thing to be in touch with the non-musician world, because that’s who music is really for. My uncle, a great jazz drummer/vibraphonist, Ernie West, used to tell me, “don’t play your music for other musicians…they are the ones who stand way in the back of the club, don’t dance, don’t get into your music, they usually just criticize it. Play your music for regular people cause we musicians? We are just squares, baby!”

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

Vernon West: The release of our first VW Bus Band Album/CD and live shows. Also, the release of our song, “We Are the Lonely”. I also am talking to someone who has expressed interest in using one of our songs in an “A” movie. That could be life-changing, but I’ve also learned to take these opportunities with the attitude that there is no “silver bullet” for a musical project. They all add up. Who knows? This interview might be read by someone who goes to hear my songs, and guess what? They were the “right” two eyes!!

Stay connected to what’s moving.