Exposed Vocals Interviews Fenrir West

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

 

Fenrir West: Most of my life I grew up outside of Rockford, IL in the Loves Park/ Machesney Park area. When I was 17 my father remarried. Him along with my 2 younger brothers and I moved to Lake Villa, IL in Lake county about 30-45 mins outside Chicago, IL. After my Junior year in high school I knew that I didn’t want to stay in the area because there wasn’t anything for me and I was not going to be able to pay for college so I joined the Navy at 17. I graduated high school as soon as I could and a few months later I went in to Basic Training in April-June, 2011. After that I went to a training school and by August,2011 I was sent overseas to Japan until February 2015. During that time I spent alot of time out of the country and ended up going to places like Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Philippines, Guam, Hawaii and still being in Japan. Places that I never thought about ever being able to go to. There was always something going on. I have always been into music. I used to play the drums here and there when I was younger but solely as a hobby. As I got older and got more and more into music it slowly turned into a passion and a dream to pursue a career in music. On one of the deployments I was on, I was in Hong Kong back in July 2012 and a really good friend of mine died. He fell off the top of the carrier I was on and landed head first in a garbage barge that was coming toward the ship. He ended up dying minutes later. At that time of the event I was on the ship working and was actually really close to where the incident happened. I had no idea that it was him at the time. a couple hours after he died I was called to help remove stuff out of the big refrigerators like milk, eggs and other stuff so his body could be stored until a later date. 6 days after the incident I found out that it really was my friend and i started spiraling emotionally. I became depressed and could never sleep or eat because I felt that I could have had a chance to possibly prevent him from being where he was at the time that would ultimately end his life. The one thing that helped me was writing. everything that I tried was not helping me and I was getting worse before getting better. that is when I first starting songwriting. My thought process before that was not to become an artist. But once I started writing I never saw anything else other than becoming an artist. After I finished my contract in April 2015 I decided to come back to Japan. About a year after the my friends death I started dating a girl who was living in Japan and who was from Peru. Just over a year after I started talking to her we got married and then a few months later she was pregnant and we decided being in Japan was the best option. My family has been my biggest motivation. I need to prove to my son that if you want something you need to be willing to go after it no matter the cost or chances of faliure.

 

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

 

Fenrir West: Fenrir was from a nickname generator from facebook. I did some research on Fenrir and I liked the story behind the name and decided to stick with it. West, was a name that a few of my buddies used to call me. Also, being in japan the states is called the “Western World” so i also used it to remind myself where Im from. Originally I was debating on which one I wanted to do. Either Fenrir or West. Eventually I just decided to combine the 2 to make it more unique.

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

 

Fenrir West: Music sharing is a great way to get your name out there in social media. What is the point of trying to sell all your music if you don’t have any fans or followers. You’ll never sell enough to make it big. I posted a few songs for free on soundcloud.

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?

Fenrir West: If you don’t know what you need to do, do as much research as humanly possible on whatever you are currently trying to accomplish. Once you get some useful information, immediately start to apply it. You learn, you do. You learn, you do. Until you reach your desired result. Whatever it may be.

 

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

 

Fenrir West: I get my inspiration from everyday life. Things I’m struggling with, things i want to achieve and all the good and bad that life has to offer.

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

 

Fenrir West: the webpage that I have right now is https://fenrirwest.bandcamp.com/releases. I also use Soundcloud and ReverbNation (where I am currently ranked #5 in the Tokyo, Japan area)

https://soundcloud.com/fenrir_west

https://www.reverbnation.com/control_room/artist/5397901/dashboard

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

 

Fenrir West: Pay off all bills, take the family on vacation for a short time and build a studio and work on as much music as possible. Whatever was left would i would save and invest so that I would never have to be broke and could continue to do it permanently

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

 

Fenrir West: Right now I’m just researching marketing and figuring out new ways to improve. Everything that I find from watching videos, reading from top promoters to seeing what the A-list artists are doing and try to come up with something that works best for me. Right now I am ranked #5 in Tokyo,Japan on ReverbNation. So I think that what I am trying to do is working for me. But we will see what happens in the future.

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

 

Fenrir West: I am working on an album right now. Not alot of info at the moment. But the title of the album I want at the moment is going to be called M.A.S.

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

 

Fenrir West: I would be in a little house with the family living in Japan and

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

 

Fenrir West: I am still trying to figure it out now. It is always something that is going to be an adjustment. But the more you learn, the more you do. Itll all work out the way it is supposed to.

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

Fenrir West: I am really trying to set up a mini tour or something that I can do to really connect with the fans! If they don’t support me then I won’t be able to pursue my career. So now I just want to try and show as much love as I can.