Amanda West

"West delivers deeply-introspective acoustic folk rock with lyrics that have that direct-from-the-diary quality, and gossamer vocals that effortlessly float and shimmer." - A. Martinez, Music Editor, Santa Cruz Good Times Weekly
"Evocative...flowing prose and intricate melodies..."
- G. Wheeler, Metro Santa Cruz
NEWS:
Amanda's premier solo studio album, "The Way to the Water", is on its way to the printing presses! Featuring 11 original songs, this baby has consumed almost a year of time and attention, and it has all been wonderful. Check back soon to find out how to get your very own copy, or visit the website: www.amandawestmusic.com
Also, Amanda is always on the lookout for new musicians to share shows or ideas with, so if you like what you hear, please say hello :-)
ABOUT:
Born and raised in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, Amanda had the best of both worlds growing up – the small town community of Albany, surrounded by the big city life of Berkeley and San Francisco. She was singing before she spoke, and began learning guitar around age 11. She does not come from a particularly musical family, though she listened to plenty of her parents' old folks records as a child, and treasures memories of singing around the fire on family camping trips. She was also greatly inspired by the women singer-songwriters of Lilith Fair in the late '90s.
In high school, and then college, Amanda had a band for several years, Walpurgis Night, which dispersed after their self-organized, 10-day tour into Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. They released one self-titled EP in 2003, composed of five of Amanda's original songs.
Since graduating from the University of California with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology, Amanda has traveled the world (though still maintains a long list of places to go), and enjoyed trying on different identities including waitress, baker, truck driver, farmer's market vendor, preschool teacher, office assistant, researcher, anthropologist, writer, and of course, musician.
For the most recent part of her musical career, Amanda decided to go solo, choosing the second name West, for its associations with California, water, sunsets, a time of reflection, and beauty. Amanda West has now been networking with other singer-songwriters, and performing regularly in and around Santa Cruz and the greater San Francisco Bay Area.
Beginning last January she started work on her first solo studio album, "The Way to the Water", which is due for release January 2008! Adorned by the talents of Anton Patzner (of Bright Eyes) on violin, Celtic musician, David Brewer, and sound engineer, Pete Coates, this debut album is not to missed. You are invited to the CD release show, Friday February 15th, 2008 at the Cayuga Vault, in Santa Cruz, California. Looking forward to meeting you! (or seeing you again)...
in peace, love, and music,
~ Amanda