Mike West
It's Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The unsuspecting tourists stumble into a bar on Decatur Street where a skinny man picks a banjo and everybody, including the bartender, is dancing. A woman wearing thimbles on her fingers bangs on a washboard, while the bass player finishes his beer without missing a note.
The Mike West Band plays hillbilly music, New Orleans hillbilly music. With mandolin, acoustic guitar, banjo and spoons, they recreate an old-time sound and give it new life. West tells stories with a mischievous smile, drawing the listener into a world of riverboats, gamblers, thieves and yardsales.
Most of his songs chronicle life in the ninthward of New Orleans, the neighborhood where he lives, a stone's throw from the Mississippi and a short walk from Fats Domino's house. In a few words, he describes well rounded characters in all-too-believable situations. "A lot of my lyrics come from stories told to me by my neighbors," he says, "I couldn't make this stuff up."
"Although (the songs) sound as if they came from long ago, their up-to-the-minute insights reveal their modernity." - No Depression
An Australian who was raised in England, West made his start in music fronting British cult band, "The Man From Delmonte." After a decade of touring in the U.K.,he moved to Louisiana and traded his electric guitar for a banjo. He has never looked back. Voted Best Country/Folk Artist by Off Beat Magazine for three years running, many consider West to be one of Louisiana's finest writers and instrumentalists. He picks anything with strings. "I made an instrument out of a popcorn popper, one time," he boasts, "It sounded pretty good, for a kitchen utensil." West has recorded with a number of national and international artists, including Shawn Mulins ("Soul's Core" Columbia Records).
"West's Delta guitar, banjo and lyrics rattle and shake with an unmistakable energy that's simply outrageously good music, under any flag." - Crossroads
In six years, he has released eight CDs of his own material on the Baton Rouge label, Binky Records. Backed by the extraordinary talent of Myshkin, who sings harmony while playing mandolin, washboard and anything she can lay her hands on, West tours throughout America, Europe and Australia. Playing close to three hundred shows and driving 50,000 miles every year, he may be the hardest working man in folk music.
For more about Mike West, visit his website at www,mikewest.net.
Grizzly - Grizzly
Price: $15
A collaboration between Kirk Rundstrum (Split Lip Rayfield), Gina Black (The Blacks) and Mike West (Mike West Band)
Tracks: 1. Tug Boat Captain 2. California Sister 3. The Quarter 4. Truth and Lies 5. The Man Who Could Fall Backwards 6. Rodeo 7. Jose's Song 8. I55 South 9. Feet On The Road 10. Mississippi County Farm 11. John Brown 12. Cotton 13. Swashed 14. Abeline 15. Carpenter 16. Everything But The Smile
The Man Who Could Fall Backwards
Price: $15
Tracks: 1. Come On In 2. Carpenter 3. A Little Country 4. Alligators 5. Swashed 6. Song Bird 7. Tug Boat 8. Mississippi County Farm 9. Pretty Horses 10. Talk Radio 11. I55 South 12. Fog on the River 13. Ol' Blue's Rooster 14. Darlin' Drops the Bomb 15. Almost 16. O Fire 17. Red Guitar 18. Shadow O The Pines 19. The Man Who Could Fall Backwards
New South
Price: $15
Tracks: 1. Dixie 2. Muleskinner 3. Dogs & Ticks 4. The Piano Lesson 5. Mrs. Ernst's Piano 6. Hogs 7. New South 8. Clothes Dryer 9. Loose Ends 10. Refrigerator 11. Benny 12. Whiskey On My Breath 13. Disappearing Act 14. The Blue & The Gray 15. Crown of Thorns 16. Love's Wake 17. Move Along 18. If You Only Knew
Oddities and Rarities
Price: $20
Volume 1 Tracks: 1. Hairdresser 2. Solar Powered 3. Bus Driver 4. Johnny Cash 5. Sharp & Shiny 6. Smartass 7. American Girl 8. American Jeans 9. Manifest Destiny 10. Everyman a King 11. Everything I Know 12. In The Morning 13. Wild Card 14. Strange Places 15. Librium 16. Tongue Tied 17. LouisianaRadio.com (interview)
Volume II Tracks: 1. Bareback Rider 2. Casino Song 3. Fix Your Car 4. Southern Pawn & Gun 5. Mercy Me 6. If I Had A Car 7. Born To Drive 8. Betsy 9. Bluegrass Blues 10. Chocolate & Potato Chips 11. Darlin' 12. Susquehanna 13. Squirrel Song 14. Father's Father 15. Out Of State Plates 16. Killian's Red 17. New Mexico
Home
Price: $10
Tracks: 1. Americans 2. Elise 3. Hillbilly Heaven 4. Corps of Engineers 5. Stillwater Firefighter 6. God is Down in Oklahoma 7. You're Gonna Burn 8. Squirrels 9. The Strap 10. Don't Wake the Children 11. New Jersey 12. No Worries 13. House Full of Flowers 14. In Mississippi 16 Easy Songs For Drill and Banjo
16 Easy Songs For Drill and Banjo
Price: $10
Tracks: 1. Intro by Coco Robicheaux 2. Yard Sale 3. Travelin' Salesman 4. Audrey's Wake 5. Lottery 6. Thief 7. Melissa 8. Joanne 9. Snow in New Orleans 10. After the Flood 11. Charango 12. Little Yella Dog 13. Curtains 14. Bartender Song 15. In My House 16. Save Your Seeds 17. What Would You Do
Race That Train
Price: $10
Tracks: 1. Turkish Fiddle 2. If I Had A Car 3. Father's Son 4. Just Enough 5. Victoria Hotel 6. My Old Man 7. Cool 8. Neighborhood 9. Mrs. Quinn 10. Betsy 11. Pearl River Bridge 12. Natchez Calliope 13. Fast Car 14. Race That Train 15. Wrong
Econoline
Price: $10
Tracks: 1. Jimmy Rodgers 2. Wyoming 3. Dog Song 4. Ariel Angelo 5. Pontchartrain Beach 6. Gas Station Coffee 7. Chimayo 8. Mobile 9. Catch Up 10. Anytime Now 11. Dallas 12. Child 13. 351 14. Blue Corn Pancakes 15. Black Rivers 16. Bryan, Texas
Redneck Riviera
Price: $10
Tracks: 1. Hundred Dollar Bill 2. Mardi Gras Song 3. Garden of Eden 4. Higher Ground 5. White Collar Waltz 6. Mercy Me 7. Debutante Ball 8. Rag 9. Redneck Riviera 10. Casino 11. Mausoleum 12. Me O Me 13. Pine Trees 14. Bareback Rider
Interstate 10
Price: $10
Tracks: 1. Levee Song 2. This Town 3. Never Resist 4. Wedding Song 5. Born to Drive 6. Buddy Holly 7. Don't Move Back 8. Dinoaur 9. Barefoot Boy 10. 6th Street, Austin 11. Fishin' 12. Blues on a 'C' Harp 13. Barefeet 14. Not Angry...Tired
For more music by Mike West, please see Truckstop Honeymoon