Bound To Please
An Exclusive Interview
with Corinne West

CW: Well I made it on, I don't know, a shoe string and a prayer. It was done in Oakland California in a place called Eternal Groove Studios.

PZ: Is the band on that album your steady band?

CW: Well what I did was pull in players for the album. So James Nash is all over the record with mandolin and guitar. Joe Kyle Junior on bass and Nena Gerber on acoustic. And a few others that are in the mix. The thing that I did was just find the players and added them as the project went along. Kind of like a collage.

PZ: Do you have other albums?

CW: Nope. This is the first one out the gate.

PZ: Beautiful. Really good job. Are all the songs your original lyrics?

CW: Most of them. There's one song on there that is a very old traditional called Railroad Boy and I kind of retooled that a little bit and put it back out. There's 2 other songs that are written by artists that I know. One of them I don't think has recorded it and those two I fell in love with. I asked Joe Tomeselli if I could record them and he said "that's fantastic". There's basically some unpublished songs and traditionals and the rest are mine.

PZ: Sounds really good. So with that acoustic sound you have, what are some of your influences?

CW: It's kind of like a big splattering all over the board. My earliest memories listening to music was actually listening to musicals. Really early on being crazy to the sound track for Wizard of Oz. I had it on a cassette tape when I was really little. But then some of the records that my parents had that I really loved were The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, Satanic Majesties Request album (laughes), Fleetwood Mac.

But when I hit my teenage years I started listening to the Grateful Dead and kind of went from there!

PZ: Nice! Speaking of the Grateful Dead, as you know this is a Phil Lesh phan site, are you excited for your upcoming performance opening for Phil Lesh and Friends at the SEVA Wavy Gravy Birthday gig?

CW: I am totally stoked. I think the whole night is going to be really fun and I am honored to due the show. I am also honored to be able to be a voice in Wavy's birthday. And to do absolutely anything that ever contributes to SEVA because it is just one of the best foundations on the planet!

PZ: Tell us about the band you will have at that show?

CW: Well, I'm keeping it simple 'cause I am on the front end of the show. I am playing with a stand up bass player, Joshua Zucker, and Barry Sless, who plays with Phil that night, will be playing with me as well so it is just going to be a 3 piece.

PZ: Wow that's going to be fantastic with Barry sitting in; with his pedal steal he is pretty incredible!

CW: Yeah, he is outstanding. We did a show at the Sweetwater not too long ago and this will be our 2^nd time out.

PZ: Sounds like you have a relationship with Wavy Gravy too. Were you just on tour doing some co-shows with him?

CW: We were out in North Carolina at a run of shows, half way through I met up with Wavy Gravy and he had an art opening. So what we did, wait a minute, let me think about this in a linear way (laughs), it gets pretty circular out there!

He has his collages all displayed out in a gallery. He was signing posters and relix of the past and telling stories, a lot of people came in for his opening, it was fantastic! We did a run of radio shows together, and in the nights we did a duel billing where Wavy would do spoken word and his poetry and just basically improvisation. After that I would do a set for about an hour and fifteen minutes. It was BIG fun!

PZ: That's great! Were there other artists on the tour? Or just Wavy Gravy and yourself?

CW: No, just us two. I had a couple of accompanists out there, but besides that, we were the bill.

PZ: That's awesome are you going to be doing any of that at the upcoming show this Sunday? Are you performing with Wavy Gravy?

CW: No, on tour we performed on the same nights but did separate acts. We weren't performing together. But there were a couple times where we would cross worlds and do a song together, one of his songs called Basic Human Needs. So we did a little bit of that but for most part just played ping pong with the stage.

PZ: Cool! Now that you're back what other projects are you working on? What's coming up for you?

CW: Well, I am back for about 6 days and then the day after SEVA I leave for a North West tour that takes me up into to Canada and then I'll be gone for just over 3 weeks for that. Let's see, I am working on 2 records right now. I am producing a Celtic album that's just going to be ballads, very simple. Then I am also doing my follow up record for Bound to the Living with Mike Marshall. He is producing that. We are in pre-production for that and we start recording in August. I am super-excited about that because he is just a screaming talent! Basically just a lot of time on the road and in the studio!

PZ: Fantastic! Best of luck to you! Tell Wavy Gravy we said Happy Birthday!

Don't miss Corinne and her Posse:

Sun, May. 15
7:00 pm Berkeley CA
Berkeley Community Theater
SEVA Benefit! - Wavy's 69th birthday!
With Phil Lesh & Friends and more.

Learn more about Corinne West at www.corinnesmusic.com

© 2005 Philzone.com, 2012 Productions
Interview conducted by Robert Lucente May 10th, 2005.
All photos © Corinne West. All rights reserved.
This interview and photos included may not be reprinted anywhere in any form, online or offline, without the express written consent of Philzone.com. However, we certainly encourage you to link here.