Turnstyled Junkpiled Profiles: The Far West

Turnstyled Junkpiled Profiles: The Far West

HOME: Los Angeles, CA

PROFESSION: Movers of Musical Equipment.

HOBBIES: Stargazing, Muckraking, Collecting Lampshades.

LAST ALBUM PURCHASED: Robert: I just got Uncle Tupelo’s Anthology, great to hear those songs again. Lee: JJ Cale Naturally.

LAST ACCOMPLISHMENT: As we write this it’s been a good few months for us; we’ve had some good road shows, we have a record coming out on our new label Medina River Records, we’re already recording songs for our next record, we just finished our music video for the song “The Bright Side” and we’re hitting the road again headed to Texas.

QUOTE: “Back in the van, everyone”

CRAZIEST ROAD MEMORY: The really crazy ones we can’t put in print as much as we’d like to. For years we hit the road to play every club, bar and VFW Hall that would have us – just hitting the road and making new fans one or two at a time any place we could reach in a van. No show too small or too far. We once played Dallas and then drove all night, twenty hours, to play a three hour show at Pappy and Harriett’s in Pioneertown, CA the very next night. We drove in shifts and only stopped for gas. We were dead tired by the end of that but it felt great to prove to ourselves just how much all of this stuff means to us.

FAVORITE BEER: Robert loves Lone Star but it’s not always easy to get outside of Texas. Lee’s current favorite is Anchor Steam’ California Lager, but on the road, budget dictates what’s to drink.  We’ve discovered some beers that are new to us on tour like The Great Divide in Colorado and a beer in New Mexico with a chile in the bottle called Cave Creek – hell yes, to that! We played a private party for a friend last year and he had kegs of Bootleggers, a brewery in Fullerton, CA – they make some beers with rye that are super tasty. Yeah, we love beer!

WHO’S THE ULTIMATE COUNTRY PIMP: Great question, we love it but it’s also a hard one to answer because there are so many performers that we think are contenders for that title. If it weren’t for Waylon we probably wouldn’t have put this band together – at the same time, everyone who knows us also knows how much we’ve been influenced by Townes Van Zandt – if roots music had a poet laureate it would have to be Townes.

FAVORITE AMERICANA SITE: Turnstyled Junkpiled – accept no substitutes!

PROFILE: The Far West have been kicking around Los Angeles and the Western US for some time now. Images of Waylon, John Prine and Wilco come to mind when you are standing at the back of the bar or boot scootin’ on the dance floor. But the songwriting of Lee Briante and Robert Black let’s you know this isn’t the same rodeo with skillfully crafted lyrics, tight musicianship and warm production, their new album Any Day Now (2014) will make a good addition to your collection. Produced by Colin Mclean, who produced the bands 2010 self titled debut, recorded the album between hot rods and hydraulic lifts in a vintage auto shop. You can smell the grease and blood that went into the record. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy today or catch them on tour.

WEBSITE: www.thefarwestband.com, Facebook and Twitter.