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“Kevin West Tells ‘Story Of My Life’ in New EP Kevin West has been making music for a long time. His musical and life journey took him from San Diego to New Jersey to South Carolina and back to California. Now based out of LA, he recorded his first album in 2001 and has been building on his musical education and catalog over since. In 2006, West won the American Songwriter Magazine’s lyric contest writing about what he knows best. Real life. “My songs are about my real life experiences and I think that gives it an honest quality people can relate to.” His newest release, Story Of My Life, is a six song ep due for release June 15, 2019. The opening track, “Best Of Mine,” is a nice rhythmic Americana tune. It’s a catchy song with pleasing harmonies between West and Whitney Hanna. The start of “One Too Many” has a similar feel to “Blue On Black” by Kenny Wayne Shepherd. The song is a tale of excess living a music life. More sad than preachy, there’s some nice guitar and keyboard work. While the story is a familiar one, West has lyrics that keep it interesting. With more of a country feel, “My Only Sunshine” is a light and easy love song. It has a smooth melody that rolls along. The lyrics are light and easy too, merging nicely together. “Sweet Innocence” is a song of reflection. The melody is slower, the feel is wistful. The song speeds up near the end as the story plays out. Well done. The title song takes a bit of a different direction with the addition of a brass section. “Story Of My Life” is a lot more contemporary than Americana, so it stands apart on the album. At times the brass is a little too strong, but overall there’s a nice blend to the song. The last song, “Not for Nothin’” has a bit more funk and attitude. Whether his time spent in Jersey has anything to do with the title is up for debate, but the instrumental oozes a jazz feel with the funk thrown in. Six songs and at least three different styles of music. Good production from Kevin West and Lee Barbour, and an interesting range of  musical forms. Worth a listen or two.   ” - Kath Galasso

“ REVIEW: Kevin West Explores Americana On The New EP ‘Story Of My Life’ Reviews  July 8, 2019  Gary Schwind0  The good thing about Americana is that it is a pretty all-encompassing term. It can range from country and bluegrass to jazz. Story of My Life by Kevin West is an album that embraces a lot of the various facets (including jazz in the last two songs) of Americana. The EP kicks off with “Best of Mine”. This upbeat song is driven by the beat that makes it impossible to remain still. Even if you’re hearing it for the first time, there is something familiar about this song. When you focus and think about it, you realize that the familiarity is in the tone of the guitar, which is pretty similar to Mark Knopfler. West’s vocals occasionally have a similar quality to Dave Matthews. You can hear it particularly in the breathy delivery in “One Too Many”. This song has the familiar theme of a regretful day after a night of drinking. The narrator admits that he woke up in the afternoon after having “one too many and then one more” the previous evening. In the instrumental break, Jonathan Lovett injects some soul into the song with a bright organ part. West’s vocal delivery isn’t the only similarity to Dave Matthews Band, You can also hear it in the jam-band feel toward the end of “Sweet Innocence”. “My Only Sunshine” features some pedal steel and a shuffling beat that would get people moving on a scuffed hardwood dance floor. On top of that, it includes some incisive lyrics. “When I’m right I’m still wrong. She makes that clear. But I still get the last word when I say ‘Yes, dear.’” The overall tone is pretty warm and easygoing. You might call this a honky-tonk tune with a healthy dose of laid-back California mood. While some albums are great for driving or blaring out your windows, this album is the perfect soundtrack for lying in the shade of a tree on a sunny summer day. With only six songs, this EP leaves you wanting more of the clean guitar tones and good stories in the songs. Story of My Life was released on June 15 and is available everywhere now. Order your copy here.      ” - Gary Schwind