Lights, Camera, Action

My album is done...there is one more song however that wont be done in time so will be released as a single...its called Lights, Camera, Action. I am getting pretty SASSY in this song so get ready for it HAHA! Thanks to Modern Groove Assembly for co-producing this for me. Lady Lyric wrote this song and told me to be sassy lol!! We will see how that goes.!

As for the rest of the album, you can get it NOW at www.nikwestbass.com

Look for it on itunes END OF FEBRUARY!

For now, check out "Just In the Nik Of Time" below!

xoxo!

New Places

So top of the year I will be going to Germany and the UK....I am interested in knowing what are the best places to visit...musically as well as 'regularly'...if that makes any kind of sense. I will be overseas for approximately a month so I will have lots of time to kill. I will be performing with the beautiful Malina Moye and many others. So just wanted to blog really quick since I haven't blogged in awhile. If you know of any places, send me a message or post it...I would love to read it! xoxo!

Breaking OLD Habits

So I hear it takes 21 days to break a habit and 21 days to start a habit? Hummm...., well. I went to a conference last weekend that I happened to be playing bass for, and I learned a PLETHORA of things to take to heart. I have some habits that I really would like to break. For example, I am on my computer waaaaaaay too much and everytime I tell myself I won't get on for 2 days, it never lasts more than an hour before I am back on there browsing. Alot of times doing nothing that is particularly constructive. NO FACEBOOK for me. Most of my stressful situations have stemmed from ....you guessed it, facebook.

Anyhow, so there are plenty more habits I would like to break in these 21 days and I am determined to see how far I get. I will be getting online to blog and to check email, but socializing in the social network trap keeps my brain on lockdown. So I will focus on other things instead. SO, while I was at this conference, I received a triple thick, fat, rubberband to put around my wrist to remind me of the day I vowed to break old habits. Some of the habits I would like to break are

1. Spending too much time in social networks

2. Not expanding my musical knowledge

3. Not praying everyday

4. Not getting enough sleep

5. Not exercising

6. Caring about "mean people" that show no interest in caring about me

7. Thinking up practical jokes for my friends. (their feelings get hurt...awwww)

Let's see what happens. Sept 24th was day one. Today is day 4. I have done all so far!

The truth about dating a male bass player..

IM WITH THE BASS PLAYER (SO?)

I went to check out a fellow bassist Harald Weinkum and this was some advice he wanted to give to females that think I might be cool to date a male musician, specifically, a bass player. What do you think about this one?

The Undisputedly Perfect Idiot’s Guide to Dating a (male) bass player

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are for educational purposes only and by no means reflect those of its author, editor or publisher, and are not to be used in any past, pending or future divorce proceedings against any of the aforementioned.

Preface

The most common titles of today’s guide books addressing the various challenges of our daily lives range from non-offensive ones ("Gardening made easy") to time-related ones ("HTML in 24 hours", "Repainting your car in a weekend") to merely insulting ones ("Origami for Dummies", "The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Seducing").

The reason we chose our particular title lies in the very nature of your enterprise: if, indeed, you are currently dating a male bass player (or even consider doing so), you MUST be an undisputedly perfect idiot!!

Read on for a logical, deductive-reasoning approach of why you’re already doomed, or live on for a real-life proof thereof.

Chapter One: “To date or not to date”

The most important piece of advice, carefully boiled down to an easy-to-follow rule of thumb: DON’T!!!

Chapter Two: "Get out while you still can!"

If you already made the mistake of letting him move in with you, share your car or introduced him to your parents, here are 3 excuses of various degrees of credibility, that will end your tragic relationship right there:

* a) "My E-N-T doctor tested my hearing, and my curve drops to minus 28 dB below 200 Hz. Therefore I will never be able to fully appreciate your artistic accomplishments and don’t want to stand in your way of receiving the validation you deserve." (The artistic approach. Works best for jazz and fusion bassists)

* b) "I am allergic to both nickel and stainless steel, threfore I cannot have any physical contact with persons playing stringed instruments. You are welcome to stay if you can commit to leading an asexual lifestyle from now on and appreciate each other solely based on our inner beauty, spiritual awareness and verbal communication." (The sexual approach: works like a charm for players of all rock-based styles)

* c) "Honey, did you ever think about picking up a real guitar? No offense, but bass seems to be a pretty lame instrument. Also, I tried to pick up what you actually play, but I only can make out the lead guitar and the drums. And when you play by yourself, there’s no melody to it…" (The pride approach: this should get him off your back for good!)

Chapter 3: For those already committed to a L-T-R with a bassist

Here’s a few tips to minimize the damage and help you manage your everyday life:

* Don’t wake him up when you wake up. He might have had a long night of jamming, rehearsing, drug trafficking, or - darn it! - even gigging, and he needs a good 10 hours of sleep to regain his creativity.

If you need some interaction before you leave for your day job (hey, someone’s gotta pay the rent), write him a sticky note and put it on the thermos of coffee you brewed for him, or put it next to the allowance you granted him for his various daily expenses, such as: strings, picks, CDs, more picks, corona, guitar center credit card payments, lockout rent, high-speed net access, an occasional tattoo and maybe a just a few more picks.

* Don’t yell "Honey, I’m home!" upon your return. You might interfere with the momentary surge of creativity he has been waiting for all this time, and destroy an otherwise surefire Billboard chart-topping Rock Classic literally in its tracks. In fact, don’t say anything. Whenever he’s ready to talk to you, he will make himself known to you. Maybe.

* Don’t ask him how he spent his day. Being an artist, he cannot be expected to engage in such sucker-activities as acquiring monetary compensation for providing goods or services, so don’t ever pressure him to do so. Whenever he wants to tell you about his day, he will make himself known to you. Maybe.

* Don’t ask him about his plans for the evening. He might still be waiting for his band-members to get back to him about a pending rehearsal or a possible jam. If he ever wants to spend a particular evening with you, he will make himself known to you. Maybe.

* Don’t stay up waiting for him, and, under no circumstances, ask him where he’s been and who he hung out with. Being a grown up man, he does not need anyone telling him what to do and when to do it. If he should ever feel the urge to tell you about his evening, he will make himself known to you. Maybe.

* Come the weekend, don’t think that just because you’re off work, he should all of a sudden drop everything and spend time with you. Creativity knows no weekend, and traditionally Fridays and Saturdays are important nights to be seen in certain hotspots. If he ever wants you to join him in his weekend activities, he will make himself known to you. Maybe.

Chapter 4: Advice for the recovering bass-dater

This should provide you with strategies to stay clean of further low-note trouble:

Chapter 4: Advice for the recovering bass-dater

This should provide you with strategies to stay clean of further low-note trouble:

* Make your next boyfriend a deaf one.

(On second thought, judging from modern commercial radio, there’s gotta be hundreds of deaf or near-deaf bassists out there. You might skip to the next, even safer suggestions).

* Engage in the “SAFER AXE”-program.

Using a standard wire-cutter, look out for any stringed instruments that vibrate slower than 200 times per second and immediately disrupt those elements. If their owner re-strings his instrument and asks for your phone number, get a restraining order ASAP!

* Require an IQ test before the first date.

Since both Sting and Paul McCartney are safely out of the single-market, restricting yourself to more intelligent partners should eliminate most of the remaining bassists. (Actually, there is a loophole consisting of a number of extremely bright jazz bass players, but since jazz and single women have virtually no common denominator, it’s only a theoretical loophole).

* Consider alternative forms of relationships.

Stay away from men in general, or at least limit yourself to one of the following: Catholic priests, Buddhist monks, Bank tellers or VW beetle drivers. All of these groups have proven to be virtually bassist-free for decades now.

* Or, even easier: look for a guy with a monthly paycheck.

Mom

I am so grateful the God gave me MY parents. My mom is a big supporter of what I do. She believes that I can do whatever I want to do. She believes I am the smartest girl she knows, and she believes I can have whatever I want. Another thing about my mom is she will be completely honest with me about what she thinks about me and what she thinks about my friends. I have never really had a lot of friends, really because my sisters and my cousin were my best friends. They were the ones I spent most of my time with. I was never into having boyfriends because they didn't like me much anyway...well until high school. But when I did have a boyfriend, I made sure to introduce them because she was very honest and watched his character. THANK GOD FOR THAT! =)

My mom has told me since I was a teenager, "Girl, I see you driving one of those BMW's with a convertible top" I laughed and said "Yeah, that would be nice huh?" She always believed that I would. Even though she knew that there was no way anyone in my family could afford a new car, much less a BMW. My mom grew up in Toledo, Ohio in the projects. She came straight from the hood and made something of herself. She moved to Arizona when she was 22 and met my dad. (I will tell you about my dad in another blog titled..."MY DAD")

My mom raised 4 children and after all of that, she decided to go back to school and get a college education. I really commend her for this and we helped her study and pass her classes. It is really tough for a 40 something year old to go to school after not learning math for 20 + years. Anyone that tells me that they can't get a college education has to just step out and do it. There have been a few of my peers that don't even have a high school education...now I don't judge people based off of their education, but when you are in your 20s and didn't graduate high school or get at least a GED then there is a problem and we need to fix it. Judging of character comes in when God puts someone in your life to HELP you get your education and find resources for you to do so, and you never take the initiative to get up and do it. If anyone close to me ever needed assistance with school or with the hardest of the hardest math problems, I GOT IT! So there is no excuse to not have a basic education except pure laziness and no drive. Even A D D is not an excuse. Especially if you have a free tutor. My mom took advantage of this and passed her classes. YAY!

She is always trying to help her kids with their dreams. My mom goes to gas stations, grocery stores, church, and anywhere she can and just passes out cards with my name on it promoting me and my music. She is awesome! My mom is one of the greatest chefs I know. Her dream is to start her resturant and have me onstage singing for the entertainment. I am going to help her make her dream come true! Just like she has helped encourage me with mine! If you have those around you that encourage you with your dreams, make sure they know how much you appreciate them by encouraging them with theirs!

Dont Quit

Anytime you feel like giving up on your dream is the best route DONT QUIT

If someone makes you feel like you are not good enough, what do they know? DON'T QUIT

When everything inside of you feels like you are all alone on this journey. DON'T QUIT

If your soulmate leaves you because she/he can't see the vision. DON'T QUIT

When people around you tell you that you can't...remember you CAN. DONT QUIT

If your whole world comes tumbling down. STAND and DON'T QUIT

If you have ever felt like you were going to lose your mind because no one understands you. DONT QUIT

When you have done all you can to help others and they don't lend their hand to you. DONT QUIT

Never put all of your trust in man, only in God and yourself. DON'T QUIT.

Don't fall into the traps of selling out and being what people want you to be and giving all of yourself to others and making them priorities when, in the end, they wouldn't do the same for you and remain ungrateful for what you do. Don't allow ANYONE to get so far into your spirit that you want to give up on everything. Remember that God gives us our gifts and no one ..NO ONE has the power to take it from us by making us give up.

DONT QUIT!

Mi Familia

sisters 2008

I love love love my family! I got to play with them in Seattle....I am so fortunate to have them. My dad taught us the foundation of music and how to play in a band when we were kids. The guitars you hear on my album is of course, my daddy! Check out a clippet of our little jam session...BTW, I have no shoes on...AGAIN! LOL! Enjoy.

FOOD!

I visited Sylvia's soul food resturant in Harlem, NY because she is what "they" call the "Queen of Soul food" known for her "World famous ribs". Hummm, well, I don't know about all of that. In fact, I don't know about any of that. I ordered the catfish, garlic mashed potatoes, and blackeyed peas. My mom ordered their fried chicken, mac and cheese, and collard green. My grandma ordered "THE RIBS", collard greens, and pickled beets (by the way, yuck!). I tasted all of it.

This is what we had to say about that. My food was pretty good, with the exception of my fish not being seasoned nearly enough. Mom's chicken tasted like it had NO SALT on it whatsoever, and the ribs (yeah you wanna pay attention to this one) were not even barbeQUED. They were baked and the "barbeque sauce" tasted like the mini packaged sweet and sour sauce you would get at your closest asian buffet. Oh yeah, with a hint of hot sauce. NOT MY CUP OF TEA! I would have rather tasted ribs that had actually been GRILLED and BARBEQUE sauce. at $18 a pop...I will probably take my money elsewhere. Maybe to Junior's Cheesecake in Manhattan would get more of my money! Great cheesecake! Anyway, enjoy the photos...they look better than they taste. =)

JIMI HENDRIX ROCKS

JIMI HENDRIX ROCKS

I went to Seattle, my former place of residence, and had a blast. Seeing some of my friends brought back some old memories ;) I was able to visit my dad and play onstage with him and my sisters, which is something that I have not been able to do for a couple years. That was so fun!

The first day I performed, it was raining and cold!!! Thank goodness Seattle is used to this type of weather because people were outside in the rain watching all the guest performers do their show. The next day when I performed at the festival, I thought the weather would be the same...so I wore my rainboots. LO and BEHOLD, NO RAIN, all SUNSHINE! So what did I decide to do? Well, since my feet were BURNING UP in those boots, I kicked em off and went on stage barefoot. I think that will be my new fad =) No shoes made me feel so free! (Plus, I didn't look so tall) So if you see me in your town barefoot, you will know what started that.

My Bass Girls

ME AND ESPERANZA SPALDING =)

I contacted my girls Esperanza Spalding and Tal Wilkenfeld and a few others for a "top secret" project that I was called to work on. Now I will admit, this calls for some REALLY FUNKY players, which is fine by me since funk is my middle name....and even though a few of my gal musicians may be known to the jazz, rock, jam band, and other genres, this will be an excellent way to hear different interpretations on this. This is going to be very cool, when it is all put together. So keep your eyes open for this everyone. And if you are not a subscriber to my newsletter, GET ON IT! (in a nice voice lol!) so I can keep you updated on these things. Some of you might say, well, "How do I sign up, Nik?" Well, to the right of this blog insert your email into the box that says, JOIN NIK'S MAILING LIST.......and......GO!

Eyes Closed

So, today, we worked on the album artwork for my single. We had to release it as a single so that we could get some more radio play before the full album drops. I co-wrote a song called "Eyes Closed"..this song came about because someone came and sat in on a rehearsal I was having and I guess I occasionally close my eyes for a GOOD while when I am playing. This person noticed and told me that when I close my eyes I seem to play even better. Humm? Subconsciously I do it!! The only way I can explain the reasoning is because when my eyes are open, I look for the right thing to play or interpret, but when my eyes are closed I depend SOLELY on my ears and feel. The hook to this song says "When my eyes are closed, my fingertips are all I need to show you what I see when my eyes are closed, and nothing feels more naturally, than to lose control, when my eyes are closed."

I just find it interesting and funny that most people think I am talking about something else in this song LOL! But, there you have it. From the horses mouth! (My sisters used to call me a horse when I was younger because I had high calves and could run really fast) LOL!

Anyway, above is the cover artwork for the single, "Eyes Closed"...let me know what you think. Also, don't forget to take a listen to the sample of this song if you haven't already.

What do you do when your eyes are closed? (Besides sleep)

Cheers!

-Nik

(Eyes Closed was Co-Written by D. Scott, and music produced by Travis Williams and Nik West.)

Dream Maker to Dream crusher.

I have had many many many victories in life. Holding the record in Phoenix for multiple track and field events to receiving scholar-athlete scholarships. Modeling around the world on multiple runways to building a successful career in print as Nordstrom's regular jeans model. I was on a plane probably 4 times a week doing this. Made some great money doing that, all while living in Seattle, Washington.

...and I was DOING FINE...until one day someone calls me and says "Hey you should make a career out of playing bass, I watched you a few years ago when you were 17 playing the "BUMP" at church!" then he says, " I had to come closer and let my eyes believe that is was a GIRL PLAYING THAT GOOD!" (he also plays bass exceptionally well, so he knows a groove) He told me to pull my bass out, change my strings, get the right amp, get on it, and get seen. So stupidly, what did I do, I did just that.

Now my sister Nichelle once told me, "FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU WANNA DO, you are so good at so many things that it stops you from MASTERING one thing...." She also told me that if "someone told me that I SCRAPE DIRT well, then I would be scraping dirt"

Now that really made me mad! How could she look at me and talk to me like that? It made me feel like I was a bum in a weird kind of way. So I took some time figuring out what I wanted to do. Then, I moved to Phoenix, my hometown.

ANYWAY, back to my music guy. This guy was there to help me find the resources I needed to find in order to make it where I wanted to make it to. I fell in love with him, because, well, I had always thought he was cute, but then I was attracted to our conversation and to TOP IT OFF, HE WANTED TO HELP ME BUILD MY DREAM! Which is very important to me...and it helps that he already was attracted to me when he met me =)

Long story short, he ended up moving to Phoenix where I was, and from there we started something great! I had already started taking off as a KNOWN bassplayer...I got a few endorsements, played some cool shows, and started singing more with my bass. He said "Let's do an album, I will produce it." I said, well, I am not trying to be a FAMOUS artist or anything, I just want to PLAY bass! He convinced me that I should finish an album, and that he would produce it for me. So here I am making an album. It seemed as if I was doing more singing than I wanted, I WANTED TO JUST PLAY BASS! He told me it has to be more commercial than "musical" if I wanted it to do well.

I got a little upset but I did the singing thing. I always considered myself a BASSIST THAT SINGS not A SINGER THAT PLAYS BASS. But whatever! Later, I did find out that I liked singing a lot more than I thought. So I did it.

As "NIK WEST" created more and more of a buzz, we worked even harder

We worked many months and long days and hours on this album and we put our hard work, money, sweat, tears into it.

As we get close to finishing and I mean one song left to record. I get a phone call from my bassplaying, producing, talented, dream maker of a boyfriend, and he tells me...in these words "I used to know you as Nicole, and now everyone knows you as "NIK WEST" and you are this Nik West, bassplayer, singer, etc, you are beautiful and alot of guys like you and I see your future." Your future is going to be full of doing shows, leaving town, and meeting alot of people, and WHAT I NEED is stability in my life, because I want to get married to you sooner than later (he already has a little boy, that I LOVE!!!) and I want to take care of my son, I want him with me again, and I need you to stay here and be the stable force at home...and I don't think you are ready for that Nicole" At first, you were just a girl that I thought was just enthusiastic about playing your bass and now (even though I helped) you are ......NIK WEST....

Hummmm....now I figure, at 23 years old, there should be no rush right???? WRONG, for him, he wanted what he wanted and couldn't see it any other way, no matter how many times I tried to compromise and say that I can do everything he requires as long as I know that HE would hold down the fort and could support a family. I couldn't get him to see it any other way, but the way he wanted his life to be.

Now I am generally not a crier, I am more of a tomboy and don't let much bother me....but, after all of that conversation, I said, with tears streaming down " YOU DID THIS TO ME, you sold me a dream, pushed me hard to accomplish this thing, and now you (in reality) want me to choose? YOU SOLD ME SOMETHING THAT YOU DIDNT BELIEVE WOULD GET THIS FAR? I really thought that if anyone could understand me, it would be him. BUT it's like he sold me a PIPE DREAM...that I could have a successful career and have him too. Doesn't seem this way...so what do I choose???....I could always just go back to college...I could be a succesful Calculus teacher with no problem. :-)... It just hurts to know that the one person I truly love could be a DREAM MAKER AND A DREAM CRUSHER to me.

So my question to you out there in blogland is....What would you choose?? And why? Share some of you experiences with me!

-Nik

SO?

SO....you walk into a studio to get your album recorded and you find out the man wants to get in your "goodies" which, for me, is definitely not something that is negotiable. What do you do? Well, for me, I move on! If you are talented enough all by yaself, then a man that is about BUSINESS will find you, work with you, and keep it business. I have found that, alot of the businessmen that have really built something great wouldn't want to sacrifice all of their hard work for a .....LAWSUIT! So ladies, keep it BUSINESS with these people and keep the "pleasure" part out of the music world. Unless, of course, your man is your producer LOL! (wink wink)

Malina Moye

So....I talked to Malina Moye today www.malinamoye.com she is an awesome, funky guitar player, that is also a superwoman business woman. I read her story in an article and thought that she went through a great struggle to get where she is. We are working on some projects and collaborations with lots of big names. (can't tell you everything now). So check back every now and then so you can see what happens as it all comes to life! If you haven't heard of Malina, you should check her out. She is among the sweetest people I know. When I make it to the mainstream circuit, I will make sure to continue to help supertalented artists make it where they want to make it to. Just like I have been helped along the way.

My True Life Diary: Album stumbling block.

My True Life Diary: Album stumbling block.: "So just as I get ready to finish my album, there is always some stumbling block to try and stop the process. I thought I was finished just t..."

Album stumbling block.

So just as I get ready to finish my album, there is always some stumbling block to try and stop the process. I thought I was finished just to find out that I have to record one more song, due to a producer disappearing on me, WITH ONE OF THE SONGS!. He will remain nameless. So how do I solve this problem? I use one of the songs that I have written for my second album, only, those songs don't make sense for this album. So I will write another this week, specifically for this album. Any ideas anyone?

Anyway problem solved right? Now, I have to take the time to RECORD the song. Luckily I can knock it all out very quickly in the studio. Hummm...what a day!