BennyEast.Com/Blog The official blog of Kenny West

14Oct/100

New video of old song: “In Deep”

Just a quick post.  If you head over to the video section BennyEast.com/video (also on the kennywestmusic.com page aka the EPK) I put up a live video of me from last week playing at the Gryphon cafe open mic.  The song is "In Deep".  Playing this open mic is a super funtastic (that's fun and fantastic together) time!  I try to go every Monday... Ok so maybe I just started going for the first time like 3 weeks ago.  I missed this past Monday because i was in vegas (SUPER LONG blog post in the works for Vegas/ LA / Birthday... should be posted tomorrow).

I really want to try and go every Monday to this open mic.  I enjoy the Gryphon Cafe a lot and the open mic I believe is one of the best around because most of the people who play all know each other.  It's like a nice little community feel.  I just love that.  It reminds me of the open mic back at the Common Place at IUP where I went to college.  Everyone is really supportive of each performer and I really enjoy that atmosphere.  It also reminds me of the open mic at camp as well.  Accepting of anyone, just get up there and do your stuff no matter what... it's all gravy baby.  This open mic is... instead of a competition, much more of a group gathering.  So I just enjoy it very much and have a lot of fun playing it!

P.S.

If you are considering not watching the video because clicking on the video page is sooooooo far away with those extra 2 clicks to go over to the video page here's the video for your viewing pleasure! I mean who knows, maybe those extra two clicks would have given you carpal tunnel syndrome, but I just saved you from getting it by including the link right here!  No it's ok, no need to thank me... Just enjoy the love.  Errr... Ok so maybe you wouldn't have gotten CTS from 2 extra clicks... but umm... what i'm trying to say is... please watch my video?  🙂  Maaaaaaybe?  Yes? You rock!  Thank you!  Love you lots!

Filed under: Stuffs No Comments
10Oct/100

2 Shows added!

Hey all.  So I'm posting this from beautiful Las Vegas on my birthday weekend.  I don't feel 28.  Hmm I'll post a blog about my travels when I get home.  It's been just amazing and I'm so glad to have some very great friends in my life.  It's just such a beautiful world and there really are so many interesting and different people in it.  I also can't thank everyone enough who wished me happy birthday.  I'm just so lucky to have all these great people surrounding me.  I guess my only birthday wish is that I hope everyone who's having trouble in their life be it finding work, or stressing about school and studying, or with people in their families that aren't in good health, or just basically anything that is drawing trouble on your soul... I wish you the strength to pull through it and just know that everything will be ok no matter what is happening now.  Just keep on doing your thing.  I'm just a regular guy... but if it's worth anything I think your all great and beautiful.

Anyways so I wanted to make a quick post that I've added 2 shows!  For more info head to www.bennyeast.com/shows I also put the information on www.kennywestmusic.com.  So either place will get you the show time/place/address details.

I hope to keep doing music for a long time and hopefully will be able to make positive change in the world and for those around me through my music.  I'm just so excited to be able to play!  Hopefully many more shows to come!

Filed under: Stuffs No Comments
2Oct/100

New Photo #31 “a little bit of light rock”

So i haven't posted a photo in a long time.   I just haven't found anything interesting to take pictures of in a while.  I really used to love going around and taking picture of random things especially in college. I think my biggest dream is to travel the world playing music and then every time we stop at a rest stop or I'm in a new city I take random photos of things and edit them in photoshop and post them up on my site.  Then, in between that while i'm on the tour bus I make little hilarious youtube videos using puppets and stop motion.  And of course I would write songs too.  I just have a thousand creative thoughts in my head and wish I had more time and money to bring them to life!  Of course after all the crazy touring and traveling I want my own little Casa De Kenny to come home to.

Anyways so all my photos are of things because  I'm not very good with taking pictures of people.  I will leave that to those who are much more talented in that area of photography.  I do like to find interesting scenes and interesting objects to photograph.  I think if I wasn't so into music I'd probably want to do photography more seriously.  But I don't really think taking a bunch of random interesting pictures with a cheap point and shoot camera and then editing it in photoshop makes me a photographer.  I just dabble and it's fun and that's it.  But then again, you have to start somewhere right?

Anyways so I actually took this picture on my old iPhone a while back which has like a 3MP camera and it's a cell phone camera so excuse the graininess on it.  There was a pair of broken/duct taped/ old headphones just hanging out in the mens bathroom at work on one of the light fixtures.  I thought it was kinda creative and artistic so I snapped a photo of it on my iPhone.  You can't really see the duct tape in this photo and I wish it came out better.  It's not one of my best.  But I decided that I really need to get back into my whole object photography thing... so here we are!

So here's the iPhone 3G taken and CS4 photoshop edited photo I like to call:

A little bit of light rock

#31

I'm actually thinking about buying a real camera.  I've never actually had a real camera and I figure i've always just taken all my pictures with my crappy old little Digital Elph camera that if I had a REAL one I might be able to take some pretty decent photos.

Anywho lots more creative stuffs on the way...  Stay tuned.  I need more time in my day to be creative!!!  As wonka says:

"So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it."

Filed under: Stuffs No Comments
1Oct/100

www.kennywestmusic.com

[KENNYWESTMUSIC.COM]

I registered www.kennywestmusic.com so that I can use that for PR purposes.  It's a little confusing to give out Bennyeast.com, benny who?  This way when I play open mics, or I hang out with other famous people at parties, or you know just email venues for shows I can give out something that doesn't seem like I have some kind of identity problem (I actually booked a show one time and they put Benny West on the calendar... it made me smile).  So feel free to give that link out to all your friends!  It redirects to my EPK page which is my Electronic Press Kit.  Basically it's just a page that shows the best of the best of all my stuff.  I need to fill it out more.  I'm thinking the next thing I need are some better live videos.  I currently have awesome pictures on there,  my  5 best songs (well that I think are my best songs) and there's a few other random bits on there including my last 5 shows played.  I decided to register kennywestmusic.com with my fine friends over at 1 and 1 because I have two very awesome friends who work there and I always think it's best to take care of your friends first!  So if you need to register a domain name or make a website you should use 1 and 1!

http://www.1and1.com

This is kinda random but I feel like posting this as well:

I found this card today in between some papers in a box and it made me smile.  It was from when I donated some money to the Lupus Foundation by bidding on a hat that Julia Nunes had put up for auction.

From Wikipedia:

In December 2008, Nunes participated in the Vlogbrothers' Project4Awesome.[25] Rather than tell YouTubers to donate time or money to a charity, she offered one of her hand-knit hats on eBay, promising to donate the proceeds of the auction, and her own matching funds, to the Lupus Foundation of America.[26][27] After a bidding war, the hat sold for US$1,250.00, to Kenny West, a musician from Philadelphia, PA.[28] When she realized the amount she'd have to contribute to match this sum, she asked her viewers to help her make the donation, promising US$500.00 of her own money.[29]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Nunes

oh and here's the hat... I never wear it though.  Maybe i'll wear it on a chilly day this upcoming fall!

Filed under: Stuffs No Comments