An interesting take on how to name a band. And mentions of three very different people named James? It can only be our latest Band of the Day…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Jesse Butterworth (Lead Singer): Seattle, Washington, USA
How did you meet?
Matt Woll, the lead guitar player, and I work together. So as we began putting this band together we just started thinking through who we knew in the Seattle area that were really cool people who are also really great players. So we started pulling from all over the place and have guys in the band who are coders, wine makers, construction managers, sound techs, and more. It’s a pretty great group of guys.
How long have you been playing as a band?
A little over a year and a half.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
In America, the east coast is 3 hours ahead of the west coast. So when live broadcasts go out, the east coast feed is the first to go, and then the west coast feed comes later. Since this is the second go around for many of us in the band, we loved the idea that the west coast feed is a second chance to get it right.
What are your influences?
When I was a kid I really loved music, but there were a few albums that really stuck out to me. The early Lenny Kravitz albums Mama Said & Are You Gonna Go My Way, when he was doing full on, old school rock. There are another couple albums that I got really into by Harry Connick, Jr. Not his crooner stuff; in the 90s he put out 2 funk records with the best funk players in New Orleans – She and Star Turtle. Ever since then, I’ve always tried to figure out how to marry the sounds, vibe and feel of those records into one band, and I think we’ve finally landed on it with The West Coast Feed.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
I like to think that we’ve got the swagger of James Bay, the horns of James Bond and the soul of James Brown, which makes for a pretty unique rock/soul experience.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Yeah, a lot of the album is really about fighting your way back to a place where you feel like yourself again.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Our live show is pretty bombastic. When you get 9 guys on stage making big arranged music together, something just happens in the room. Playing live is our favourite thing!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
The wildest thing I’ve ever done in a live show is jump off some drum risers and dislocate my ankle and shatter my leg. True story. It happened in the middle of a sold out show in L.A. in the last band I was in. Needless to say, that was the end of the show.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Canopus drums, Fender and Gibson guitars, Fender Amps.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
Our debut album just dropped a little over a week ago, so we’re pumping that as much as we can right now.
What are your plans for 2018, into 2019?
We just got off the road from a big promo tour in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City and Seattle and it was incredible! It’s a pretty surreal feeling to show up to play a city for the first time and have sold out shows. We’re taking a break for the rest of 2018 because we’re doing work with clean water projects in Central Africa Republic and orphan care projects in Ethiopia, but we’ll be back on the road in early 2019.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
I’d ask Alec Shaw Band to open for us and would love to be supporting Fitz and the Tantrums.
From previous Band of the Day Muscular Child: Dave Grohl, Mick Jagger, Prince – who would you kiss, who would you marry and who would you kill?
I’d kiss Dave Grohl to get close enough to see if he smells like teen spirit. I’d marry Mick Jagger because of the security because that guy will never die and I’d kill Prince because he’s already dead and I don’t believe violence is the answer.
From another BotD, Vanity: If you could go back in time and tell your younger self one thing, what would it be?
Just because it looks like a scoop of ice cream doesn’t mean that it actually is. Sometimes it’s butter or sour cream.
And from Charly & Faust: what’s your underwear colour?
Paisley.
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