AK Music Video is based in Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world.
Message to Music Artists and Fans from AK Music Video founder, Sean West
Music has been my constant companion since I got my first trombone in the 5th grade. No one had to remind me to practice. I loved playing and singing. It was natural, not hard work.
I earned a Bachelor of Music degree and had a successful career as a high school band director for 13 years, with highlights such as appearing at the Montreux International Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival, Reno Jazz Festival, performing for the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C., a US President, and so much more.
Then I took a different day gig, one that let me focus on my own playing. That’s when I joined up with Mark Cepeda, then C.C. and Company, and finally fronting my own group, West Express. We played casuals, casinos, corporate gigs, and dives. There was a club at Jack London Square in Oakland that really liked us. We were the Friday night house band at "The Fat Lady" restaurant and night club there for 7 years and the Saturday night band at “Mr Lucky” in Walnut Creek.
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I’ve performed on stage with The Temptations,
The Spinners, Tavares, The Smothers Brothers, Jose Feliciano, Bobby Vinton and more. I was on staff with the Stan Kenton Summer Jazz Clinics for several years.
I’ve entertained at venues all around the San Francisco Bay Area and done studio work there as well. The last six years I’ve lived and played in Las Vegas.
I am a singer-songwriter with at least 2 of my songs being published and recorded by other groups.
Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not bragging. There were many times I just barely hung on to my music and my performing career, but I never stopped.
Here’s what I’ve noticed.
So many of my peers dropped out, sold out, or quit because they didn’t "make the big time".
Most of the ones who stayed in figured out how to make money recording other artists, working in a music store, becoming manufacturer’s reps, agents, managers, label reps, and even my friend from high school who sold his trumpet after graduating from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and took a job selling sausage skins to meat packing companies.
There’s nothing wrong with any of those noble occupations, but I never did any of them.
I just kept singing and playing.
I love it.
I remember friends who years ago said they didn’t want to be 50 years old and still be playing in lounges.
I am and I do. Actually, it’s pretty cool.
I also remember my Jazz friends who couldn’t believe I was singing "Brick House" and other party songs, but I loved it.
From Jazz to R & B, to Rock, or Country, it’s all good. I even did a couple of rap tunes.
Hey.
It’s music.
It’s expression.
It’s art.
It’s in my soul and I wouldn’t be me without it.
Maybe you’re like that too.
If so, you’ve found a home here.
But, it’s not about me and my soul. It’s about you. It’s about your dreams whether they were left behind or just coming to life.
It’s about the music.
I can’t even count the times that people have come up to me at the gig and said "I would love to do what you’re doing".
I wasn’t trying to be a smart — but I always said the same thing.
"Do it."
There are no laws to keep you from making the music you love.
We are reaching out into the universe to find other like-minded artists and musicians. Artists who would love to have a record deal and sell out stadiums but who will keep making the music they love no matter what. Or, artists who have a record deal and just want to keep growing as an artist.
You get the right notes, the right rhythms, the right energy between the performers and the walls start melting.
You know the feeling.
It’s what we live for.
As the founder of AK Music Video I have surrounded myself with like-minded partners who share my joy at every exciting new video or audio we review here. We've launched a suite of services to help artists struggling for exposure on a tight budget.
Honestly, not all of the artists are ready for prime time yet, but it’s great to hear and see them improve. And we get satisfaction from providing the knowledge they need to make it in the music business.
Welcome to the AK Music Family!
Sean West
