Artist Interview: 1-on-1 with Western Avenue

Artist Interview: 1-on-1 with Western Avenue

Working with MTS Management Group, I have had the chance to meet and interview several incredible bands including Jiggley Jones, Xander Demos, and Amy Rose. Then they introduced me to Western Avenue. I am not sure how I have never heard of these bands, but I am glad that I have found them now. Like Jiggley. He is an incredible songwriter with an amazing voice. Xander can thrash on a guitar and understands what rock and roll is all about. Amy… Man, she has a GREAT voice. Western Avenue is a culmination of it all. I am not sure how many more bands MTS Management is hiding from me, but I am pumped to introduce you to Western Avenue. I can’t wait to share their story with you. Man, these guys are good!


OK… I LOVE your sound. How have I never heard of you? Thank you!

We appreciate that!  We are working on getting the word out about us!

How did you guys all meet?

Well I (Nikki) met Keith through fellow country singer Tara Lyn Hart. She introduced us when he was backing her up for a show one night. She had asked me to come up to sing, and then I met Keith and then we sang together!!!  Shortly after that I had needed some accompaniment for a show I was playing, and so I called upon Keith, and then he called upon Matt who he knew from teaching guitar at a store. We all started jamming, and the rest is history!!!

Where did the name come from? I hope someone in the band lives on Western Avenue!

Well it’s a street we used to jam on! Matt and I both came up with the same idea to name our band that so it was meant to be! (Laughs.)

There are a lot of great country music bands out there. What makes you guys different?

We have a good dynamic in our band. We all share lead vocals, which I think adds more variety to a performance. And we really try to strive for great harmonies!

Nikki, I am sure this is a tough topic to discuss… But tell me about your father. What memories do you have of him?

He was my biggest encouragement growing up. He would always be playing the piano, or the guitar, and trying to get me to sing. I was always so shy back then. I would sing for him, but anytime we had company over and he asked me, I wouldn’t. Since he’s passed away, I’ve found the strength in my heart to do it. And I really owe it all to him!

Who are some of your favorite country music bands?

We love Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Restless Heart, Alabama… the list can go on and on! (Laughs.) Basically we love those strong harmony driven bands!

You guys are active on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Who manages all of those accounts?

It’s mostly myself and Matt who take care of those!

Tell me about your relationship with MTS Management Group.

Michael is amazing! He is the hardest working man we know! We are so privileged to have him helping us reach our dreams. He’s really helping us go to that next level.

I haven’t seen you guys live, but what can fans expect from a performance?

You will see us having a ton of fun! We just love performing so much! If time permits, we usually like to sneak in an acoustic performance in our set too. Just so people can hear us in a different dynamic!!!

Is country music popular in Canada?

It sure is! It seems to be growing all the time!

Who does all your songwriting?

We all share in that! We also have a great lyricist we work with!  His name is Dave Woods. I write most of my songs with him, as I much prefer to be on the melody side of things!

You guys recently hit #1 on the US Roots Pop Country Chart. I don’t want to call you pop, but congratulations!

Thanks so much!!! We don’t mind having pop in our name! (Laughs.) Country has so many sub-genres now so we don’t mind. (Laughs.)

You guys were on the cover of Guitar Justice Magazine. That’s pretty cool! Did you all get a copy of the magazine to frame?

It was a great honour!!! No, unfortunately we don’t have a hard copy! But luckily it’s available for download!!!

Speaking of guitars, how many guitars do you guys have collectively?

Not a whole lot! (Laughs.) As for guitars we use at performances, we have 4!

Do you guys travel to the states very often?

Not collectively as a band. We hope to in the near future!!! (I still have to get my passport!)

People can join the Western Avenue mailing list on your website. How often do you send that out?

Whenever we have some news to spread to the fans we will send one out!

What is the Indiegogo Campaign?

That was a campaign we did I think back in May. We were looking to raise some money to help us continue doing what we are doing.  Anyone who is in this industry knows it comes with a hefty price tag! (Laughs.) But we do it because we love it!!!

I love the “This I Promise You” video. Who produced that and where did you film that?

That was produced by Rawfootage Productions! They were a great group of guys! They were all very professional and it was a really amazing experience! We filmed that in a really nice loft in Toronto!!!

Western Avenue – This I Promise You

What’s next for Western Avenue?

Right now we are in the writing process for our upcoming releases. And we hope to be back in the studio in the new year! We want to keep things fresh for everyone!

Thank you guys so much for doing this. In all of the interview I do, I always give the artist the last word. Go.

Thanks so much for the interview!

Connect with Western Avenue:
Website: http://www.westernavenue.ca/index.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WesternAvenueBand
Twitter: https://twitter.com/westernavenue4
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/westernavenueband