The Far West came together in early 2010, each member having left other bands to pursue a unique sound they weren't getting elsewhere. Robert Black, hailing from Texas has played in dozens of bands from the plains all the way to the coasts (in both directions). In his Texas days he backed a number of bands in all day BBQ hoedowns and late night jam sessions. He even had a band share a bill with Townes Van Zandt. In Los Angeles, after working as a session bassist for several LA bands like Les...
The Far West came together in early 2010, each member having left other bands to pursue a unique sound they weren't getting elsewhere. Robert Black, hailing from Texas has played in dozens of bands from the plains all the way to the coasts (in both directions). In his Texas days he backed a number of bands in all day BBQ hoedowns and late night jam sessions. He even had a band share a bill with Townes Van Zandt. In Los Angeles, after working as a session bassist for several LA bands like Leslie & The Badgers, West of Texas & many others he discovered that Tony Sanborn, an old friend and drummer of The Last Americans was free. Tony Sanborn grew up in Eagle Rock and has been honing his drumming chops since an early age. Tony has traveled the country playing everything from Americana to Jazz to Zydeco. Tony's kept the beat going for more bands then he can remember, and notes gigging along side Ryan Bingham, and The Derailers as high points. Singer Lee Briante comes from the fertile Hudson Valley of NY, by way of the rolling hills of Western Mass. His parents instilled a deep love of music in him from a very early age, taking him to see a wide variety of music like Arlo, Pete Seegar, Charlie Daniels and many others. Memories of rowdy irish bands burning through bow rosin in low ceiling riverside taverns stand out in his mind. Lee has been playing in bands since he was 15 or so, among others he played in the Northampton, MA ambient band paris., the Boston band 1986 and the LA based Queen Victoria. Ready to start a project of his own he made contact with Robert Black by posting a simple craigslist ad that consisted of nothing more then a Waylon Jennings video. The last piece, and a critical one, was finding a pedal steel player worth his weight, and one that could switch between Tele & pedal steel taboot. Erik 'the kidd' Kristiansen was just the man, having played with a number of bands since he was in his teens. Erik has played the dive bars of the Lower East Side, the honkey tonks of Louisiana, and the chateaus of Sweden's Alt-Country scene. He has recorded with Ryan Adams on the mythical 'SnowKobra' record, Heavenly Blues, The Dark Horses and many more. Once The Far West came together they got right to work, gigging all across Southern California in places like The Echo, Cowboy Palace Saloon, Taix, Silverlake Lounge & many more. By December 2010 they were ready to record over 15 original songs and headed down to Encinitas, where the American Legion Post 416 had become a familiar venue to them. The crew at the legion opened up the doors to the band, and over 3 days The Far West recorded their originals with he help of Engineer/ Producer Colin Mclean. Done live-to-tape with minimal overdubs this record captures the live energy and beautiful tone of the Legion Post. The boys have been gigging ever since, making stops at the 2011 SXSW festival in Austin & countless jukejoints across the southwest. They're proud to share stages with their contemporaries like Mike Stinson, Brennan Leigh, Broken Numbers Band, David Serby, The Americans, Tony Gilkyson & many others. What others are saying: "The Far West have an authentically Americana sound that’s been described as something like Waylon’s band jamming with Wilco. Their songs are highly personal, introspective and original and portray a deep love of American music." "Stopped by for a cold London's Pride and caught a set by LA's The Far West. I've know bassist Robert Black for some time, but this was the first time I've really kicked back and absorbed a set of their material. Singer Lee Briante has a kind of rangy Sam Shepard quality to him. (others have suggested a younger David Serby.) He sings in a kind of understated drawl that is a perfect fit for the material. And while I enjoyed the performance, I think it was the songwriting that really turned my head. Tunes like, "I won't have that far to fall" and "This is where I get off" are so expertly constructed classic country songs that you can't help but be drawn in by the storytelling. Robert chimes in at the perfect time with lazy harmonies and the whole thing sounds at the same time familiar and fresh. Guitarist/Pedal steel master Erik Kristiansen is a pleasure and turns a phrase with style and taste. When it comes to sitting down and listening to some heartfelt country music I highly recommend these boys."
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