# Dan West (musician)

Dan West, also known as d'Animal, is an American rock and jazz musician, songwriter and producer, and one half of the duo LoveyDove.

## Early life and influences

West was raised in the San Fernando Valley, California. From an early age, his older cousins would give him their records of The Beatles, The Monkees, Paul Revere and The Raiders whose music inspired him to ask his father for a guitar at the age of seven. He was told by his father James Douglass West, a television writer for Lassie and Wonderful World of Disney and a former musician, that he had to learn the piano for one year before receiving a guitar, which he did. He then acquired a drum set after being inspired by the Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich drum battle album on Verve.
At the age of seven, West met pianist Eubie Blake at a performance at Dorsey High School. Blake, along with Scott Joplin's music, introduced West to the ragtime style of jazz and piano playing. He was introduced to Frank Zappa in his first-grade class, where Zappa's children attended the same school.
West had mastered several instruments by the time he was a young adolescent. At the age of 13, West performed in his band The Caterpillars at Johnny Otis' church alongside Otis. Prior to performing in Los Angeles rock clubs before he was old enough to drink there, he would routinely form bands and play at backyard parties. He cited the "creative atmosphere" in which he was raised as formative to his career, and the LA Times noted his versatility as "a multi-instrumentalist (who) shifts from genre to genre with a dazzling agility." West plays the piano, bass, guitar, drums, cello, upright bass, flute, and clarinet. He composes for orchestra and big band, and does music programming.
The LA Times described him as a "master of the pop idiom" with "a flexible sound where Boyce & Hart bubblegum shimmer collides with shadowy-psych-garage menace, and his lyrics – whether delivering messages of loss, insecurity or ardent passion – draws [sic] the listener in, conjuring a relatable immediacy." West cites Paul McCartney, James Jamerson, and Carol Kaye as influential when writing music, in particular the bass part of a track. He also cited Pete Townshend, Lenny Breau, Ted Greene, Syd Barrett, Jimi Hendrix, Edward Van Halen, Wes Montgomery, John Entwistle, Scott LaFaro, Melanie, Jane Weaver, Gil Evans, Billy Strayhdorn, Bill Evans, and Clare Fischer as influential musicians.

## Career
### Solo albums

West has released solo albums Hot Corners, Does It Suit You?, the EP Expression Compression as part of US label Silber Records' "5 in 5" conceptual series of EPs, and d'Animal l'Ogic.
Chad Keller of love/hate Magazine called West's 2013 debut solo album Hot Corners: "Chunky and emotional, with traces of trippy Brit rock." LA Weekly called West "a pop stylist of rare quality, one whose originality and intimate involvement with music guarantees any listener soul-deep satisfaction."
His second album Does It Suit You?, released inn 2014, also garnered high praise, with Keller calling it: "Innocent, psychedelic, poetic and highly addictive. A fun-loving fusion of the best parts of Blur, Tame Impala, and Beck all rolled into one free-spirited sound from the depths of the human heart."{citation needed} In 2016 LA Weekly described West as "a multifaceted, ferociously gifted musician." As a solo artist he has toured the U.S., Europe, and Australasia.
In January 2017, West released his third solo album, d'Animal l'Ogic. It was described as "a good example of the power of genuine musical originality to really shake things up," "an on the button rush of kaleidoscopic euphoria," and "a vivid and ornate LP." The genre was described as "a modern take on psychedelic rock".
On September 18, 2020, Dan West under his d’Animal moniker released the single "Falipa," was a tribute to his cat Falipa, who had died in 2020. The video was directed by Azalia Snail and was premiered in the October 12, 2020 edition of The Big Takeover.
In June 2024, West released his fourth solo album (the second under his d’Animal moniker) entitled Hedonistic Pillow, his third release on the Wayside Records imprint. It was also released on cassette by the Thokei Tapes label in Hamburg, Germany. It’s Psychedelic Baby described it as a "sonic adventure" that "glows with neon hues and explores the shadowy corners of life’s untamed pleasures...West’s voice...invoking the spirit of rock’s heyday while remaining undeniably modern." The album received airplay in the US and Germany. Steve Hanft created videos for two of the songs from the album ("Falipa" and "Torn Up Pieces Of Paper"), filmmaker Frank Stokes created one for the song "A.D.D.," and Azalia Snail created one for "I Wish I Knew".

### Collaborations

West has performed on stage and on record with notable artists including Sky Saxon of The Seeds, Bryan Maclean of Love, Rosemary Clooney, Maynard Ferguson, and Paula Kelly. He has fronted for the bands Aguafantastica, Sidewalk Society and LoveyDove. He scored the music for the documentary Mr. Movie Poster which follows the life of artist Paul Crifo.
At the age of 13, West performed in his band The Caterpillars at Johnny Otis' church alongside the iconic Los Angeles musician. His career then took off during his teenage years in the psych-pop underground of the 1980s while performing with Sky Saxon, Bryan Maclean and his band Threw the Lookinglass, who played opening sets for Red Hot Chili Peppers and Fishbone. Threw the Lookinglass released a self-titled vinyl EP. West promptly made his name in a scene known as The Paisley Underground, which is known for The Bangles, its ties to Mazzy Star, and Prince naming his label Paisley Park Records after the movement.
In the 1990s, West delved into the melodic and harmonic possibilities of jazz, studying with composer and arranger Clare Fischer, pianist Terry Trotter, and guitarist Ted Greene. He graduated from Cal State Northridge with a degree in Composition and Piano Performance. He then performed as pianist for Maynard Ferguson, Della Reese, Joe Williams and Lionel Hampton, and performed and arranged music for LA swing stalwarts The Speakeasy Spies Big Band and The Jazz Butchers.
West, as keyboardist, toured the U.S. and Canada with El Vez in 1998, in addition to playing keyboards on his album Boxing With God which was released on Sympathy for the Record Industry in 2001.
In the 2000s, West returned to his rock roots and began a steady release of albums in collaboration with Aguafantastica and Sidewalk Society and LoveyDove.

#### Sidewalk Society

West, Dan Lawrence and Jerry Buszek comprise the Long Beach, California band Sidewalk Society who have been described as "obvious anglophiles" and "the USA's best interpreters of 60s UK sounds." They were credited for "writing in the musical languages of their influences without sounding like mere copyists" on their album Venus, Saturn and the Crescent Moon. Following their self-titled album in 2008, they released a limited edition 7-inch vinyl album in 2010 for the vinyl-only UK label Fruits de Mer Records after the label discovered their cover of Small Faces' "Song of a Baker" and asked them to contribute a track to the label's first 12-inch compilation, before going on to record their EP.
In 2017, Sidewalk Society released the album Strange Roads: The Songs of Rolled Gold. The album was released on gold vinyl as a reworking of the complete album Rolled Gold by the 1960s band The Action. The album was described as "[capturing] the essence of Brit psych pop infused with the West Coast sound of The Byrds and The Association."
In December of 2024, Fruits de Mer Records in the United Kingdom released a career retrospective of West’s Mod/Psychedelic group, Sidewalk Society entitled, An Introduction to Sidewalk Society. The album collected the band's tracks released by Fruits de Mer, plus a selection of non-FdM songs from their back catalog, and the first CD release of their Strange Roads LP.

#### LoveyDove

LoveyDove is a duo formed by West and Azalia Snail in 2011, known for being "as visually interesting as they are sonically enjoyable." West and Snail are a real-life couple who married on April 25, 2014, and credit their success to being on the same page musically and the fact that they love playing music together. Their first, self-titled album was released in the U.S. by LA's Fine and praised by L.A. Record as, "Not since Wings wrote "Silly Love Songs" has a couple captured a love so sugary and yet so recognizable to those who have ever tasted the good stuff.
Their second album Showstopper was released in New Zealand by Powertool Records and the U.S. by Records Ad Nauseam. LA Weekly wrote, "With their new album, Showstopper, a 13-bombon blast of harmonious psych-pop confections, the local (duo) have outdone themselves. Sweet, savory, gorgeously rendered and painstakingly arranged, every track is a masterly example of their complex bubble-gum simplicity...displayed in even fuller, richer form than ever before." L.A. Record called the album "an eclectic and electrically exciting blend of excellent songwriting and pinpoint precise production, with melodies to live by and a dance beat to die for!"
In 2015 the Union Pole label released Snail Meets West, a free-jazz album by West and Snail working under the name Snail Meets West, with Snail on drums and West on piano. The recording was a tribute to Ornette Coleman. A followup, Snail Meets West Again!, came out in 2021.
LoveyDove toured New Zealand with John S. Hall and King Missile IV in February 2015. LoveyDove and d'Animal did a headlining tour of Europe from October 20 to November 12, 2015. They performed in the UK, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany.
The duo also recorded a track in support of U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders titled "Bernie's Air."
During the pandemic, LoveyDove released Rude Dawgs (2022) on their new Wayside Records imprint. West produced the album from a collection of jam sessions the two had recorded a few years earlier. In the summer of 2020, Jerry Buszek added his drumming. Psychedelic Baby debuted the Pete Handelman-directed video for the song "Good Leash" and said of the album, Rude Dawgs "is an organic time-capsule, capturing the turbulence of the past several years with post-punk angular guitars and psychedelic breakdowns, while Snail tackles the political climate, writing lyrics that capture the disorder and chaos in freeform poetry."

#### Other Collaborations

In 2018 West turned his attention to producing and arranging, producing albums for Azalia Snail (Neon Resistance, Silber Records, 2018), the debut album from LA group Frieda’s Roses (Jessica Triangle, Mika Records, 2019) and You, Me & This Fucking Guy from Garden Variety Fuckers (Dromedary Records 2020). The album features King Missile’s John S. Hall in the role of This Fucking Guy, an observant and disgruntled character that uses the work ‘fuck’ to accentuate most every thought and feeling that enters his mind. Azalia Snail cowrote the music with West and performed Omnichord and percussion on the album.
West produced several singles for Mystery Rose including her single "Sunset Boulevard." Both Mystery Rose and Lexx And The Roadzies (another of Dan’s production projects) have been featured on DJ Rodney Bingenheimer’s The Rodney Bingenheimer Show (Little Steven’s Underground Garage on SiriusXM).
The singles were included on Rose's album Socially Distant, released in the fall of 2021. The album deals with coming of age in pandemic-era America. It spawned videos by Steve Hanft (The Cure, Beck, Elliott Smith) for the songs "Lovebirds On The Weekend," "Picture Perfect" and "Sunset Boulevard." Beyond The Stage wrote, "Socially Distant has a bouncy, pop-punk vibe similar to that of an early 2000s high-school movie with songs about relationships and vulnerability, it fits right into that popular and loved narrative for its relatability."
In the fall of 2022, Dan was asked by actor Dan Gilvezan to provide original musical accompaniment to Gilvezan’s stage treatment of the famous Don Marquis "Archy & Mehitabel" columns from the early years of the 20th century. The Moosie Dryer-directed stage play, The Secret World Of Archy & Mehitabel, debuted that fall at the Whitefire Theater. A reviewer described West's music as "giving a special old-school vibe to the play." West released the full score via Wayside Records in 2023.
That year also saw the release of Frieda’s Roses' followup to Jessica Triangle (Mika Records), the EP Day & Night, produced by West.

## Discography

| Year | Title | Label | Other Artist(s) |
| 1985 | Threw the Lookinglass (EP) | Erika Records | Threw the Lookinglass |
| 1999 | Conglomerationation | Professor Sci Fi | Aguafantastica |
| 2000 | Empty V | Professor Sci Fi | Aguafantastica |
| 2003 | Quasar Flashing Dawn | Smile Records | Aguafantastica |
| 2006 | Mad Cow (EP) | Professor Sci Fi | MC Tahina (The Gluey Brothers) |
| 2008 | Sidewalk Society | Professor Sci Fi | Sidewalk Society |
| 2008 | Mono For One | Independent | Mono For One |
| 2010 | Sidewalk Society (EP) | Fruits de Mer Records | Sidewalk Society |
| 2010 | Florence and Normandie | Professor Sci Fi | The Jazz Butchers |
| 2012 | Venus, Saturn and the Crescent Moon | Grandioso | Sidewalk Society |
| 2013 | Hot Corners | Powertool Records NZ | Dan West |
| 2014 | LoveyDove | LA's Fine | LoveyDove |
| 2014 | Luka Fisher | Records Ad Nauseam | LoveyDove |
| 2014 | Expression Compression (EP) | Silber Records | Dan West |
| 2014 | Does It Suit You? | Powertool Records NZ | Dan West |
| 2014 | Mr. Movie Poster | Soundtrack | Dan West |
| 2015 | ShowStopper | Records Ad Nauseam | LoveyDove |
| 2015 | Snail Meets West | Union Pole, Japan | Snail Meets West |
| 2016 | Can't Help Thinking About Me (EP) | Fruits de Mer Records | Sidewalk Society |
| 2017 | d'Animal l'Ogic | PowerTool Records NZ | Dan West |
| 2017 | Strange Roads: The Songs of Rolled Gold | Fruits de Mer Records | Sidewalk Society |
| 2018 | Neon Resistance | Silber Records | Azalia Snail |
| 2019 | Jessica Triangle | Mika Records | Frieda’s Roses |
| 2020 | Garden Variety Fuckers | Dromedary Records | You, Me & This Fuckin’ Guy |
| 2020 | Gossip (Single) | | Mystery Rose |
| 2020 | Eternity (Single) | | Mystery Rose |
| 2020 | Passing Notes | | Mystery Rose |
| 2020 | Sunset Boulevard | | Mystery Rose |
| 2020 | Let’s Make Change | | Lexx And The Roadzies |
| 2020 | Finn You’re The Only One | | Lexx And The Roadzies |
| 2020 | Don’t Give Up | | Lexx And The Roadzies |
| 2020 | Falipa (Single) | Professor Sci Fi | d’Animal |
| 2021 | Socially Distant | Professor Sci Fi | Mystery Rose |
| 2022 | Rude Dawgs | Wayside Records | LoveyDove |
| 2023 | Black and White | Mika Records | Frieda's Roses |
| 2023 | The Secret World Of Archy & Mehitabel (Soundtrack Album) | Wayside Records | Dan West |
| 2024 | An Introduction to Sidewalk Society | Fruits de Mer Records | Sidewalk Society |