Today we’d like to introduce you to Chas West
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I think I was always a performer. My mother told me that even as a baby, I used to do somersaults in my crib. I believe I also had undiagnosed ADHD, which could have contributed to my energetic behavior—haha.
I got my first guitar when I was about five years old and started taking lessons. The local music store where I took lessons decided to put together a kids’ band, and I was the vocalist and rhythm guitarist. We weren’t very good—it was more of a novelty that we were all under 10 years old.
I remember my first musical performance was a Christmas pageant, and my music teacher had to carry my guitar to me on stage because it was bigger than I was—haha.
What sticks in my memory is how much I loved being on stage. Even at that young age, I knew this was where I belonged and what I wanted to do with my life.
Around the same time, I got involved in local musical theater during the summer months, which I loved as well.
When I was 13 or 14 years old, I saw my first rock concert, which was The Who. I was floored by the power and energy they had on stage, and I was mesmerized by the vocalist Roger Daltrey strutting across the stage, swinging the microphone while wailing to the masses. I knew right then and there that this was what I wanted to do, and somehow, deep down inside, I knew I could do it.
I then set about forming a band with some school friends, where I was the frontman and lead vocalist. We played at school dances, parties, and eventually nightclubs.
During this time, I was also still singing and acting in high school musical theater productions. I even spent a summer as an apprentice actor doing summer stock.
Eventually, I had to decide whether to concentrate more on being a singer/actor or a lead vocalist/frontman/musician in a hard rock band.
Since the acting I had done was all in musicals, not dramas, I knew that music, singing, and performing were my passion and forte, so I focused my attention on that and chose the latter.
At 17 years old, the lovely young girls who came to the shows and showed their appreciation might have had a little influence on my decision—haha.
By my senior year, I knew I wanted more than just playing three or four sets of cover songs a night. If I wanted to make it a career and have a shot at being in the big game, I needed to be in a band with musicians who were of the same mindset and played original material. I found a group of guys through an ad who were older and more experienced than me. With them, I co-wrote and recorded songs in a professional recording studio in NYC for the first time.
After I graduated from high school, we ended up touring throughout the East Coast and Midwest, performing original songs and some covers.
I got my first taste of roughing it on the road then, but I didn’t care—I was just so thrilled to be touring and playing on stage at different clubs almost every night.
The demo we recorded was turned down by every label we submitted it to, so the band never really went further than playing clubs. However, this band gave me the next opportunity in my career path.
After seeing me on stage, a guy I’d met through a friend of mine said he managed a band in LA that certain record labels were interested in, but they didn’t like the lead singer. He thought I had the voice and image they were looking for and asked if I would consider coming out to Los Angeles. I jumped at the opportunity because the band I was in was stuck in a rut, and we were having disagreements over direction, so I decided it was time for me to go on my own to pursue my dream.
After numerous phone calls, I arrived in Los Angeles. I met up with the manager, who told me that the band, in no uncertain terms, had said they didn’t want a lead vocalist fronting the band (the guitarist was the singer). The manager told them that every label had said they needed a better vocalist and frontman, and without agreeing to that, they were a waste of his time and money, so he resigned as their manager.
He apologized and asked me what my plans were. I told him I would love to stay in LA but didn’t know anyone there. He offered to take me out to some local clubs that night, show me around the city, and maybe introduce me to some people.
At the end of the night, we went to the famous Troubadour nightclub, where he introduced me to the manager. The manager knew about my situation and asked if I wanted to work there as a doorman, where I could meet other musicians and maybe get into or start a band.
He also said I could crash on his couch for a while as I figured things out. I was thrilled to have a job where I could meet other musicians and artists and a place to stay in LA, at least temporarily.
I ended up working there for a few years. During that time, I joined a couple of local bands and played all over the LA circuit, eventually getting a demo deal and a production deal with a major label and a well-known producer. Unfortunately, control issues, egos, and mismanagement ended that.
After years of “paying my dues,” I was finally in the right place at the right time when I received a phone call that Jason Bonham was looking for a lead vocalist for his new band. I contacted his manager, who asked me to submit a recent recorded CD demo, picture, and resume.
Months went by, and I hadn’t heard anything, so one day, on a whim, I decided to call the manager out of the blue. He answered and said, “It’s amazing you rang now because we just narrowed it down to about 10 singers, and you’re one of them. Why don’t you come meet with me at my office?”
I met with him, and he played me songs they were working on, asking me to write and record lyrics and melodies for a few of the songs. He also wanted me to record a lead vocal for a Zeppelin track they had recorded since a few Zeppelin songs would be part of the live show.
When I heard the material, I was immediately inspired and went home to write and record everything in a few days.
To make a long story shorter, I met up with Jason and the band a few weeks later. The day after I sang with them, the same manager called me and said that “Jason and the band were over the moon about you,” and he faxed me an itinerary for the first part of a tour, which was due to start in two weeks.
I later found out that I had beat out over 700 vocalists worldwide that they had looked at for over a year.
At the end of the first year, after three tours, we were signed to Sony Music. We released two records and did quite a few world tours, playing clubs, arenas, and then stadiums for the next five years. After that, the Bonham band ended, and the band members went their separate ways.
Ironically, after years of just doing music and touring, about six months after The Jason Bonham Band ended, I was offered a cameo role in the movie “Rockstar” starring Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston, along with my old bandmate Jason Bonham, who had a major role in the movie.
Soon after, I was hired as the touring vocalist for bands such as Lynch Mob, Foreigner (with Jason Bonham), The Sweet, Jake E. Lee, and others.
I also co-wrote and recorded two records with 3 Legged Dogg (with members of Black Sabbath, Dio, Quiet Riot, and DLR) and Tribe Of Gypsies, and toured the USA and Japan with both bands.
In 2018, I formed my own band called West Bound and released one record on Frontiers Music entitled Volume I. We toured to critical acclaim throughout the USA until the pandemic in 2020 temporarily paused that. We resumed touring again in 2022.
In 2023, I signed a new deal for West Bound with a label called Legendary Artists LLC, and we are currently working on our second record, set to be released in 2025. We’ve already released the first single and video called “Don’t Stand In My Sunshine.”
Besides West Bound, I also have an All-Star Led Zeppelin tribute band made up of members from Whitesnake, Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, Sebastian Bach, and others.
I also just signed a contract for a cameo role singing and acting in a music-based movie to be filmed in the Fall/Winter of 2024/2025.
In addition to my career activities, I’m also involved in an animal rescue shelter and foundation in honor of my furry daughter, Mimi, who crossed the rainbow bridge earlier this year.
Onwards and upwards!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
• toxic people/situations
• jealousy/haters
• control freaks/egos
• music business sharks
• streaming
• working with people that have substance abuse issues
• touring costs
• digital marketing/changing landscape
• legacy and expectation pressures
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
• lead vocalist/songwriter
• musician
• actor
• humanitarian
• activist
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
• talent
• passion
• persistence/resilience
• open mindedness
• business acumen
• discipline
• adaptability
• patience
• self promotion
• professionalism
• stage presence
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.westboundofficial.com
- Instagram: westbound_official
- Facebook: facebook.com/west.chas (personal) and facebook.com/westboundofficial (business)
Image Credits
Photo 1: Ronnie Lyon (personal)
Photo 2: Karen Peck (with puppy)
Photo 3: Marie Gregorio-Oviedo (b/w with Vinnie Appice)
Photo 4: Sheri Hastings (open shirt)
Photo 5: unknown (Whisky w/West Bound)
Photo 6: unknown (with Jason Bonham)
Photo 7: unknown (w/special guest Slash at the Jason Bonham Band show at House of Blues, LA, 1997)
