New West Guitars

A Los Angeles-­‐based guitar group featuring John Storie, Will Brahm and Perry Smith. The band was formed over 10 years by Smith and Storie while they were still students at USC's Thornton School of Music.

Praised as “sharp and refined” by the Seattle Times, New West Guitar Group infuses its latest disc Big City ('12) with its signature blend of laid-­‐back virtuosity and expert arrangements that “sometimes verge on the orchestral” (All Music Guide). The album is the group’s fifth studio disc and second released on Summit Records. The Los Angeles-­‐based trio grooves in Big City, a sophisticated sonic soundscape showcasing hot original tunes and captivating covers of Tears for Fears, Simon & Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell and The Police. Big City is the follow-­‐up to 2011’s critically acclaimed Round Trip Ticket that was described by Downbeat as “an open-­‐spaces, sunlight-­‐dappled record that feels like it was recorded in plein air, with the three musicians surrounded by Redwoods.” Round Trip Ticket, reached number 28 on the national jazz charts and was featured frequently on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

Since their earliest days as music students at the University of Southern California, New West has tapped into its straight-­‐ahead jazz roots to develop a sound that embraces various shades of folk, country, rock and pop. With Big City, New West sets out to find serenity in the midst of a thriving, frenetic metropolis. With their infectious pulse and driving rhythms, original charts like “Every Big City,” “Inspiration Point, “Train Bump” and “Pacific Blues” capture the urban hustle, while the more tranquil tunes—“Mission Creek,” “Proud Day’s Work” and “Evergreen”—offer contemplative respite. Intricate yet faithful covers of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” (Tears for Fears), “All I Want” (Joni Mitchell), “Bleecker Street” (Simon & Garfunkel) and “Wrapped Around Your Finger” (The Police) surface throughout the disc, like favorite songs emanating from open windows and evoking wistful memories. The album fully embraces this open-­‐minded quality and showcases the group’s intimate understanding of the guitar’s melodic, harmonic, timbal and percussive capabilities. The sonic palette includes acoustic steel-­‐ and nylon-­‐stringed instruments as well as electric guitars with ample effects, plus innovative strumming and fingerpicking techniques. 

The band started out as class at USC and was originally a quartet of guitarists featuring Smith and Storie along with founding members Brady Cohan and Matt Haze. During their time as music majors, they received the coveted Thornton Protégé Grant which gave them an opportunity to record their first album Introducing ('05). The project was produced by their teacher and mentor Pat Kelley, a faculty member in the USC Studio/Jazz Guitar Department.  During this same period, the Los Angeles Sister Cities Committee honored New Wet Guitar Group as musical ambassadors of L.A. – which in turn created the opportunity for them to perform at the 2005 World Expo in Nagoya, Japan, and the 2007 German-­‐American Volksfest in Berlin.

In 2009, they shifted from a quartet to a trio and Smith moved to New York City. Soon after they become a trio, NWGG welcomed guitarist Jeff Stein, also a USC graduate. They continued to broaden their impact and build new audiences all over the world releasing three albums Sleeping Lady, Round Trip Ticket and Big City. In 2015, Stein was replaced by LA guitarist Will Brahm. Recently NWGG has been collaborating the great LA jazz vocalist Sara Gazarek on a new project called "Send One Your Love." Currently, the band presents a variety of concert programs and educational workshops and continues to perform in major venues throughout the U.S. and Canada, Europe and Asia.