“Music can transcend lives; no matter what the circumstances,” declares the band Westcreek on its homepage.
Texas 5-piece hard rock/metal ensemble Westcreek is all about the power of music: “Sound will rock your senses and open your mind, allowing freedom of thought and positivity,” they go on.
Formed in February of 2019 by Daniel Bas and John Mckinnis, the band began with the intention of sharing positivity through hard metal sounds. With Eddie Nava, Rocko Cortez and Michael Arocha as additions, the songs which come out of Westcreek are a medley of raw feeling and screeching strings (and Bas’s hardcore vocals!).
“Our message is simple: You are not alone; we are all one and are equal. Let’s rise and let the music do the healing,” says McKinnis.
ExoticDancer.com had the opportunity to speak with Daniel Bas and John McKinnis of Westcreek about how they make their music and why, with a special attention towards their new alternative metal hit, “Let me Bleed,” courtesy of Bob Chiappardi and StripJointsMusic.com.
(Note: The interview was conducted by Ilan Fong, Danny Meyers and Bob Chiappardi, with questions courtesy of ED Publications.)
ED: I read that John Mckinnis (Guitarist) and Daniel Bas (Vocalist) write all the songs for Westcreek. What is that songwriting process like?
Bas: Our songwriting is kind of a new style I guess, or modern rather. We usually write together over FaceTime. I (Dan) will send John a drum idea I write in midi first and then email to him. We both just play to the drums and it kind of becomes chaotic at times bc we will both be playing two totally different riffs. If he hears me play something that stands out or I hear some cool riff from his side of the phone, we start to build on that riff. Every song usually starts with a basic drum beat and we just add riffs and guitar parts on top till we have almost a full track. Vocals almost always gets written and recorded last. I’ll send John my vocal ideas and he either says yes or no. That’s how it works for us most of the time. It’s a bit different than the way other people write, like everyone together in a garage and just collaborating ideas live. FaceTime is where the magic happens.
ED: Daniel, how did you learn to scream with such control?
Bas: Screaming did not come to me easy at all. I watched multiple interviews on how people I looked up to learned how to scream. One interview in particular I came across basically said just find a vocalist you like and start trying to scream like that. So that is what I did. I was really in to Northlane at the time so I just screamed along to my favorite songs. Then months later I finally became comfortable enough with my progress to be able to record and release it.
ED: As a group, what got you into making music, and why is it important to you? Who were your strongest influences?
Mckinnis: We wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. We wanted people to know that they are not alone in this world, so it was important for us to help others cope with everyday life. Our influences rage from Staind, Breaking Benjamin and Sevendust.
ED: Throughout your four years as a band, what has the journey been like? How has your music evolved?
Bas: Our four year journey as a band has been full of changes and drive to evolve and become the best we can be. We started with just John and myself writing metal music. There are a few demos we have where it’s just straight screaming and double bass. Idk if that will come to light through Westcreek but maybe get released sometime down the line. A big change was when I stopped playing guitar and focused just on vocals. Eddie, our lead guitar player, was originally our bass player. We went through a few drummers before John scouted Rocko and when Eddie made the move to guitar, John also found Mike to play bass.
ED: What are the challenges and advantages of working with a 5-piece band? Is it always cohesive, or is it ever difficult to agree?
Bas: Working as a 5 piece has its own sets of challenges. The biggest being our schedule. Everyone has a full blown day job and scheduling video shoots or practices can be difficult. We have been able to manage so far, so that’s good. On a positive note, having 5 members allows us to have more resources. Everyone brings something different to this project and that is what has made us be able to do what we do.
ED: What do you think metal accomplishes better than any other genre of music? What does compassion have to do with metal music?
Bas: Metal for me has always spoken a little more to my soul than other genres. There is something about the genre that relates to me and my world that I can’t get in other genres. It’s aggression without being violent. It’s relief knowing I am not alone in my problems or tough times I go through. It’s euphoric in hearing the heavy guitars make beautiful chord structures and progressions. It speaks without speaking at times and I fully understand without a word. It’s magic.
“Metal for me has always spoken a little more to my soul than other genres…
It’s aggression without being violent. It’s relief knowing I am not alone in my problems or tough times I go through. It’s euphoric in hearing the heavy guitars make beautiful chord structures and progressions. It speaks without speaking at times and I fully understand without a word.
It’s magic.”
– Daniel Bas
ED: Do you resonate with a description of your sound as “alternative metal”? How has Westcreek made a place for itself within metal music?
Bas: Haha. We have had a few different descriptions in the band ourselves as to how our music is described. I would say “alternative metal” is a fair description. We have heard nu metal, nu rock, hard rock, metal and a few others. Call it whatever you like, we are making music for everyone and ourselves. We are not making a genre. Our goal is that people can enjoy our music the way we enjoy it. People love it the way we love it. I think all of our different backgrounds of music have contributed to our sound. John and I write most of the tracks, but everyone brings their own flavor to the foundation that we have laid out. Having everyone’s flavor creates what we know as Westcreek.
ED: Would you say that there is any Texas, your home state, in your sound?
Mckinnis: I would like to think that we do. We have that good groove and melodic style with emotional lyrics.
ED: What does “Where struggle and despair meet hope” mean to you?
Mckinnis: When you are alone and think there is no way out of your situation in life you know you are not alone. The music helps you get through tough hardships you are having. We will get through it together.
ED: Tell me about your new single, “Let Me Bleed.” What is this song about, and what do you hope your audience will feel when they listen to it?
Mckinnis: “Let me bleed” is about screwing up. We all tend to learn things the hard way in life. Some harder than others. Sometimes it takes something to happen to one of our loved ones to realize the destruction we have caused.
ED: You’ve said that your music has to do with overcoming loss, depression and anxiety. Watching the music video for “Let Me Bleed,” I was curious if you’ve ever had your heart broken by a woman? What did you do? Did you write a song about it?
Mckinnis: I think, in life, we all have our heart broken at some time in our lives. But it is how we grow as people. I feel when we are young adults, we don’t know how to love or what love really is. As time goes on, we start to really understand the levels of love. As for writing a song about a relationship, Westcreek has written a few. More about remembering the times or what happened in the relationship that went wrong.
“I think, in life, we all have our heart broken at some time in our lives. But it is how we grow as people…
As for writing a song about a relationship, Westcreek has written a few. More about remembering the times or what happened in the relationship that went wrong.”
– John Mckinnis
ED: Do you have any fun strip club stories from your time on the road?
Mckinnis: LOL None. All work no play.
ED: How do you feel about your music being played in a strip club? Why should club DJs give this track a spin?
Mckinnis: I think it is awesome. They should play this sound because it has some good groove to it. We are all just trying to help people get through life.
ED: What are Westcreek’s plans for 2024?
Mckinnis: Our plan is to release Our Ep Lifelines and tour.
