Sierra West

The Folk-Influenced Pop/Rock Singer-Songwriter Is a Veterinary Technician Who Volunteers Her Musical Talent to Support Animal Causes
BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - Apr 19, 2012) - Most emerging indie artists prefer to downplay the "day job" aspect of their lives, but Sierra West (www.sierrarocks.com) is not only proud of her work as a Certified Veterinary Technician, she continuously finds ways to blend her passion for music with her love of animals.
Gearing up to release Hold Your Fire, her infectious new EP featuring folk-influenced songs with a pop/rock edge, the Connecticut-born and raised (now Boston-based) singer/songwriter has built an impressive following in her native New England. She's performed on the coffeehouse circuit and regularly at hotspots like Club Passim, Cantab Lounge and The Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, where she held the CD release party for her previous EP, Rocks, in 2009. The celebration for the new EP is scheduled for August 14 at Club Passim.
Sierra's approach to performing is to create an intimate environment in which to communicate with her audience. Her performing history includes a month-long tour in the Midwest, playing restaurants, bars, coffeehouses, colleges, and two tours in Northern California, including a ten-gig trip through the Santa Cruz-Monterey region that grew out of a single house concert.
Hold Your Fire includes the plaintive and heartfelt "It's About Time," which is slated for an upcoming regional radio promotion campaign.
Through her work as a vet tech and musician, Sierra has found unique ways to give back to the animals that have brought her joy. In addition to donating ten percent of the proceeds she received for one of her tours to local animal shelters, she did a benefit performance at the WGBH-TV Studios (Boston's public broadcasting station) for Helping Hands (www.monkeyhelpers.org), the only non-profit organization in the world that raises and trains capuchin monkeys to provide in-home assistance to people living with spinal cord injury or other mobility impairments, inspiring the name of Sierra's publishing company, 21 Monkeys Music.
The singer performs regularly to raise money for Right Turn (www.right-turn.org), an innovative, Arlington, Mass. based program that offers intensive outpatient and residential treatment services in a uniquely creative environment.
- MarketWire

"Sophistocated lyrics, seductive voice, and very mature
songwriting." - caller - KPIG Radio

Sierra Sumpf's first guitar was a gift from her father.





She was 12 when that six string made its debut in her life. But the instrument wasn't necessarily an integral part of her life. It was just there.


Sierra didn't ignore the gift. She said she would pick up the guitar now and then. She'd fool around with it and she'd learn some basic chords.


But, the now-22-year-old Sierra explained, "I wasn't dedicated to it."


The guitar, however, found its way toward becoming a more important part of her life in 1996. That was the year the life of Sierra and her family changed forever. That was the year her brother Jason "Jay" Sumpf's life was cruelly taken by a drunk driver.


Sierra explained Jay was just standing on the side of the road on Route 6 in Plymouth. He was opening a car door. That's when the drunk driver sped by, striking Sierra's brother and killing him. Sierra said the driver who hit Jay had been on an all-night drinking binge. And he left the scene after the accident. Police only caught up with the driver after he ran out of gas on Route 8.


As Sierra tried to deal with the emotions of losing her brother, she picked up that guitar. That gift from her father. And she began writing songs.


"Going through everything that happened with my brother, I was able to use that as an outlet," said Sierra of her songwriting. "Music was a powerful way to express myself."


And music offered Sierra its redemptive powers to the grieving young woman. "I just love it," said Sierra. "I'm just extremely happy every time I play or sing."


Now, after spending time living and playing her songs around the University of Vermont in Burlington, Sierra, who has lived in Thomaston since she was 8, is back in the area trying to make a musical name for herself.


In recent weeks, Sierra has graced the stage at Ditto's in Litchfield and Lands Downe Irish Pub in Oakville. And this graduate of Holy Cross High School also has stood on the stage of the Thomaston Opera House when the monthly Open Mic coffee house took over the main stage for a night this past spring.


To top it off, Sierra's working on new songs for a planned second CD.


Sierra's first CD, "Depleted Oxygen" album, was recorded in 1999. Her newest work doesn't have a title. But Sierra said it's a progression from her last CD.


"My chord changes are a little more involved," said Sierra, who has been attending guitar workshops to improve her playing. "The whole construction of my songs have grown in a technical sense." This reflects her recent studies in a songwriting class with Narissa Nields from the legendary Connecticut group The Nields.


"The last song I wrote in class, compared to the first song I wrote, there is a huge difference," said Sierra. "But I still play the first song I wrote. (The new work) is not too far off from where I started as far as style goes."


"Life," one of Sierra's newer songs, seems to reflect her efforts to deal with the loss of her older brother.


"Would you like the way I live my life," Sierra sings to her brother (or maybe a departed lover). "Would you like the way I try to hide/ Would you like the way I sleep at night and cry, over you?"


Sierra describes her sound as acoustic folk rock. A CD sampler of her work presents her voice cooing softly accompanied solely by her guitar. The music is lilting and smooth. The vocals have the same kind of quality as Natalie Merchant during her 10,000 Maniacs days or as a female counterpart to REM's Michael Stipe. The overall effect of the recording is music that doesn't fade into the background, but won't slap your ears around.


"I was brought up listening to James Taylor," said Sierra, when asked about her influences. "That was the first concert I went to-- for my fourth birthday." Sierra also said she finds inspiration in Little Feat and Melissa Etheridge. As for contemporary artists that she is drawn to, Sierra said guerrilla folkster like Ani DiFranco and funky folkster Ben Harper have been favorites.


"Ani is more political," said Sierra, outlining the difference between herself and DiFranco. "I haven't really explored that aspect in writing songs like that. It's always a possibility."


Sierra also said her music isn't nearly as aggressive as Ani DiFranco. "I'm pretty mellow," said Sierra, citing Mazzy Star ("Fade into You").


Sierra said she has received good response to her music from local audiences. And she would like to take her music on the road.


"My ambition is to be able to play out just anywhere and be able to influence just one person," said Sierra.
- Thomaston Express

"There are players out there and there are artists... Sierra is an artist. She has so much raw talent and feel. These are things that can't truly be taught, you either have it or you don't. I've worked with some of the top people in the industry, including U2, Madonna, Earth Wind and Fire, and many others, and feel like I know real talent when I hear it." - Mike McKnight

"Her dynamic voice and heartfelt lyrics make this a wonderful start for what should be a long, successful career. Sierra doesn't just sing the songs; she feels them; she brings the listener into her experience."-Doktor Krankheit - User review, CD Baby

"Sierra is a strong young talent bursting onto the folk scene. Listen to this woman; she is a sage and utterly her own person. Her guitar style will dazzle you as her voice soothes and inspires." - - Nerissa Nields, The Nields