Western States is a St. Louis-based Midwestern rock ‘n’ roll band that weaves together twangy Americana, floor stomping rock and just the right measure of twang. Their debut album From the Center Out won rave reviews fand they’ve shared festival bills with a slew of roots music luminaries that include Margo Price, Hayes Carll, Shovels and Rope, and John Moreland. Anchored by Tim Lloyd’s character-driven songwriting, the band creates a sound that is influenced by the past, but isn’t constrained by it.
“Someone to Blame” is the first single following the release of Western States’ first full-length album, From the Center Out.
“It features a salt-of-the-earth White narrator who is down on his luck, but refuses to give into bigotry to explain his lot in life,” explains Lloyd.
The band will continue to release singles and play live in mid-America and release singles before the release of their second full-length album next year.
Do you have any songwriting tips you can share?
Put it away and come back to it. I can’t tell you how many times this has worked for me. I think there’s a myth that the good ones come fast. And that does happen. But that’s not the only way it happens or can happen, at least in my experience. Even though it’s immaterial, I think of songwriting like a three dimensional art form. Lyrics and all the literary stuff are one side, music is another side. And I spend a lot of time tinkering to make music and lyrics fit together in a way that gives you the magical third dimension of emotional depth.
Sometimes I’ll write a complete song and then decide that the lyrics are really strong but they just don’t fit with the music. And I’ll put them away and work on something else. Then I’ll come back to the lyrics and suddenly I’ll find a piece of music that really connects with the emotional meaning I was trying to get at. Suddenly I have this magical third dimension of emotional depth. If I would have just thrown everything away because it wasn’t what I was looking for at first, I never would have never ended up with something I was really happy with.
Tell us about your favorite show you’ve ever played.
I used to be in a band called The Doxies and we were on our way to St. Paul at the Turf Club. It’s an amazing place and we were opening for friends in a band called Old Yeller. The van broke down about an hour away from the club. We have to get a tow, but there’s not enough room in the cab of the tow truck for all of us to make it to the club with the van. So we basically created a diversion so the tow truck driver wouldn’t see a couple members slip into the van and ride in it while it was towed to the gig. Totally stupid and not something we should have probably done. But it worked. We played great. The crowd loved us. We ended up hanging out at this place called the Clown Room. I was having a good time and passed out on a couch. I’m told a member of the Replacements stopped by. I have no idea if that’s true, and I kind of doubt it, but it makes for a good story. We spent a couple extra days in the Twin Cities, having a great time with some kind folks who offered to put us up. The van got fixed and we were on our way. It’s just one of those experiences you can only have traveling and playing music with your friends.
What’s your biggest pet peeve about venues?
I know they have impossibly hard jobs, but an irrationally mean sound person can be a real drag. I’m not talking like a crusty engineer who doesn’t make small talk or like it when you keep asking to adjust a monitor. No, I’m talking about the person who is straight up hostile. I love house sound people, and it doesn’t happen often that you get one who acts the way I’m describing. But uhg, when it happens, it sucks. I guess what I’m saying is to respect house sound people. They are awesome. And if you don’t, some act down the line is going to pay for it. Or maybe you’ll pay for it.
What’s the best way a fan can support you?
Of course all the usual stuff, like buy our merch, pay to download our album, not just stream it, or share our stuff on the socials. That all helps. But honestly, we’re not a famous band and the thing that can mean the most is to really listen deeply to our music. If you like our sound, spend some time listening with intent. That’s what it’s all about on our level. I know it’s cheesy, but knowing someone out there connects with our music keeps us going.
How are you using your platform to support marginalized people?
I’m a white guy with a guitar, and let’s just say there’s a long history of white guys with guitars not being the most self-aware humans. So, I try to stay open to learning, reflecting and thinking about how I can be an ally and ultimately a much better version of a white guy with a guitar than those of the past. A lot of the time that plays out in some of the narratives I write. For example on our last album I have a song called “Give This Town Away,” and the main character is a white guy with deep connections to his small town but conflicted by how it was settled through the genocide of indigenous people. I grew up around a lot of poor white people and there was plenty of bigotry but my dad and my family knew full well that it wasn’t the “other” causing our problems.
We don’t have a massive fan base, maybe that will change someday, but for today we don’t have some huge platform. And we really don’t hire people, so I can’t think about using financial power to be more inclusive. But most of our fans are white, and I hope that there’s at least some power in a white guy with a guitar not being afraid to talk about race in a way that’s honest and reflective. But I’m always learning, hoping to be better. And I know I’ll always have a lot more work to do in this area.
Excellent article. Hits me where I live. Thank you Western States!
Thanks for writing!