Updates at My New Website

Although this has quite a bit of scribbling from 2009 when I recorded my self-titled album you'll find current Eddie West news at www.eddiewestmusic.com. Please adjust your bookmarks accordingly!

Album Artwork

     Back in October when I got together with photographer David Campbell to shoot the photos for the album cover we decided we'd try to find a little-known place in the desert called Butte Camp. Today this camp lies tucked away in the desert behind indian agricultural fields and consists of little more than old slabs of concrete with desert plants growing out of the cracks. During World War II however, the camp consisted of rows of barracks surrounded by barbed wire, sentry posts and armed guards. The big round slab was a base for a water tower (300,000 gallons). It was one location where Japanese-American individuals, the vast majority of which were actually American citizens, were rounded up and interned for the duration of the war - a Japanese Internment Camp.

     These are a few pictures David's wife took while we were trying a few different locations for the cover. You can check out the album artwork and order CDs from Kunaki.com.

Monument at the top of the hill.

Base of the 300,000 gallon water tank.

Sorghum breeding plot.

     Read about the history of Japanese internment at this National Park Service website. Another history of the Gila River camps can be found here. There was a lot going on at these camps - warehouses, factories, seed farms, newspapers, even several graduating classes of high school. The pictures on both these sights show a lot more than the ones above since everything there is gone now. There is still a lot of agricultural production going on on the indian reservation. It's good to be aware of these types of places.