TJ Leonard Interview – He is a modern country artist from Sweden. He talks about High On Livin’. Interview date: November 20, 2015.
TJ Leonard Interview
– What’s new in the life of TJ Leonard?
Well, I got a new deal with MTS, a new single doing well on the charts and an up coming album release.
– How was it recording your album High On Livin’?
It has been a pretty long process. When you have a job and a family and a house to take care of there´s not that much time left so I spend as much time as I can in the studio in the weekends. It helps to have good musicians as friends that can come over and lay a track now and then :) A couple of the songs are from my old band Chestnut:s Ep. They have been rearranged a little bit to fit in.
– How do you build a song up from nothing to become something?
Most of my songs are about something that has happened in my life and I build a story up from that. I usually write both lyrics and melody at the same time. The ideas comes often times when I’m doing something other than music and I use my phone and a guitar to record whats in my head.
– What is the strangest inspiration you’ve ever had for a song?
It must be where I got the idea to Remember those times. Me and my wife was sitting in the couch with our iPads face-booking. I started to feel hungry and i messaged her that it was time to eat dinner. I was thinking how it was a transparent wall between us and I built the story from that. Internet can bring people together bu it can also pull them apart. It’s important to communicate URL I think.
– When writing songs, is there a certain instrument you prefer for the creative process? Have you always used the same method?
I use the guitar when I write country songs and sometimes piano when writing other genres.
– Do you consider album artwork as important now that music is mostly downloaded?
I think it is. It’s the first thing you see of a product. When you’re a new artist it’s good if people get to know you and a cover puts a face to your music.
– Do you have any tours or gigs coming up in the near future?
Right now I’m focusing on releasing the album but I would love to head out there and I have a family to take care of and a job so If nothing “big” happens, life will go on as usual. I will have some gigs here and there but I will try expand that part. Country music is big in Norway, Germany and France so hopefully I can get some gigs there as well :)
– Could you describe some of your earliest influences in life and in music?
My first contact with music was with my grandpa. He thought me how to play the guitar and he played the mandolin and was singing. Later I took over that part. We played old songs that he used to play in the forties and fifties with his band. He had all the songs written down in black books by hand and it looks amazing.
– Without social media could bands today manage to survive?
Today it’s all about being seen and you have to show that you’re still around. The wheels are turning fast and there’s alot of good artists out there so it’s easy to be forgotten.
– What would we be surprised to find in your music collection at home?
Well, there’s a couple of Miles Davis albums, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday and other jazz artists. Also there are a couple of Swedish dansband albums with songs written by me on them :) These days I have the music in my iPhone. The cd’s are stored in bags in the basement.
TJ Leonard
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