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LEAH CARLSON AND THE HEARTLESS
Genre: Alternative Rock, Oldies, Rock
Website:
//www.leahcarlson.net
Contact:
leahrust@aol.com
MP3 (click name to download; click player to stream):
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MORE ABOUT LEAH CARLSON AND THE HEARTLESS
Leah Carlson
Leah Carlson
Leah Carlson: bio
Leah Carlson - songwriter/singer/piano/guitar
Where do I begin......I took piano lessons and was trained by Marcella Goss in Barrinton, RI in the classical manner with no room for improvisation.....at least not in front of her. I was forced by my mom to go to a local open mic in Providence, RI when I was 17 to sing a song that I had written in high school called "A Turn for the Better." It was a bluesy song about escaping the bad days in search of some good ones. Looking back now, I can honestly say things weren't as bad as I thought they were! Ahhh...my own teenage wasteland.
I was nervous as hell that night walking into Last Call in Providence, RI. I went alone, shaking and tucking my curly, blond hair into a jet-black, Cleopatra wig. I needed something to hide behind while I was on stage. You have to understand that I was classically trained on the piano at a young age and the audiences at our recitals consisted of parents of preppy kids with perfect teeth, clean-cut shirts and bright white Keds playing Mozart and Beethoven.....not an audience filled with lace, bikers, bands wearing leather offering me whiskey.
Being trained classically for 14 years meant being guided on a journey of melancholy symphony's and the occasionally painful Opus. I appreciated this style on the piano and it has always been a structure in my songwriting, but I couldn't fight the rebellious attitude of being, well.....a teenage girl.
After a bumpy first performance (and several to follow) I went home and listened to anything I could get my hands on that wasn't current or mainstream. I surrendered to the calling after playing an old compilation tape that featured some classic girl groups, some Carole King hits, and some really old Beatles songs. I was taken.......I picked up my mother's 1963 acoustic Guild guitar that she used to play when she was younger and tuned it to a drop-D/Joni Mitchell style and started to play.....well, attempted to play. I was and will always be the "little girl down the street that plays piano" as my neighbors and friends titled me....not the "rockin' guitar godess" that I always wanted to be referred to as........maybe some day.
I never thought that people would listen to me when I was up there on stage that first night playing my song. I guess that's what started it all. The need for people to hear my heart. I don't know why I think people need to hear it...or why they would want to...Either way, I just love to write and play. It's part of me. I guess I think I have something important to say. Maybe I'll say it when I'm 32 or maybe when I'm 82. Maybe I just like playing good music. Plain and simple~~
My first studio recording featured 4 songs that I wrote and recorded in 1997. I have had the opportunity to record quite a few demos at Celebration Sound in Warren, RI with songwriter, Elliot Willinsky (Motown) and 2 full length albums in 2003 and 2006 with Jim Beaupre and Sean Gilchrist at Machines with Magnets (both independently produced).
I have played on stage with several bands and have had the chance to collaborate with extremely talented musicians and artists in the area. I guess you could say that I am truly blessed. Almost 15 years later and after all of the marvelous memories, I find myself happily settling down into the next phase of my music career......
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