An interview with Leon Marshall
An interview with Leon Marshall
APT
What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences?
I play under the name Leon Marshall. Marshall is my middle name, my surname Denison doesn’t quite sound as apt!
My list is of influences is endless, Elvis, Fleetwood Mac, Sheryl Crow, Jack Johnson, Luke Coombs…I could go on forever! But I’m also a bit of a ‘people watcher’ so I take a lot of influence from the people I meet and see day to day, strangers. From a woman walking past me laughing on the phone to a guy in front of me in the queue at the local shop shouting at the cashier, I like to give them a back story and sometimes it’ll spark an idea for a song.
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
I often start a song when I’m out and about, a lyric will come to me and I’ll save it on my phone, and then I’ll sit in my home studio to finish it. I’ve recently adopted a new rule that if I’ve started a song, I have to finish it, as soon as it’s finished, I can go back and amend it as many times that I like but I have to complete the song first. I found when looking back through my song book that nearly every other page was a chorus that I hadn’t finished. I tend not to have a planned theme from the very start though, that mostly comes into play when I’m a verse or two in, and then I work back to tighten it up afterwards.
OUT
OUT
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
I often start a song when I’m out and about, a lyric will come to me and I’ll save it on my phone, and then I’ll sit in my home studio to finish it. I’ve recently adopted a new rule that if I’ve started a song, I have to finish it, as soon as it’s finished, I can go back and amend it as many times that I like but I have to complete the song first. I found when looking back through my song book that nearly every other page was a chorus that I hadn’t finished. I tend not to have a planned theme from the very start though, that mostly comes into play when I’m a verse or two in, and then I work back to tighten it up afterwards.
DECIDER
Why do you write the sort of music that you do?
I write music that I enjoy listening to, something that’s pleasing to the ear. I enjoy a catchy hook, something that’s going to get stuck in my head…if I’ve finished a song and I’m not still singing the chorus in my head the next day then I think that’s the decider that it needs more work! If I’m not in love with it, I think it’s difficult for other people to be!
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
Although I always start a gig with a plan, it does usually get changed a few times when I’ve started…I usually play the more upbeat ones that people normally join in with,”Chainsmoking”, “Better Man” and hopefully now “Going Nowhere” (!) but it’s all about reading the crowd on the night. Then if I’ve got a smaller crowd that’s quite responsive, I’ll often slip something in that I’ve just finished writing to get some feedback
PLAN
PLAN
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
Although I always start a gig with a plan, it does usually get changed a few times when I’ve started…I usually play the more upbeat ones that people normally join in with,”Chainsmoking”, “Better Man” and hopefully now “Going Nowhere” (!) but it’s all about reading the crowd on the night. Then if I’ve got a smaller crowd that’s quite responsive, I’ll often slip something in that I’ve just finished writing to get some feedback
WRITING
What plans do you have for the future?
My plan is to keep writing and keep trying to better my writing, and of course to get back out as soon as I can playing to big crowds again. I’ve just finished some studio time getting a few new tracks recorded, so I look forward to sharing those with everyone soon!