Leaders

Leaders  is Jeff, Phil, and Tim.  They're all fairly soft-spoken gentlemen.  And their songs hark back to pioneering psychedelic rockers with dark, undulating punk melodies.


Chief: Why "Leaders"?  And wasn't it originally "Leaders of The Free World"?

Jeff: This story might be completely incorrect, but I think Phil and Tim were watching the Eminem biopic 8 Mile and in the movie there was some Detroit rap group called "Leaders of the Free World".  I've never seen the movie, so I can't be sure. Anyway, they thought that would be kind of a funny band name. But then, like the next day, Phil and Tim went to a house party and there just happened to be this wild t-shirt pinned to the wall that said "Leaders of the Free World" in airbrush or puff paint. So, of course it was official. Then later we had the idea to change the band name periodically to "Leaders of [something else]". But, I don't know...I guess it's tough to keep up something like that and not sound pretentious. So, we usually just go by "Leaders" these days. ...which is kind of funny, because I don't really think of any of us as "leader"-type people. I mean, I think we have that entrepreneurial spirit, but in reality, we're a pretty passive bunch.

Phil: This is slightly incorrect. So, Tim and I were at this house party in Boston and the place was floor to ceiling Budweiser ads. For some post-911 insane inspiration, that included a pinned up American Flag wife-beater that included that tag-line 'Leaders of the Free World' arched majestically over the flag. That's what we wanted. Eminem stole it from us the year after. So we stole it back by dropping the Freedom approach and going with 'Leaders'... or 'Leaders of...'. There's also an early hip-hop group called 'Leaders of the New School'. As Leaders, I think we can consider ourselves as Leaders of hanging out, not really trying to lead anything else.

Tim: Leaders is more of an expanse. And “the leaders” is too selective. For a time some listeners where dropping the leaders all together for the more utopian “free world”.

You just released your sophomore album at DoggPony Records, recorded this winter in Boston... what's it like going into the studio, a year after your first album, and laying it down again?  How's that process work-- writing, rehearsing, recording?

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Jeff: We write pretty much all our songs as a group at band practice. Usually new songs just kind of evolve from old songs and jamming on them for a while. The recording process was pretty similar for both records. Our friend, Michael Hutcherson, has a studio in Boston. He's really cool to work with and he has tons of cool toys like vintage synths, and amazing analog effects...

Phil: Total. The evolution of old songs into new songs has been our key inspiration. Boston is a nice place to get away a bit, and just concentrate on finishing up a recording. We like to leave some of our plans pretty loose, and just come up with things on the spot. Makes it more fun for everyone. Hutch especially enjoys this process, as we kind of let him do whatever he wants to do with us. We'll be doing another with him early next year.

Tim: Our songs usually come out of insistently playing what feels good once over the course of around a half year to three years. Not that the feelings fade but through the repeats the old ones eventually turn entirely new. Also a lot of how we play is like this insistence.. metaphor-eyesing is an afterthought to the physical presence of heart coming through the music sound.

Best gig to date?

Jeff: Hmmm...I guess the first time we played at the Glasshouse Gallery in Brooklyn, which was last winter. I don't remember who we played with, but it seemed like the crowd was pretty into it. We generally have more fun in unusual venues I guess.

Phil: I'd say the smaller the space, the better for us. Kitchens, living rooms, bathrooms, etc.. But certainly we feel spiritually inclined to play outdoors in seemingly ancient feeling spaces. That's how we imagine ourselves I think at our dream performance.

Tim: Almost every recent show. Early shows when it was just me and phil, indoor shows, outdoor collisieum shows

How did the band get started?  When did you guys start playing instruments, and then when did you start playing together?

Jeff: The three of us met at Pratt. I'm pretty sure Phil and Tim started playing together early 2002...cause I have a flyer from a house party they played that June. I have several old flyers that are pretty insane. Then, I started playing drums with them a few months after that. We really only had three songs for a while. We weren't in any hurry. We'd just hang out, ride bikes, drink beer. It was cool. We all sort of played in bands in high school, though I don't think Phil really played keyboards until Leaders. I played drums in this industrial/hard rock band in high school in Georgia. We were called "Zero Machine". They're still around, but now they're called "Pig Hut".

Phil: Tim and I played a few loft party situations when we were at Pratt. Just a keyboard and bass guitar. One of the shows we had these paper scrolls taped up around the room with magic marker lyrics scrawled about them. I think that helped us out a bit. Jeff changed our cause into something much more tangible. He's really the musician of the band. We've totally grown a lot since. I think.
Tim is playing a bass guitar that I got for my Bar Mitzvah. Mazel Tov, Tim.

Tim: Maybe three or four years ago me and Phil were living in a place where party bands materialized out of thin air at every party. Only two remained at the end of an epic three day bacchanalia, and they were celebrated as Amanda Noa and Leaders of the Free World (our name at the time). Cheers, Phil.

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When you're not rocking out, what are you guys doing?  Day jobs?

Jeff: Yeah, we've all got art/design related jobs. We've all got girlfriends and hobbies and stuff. I'm interested in wine and genealogy stuff. And I have a collection of fake Dr. Pepper cans. You know, the usual.

Phil: Ancient Almanac, The Holster, other projects that come along.

Tim: We are all master craftsmen. On and off the Internet, Phil and Jeff are both excellent creators. I’m off the Internet most of the time and make prints

Does being in a band get you laid?

Jeff: It doesn't hurt that we're devastatingly attractive.

Phil: I haven't really begun conducting that study. Seems to me things are the same.

Tim: Play the guitar laying down?

If you could only take one other band member with you to a deserted island, who would it be and why?  Now fight!

Jeff: I think I'd take Tim because he's vegan and he wouldn't try to eat me. And I'd know that if things got bleak, I could eat him.

Phil: Tim is very advantageous, like moving into an apartment that needs a complete overhaul. Maybe he could build us a nice little tree house or something assuming there are trees on this island. And he most certainly wouldn't think about eating me.

Tim: I am so honored to be chosen. I can’t imagine leaving one of my bros hanging. If I must I would be forced to reach outside the band to other band members, maybe Brian May of Queen, Herbie Hancock.

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In the end, what really, truly matters?

Jeff: Life sucks then you die. Wouldn't it be horrible if I really thought that?

Phil: Just to chill out, make stuff, let things happen, we're really in no kind of hurry, seriously.

Tim: Visualize walking over to what you see.

Downloads

Driving.mp3
Darkheart.mp3
Helping.mp3
The_Race_Can_Change_The_Pace.mp3

Website

www.leadersdownloadcenter.com

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