The Family That Plays Together

Leeland

 

Cast your memory back about forty years or more to a group of brothers, cousins (and a friend) who changed the course of pop music history.  If not for Pet Sounds, would Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club band even exist?  

Now meet Leeland, a quintet of 19-24 year olds, not from Hawthorne, California, but from Baytown, Texas who have not only picked up their share of Dove Award nominations, but have collaborated with the likes of Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman.  

Ryan Smith shared these moments with 21 year old frontman Leeland Mooring. 

You’ve been touring with Casting Crowns, who we’re also interviewing for this issue of Shure Notes.  How is the tour going?

It’s been amazing, the camaraderie alone has been phenomenal!  It has really felt like a large family with all of us here.  Plus, we’ve been able to reach out to a huge number of people. 

Leeland is clearly a family and friends affair – the band includes your brother Jack, a cousin and two close friends from church. How do you avoid the kind of sibling rivalry that has signaled the end of other “bands of brothers”?

We’ve been playing music together since we were small kids.  So that’s never really been a problem.  If anything, it’s made it easier, because we think on the same wavelength. 

It’s incredible to think that you signed your first songwriting contract with EMI when you were 15 years old.   You were obviously good then, but how do you think your songwriting chops have evolved since?   

Over the course of the past four years, I have had a the good luck to know and write with a lot of experienced writers like Marc Byrd, Michael W. Smith and many others.  I would like to think that I’ve matured over the last four years.  It’s been a blessing.

You’ve collaborated with Michael W. Smith.  Can you describe how that process worked?

It was a really laidback kind of thing.  It wasn’t just Michael - it was me, Michael and his producer Matt Bronnaly.  At first I was a little bit nervous, but after the first day it was awesome. 

“Opposite Way” was released in late February and reached #1 on the iTunes Christian Albums chart almost immediately.  You are so much younger than many other artists out there today – do you think that your comparative youth has helped you to find new audiences?

Yeah, I think our youth has helped us to relate to our generation, and even musically, we’re probably listening to a lot of the same bands that they’re listening to.  Plus its cool to see kids their age serving God and having fun at the same time.

In our research for this interview, we read that the band first started rehearsing in a funeral home.  True or false, and if true, where exactly in the funeral home?

Yeah we started rehearsing in a funeral home because back then it was the only place available to us to rehearse in.  We used the foyer next to the casket room.  We all had day jobs at the time, working until about five in the afternoon.  After work, we’d set up a sound system, practice, then it tear down at one in the morning and load it back into storage.

What’s on your iPod playlist?

The Raconteurs, Police, Radiohead, Phil Wicham, Patty Griffin, Keith Urban, Keane, Kasabian, John Mayer, Jimmy Eat World, Jeff Buckley, Interpol, Goldspot, The Flaming Lips, Fiest, Fireflight, The Doves, Elbow, Delirious, David Gray, The Cranberries

That’s a pretty diverse list.  You know, many of our readers are musicians.  Do you have any tips to share for those who may want to try their hand at songwriting?

First, realize that it doesn’t matter if you can play an instrument or not, you can still write songs.  Especially for spiritual songs, a lot of songs come out of prayer.   And it’s OK to have other influences.  Remember to be unique. 

Leeland’s FOH Man —
Marcus Gibson

Many of our readers volunteer in the tech ministries of small churches, so we’re constantly on the lookout to give them information they can use in their home churches to improve sound quality. 

How many wireless systems are you using onstage?  Any issues with multiple systems?   

We use one UR4D receiver with UR2 transmitters for our vocals and five PSM® 700s for our wireless in-ear monitors.  Since we’re able to sweep for available frequencies with the UR4s and then apply that to our 700s, we have hardly had any issues.   

Most churches are using wireless mics for their pastors, lead vocalists or praise leaders.  What advice do you have for them – or for those smaller churches just getting into wireless systems? Any concerns about FCC ‘white spaces’ issues? 

You should really do your research before buying any type of wireless system.  Shure offers some amazing tools, for free, to help find and manage frequencies that are available in your area.  With all that is changing wirelessly these days, I would make sure that the wireless unit that you’re buying has a broad spectrum of frequencies to choose from to counter any changes that will happen in the future. 

Money is an object for small churches and most don’t have the budgets of mega-churches for state of the art systems.   What the best advice you have to offer on where and how to spend audio dollars for a congregation of, let’s say, 1000 or less.  

The hardest part about audio is that you’re only as strong as your weakest link.  Whether that’s your PA, mics, processing, or even on occasions, what you’re trying to mic and amplify.   

Your loudspeaker coverage is above all the most important foundation.  Once that’s established, be smart about the rest of the gear you purchase.  Make sure that what you’re buying complements what you’re using it for.  For example, not every mic works with every vocalist no matter how expensive it is.  I’ve always strived to match my vocalist with a microphone that needs minimal, if any, EQ adjustments.  

Last question – let’s talk about you.  Self-taught or formally educated?  And what’s the most important things you’ve learned along the way? 

I went to a university that focused on live production and got a very strong foundation of both knowledge and skills.   

But the most important thing I’ve learned since then is to always be open to other engineers’ perspectives and experiences.  Even if it’s not relevant to the project at hand, you never know what can be useful in the future.  I’ve learned a lot of what I know from incredible friends and engineers in the industry. 

We thank Ryan Smith, Marcus Gibson and Leeland for sharing. Interested in knowing more about Leeland? Check the band’s website and MySpace presence.