MIDLAND - April 26, 2016

Mark Wystrach, Cameron Duddy + Jess Carson of

MIDLAND

MIDLAND is a country music group that was formed in 2014 in Dripping Springs, Texas. The band includes, Mark Wystrach (lead vocals, guitar), Cameron Duddy (bass, vocals) + Jess Carson (guitar, vocals). These men are bringing back the best of what made 1970-80’s country most renowned. Their catchy ballads, honky-tonk, + self-reflective songs are classic country.

Through Big Machine Records, the band has released two EPs, their self-titled EP and The Last Resort. They have released three studio albums, On the Rocks and Let It Roll, both which have accounted for five charted singles on the Billboard country chart: "Drinkin' Problem", "Burn Out", "Make a Little", "Mr. Lonely" and "Cheatin' Songs".

All Access Music writer, NICOLE DEROSA had the pleasure of catching up with MARK WYSTRACH, CAMERON DUDDY + JESS CARSON just before they played at STAGECOACH.

Enjoy their chat below...

Hey Mark, Cameron & Jess! How are you today? What’s on the agenda besides our interview?

Cameron – Nothing crazy for me, just enjoying the calm before the storm that is going to be Midland’s 2016! My wife and I live on a small farm in a little town called Dripping Springs, TX. I’m watching our dogs harass our herd of goats through my office window at the moment.

Mark – Doing well, enjoying some pretty incredible weather here in Austin. Just ran to the store on my Harley to grab dog and cat food and now running out to Jess’s ranch west of town to write with our friend’s Liz Rose and Trent Willmon.

How did you guys all meet and what was the catalyst for you to start a band with one another?

Cameron – Back in LA, I played in bands with Mark and Jess separately for years. We all ran around the same circles and shared band members and a rehearsals space (next to a topless bar on Santa Monica Blvd).

The catalyst may have been my wedding a few years back (of which both Mark and Jess were groomsmen). I actually just found footage of the first time we sat down, just the three of us and played on my mother in laws front porch. There is something special that happens when we play and sing together, so after a few more miraculous circumstances we all moved to Texas (where Jess was living) and took a chance on Midland.

What was the inspiration for your new single, “Fourteen Gears”? Did you also help come up with the treatment for the video?

Cameron – Jess wrote the breadth of “Fourteen Gears”, which was another one of the early moments that defined and solidified the creation of this band.

“As for the video, I’ve always loved Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz. The scene where they play “The Weight” on that soundstage with the Staples Sisters… it’s so heavy. We basically wanted to do a Midland version of that. Minimal lighting, dolly moves, zoom lenses, cross fading transitions, in camera light cues … it really puts you in a time machine.”

Mark – Jess wrote the breadth of the song, I wrote the bridge and we all helped arrange it when we cut it back out at The Sonic Ranch in El Paso…I think Jess was writing from the point of view of a character he had created who was clearly a truck driver…the song is like that character’s theme song that’s keeping him sane while he’s out on the road away from who he loves.

You guys are bringing back the best of what made 1970-80’s with your classic country ballads, honky-tonk, and self-reflective songs. What have you learned from previous bands, collaborations and playing live that you felt you wanted to infuse into your own music?

Cameron – I grew up on Rock and Roll and soul music. Country music came to me through the California filter so it wasn’t until I met Mark in my early twenties that I was exposed to “classic” country. Jess is also an audiophile, so just when you thought you had heard it all, he drops something obscure in your lap. We were just in the studio recording with Shane McAnally.

“Whilst working on tones and “intentions” we were referencing Jerry Reed’s “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot” , The Stones “Tumbling Dice” mixed with the storytelling of Steve Earl's “Guitar Town” and the harmonies of Eagles. Right there is a slice of Midland’s influences and the bar we have set for ourselves.” ~ Cameron

Mark – That you simply have to write and play songs from an authentic place that affects you, that makes your soul stir. With Midland, we are writing and playing songs that do just that, which is what makes this project so special to us.

You are all talented in your own right with other various projects. (Cameron Duddy directed Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven” video) What have you learned from your other professions that have helped or inspired you with MIDLAND?

Jess – I never finished college but I went for a while as an English Literature major. Songs are like short stories so I probably was able to take something from there by creating a narrative in three minutes. I also designed clothing and jewelry for a short time. I think music is very visual and closer to aesthetic design than some people realize.

Mark – Just to be the guy having the most fun with the best attitude and the hardest work ethic…I try to draw perspective everyday and remember just how lucky I have been and how amazing it is that I get to create and perform music for a living. I’m living the dream and that is not lost on me!

If you could hang out with a legend, living or dead (musician, artist, actor, etc.) who would it be? Where would you go and what would you do?

Cameron – I just want to hang with Tom Hanks all the time. Is that too much to ask? I would love to have met Glenn Frey and ask him a million questions. I believe he is my single biggest inspiration.

Jess – I would hang out with Gary Stewart. We would just sit in a dive bar somewhere because that was his natural habitat. He’s my musical hero.

“I would hang out with Magnum P.I. on Oahu in the 80’s and help him solve a case or two while taking in the joys of the island in his Ferrari GTO.” ~ Mark

Nowadays, everything is so instant…you press a button and it’s yours ala Spotify, Soundcloud, iTunes etc. What was the first album, that you can remember saving up your hard earned cash and purchasing for yourself?

Cameron – Van Halen’s, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge.

“I know the first cd I bought was a Jimi Hendrix greatest hits cd. I also remember going in and trying to by Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic” but they wouldn’t sell it to me because I was too young.” ~ Jess

Mark – It was a cassette of DEF LEPPARD when I was probably around 8 years old. My brother and I were already really into music at that point as we had asked for and received a cassette boombox for our 7th birthday. Up until that point, we just stole cassettes from our parents and our older sisters. I remember how cool I felt going to the record store with my Mom and picking out Def Leppard!!!! (laughs)

What was the first song you fell in love with and why?

Jess – “Winds Of Change” by The Scorpions. I think it was that whistling part that got me.

Mark – For me it was a Townes Van Zandt song called “Pancho and Lefty” performed by Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. It was my Mom’s favorite and we listened to it on repeat driving in our old stock truck hauling cattle from Arizona to Montana. That song’s emotion and melody truly captured my young imagination and I could see the characters living this tale as I gazed out the window and saw the ever changing majestic scenery of the USA roll out before my eyes…from that point on country music was sacred to me.

Who is in your current playlist at the moment? Anyone we would be surprised to find in there?

Cameron – There’s a singer songwriter named Steve Young (not the football player) that I just uncovered. His stuff has been difficult to find! Someone help!

Jess – The only thing maybe surprising in my playlist is some stuff from the 1920’s and 30’s. I’m very into early American songbook stuff. Folks like Jimmie Rodgers and Hoagy Carmichael.

Mark – I’ve been listening to a lot of Jerry Jeff Walker and Don Williams…the one that you may be surprised with is Jonathan Wilson…absolutely love this guy and would love to work with him as a producer some day. I think he’s a genius.

What’s on tap next for MIDLAND? What are you guys most excited about for this year?

Mark – We are thrilled to just get our music out there for people to hear and to tour!

To stay connected with MIDLAND , visit their socials below!

Website / Instagram / Facebook / YouTube

Nicole DeRosa for All Access Music, April 26, 2016

https://music.allaccess.com/qa-with-midland

Jeremiah Fraites of THE LUMINEERS - March 6, 2016

Jeremiah Fraites of THE LUMINEERS

Talks about the bands eagerly anticipated album: CLEOPATRA, Making of the “Ophelia” video, and writing melodies for

JENNIFER LAWRENCE to sing in

THE HUNGER GAMES

In the spring of 2005, childhood friends Wesley Schultz & Jeremiah Fraites began to collaborate, writing together & playing gigs around New York. After battling the city’s cutthroat music scene & impossibly high cost of living, the two decided to expand their horizons. They packed everything they owned—nothing more than a couple suitcases of clothes & a trailer full of musical instruments & headed for Denver, Colorado. It was less a pilgrimage than act of stubborn hopefulness.

The first thing they did in Denver was place a Craigslist ad for a cellist & the first person to respond was Neyla Pekarek, a classically trained Denver native. As a trio, they began playing at the Meadowlark, a gritty basement club where the city’s most talented songwriters gathered every Tuesday for an open mic & dollar PBRs. Neyla softened Wes & Jer’s rough edges while expanding her skills to mandolin & piano.

And so The Lumineers sound took shape; an amalgam of heart-swelling stomp-and-clap acoustic rock, classic pop & front-porch folk. In 2011, their self-recorded EP led to a self-booked tour & before long The Lumineers started attracting devout fans, first across the Western US, then back in their old East Coast stomping grounds. Young, old & in-between, they’re drawn by songs like “Ho Hey” & “Stubborn Love,” Americana-inflected barnburners in the vein of the Avett Brothers & Mumford & Sons.

The roots revival of the last few years has primed listeners for a new generation of rustic, heart-on-the-sleeve music — the kind that nods to tradition while setting off into uncharted territory. The Lumineers walk that line with a gift for timeless melodies & soul-stirring lyrics.

Powered by passion, ripened by hard work, The Lumineers have found their sound when the world needs it most. Now, four years in the making…they’re back with an eagerly anticipated new album!

All Access Music writer, NICOLE DEROSA had the pleasure of catching up with JEREMIAH FRAITES just before the release of the bands long awaited album, CLEOPATRA .

Hey there Jeremiah! Where does our interview find you today and what’s on the agenda today besides our interview?

Hey Nicole! Well, I’m at home right now & completely free this week. Besides our interview, I am also be picking out songs for a Lumineers Spotify playlist for songs that inspired the making of our second album, Cleopatra.

My brother in law is also in town, visiting from Italy & we’re going to play soccer in about an hour which will be a lot of fun & something I love to do when I am home, which is very rare. Afterwards, I’m going over to my bandmate, Wes’ house for dinner later this evening.

For those that have been living under a rock and not as familiar with The Lumineers and your music, who or what was the catalyst for you to want to live the life of a musical gypsy?

Well, I think part of the thing that made me want to choose this lifestyle was two things…I guess, first was seeing my father go to work everyday, getting up at 6 in the morning everyday & getting home at five or six o’clock every night. He provided an amazing life for my brother, myself & my mother. That was amazing of him but I also saw that classic, traditional work ethic of going to a job everyday for 30 or 40 years & not necessarily enjoying the job but doing it because he needed to provide for his family.

Secondly, I think I saw a lot of my peers after high school or college immediately finding jobs that paid well, but were not necessarily fulfilling them. It allowed for them to buy a house, a car, or a cool apartment in New York City or whatever superficial thing at the time but it didn’t make them happy. I said to myself, “I rather do something that makes me happy as opposed to something that makes me money”.

I just think that it made sense to me…ya know, that idea of do what you love. You know that old cliche, “If you do what you love for a living, you never work a day in your life…” Well, I do, do what I love for a living & I also work extremely hard, so I don’t know if that old adage is correct (laughs) but I am very blessed & I feel very lucky to have had all that success with our debut album.

Before our debut album ever came out, Wes & I wrote music for about five or six years (now going on ten years…) before we found any success. “They” said it takes about ten years to be an overnight success & I suppose that was true with us.

Your self titled debut album, gave us the memorable hit song, “Ho Hey” which would become the 10th song to reach a 60th week on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; eventually finishing its run at 62 weeks, as one of the highest runs in the chart’s history. What did you learn between your debut album and now that you felt you wanted to infuse into the album, Cleopatra?

I guess we learned a lot…one thing is that there was this big anticipation for our second album, obviously & I think there was this big pressure to deliver an epic album.

I think as The Lumineers, we certainly could have capitalized on the first albums success. In other words, we could have just put out another record, two years later that looked, sounded & felt exactly like the first one. I think a good metaphor is like winning the lottery & instead of buying more lottery tickets, we just took the money & invested it in the sense of finding all this success with the first album, we were very lucky to have with the success of “Ho Hey” but instead of trying to cheapen that experience or capitalize on it, shallowly.

I think we thought...okay, let’s make the second album grow & evolve & let there be a palpable difference in the two albums, both sonically & well, everything. Both lyrically & how it just feels. I think it feels more grown up & more serious & again, evolved. These are all serious words using to describe our music but I really feel like that. I really feel that the second album is more mature.

It’s pretty scary at times to think you will be remembered for just one song. I mean, “Stubborn Love” was an amazing single that went to #1 at certain radio stations & we ended up selling over 3 million albums worldwide, but I think being known for that one song, I think gave us more “gasoline in the tank” & more inspiration to write an amazing second album & show people that we’re not just a one hit wonder or whatever you want to call it. We are capable of delivering an entire album of high level material.

Jeremiah, you and Wes both composed the melody for the song “The Hanging Tree” which was featured in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and was performed by James Newton Howard and vocals by actress, Jennifer Lawrence. How did that all come about and how was that experience writing for a soundtrack?

Well, it came about very organically. We had completed a song for The Hunger Games soundtrack called “Gayle’s Song” that is going to be on the second record. When we finished “Gayle’s Song” we were in the midst of being on the road, we were actually at Lollapalooza in Chicago & we had about six free hours that morning & we went into a studio & recorded “Gayle’s Song” which went on the first Hunger Games soundtrack.

The director of The Hunger Games, Francis Lawrence reached out to me directly & it was just like I said, a very organic request…he said, “Hey do you and Wes want to write some music and a melody?” In the book, The Hunger Games there is this poem called, “The Hanging Tree” & obviously it’s just words on a page. So this was a really cool, working backwards kind of homework assignment.

You know, typically….I'll find the melody first & Wes would write the lyrics & after the lyrics now write the melody. So, me & Wes worked on the melody & tried to imagine the Hunger Games character (Katniss) that Jennifer Lawrence portrays & being this center of attention in this war-like atmosphere & we tried to delve into this Appalachian-folky kinda vibe & sent it to them & they loved it!

I was just really blown away by what James Newton Howard did with that simple melody where it dissolves into all these complex chords running underneath it & it was just a really cool experience. And, to hear Jennifer Lawrence sing it…I don’t think she’s a trained singer, which was even cooler to hear because it’s very frail & vulnerable in a cool way, I really mean that in the best way possible.

“It was really neat to see this little melody on the big screen & in the movie, worked on by a world renown composer like James Newton Howard & sung by Jennifer Lawrence. It was a pretty crazy experience.”

Ya know, Wes & I write all this music for The Lumineers but also have all these other song ideas that we can’t use for The Lumineers, so doing something like that for a movie was a great exercise in continuing to be an artist & not something we would have done with The Lumineers.

You guys continued your musical efforts on the small screen too, by releasing the song, “Visions of China” which was featured in the AMC television show, The Walking Dead. Are you all big fans of the show as well?

To be honest, I’ve never seen an episode of The Walking Dead. I watched every episode of Breaking Bad & then I went back to an older show called, The X-Files & then we went on tour for three years (laughs) so, I haven’t had a lot of time to watch television. But, I love the song, “Visions of China” & I know that The Walking Dead is probably the biggest show in the world right now.

“That’s pretty typical me though…I usually don’t get on the bandwagon until it’s five or ten years after the fact. I know one day, I’ll watch The Walking Dead.”

What was the inspiration for your new single, “Ophelia”? Did you help come up with the treatment for the video as well?

“Ophelia” was really cool because that was the first song that we had written & 100% completed in the demo-ing process. We finished touring the first album, going on three years now in December of 2014 & then we started writing in January of 2015. By February, “Ophelia” was done in the demo stage & that was really exciting because I felt like it helped me understand the second album.

“I felt like “Ophelia” was this foundational cornerstone song that had to be completed before we wrote the rest of the album. And that was the first song on the album, so it’s kind of fitting that it’s the first song on the single or whatever you want to call it…”

Lyrically, I heard Wes talk about it often…he says that the lyrics sort of just fell out of him as a stream of consciousness & then they began to have meaning later for him. Specifically to this idea of after touring for three years on the first record, you sometimes feel numb & disconnected to what you are doing & doing the same thing every night & you are exhausted from travel.

“I think that after the first album & that level of international success would change anybody too, so the lyrics are about going through those internal changes within yourself, with your family & within the band. And also with how you perceive the world & how the world perceives you now too.”

It’s pretty cool because the lyrics are kind of vague at times, but also specific if that makes any sense. I think that fed in lyrically into the treatment of the video…this idea of us performing, as these kind of stoic statues performing on a stage & this sort of ghost-like figure that rises from Wesley’s body that starts dancing in the street without a care in the world.

It actually started to rain at the end of the shoot, which you can see in the video for “Ophelia”. That was not planned…that was no CGI rain! (laughs) That actually started to happen & it's one of my favorite scenes when it turns that corner & it's raining in Los Angeles. How rare is that? It was pretty great to capture it in that moment in the presentation of the song.

Nowadays, everything is so instant…you press a button and it’s yours ala Spotify, Soundcloud, iTunes etc. What was the first album you saved up your hard earned money as a kid and bought for yourself?

I can remember buying an album by the band, Bush. I can’t remember the title of the album but it had the song, “Machinehead” & “Glycerine” which was a huge hit…it had a lot of cool songs on that album.

I can remember going into a record store & my mother, ya know…she wouldn’t let me buy the records with the EXPLICIT CONTENT sticker. I was only allowed to buy the albums that were the edited versions. (laughs) I didn’t feel very cool in front of my friends with my “edited version”. I can specifically remember buying that Bush cd & just really falling in love.

“I can also remember spending a lot of the time putting in the cassette & making 20, 30 or even 40 mix tapes of songs. And if the radio DJ talked over the last part of the song, I would get mad & I would have to wait for him & then re-record it the next time it came on the radio again. I would get really angry!”

I would be really meticulous about collecting all this music & trying to do it “for free” which, little did I know…fifteen to twenty years later, that is how people were going to do it with YouTube & an infinite amount of songs at your fingertips “for free”. We live in a strange world now & it’s a strange time to be a musician. That said, I do think it’s also an exciting time to be a musician too. Change is not always bad.

What was the first song you fell in love with (or made a lasting impact) on you and why?

Well, let me think….I can remember… strangely enough, around the 4th or 5th grade, really falling in love with music for the first time & that was from the great composer, Beethoven. My brother got a Bach cd & we used to argue about who was better! (laughs)

I just love Beethoven. I fell in love with…not the symphony of Beethoven, but just him on the piano. I guess they are called, sonatas. His songs are just so beautiful & I would listen to them every night before I fell asleep. So, I fell in love with the piano & Beethoven first.

And then…I’ll never forget the first time I heard, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana come on the radio. I, of course recorded it off the radio on my little cassette player (laughs) & I just loved the guitar intro.

I wanted to learn to play that song on the piano, but as a kid, I didn’t understand how to play that guitar “dun, dun, dun, dunn, dunn, dunn, dun, chkk ckkk ckkk” intro on a piano. I didn’t know how to play that palm muting guitar sound on the piano. I mean now, I know you can’t do that. (laughs) That’s not what a piano does. I remember I was in love with the song but I was like, “I can’t play this on the piano” & I was so confused. (laughs)

“I just remember that time was kind of weird because I was listening to Beethoven but falling in love with Nirvana, Guns N Roses, Bush…& all these other hard rock bands at the same time, juxtaposed to the classical piano. I guess, I just love music of all kinds.”

Who is in your current playlist? What artists or bands are in current rotation for you?

I am at my computer right now & instead of showing you my playlist, I can explain to you my playlist. (laughs) Okay, so I have the song, “The Truth” by Dr. Dog, “The Suburbs” by Arcade Fire, “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime” by Beck which is from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack. I also have “A Day In The Life” by The Beatles, “The Ghosts of Beverly Drive” by Death Cab For Cutie. I also have “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” from Father John Misty. And “Hannah Hunt” by Vampire Weekend.

“I’m just really loving the latest Vampire Weekend album, Modern Vampires of The City. I’m really, really in love with the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind movie soundtrack too. It has that Beck song that I just mentioned & it has a ton of original songs by the composer, Jon Brion. It’s just incredible. So yeah, that’s just some of the stuff I’ve been listening to a lot lately.”

What’s on tap next for The Lumineers? What are you most excited about for this year?

Well, talking to you right now….it is Thursday, February 25th at 10:43am in Denver, Colorado & I cannot wait for our album to be released! I have the album here on my computer & I have it on my phone & I can’t send it to any of my friends. I have friends all over the world & they’ve been asking & texting me for the album, but I’ve really been respecting the album & not releasing it to anyone.

I’m excited for our album, Cleopatra to come out on April 8th. It’s really frustrating that the album was done, basically in September…or maybe around early October & now almost six months later, the album will be out in April. So, I just can’t wait for that. I know it’s a great album. I just feel that strongly about it. I feel very proud, happy & content with it & I guess, I’m just excited for the fans to hear it!

Our fans have been patiently waiting for four years & that’s a long time. There is a part of me that wishes we would have released an album earlier but there was no time. We toured & then we wrote this album. This is as early as this album could have come out when all is said & done.

I’m really excited to go back on tour, see our fans & have them listen to our songs. It’s a totally different album than the first. We changed & I think we’re gonna push our listeners & test them a little bit….which my favorite artists have done with me whether it’s Radiohead, Beck, Pink Floyd or The Talking Heads. These are paradigm shifting artists that test their listeners to see what they were made of & I hope that in some capacity we do the same.

Nicole DeRosa for All Access Music, March 3, 2016

https://music.allaccess.com/qa-with-jeremiah-fraites-of-the-lumineers-talks-new-album-cleopatra-writing-melodies-for-the-hunger-games-his-love-of-beethoven-nirvana-and-much-more/

LEON BRIDGES - February 15, 2016

Todd Michael "Leon" Bridges, born July 13, 1989 is an American soul singer, songwriter & record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. He is best known for his 2015 song "Coming Home", which received regular airplay & was also a Top 10 Most Viral Track on Spotify.

Bridges' debut album, also titled Coming Home, was released on June 23, 2015, on Columbia Records & subsequently nominated for Best R&B Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.

Bridges's style is primarily soul, but resembling 1960s rhythm & blues. The Wall Street Journal described him as a "throwback to '60s-soul a la Otis Redding and Sam Cooke." Bridges learned to play the guitar by playing simple chords to accompany his lyrics. While working at Del Frisco's Grille in Fort Worth, he played countless open-mics until he was signed by Columbia Records in December 2014. It was his song "Lisa Sawyer", about his mother's conversion, that first defined his style.

Bridges began writing & performing 1950s & '60s-style soul music that was described by Austin360 as "a transmission straight from the heart." He began to attract followers & his break into the music industry has been attributed to meeting guitarist Austin Jenkins & Joshua Block of White Denim.

It was Bridges' performance of "Coming Home" that caught the attention of the two. Bridges worked on his first few tracks with Jenkins & Block as producers. They recorded an album with vintage equipment, using local musicians affiliated with White Denim. Bridges released two demo songs on Soundcloud in late 2014. It attracted the attention from several record labels with Bridges eventually signing with Columbia Records in December 2014.

Bridges first official single, "Coming Home", was released on Columbia Records in February 2015. The song continued the success of the demo version & became a Top 10 Most Viral Track on Spotify the same month as its release. Bridges played at the Sundance Film Festival & at the SXSW festival in 2015.

His debut album was released in the summer of 2015 & has been referred to as a 2015 "Album to Look Forward to From Texans" by The New York Times. "Coming Home" is featured in an Apple iPhone 6 commercial. Coming Home was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.

Aside from his own shows, Bridges also supported Pharrell Williams at the Apple Music Festival in 2015. While opening at the intimate Roundhouse, he was able to perform hits such as "River", "Better Man" and "Lisa Sawyer" from his debut album Coming Home.

Bridges was the featured musical guest on Saturday Night Live on December 5, 2015. He performed "Smooth Sailin'" with a full backup band, and sang "River" with only backup singers & organ, accompanying himself on guitar.

Bridges also participated in Macklemore & Ryan Lewis's song "Kevin", which was released on the duo's second full-length album.

On February 24, 2016, Bridges performed in Washington, D.C. as part of the series "In Performance at the White House" for President Barack Obama and First Lady, Michelle Obama. He performed a song by Ray Charles as well as one of his own songs.

My Interview with LEON BRIDGES

Hi Leon! Where does this interview find you? What’s on the agenda today besides our interview?

Today I had a few interviews with Texas monthly & a short live phone interview with BBC. At the moment I’m sipping on some coffee.

For those not as familiar with you and your music, how did you get your start in music? Who or what was the catalyst for you?

One of my friends in college would bring her guitar to school every now & then. One day she asked me to watch it on her way to class & I asked her to show me some chords & she wrote a minor & e minor on a chart. Two years after that I bought a guitar & made the decision to make soul music.

I understand you were recently in the studio with rock band, White Denim. How was that?

Austin Jenkins & Josh Block are great guys! They were very patient & worked their tails off during the recording process. It’s a blessing that I was able to do my record with guys that have been in the game for a while. I needed someone to come along & help polish my vision. I couldn’t have been in a better position.

On the track, “Coming Home,” you instantly transport the listener back to 1962 on this tune as you croon about returning to your beloved. What was the inspiration for that song?

I wrote "Coming Home" because I wanted to express the idea of faithfulness that people can easily relate to.

You are receiving a lot of comparisons as the new Sam Cooke. Who are your musical influences?

I can’t hold a candle to Sam Cooke but that is very flattering. Sam Cooke, Bobby Womack & Van Morrison are my favorites. I’m also inspired by the musicians & songwriters in my community.

Do you remember the first album you bought for yourself?

Yes! “The Life” record by Ginuwine.

What was the first song you fell in love with and why?

“When A Woman’s Fed Up” by R. Kelly. I was at a community center “lock in” & a kid was playing that on the piano. I was totally drawn by that sound & I had never seen anyone play an instrument before that moment.

Who would your dream collaboration be with, living or dead?

Miguel & Raphael Saadiq! It would have been great to collaborate with Sam Cooke. On the other hand, I’d be satisfied to have been a fly on the wall.

Who is in your current playlist? Any artists, musicians or genres we might be surprised to find in there?

I’ve been heavy on a compilation of songs Sam Cooke produced under his label called “SAR Records Story”. I have Young Thug, Pretty Ricky & Sisqo on my other playlist. I might lose some fans now!.... Haha

What’s on tap next for you, Leon? What are you most excited about in 2015?

Touring our booties off!

Nicole DeRosa for All Access Music, February 15, 2016 https://music.allaccess.com/qa-with-25-year-old-sam-cooke-worthy-crooner-leon-bridges/