Today we’d like to introduce you to Lorraine Leckie.

Lorraine, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
“Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today. You can include as little or as much detail as you’d like.”

I’ve lived a few different lives so far and got started in music while working in the fashion business doing makeup. I used to read my poems at dinners and people told me I should turn those poems into songs. I picked up my first guitar when I was 37, and it went terribly! It’s a tough instrument to learn but I practiced every day for a few hours. Then I acquired a piano and thought “What will I do with this? I don’t even know…”

I was learning how to write songs by listening to them on the radio – writing down the structures of the songs and how they were being made – so I could turn the poems into songs. I got a guitar, voice, and piano teacher. I was burning through my bank account and not doing much makeup anymore, but in 3 years I had a body of work. (I worked enough makeup jobs, bartending, etc, to continue.) Once I started, it felt like I was on the right track.

Music is something you can do your entire life. You can work on it your whole life and barely learn anything – it’s infinite. It’s the most creative thing, you can write a song about anything. Get your feelings out through music and share it with others. You keep on learning. I play 3 instruments, others play 5 or more. If something becomes boring, I can pick up a new instrument and find that beginner magic experience again.

Music is great if you don’t care about being rich and successful, cause hardly anyone is. When I reach out for something, I usually don’t get it. But people found me at open mics, on the internet, when I was playing in clubs. You have to work at it every day. I make sure that my music and band look good online, I get out there in the community, and people come to me. I’m working on my eighth album now, releasing singles over the coming months, and looking forward to my next tour.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
“Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?”

That is the köökiest question I’ve ever been asked. Anything worth doing is a total struggle, torture, bumps in the road. You do it with beginner’s luck, then the hard work and struggling begins. It’s easy to do something when you’re successful. Try doing music when you feel like a failure. Kids think they’re going to be rock stars, but most quit within 5 years. Musicians/artists don’t have a choice – they have to keep creating. An internal call pulling them down that dark road, walking through the forests – some light parts and some dark parts where you don’t know if you’ll come out the other side. What pulls me out through the dark forest is my schedule. I practice every day and keep going, no matter how it’s going. Every day. Sometimes I feel terrible about it and sometimes I feel great. But making music is great no matter what. Sitting down with a guitar and a piano is always good. The playing is always good and inspiring (even though the business of music can feel bad). If you put your bum in the seat for a couple hours every day, then you’re going to create something. That takes discipline – sitting in that seat and doing that work.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I play with my alternative folk rock band, Lorraine Leckie & Her Demons, and also love playing solo. My songs are about nature, animals, characters and people. Sometimes I’m a political writer. The songs are lyrically driven all the way. They include a visceral expression of my own experiences. I am a storyteller, even if no one knows what I’m talking about. Ha! To me, the story of each song couldn’t be clearer, but each person hears it in their own way. (I love that about old Neil Young and David Bowie songs – you don’t know what they’re talking about, but it’s wonderful.) I’m telling the story the way I’m seeing it, clear or not clear. But the feeling of the story being told, of the song being heard, is transmitted and each listener can put their own stamp on it.

“What are you most proud of?”

Lorraine Leckie & Friends is my monthly residency at Pete’s Candy Store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. On the second Monday of every month, I showcase 13 artists. It’s an ever changing landscape of talented folks, open to the public, and I’m always looking for new blood (so come and join the party).

In 2018, I started the Greenpoint Songwriters Exchange, an alliance of artists that meets weekly and works together on songwriting. We moved to Zoom during the pandemic, which provided community and creative interaction, and now gather weekly in a hybrid online and in-person session (we welcome newcomers).

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I’m so grateful to my teachers over the years. The first person who helped me was John Berenzy, who taught me guitar, then Frannie Burke, who did my voice lessons. After Frannie, Barbara Maier Gustern did my voice lessons until she died in 2022. The unicorn Hugh Pool taught me how to record music, which we are doing now (a new album will be released in the spring of 2025).

All of my demons have been so supportive. The current demons are Hugh Pool (guitar), Charles DeChants (bass), Keith Robinson (drums), Pavel Cingl (violin), Zoe Friedman (backing vocals), and Yarda Kestranaek (bass, Prague). Past demons have included George Jackson (bass) and Paul Triff (drums). Nonstop supporters, Tom Semioli (journalist) and Gary Topp (promoter), booked me, wrote about me, and supported me in every way from the beginning.

My husband, Billy Leroy, does the artwork. I had just met Billy when I was writing my first songs. He started doing the flyers, posters, and all of the album covers that aren’t photographs. I had no chance of giving up because my family, Billy and Celina Leroy, would never let me.

Special thanks to our polymath house demon (Carter Farmer) who troubleshoots in wicked ways.

Pricing:

• CDs and digital downloads are available at BandCamp.
• You can also hear my music on Spotify and see our videos on YouTube.
• CDs and other merch are available at shows and on the website.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lorraineleckie.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorraineleckie?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/254247468677374/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/LorraineLeckie
• SoundCloud: https://lorraineleckie.bandcamp.com/music
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5XOeHf1CucPIxc6SzSGtiG?si=aKrlWEHtQxWuRiOJcwo1QQ

Image Credits
01a (Personal photo and band photo) – Photo by John Huba. https://www.johnhubastudio.com/
01b – Lorraine Leckie and Her Demons artwork by Billy Leroy. https://billysantiques.com/
02 – Lorraine Leckie and Her Demons standing tall on Greenpoint Avenue. Photo by John Huba
03 – Lorraine Leckie and Her European Demons in Prague. Photo by Petr Nikl Fotograf.
04 – Billy, Lorraine, and Celina at NYC flea market.
05 – Lorraine Leckie at Mercury Lounge. Photo by Tracey Blaser.
06 – Lorraine Leckie recording at Excello Recording. Photo by Hugh Pool.
07 – Greenpoint Songwriters Exchange. Photo by Billy Leroy
08 – Lorraine Leckie and Friends at Pete’s Candy Store. Artwork by Billy Leroy.
09 – Lorraine Leeckie and Friends at Pete’s Candy Store. Photo by Billy Leroy.
10 – Promo photo for Billy Buys Brooklyn. Photo by Stephanie Diani.