We recently connected with Alex Svoboda and have shared our conversation below.
Alex, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
For years, I was a closet musician. I played guitar alone and I made sure to only sing behind closed doors. I always dreamed though, of sharing my music with the world. My biggest goal was to someday play for an audience and to perform the songs that I secretly wrote.
After college I took a job and moved to Big Rapids, Michigan. This small, rural, farming town was lonely at first. This led me to spend hours with my guitar in my little apartment. I so desperately wanted to share my talents with the world but I didn’t know where to begin.
A chance meeting at church one Sunday led me to begin playing and singing at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Big Rapids. The music director, Elyse Leach, saw something in me and she pushed me hard to break out of my shell. It was terrifying, exhilarating, and so rewarding all at once. With a new found confidence, I even plucked up the courage to play at my first open mic at a local bar. Thus, cementing my drive to perform live shows.
In 2020, I approached a local recording studio named, “White Elephant Records,” about the possibility of recording some music. I had just started a folk-rock band called, the Cold Leather Seats. We had been writing songs and we felt ready to properly record them. Little did we know, we were in way over our heads. However, we took the risk knowing that we had the potential to create something great.
Jeremiah and Alicia Pilbeam of White Elephant Records, truly were the most generous and kind people we could have ever hoped to meet in the music industry. From day one, they treated us with the most utmost respect and we quickly became friends. Without them we could have never put together the quality of music that we ultimately began to produce.
In 2020, we took a leap of faith and released the Cold Leather Seats’ debut single, “Roots.” Since then, we have worked harder than ever to grow our musical community, skills, and fan base. In 2022, we played over thirty shows and released our two newest singles, “Where We Are,” and “Beautiful Nights.” The response has been overwhelmingly positive and we feel truly blessed to be able to share our music with the world.
Alex , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I co-founded a band named, the “Cold Leather Seats.” I would describe our sound as, “if the Lumineers had a bluegrass streak.” We are made up of a collection of artists with a deep love for music and performance.
Together, we have created our own unique, Americana-blend of country, folk, rock, and blues. We draw lots of inspiration from the likes of Jason Isbell, the Head and the Heart, and of course, the Lumineers. In all of our music we try to tell stories that people can relate to and hopefully learn from.
We have kept a very busy concert schedule over the last year, traveling throughout Michigan. If you’re a fan of live music we definitely hope to see you at a venue sometime soon!
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
It challenging enough these days, among the humdrum of the world, to formulate our own ideas about life, let alone share them. Not to mention when we do, is anyone even listening? Songwriting has allowed us to freely discuss our best and our worst moments. It has given us the opportunity to set aside, if just for a moment, the busyness of life, and explore what it means to be human. In doing so, we have grown in our relationships with each other and our communities in ways that were never possible before.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
With the rewards of songwriting in mind, our goal has been to share meaningful stories about things that matter. Our goal is to make music that will serve as a reminder of what is important in life. Such as, your loved ones, your community, and hope for a better future.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://coldleatherseats.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cold_leather_seats/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coldleatherseats
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8oQd2_yiLqZqYOJHLDhLQA
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/755kmrtbOY62u83noEFig8?si=KTUAYdNITQebyKddsH2IPg https://linktr.ee/ColdLeatherSeats
Image Credits
Samantha Worthing Myles Cronk Victoria Sill