We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lorraine Leckie. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lorraine below.
Lorraine, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I was working as a makeup artist in the fashion biz and all the models used to tell me to write songs because I would recite drunken poems at dinner and everybody loved them.
I picked up a guitar at 38 years of age and by the time I was 40…I was playing all over New York with and without a band. It took me years to get good on guitar, piano and harmonica but the songwriting came to me fast. Those were very happy years because I was so hungry to learn and I was always inspired. Music is magical because the learning never ends. Now, I am learning how to work with pedals such as digital delay, compression and distortion, which is supercool! I believe everyday practice and discovery is the key to staying vibrant and excited about what you are doing musically.
Lorraine, 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 have three distinctive projects which are growing all in their own time and direction.
1. Lorraine Leckie & Her Demons is my band. I write songs, sing, play guitar, piano and harmonica.
The musicians I work in NYC are (Hugh Pool ~ guitar, Charles DeChants ~ bass, Keith Robinson ~ drums, and Zoe Friedman ~ backing vocals) and in Prague with Pavel Cingl ~ violin and Jarda Kestranek ~ bass
I record and tour in the US A, Canada and Europe
I have recorded 7 full length albums and 9 singles.
The latest Blue and Yellow is a song I wrote for the Ukrainian people and it’s doing great on Spotify (250K Streams)
I am very proud of it and it made me feel powerful instead of hopeless in the face of this atrocious war.
2. Lorraine Leckie & Friends is a songwriters showcase and monthly residency I curate at Petes Candy Store in Williamsburg Brooklyn. It comes around every second Monday of the month. It is an ever-changing landscape of talented folks and features 13 songwriters a month.
3. The Greenpoint Songwriters Exchange is an alliance of artists who meet weekly and work together on songwriting. It is a members-only group I founded in 2018.
How it works is that you bring in a song and all the other songwriters give their ideas and sometimes help with chords and lyrics. The person that brings the song can keep or discard anything given by the others and there are no royalties involved. It’s all about artists helping artists! I do the Songwriting workshops in person and on zoom.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
When I am writing and playing songs I am one with the universe and myself. It’s the only perfect place I have ever known and the best thing I could have chosen to do with my life despite the challenges,
I don’t believe that a person chooses the artistic path. The artistic path chooses the person and the person has no choice. You just can’t live without it or do anything else.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
My favorite book is Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. I read a little every day from this magnificent story of a man’s life and how he attained enlightenment. It shows that true success is finding peace within one’s self and I have believed this all my life. I also believe each person is totally unique and nobody can compare to anybody and that is such an incredible thing. Patti Smith who is one of my favorite artists said “In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth ” I agree with the writer Steven Pressfield who wrote The War of Art when he says “The most important thing about art is to work, Nothing matters but sitting down every day and trying”
Back to me may I say less eloquently… “If you get the inside right the outside will follow” “Get your butt in a chair and everything else will work out” BTW I practice from 1pm-3pm everyday :)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lorraineleckie.com
- Instagram: @lorraineleckie
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LorraineLeckieAndHerDemons
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ0J_iR7w0LjQhO2_kb-nLQ
Image Credits
Photo 1 Petr Nikl Fotograf Photo 2 John Huba Photo 3 Manish Gosalia Photo 6 Petr Nikl Fotograf