We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Too Hot For Leather. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Too Hot below.
Too Hot, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
This brings to mind the story of writing our first song together as a band. We had been working together for about eight months in the club gig scene in Downtown Nashville (where bands exclusively play cover songs for tips) and without any specific or special event prodding us along, we simply decided to meet at our studio and give writing a song a try. In a moment of truly startling clarity and efficiency, our first original demo came to life in the span of three hours. This song, “My Dearest Darkest”, is our sixth song to be released commercially and will be accompanied by a music video as well. Needless to say, that day proved to us that we had something special and that we couldn’t miss the opportunity to see it through!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
We are a rock band! We all live in Nashville, Tennessee and have been working together for 3 and a half years. We perform regularly on the Lower Broadway circuit of live music venues, but we also tour our original music around the country and perform for private events such as weddings and corporate parties!
Our band consists of:
Shannon Sperl, the vocalist
Ryan Snyder, the guitarist
John Blackstock, the bassist
Kevin Keith, the drummer!
We bring an incredibly high energy and detailed approach to our music work, with influences ranging as wide as classic rock and metal to modern electronica and even traditional pop! We love blending influences and styles to give everyone listening something that they will enjoy. On the same side of the coin, one thing that sets us apart is that all four of us (that’s Shannon, Ryan, John and Kevin to you!) can sing! This allows all of us to showcase our individual backgrounds and styles while always coloring songs with wild and beautiful harmonies. We’re sure to get you singing along no matter what!
Our band’s name – Too Hot For Leather – actually began as an inside joke between members of the band (regarding the surprisingly high temperature of a particular bar venue stage on a typically cold winter day). We think that this shows that while we are a band creating high energy, serious rock music, we are always carrying with us the reminder to not take ourselves too seriously! At the end of the day, our friends and fans need to have fun while listening to our music or attending one of our shows.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
We believe our goal is simple – for our music to reach as many ears as possible across our lifetimes. We all grew up as fans not just of rock music, but of the idea of music in general – most people do! Despite the fact that we have transitioned from playing music as a hobby to making it our full-time careers, our base visceral love for making music has never faded, and we want to share that feeling of energy, love and amazement with the world. Music is the great unifying force – more so than any math or science could hope to provide.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
When any person comes to us (in person or in private messaging) telling us that our music has positively affected them. It makes any personal frustration, burnout or stress in our world vanish.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://toohotforleather.com
- Instagram: @toohotforleather
- Facebook: @toohotforleather
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgbDVG3Zegpt29Oi5qbIbWQ
- Other: tiktok: @toohotforleather
Image Credits
Daniel Shippey, Steve Ziegelmeyer