George Leach

I go with my instincts; my instincts come from my approach. So if something feels right when I’m doing something, then in most cases hopefully it sounds right to others. I mean, I really use that model when I go out on stage and stuff like that. I’m not there to perform, I’m there to connect.

First and foremost, with the music, or when I go out there, when you’re on stage, about 80 or 90 percent of the time, I’m not aware that I’m there, or I’m not really present there. I’m in what I’m doing, and I’m committed fully to it, so that when I’m singing, if you’re fully committed and you’re into it and you totally believe what you’re doing, chances are the listener is going to as well.

For me, in my own opinion, I can hear it when it’s crafted, when it’s really well crafted and it’s a great song, a lot of great minds, great writers, talented artists, talented song writers or people. But then there are those songs that somebody just woke up one morning, and they were heartbroken from their boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever it was, and they just wrote this song, or whatever the case may be, and it’s usually just out in one take for the most part.

Those are the songs that I tend to gravitate towards, because you can’t really get to that place with a formula. You have to get there through experiencing it for yourself. I said to myself right away, and I committed to it till this day: If I’m going to do this, I’m going to develop my own style, and I’m going to do what I do and if people don’t like it, that’s okay, then I’ll do it as a hobby. But if people do like it, then okay, and it’s enough to make a living or a career out of it, then I’ll go down that route, and it wasn’t really anything other than that.

There’s a number of things that I believe when it comes to songwriting, initially for me, through my own spiritual beliefs and stuff, the good creator or God, or whatever you want to say, it’s all from there. I don’t know anything, I don’t think. Because realistically, I go away and I pick up songs or I write songs or craft songs, or just happen to stumble upon something then I go on the stage and I sing it.

I have my own process, or I have my own story playing in my head when I do that. But if you have a crowd of 5 000 people, you have 5 000 other versions of that song playing, in other people’s heads of what that story means to them, so I really think you’re co-writing in a way with the audience.

I’m still very rooted in: I’ll sit down, I’ll pick up my guitar, and I’ll let the music govern the emotions or unearth the emotions in the lyrics that want to go with it. So I’ll sit down and that’s where I rely a lot on my improv, and that’s my favorite part of being a songwriter, is just sitting down and just playing and having fun, playing, I’m going to play music. Hey, let’s just play. It’s not work, it’s playing, and then usually what comes out of my mouth with that song and the melody that usually goes through it is usually, for the most part, lucky. That’s what it’s supposed to be. So if there’s a line that comes out of it, that’s what that song is supposed to be about; that’s what really is coming out, when I allow my head to get out of the way I just have fun and play and just come from the heart.

The scariest thing for me is knowing I’m on stage, knowing you’re there, and when you’re very aware. I’ve had a few other artists tell me that, too, that they share the same thing. It’s so uncomfortable when you know you’re on stage. It’s like, oh my God, then you do feel like performing. But for me, like I said, for my purpose, not talking about anybody else’s reasons or views of being on stage, but for me it’s about connecting with somebody. It’s like, you know when you have a deep conversation with somebody, you know how you go, oh my God I just connect! That’s what I want, not like, oh my God his clothes are great, and he did this great dance move, or he’s flash. That’s great too, but that’s not what I’m after.

Each artist has their own different point of view. There are some that are always about the inward journey, and there are some that are loud and brash, and it’s all about the performance, and that has its place too.

Everything has its place on the battlefield of music, let’s just put it that way. We all have our things to do and our jobs and the way we approach it, to make our culture, which music helps define. One of the biggest things that help you define your culture is your music, your language, your songs, your dances and your stories.