Interview: Shayna Leigh Pursuing Music with 'Drive'

Occasionally (even more so in recent years, it seems) popular music gets injected with a voice that's got more experience, and you hear it right away.

Shayna Leigh is one of those, having paid her dues through years of theater and music and a number of false starts. These culminated in the release of her debut CD, Drive, and the current single, "Goodbye July."

A new EP is nearly ready for release, and one can expect of what's heard on Drive. Unapologetically pop in sound, from music to hook-heavy lyrics, Leigh backs it all up. "(The video is) getting a lot of positive feedback," Leigh says. "It seems to be making people, happy and that's the biggest goal I could have had."

The song has changed for Leigh. "In doing the video and putting the song out there," she explains, "it's taken on a new meaning and become very special to me. It has gone from being one of the songs I really like to become one of my very favorite, close to my heart songs.

'Goodbye July' to me felt like a summer song," Leigh continues, "so there was that element of it. It kind of came at a personal time in my life; we wrote the song, and then it happened, which was a very bizarre thing. My life sort of paralleled the song in a very different way but also in a way that made it resonate with me."

The lyrics of Drive reflect significant craft, and within the framework are the stories. A couple of bad relationship tunes, "Last Criminal" and "Dirty Laundry" show the serious and humorous sides. There's also reasons a certain song claims the title track.

Leigh's writing partners of choice are Michael Mangini (Joss Stone, Diane Birch), and Peter Zizzo (Vanessa Carlton, Avril Lavigne). "I took a pretty immediate liking to Mike and Peter," Leigh says, "because aside from their resumes, they're so smart, both of them in very different ways. They are incredibly intelligent, and were easy to talk to and understood what I was looking for."

The process for Leigh is one idea, one song at a time. Writers know those can come out of very little. "The first song that we wrote off of a quote that I brought," she explains. "It had come out of this really tumultuous period of my life...I had some personal and professional setback s and I met from them, and "Drive" was the first glimmer of hope of what I wanted to be, and it was literally the first day we met. That was sort of this like affirmation for me that I was on the right path. That was the most magical part about it, it's not all magic, it's not all easy, and it's not all rainbows and flowers and roses when you work with people."

Music played a huge formative role in the Florida native's life. "My dad is like a Beatles fanatic," she says, "and he raised us on the Beatles, and we were bottle-fed to that. My mom has her own very unique musical taste; she introduced us to Carole King, but she likes the storytelling, she's all into the lyrics and my dad is all into guitar.

'Mom is a fan of music. She really is someone who is moved by music and stories that we tell so I definitely grew up in a house that appreciated both music and theater." She adds with laughter, "My mom has seen Les Mis 862 times, and I was ten when they brought Rent home and they said, 'Listen to this!'"

Acting and singing went hand in hand, but when it came to the latter, Leigh felt the need to "put my own stamp on something, and I wanted to take my career in my own hands. As I got older, I realized I was ignored this whole part of what I wanted. Accept myself as I am my skills as they are, and do what I want anyway."

"I've always felt more connected to my core, and who I am when I'm singing. I have the deepest connection to myself when I'm singing and it feels like an extension of my person."

Two EPs, The Cold Hard Truth and the Dream and Hey Shayna Leigh attracted attention, and helped her land support slots for Sister Hazel and Howie Day. Her latest roadwork came opening for American Idol winner Lee DeWyze and Wakey Wakey. "It was by far my favorite tour," Leigh says. I've been on. They were just so kind; we talked a lot about the business, and their opinions of the mx industry and of touring, and just how these very seasoned but also excited still. I'm excited to see what they do next."

Leigh felt perfectly confident handling their fans. Being the opener is not the easiest thing in the world," she admits, "because most of the people are not yet there to see you. You have to win over someone else's audience, and so there's definitely a seduction phase, you have to get them on your side, which to me is an exciting challenge."

The new EP will come out this fall, and Leigh hopes to have videos as well. "I worked with Peter & Michael again," Leigh says, "and this time around I feel like we just as always picked up right where we left off, but the making of a real relationship."

Leigh's energy came through this entire interview, and without letup. "I chase success," she freely admits, "but I also chase happiness. I think both are equally important. I think you get into doing the arts because you like connection. The fans, the listeners the people who hear your material and let it be part of into their lives is as important if not more important than you are."

Photo Credit: Joshua Shelton

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