LUCIDMEDIA

Leslie Pike’s journey

Written by Lisa M. Knapp Monday, 01 December 2008 17:20

Lucid Forge: How did you get into music and why and all that?

Lesley Pike: I am from Wingham Ontario which is a really small town so I did school plays, choirs, piano and I really liked all that stuff.  I loved music and continued to study it through high school.  After highschool I went to Wilfred Laurie for classical piano.  This is where I really started to write music because I got privacy.  I don’t write well with people around, I always prefer to practice alone, I’m not the kinda person to jam or anything like that.

LF: So you went to Wilfred Laurier for classical piano.

LP: That was the first time that I had privacy, a great little practice room and I thought how wonderful that I don’t have to practice just Beethoven and I can write my own stuff, so I did. I spent a lot of time in there.  University was really good just for performing and for being in front of people, it was a first for everything for me. 

LF: So prior to university you never really preformed before?

LP: No I did.  Small things like the Walkerton music festival, and a few other festivals, conservatory and things like that but never my own stuff.  It’s much scarier doing my own stuff because you never know if people are going to get it.

LF: How old are you?

LP: I’m 26.



LF: How long have you been doing your solo project?

LP: About 4 years, as soon as I finished university I did my first record and then I went and worked in a record label for a year to get the other side of it so I pretty much took a year off from my music to do that and now I’ve been doing it full time for about a year and a half.

LF: That is your most recent CD?

LP: No that was my first one and then we did a middle child called “Bring me back to life” but as soon as I finished it I started to work with my producer on my new one so we never really did anything to my middle CD.  We just recently put it up onto itunes some of the songs overlap on that one and the new one but we never really did it properly and I wanted to work with that producer.

LF: Are you producing in a studio or at home?

LP: No it was in a studio, we recorded it here at The Orange Lounge which is a studio on Queen street in Toronto, then some of it we did at my producers studio which is called Soliet studio.

LF: How long have you been on the road?

LP: I have been on the road with this record off and on since almost the beginning of the year.

LF: Do you like the on the road life?

LP: I do but I miss my own band.  I love doing it it’s fun performing, but it’s a lot of work doing it by yourself, setting up, disassembling, driving, eating sleeping, and so on. It’s a lot of work.  I’m still getting used to not going home but fortunately I still have a home to go to.

LF: Where do you draw your inspiration from? LP: Mostly from just my life, my inspiration has changed a bit when I have been growing up.  Things like boys and heartache were as I was growing up and as you grow your experience changes and now.  I try to write more about things other than relationships and things that you go through. LF: Do you have any musical inspirations? LP: Yes, I love peter Gabriel.  When he had that keeper world live tour, there was a DVD on it and I could watch it forever and ever.  He moves people and I love that.  You can impact someone’s life with music and I love that.  So peter Gabriel, Sinead O’Connor, Sarah McLaughlin. LF: I thought the new release was already out but it’s not.  When is it being released? LP: Your timing for this interview is actually great because the release got pushed back to Nov 25, so it will be in stores tomorrow. LF: Is there anything else you wanted to mention?

LP: I just recorded an original Christmas song called "It's Christmas Time (What More Can We Give)" which is going out to radio this week.  Also I just finished a whack of showcases and shows in the US and will be doing a Canadian tour in January, followed by three months of shows in the USA (Feb-April).  What else,
we are putting together a video for the song "Here With Me" over the next two months, and possibly one for "Blink" as well (waiting to find out if we get videofact funding for it).  And lastly, as things stand now, the first single will be 'Blink' and will be going to radio early in 2009.

So there are lots of things to look forward to with Miss Pike as you can see, and she is not stopping there.  Pike is in it for the long haul and loving every minute of it.  If you want to check out her myspace you can find it at www.myspace.com/lesleypike or her website can be found at www.lesleypike.com