The Leadbetter Band is a musical group led by singer/songwriter and guitarist Eric Leadbetter. The band is known for its blend of various musical genres, including jam band improvisation, folk and gold-age rock influences. This past February, Eric Leadbetter spoke with the Source Weekly previewing the band's 2023 album "CAKE."
Ahead of a show at Volcanic Theatre Pub with The Hasbens on Nov. 3, I caught up with the musician as the group wraps touring and learned a couple things.
#1: An avid record collector, Eric Leadbetter believes in "the Vinyl Renaissance."
With instant access to vast libraries of music on smartphones and computers, the need for physical media has dwindled. Rather than disappear completely, physical record collections have become a statement of one's appreciation for music with limited edition releases, colored vinyl and special packaging vinyl has aged in the same strain as vintage fashion.
"I'm a record collector myself; I mean, it's like pulling a book off the shelf at the library or something," Leadbetter mused. "There's a nostalgia to it and a sound nostalgia for certain, there's a vinyl renaissance kind of going on right now," he continued.
Leadbetter Band has released three albums since 2020, all available on streaming platforms and on vinyl.
#2: Leadbetter and the rest of the band's chemistry comes from an aggressive approach to touring and studio play.
"Summer really flew by," Leadbetter said. The band has been on tour in support of its latest LP "CAKE," also available on vinyl, since early summer playing pubs, amphitheaters and every venue in between, even having visited a haunted hotel in La Grande, Oregon.
"Music has always been a community in itself, and I love checking in with other communities, playing new towns we've never been to and making new connections," said Leadbetter, "...we play four or five shows a week – the only hard part is sitting in the car for so long," he laughed. Though the tour has been rewarding, Leadbetter has been struck with a case of sudden homesickness. "It's always good to come back home and perform when we're tight and playing well and gelling as a group," Leadbetter remarked, "we're feeding off each other in a really healthy and supportive way."
#3: Leadbetter maintains that music is best when artists get out of the way and let the songs come to life.
From going on hikes to maybe even tempting spirits in haunted hotels, the band lives for moments where boundaries are pushed. "I always crave adventure, and want to be in a headspace where I'm pushed out of my comfort zone. I feel I write the best," Leadbetter said. "I like to see a song evolve, a song takes on a distinct new spirit, it has a character and personality. Our work is to kind of find that personality and capture it in the studio."
