What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences and are they the same as when you started out?
Originally when we first set out in the early 90s, we were simply Leaf and the inspiration for the name is either a bit lame or cool depending on how old you are! We used to practice in a Scout hut and as we running through a list of names like all ‘new’ band, a bag of leaves fell out of a cupboard, hey presto ‘LEAF! But with having a 20 odd year break from music others around the world had used the name so we are now Leaf UK even though I bet we were first to use it…grrrr…
We are a massive melting pot of influences ranging from classic bands like AC/DC, Black Sabbath and Motorhead to newer bands like Idles, Rival Sons and Cleopatrick. Every band I have ever seen or listened to that has ‘moved me’ in some way has influenced me in one way or another. However, it is often those early or rawer records and songs that have had the biggest influence. None of us think music should be perfect as life isn’t perfect and perhaps that is the reason we go back to those raw and gnarly songs to listen to as they have more of the personality and sound of the musicians, something you rarely hear today.
The soul, the reality, the musicality is missing from modern recordings; I was a sound engineer and crave the squeaks, pops and doinks that albums like Powerage have, albums that almost have a smell to them…an aural whiff of sweat, fags, booze and hot valves. Rival Sons have a wonderful feel though, a genuine groove (although Scott Holiday has too many pedals!), Cleopatrick have a real grit and nastiness to the sound and Idles have the angst and sense of meaning to the lyrics.
How do you approach songwriting?
We write a lot of the music in the rather old-fashioned way of jamming in the rehearsal room which we think is essential to learn about each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Jamming is something that seems to be missing from the arsenal of the younger generation, some of them seemed scared to stretch themselves in front of others, but we don’t give a damn if we mess up. My daughter is an amazing musician and I am trying to instil this into her.
I bring demos and stubs for the lads and we will constantly work on ideas adding to or cutting a song down until we are all happy with it. Themes? We are inspired by the state of the world today and by our personal experiences.
How do you approach songwriting?
We write a lot of the music in the rather old-fashioned way of jamming in the rehearsal room which we think is essential to learn about each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Jamming is something that seems to be missing from the arsenal of the younger generation, some of them seemed scared to stretch themselves in front of others, but we don’t give a damn if we mess up. My daughter is an amazing musician and I am trying to instil this into her.
I bring demos and stubs for the lads and we will constantly work on ideas adding to or cutting a song down until we are all happy with it. Themes? We are inspired by the state of the world today and by our personal experiences.
Why do you write the sort of music that you do?
A new listener to Leaf will feel the anger, passion and drive that we channel into our music, we have a lot to say about the world and aren’t shy about reflecting it in our songs. They have to be catchy and have a massive riff though, whatever the subject matter. Leaf is our cathartic release, we get through the frustration of life by grinding out chords and singing our hearts out; they are catchy though, you will be humming them for days.
How do you decide what songs to perform live?
We have a list of 25-30 songs that we can play. However, there are not many opportunities at our level to play for two hours! We always do a bit of research and try to tailor our set to the other bands on the bill as we have a good range from the very heavy to the very melodic. However, we will always throw a curve ball in, you can’t please all of the people all of the time and they need to get the full Leaf UK experience!
We are pretty good at recreating the recorded versions of our songs; Jonny Price our producer is a swine for making us add little bits that we have to incorporate (no honestly he is an amazing young dude and he will go a long way). Mark and Jarad have really stepped up to the plate where the backing vocals are concerned – they have great voices. Dan refuses as he sounds like a baying cow.
How do you decide what songs to perform live?
We have a list of 25-30 songs that we can play. However, there are not many opportunities at our level to play for two hours! We always do a bit of research and try to tailor our set to the other bands on the bill as we have a good range from the very heavy to the very melodic. However, we will always throw a curve ball in, you can’t please all of the people all of the time and they need to get the full Leaf UK experience!
We are pretty good at recreating the recorded versions of our songs; Jonny Price our producer is a swine for making us add little bits that we have to incorporate (no honestly he is an amazing young dude and he will go a long way). Mark and Jarad have really stepped up to the plate where the backing vocals are concerned – they have great voices. Dan refuses as he sounds like a baying cow.
What plans do you have for the future?
We have 4 or 5 tracks waiting to be released produced by Jonny. Butterfingers has just been released and the rest are just as exciting, good quality songs backed up with an excellent production. We have so many other tunes, we work on new material constantly and we are going back into the studio in late December. We thought we had better record some more before we die of old age.
Over the next year we are looking for gigs, anywhere and everywhere. Anyone out there want a grunge band with massive riffs, catchy hooks and a groove?
Long term we just want people to hear our music, turn up for gigs and appreciate us. If fame and fortune come along, then all the better. Hey, it took eight years for Idles to release Brutalism, so you never know.