Juno winner George Leach savours wins, team sticking to plan
- Judy Bird | April 24, 2014
Hearing his name called as the winner of a Juno Award was nothing short of exhilarating for George Leach.
"It was nerve-wracking and overwhelming," he said. "It was definitely exciting."
The Regina-based singer, songwriter and musician won a Juno for his album "Surrender" in the category of Aboriginal Album of the Year. The 2014 Juno Awards were handed out in Winnipeg March 30th. First Nations group A Tribe Called Red also received the Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year.
Leach's debut album came out in 2000, and his follow up album was 12 years in the making. In that time, he's grown as a musician, songwriter, and a person, all which combine and reflect in the music he creates.
"In the songwriting process, a lot of those songs come from experiences that you've shared with other people, and you write about it. All the people that have stood behind me, and even the people that I've had adversity with, because even those experiences can make for really good growth. Realistically, those songs belong to them as well," he said.
So just what does it take to create an award-winning album? Like anyone who works their way to such a status of recognition, Leach acknowledges the team who helped him get there: his business partner Danny Santos, bassist Marty Ballantyne, producer and songwriter Thomas "Tawgs" Salter, songwriter Casey Marshall, and everyone involved in the effort.
"I'm working with a really bright team. The Juno win was for them as well."
His songs Carry Me, Try and You Got It were written in collaboration with Salter, and Walk Away written in collaboration with Marshall.
"The rest were songs I wrote on my own but those songs were crafted after I met them. They taught me a lot about song writing. I really took that into my song writing process, what I learned from these gentlemen and tried to use the tools that I learned. They really helped me grow as an artist and to overcome fears and personal hang ups I might have had. My producer Tom (Salter), helped me come out of my shell and helped bring out my sound. He's a really intelligent, deep artist, and a joy to work with," said Leach.
Since the Juno win, life has been a whirlwind of activity with offers, but sticking true to himself, Leach plans to stay grounded, regroup, and figure things out with his team.
"We're going to stick to our game plan, get out there, tour and promote this album and honour these songs and share the live experience as much as we can with as many people as we can," he said.
He says he will stay open to opportunities that come his way, but he also wants to get back to writing the next album.
"I probably have enough material for a third and a fourth, and I won't make people wait 14 years, but I have to pass it through my team first, and go from there," he said.
Plans are underway for playing at festivals and other venues. Watch Leach's website and Facebook and Twitter accounts for information on concert dates as they become available.