Jodie Leslie
1. Congratulations on your LIT Music Awards achievement! Could you share more about your journey and background in the music industry?
Thank you so much. I’ve enjoyed making music in both the secular and sacred realms. Through the years, it’s been an honor to open for artists such as Ben and Noel Haggard, Whispering Bill Anderson, John Conley, Bryan Adams, Gino Vannelli, George Canyon, Carrol Baker, The Stampeders and other artists I look up to.
Performing is my favorite thing, and we have enjoyed playing thousands of shows touring Canada. A highlight for me was performing at the Blue Bird Cafe in Nashville, which will go down as a dream come true!
2. How do you see this recognition influencing your future music?
It feels good to receive recognition after so much hard work over the years. I do hope it may open doors to collaborations and opportunities in the US, both writing and performing.
3. What's the moment you first realized music was your calling? Can you describe it?
Well, I was training horses in Austria and decided to take a little holiday and think over my future. I took the train up to Germany, blasting music in my headphones and listening to every instrument, analyzing the arrangements - then a busker came by and started performing a show on the train for us, so I gave him my full attention.
I think it was at that moment that I just knew I had to go back to Canada and get in a band and start writing more. So that’s what I did, and I’m very thankful for all the opportunities along the way, both at home and now in the US!
4. What's the most unusual source of inspiration you've drawn from while creating your music?
Haha, that would be my best and worst gig - they were one and the same. Best pay, worst situation. I was just starting out and agreed to perform at a Dog Fashion show - there were going to be celebrities attending, so I figured that might be good.
I was led into my green room, which I was to share with 19 dogs, to which I said, “Uh, hey, I’m kind of allergic and I might not be able to sing after sharing a green room with 19 dogs...”
Luckily, I was then moved to the other option - a green room full of celebrities. Quite a stark contrast & I sure felt like a newbie knowing where I’d be if I wasn’t going to have an allergic reaction!
I ended up having some great inspirational conversations with a few individuals, which helped me understand you can find an opportunity in even the craziest situations.
5. Do you have any quirky rituals or habits when you're composing or recording?
Well, if I could, I’d write by the water or in the mountains. It comes way easier in nature. Usually I’m in four grey walls, so I pray that I might receive the creative download needed for the day, haha.
6. How would you describe your creative process? Is it more of a jazz jam session or a perfectly orchestrated symphony?
I write for a publisher now, & love continually learning. When I write alone, I might get lyrical ideas first, then add music, or vice versa. When I do a co-write, it’s a bit more structured, and someone will come up with an idea we build on. It’s usually musical ideas first, or we keep a great list of titles handy and build upon that.
7. How do you want people to feel or experience when they hear your music?
I want people to feel freedom, to feel understood. I would love it if one of my songs helped to bring healing to a person. I really think that’s what it’s all about for me.
8. What's one risk you took with your music that completely changed your career path?
People may say I took a risk doing sacred music after years in the secular realm. It just felt like the right time for me. I wanted to give back and honor my roots. It’s the biggest part of who I am. It felt right to do secular music (as some call it), and then it felt right to do sacred. I’m just both. I say follow your heart.
9. What's the song or artist that first made you fall in love with music, and why?
Actually, it was a song that just had a really cool vibe - “Eye in the Sky” by the Alan Parsons Project. I loved the groove, and I heard it played when I was, I think, 5 years old or so and just was drawn to it. I remember playing it over and over again!
10. What's one moment in your career that you consider a turning point, and how did it shape your journey?
Opening for Bryan Adams.
I had been to so many of his shows. The last show, I went by myself - none of my friends could afford the tickets, haha! I remember being in the seat furthest back when he asked if anyone wanted to join him onstage for a duet. I prayed a very dramatic prayer and I said, “God just strike me dead with lightning if I don’t get to share the stage with him next time”. It just came out, and I realized my passion to not just be in the audience. He was my inspiration.
So fast forward, then a year or two - I was struggling with disbelief - at that time, I remember how hard it was to make that mental choice to have faith that this music career was going to work.
The night I made the choice to have faith and ditch the disbelief, we got offered the gig to open for Bryan Adams. Then I quickly realized the next hurdle was to deal with my fear! Was I ever scared!
Adams, it was an answer to a hilariously dramatic prayer I made! It was even greater to understand that fear is rooted in the need to control. Ya just can’t always control how things are gonna go! Do your very best! Prepare, show up, the rest is out of your hands.
Once I understood the root of fear, I was able to deal with it. I’ve learned so much about myself and life through the magical, unseen force of music.
11. If you could describe your award-winning work in a single sentence, what would it be?
Give God the Glory is a song about the mysterious ways our story can be rewritten every day.
12. What was the most challenging part of creating this piece, and how did you push through?
This was the first song I had someone else write. I had listened to hundreds of songs - I searched and searched - this song was originally about a completely different subject. Totally different. I reached out to the writers and asked them to rewrite the lyrics. It’s a big ask and was probably a lot of paperwork on their end. I am just so thankful they took a chance with this song to make it into a sacred song. I shared my heart about a journey of choice, and they wrote it beautifully.
The next challenging part is finding the right producer. I struck gold with Sal Oliveri. I value his work and talents so much. Basically, I had the voice and then surrounded myself with talented people whom I look up to. As a writer choosing someone else’s song, I learned to lay things down & give some things up in order to pick up greater things.
13. What upcoming music project or album are you currently working on, or is there a new genre or style you’ve yet to explore but are eager to try?
Right now I’m super busy with writing. I write every genre, for artists and for movies. Sometimes I will write something that I think I’d like to record. I have a nod in me to the old country, and then there’s always this rock edge that I just can’t help. It just comes out. Like a mix of Loretta Lynn with an edge of the UK band The Darkness, haha. My next album will probably be full of a bunch of those sounds!
14. If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be, and what would the vibe of your track together be?
Well, Chris Stapleton for sure right now, I love doing harmonies. I have quite an eclectic list, but Bruce Hornsby and Vince Gill would be at the top. Bryan Adams and JellyRoll will always be there as well.
15. How would you inspire fellow musicians to participate in music awards, and what valuable advice would you share to guide their journey?
Honestly, I guess if you don’t do it for yourself, no one else is gonna do it for you! That includes promotion, awards, all of it. If you have one or two people who want to help and see that you have potential, please be grateful. Do not underestimate the value of family. Some will doubt you, but there will be some family members who will walk alongside you, cheering you on for years. That is priceless.
