"Be one of the few that knows how to help yourself, instead of expecting others to do it for you"
This is printed on a sheet of A4 paper above Leon's Computer, the very computer where this one man not only wrote his entire 14 track album thats due out next year. He also recorded it, played all the instruments and sung all the vocals and backing vocals, engineered & produced it, and then mixed it. Then he created all the artwork and created the distinctive 'Leon Live' and 'Double L' logo's for the debut EP "Childhood E.P.". To top it all off he also designed and coded his official website www.leonlive.co.uk.
This is a man who has literally done it all on his own, from a small one bedroom flat in the Welsh valleys town of Aberdare.
Leon Live is an extremely multi-talented welsh songwriter, singer and guitarist from the Welsh valley’s town of Aberdare. Leon Live is raw, emotional, powerful songs straight from the soul, This guy wears his heart proudly on his sleeve and his deeply personal, moving lyrics cant help but touch the emotional heart strings as you listen to a beautifully melodic soundscape of breathtakingly simple yet inspiring songwriting, brutally honest and transparent lyrics combined with infections melodies and hook laden choruses.
From May to October 2008 Leon wrote and captured 14 diary entries in his life. The lyrics were written in one sitting and capture unedited and un processed the raw emotions, thoughts and feelings of one man as he became self aware, self aware of an abusive, neglected childhood and the resultant emotional damage from it, and the damage it inflicted on his relationships.
There is no metaphor, no 'song writing', no adjustment to be more catchy or popular. Leon is not a 'song writer', he is a man who just writes songs.
Additional Info
Leon Evans is a 34yr old who has been playing guitar and writing his own songs since the age of 16. He joined his first band and started performing live at the age of 17.
Originally from the Fernhill Estate in Mountain Ash, Leon's disjointed and unsettled childhood saw him move 7 times (along with stays with other families at various times) until the age of 16 when he was unsympathetically kicked out by his mother.
He bought his first guitar for £40 from a second hand shop in Aberdare (a pink Honer stratocaster) and learnt to play from magazines and guitar tab books and a few lessons from a local Aberdare guitarist John Jones. Music was the norm during his childhood and was a bigger part of his home environment than television. Raised on 70's rock such as Journey, Led Zeppelin, Supertramp, Pink Floyd and AC/DC, he then developed his own musical identity from the age of 11 onwards with his first musical purchase, Iron Maidens Live After Death double cassette, Along with Maiden came Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and a multitude of classic 80's metal, along with a more classic rock side with bands like Cinderella, Danger Danger, Firehouse, Tesla.
Leon cites his 4 most influential albums as: Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds, Pink Floyd – The Wall, Journey – Escape and Tesla – Five Man Acoustic Jam. Tesla's 'Five Man Acoustic Jam' introduced him to the 'unplugged' sound. Many people find it strange and almost contradictory that a man so entrenched in metal and heavy rock can write acoustically with such subtlety and melody.
