In the first 30 seconds of my interview with Toronto’s Jerry Leger, it is obvious that he treasures the little victories in life. Sharing with me that he was freshly showered, his hair was looking good and with a set of clean teeth to boot, the relaxed-sounding Leger is ready to talk shop about the group’s upcoming East Coast tour, many dates of which are being shared with Moncton’s country-outlaws The Divorcees.
The 25 year old Leger and his folk-rock band The Situation are seeing their reputation grow, not only in Canada but right across North America, winning over high profile fans like The Sadies and Ron Sexsmith in the process.
The soft-spoken Leger recently had the amazing opportunity to perform at the legendary WSM Studios in Nashville which not only stood to expose him to a large audience south of the border, but was a huge badge of honor for him personally as well:
“I grew up with country music all around me,” Leger says. “I became obsessed with guys like Hank Williams and Hank Snow and in all these old photos, you’d see them singing into the WSM microphones. WSM was largely responsible for bringing country music to the masses and helped make it popular way back in the day, so to be there in person was unbelievable.”
While Leger plans to hit the studio later this summer to begin a new recording, the band is continuing to promote 2008’s full-length effort You, Me and The Horse, which was produced by The Skydiggers Josh Finlayson.
“Working with Josh was great; he is incredibly easy to get along with. He is impeccably honest but not in a way that you end up clashing with him on any ideas that he presents. He really added a lot to the experience of making a record. He just seems to know what sounded right and was always looking out for the best interests of the song and what best served the song.”
Leger, now three records deep into his career, is showing no signs of slowing down. Not only is he mapping out a new record with The Situation for release in 2011, he is soon going to be starting work on a solo effort.
But before you concern yourself that his upcoming solo record is the product of a swelled head, you had best think again:
“I have actually always veered between band efforts and solo work. I don’t like sitting on songs; making a solo record is a good way to unload some of those songs stored in the attic. If you sit on songs for too long, they start to get forgotten and I feel that you can’t relate to them after awhile.
“Plus, the songs I write solo versus those written with the band tend to be very different pictures. I don’t think it would be nearly as cohesive if all of these songs ended up on the same record.”
Catch Jerry Leger and The Situation live in the following cities:
July 15 – Moncton, New Brunswick – Plan B Bar & Lounge
July 16 – Saint John, New Brunswick – Blue Olive (with The Divorcees)
July 17 – Saint George, New Brunswick – Paul’s Wharf (with The Divorcees)
July 18 – Hampton, New Brunswick – Vintage Bistro & Lounge
July 20 – Halifax, Nova Scotia – The Carleton
July 23 – Darnley, PEI – Ship to Shore Restaurant and Lounge
July 24 – Moncton, New Brunswick – Plan B Bar & Lounge