Holiday Issue 2016

You might know Leslie from the band,
“Primal Shift” as she is the lead guitarist for
the band that is based out of Plant City. But
did you know she is an Jersey girl and a lover of
horses? We got to talking with Leslie to find out
more about this head banging rock and roll girl.
My main
passion is the guitar. However, I do play drums,
bass, and keyboards enough to get my creative
ideas down and I think, as a guitarist, acquainting
yourself with other instruments is really helpful in
understanding how the guitar fits in with the pocket
with the other instruments in the band.
And, it really gives you a respect for how important
each instrument is in a band. No one instrument is
any more important than the other.
Doing great, thanks for asking.
My parents moved down here from Jersey
back in the '80s. In fact, I graduated from Dunedin
High School back in '87. Of course, being a teenager
full of angst at the time I couldn't wait to get back
to Jersey. (LOL). So, I high tailed it back up North
right after graduation. Through the years I would
come down to visit my parents and as they have
gotten older I decided to move down here permanently
in the mid 90's. I love Jersey, but I must
admit I love Florida too. I appreciate Florida a lot
more now than when I was a teenager. I can't think
of a better place to be right now. I have happily
transplanted myself here. (LOL)
Wow, that's a hard question. I think
inspirations evolve. At 15, I would have said, "The
Runaways" without a doubt. Joan Jett, in particular,
has always inspired me. That said, throughout the
years and playing in many cover bands, I think
every song/artist I have covered has inspired me in
one way or another. Tomorrow it would probably
change (LOL), but today my biggest musical inspirations
would be Joan Jett, Van Halen, The Runaways,
The Misfits, The Ramones, and I really love
Metallica and Shinedown. I have always been more
inspired by bands than just the guitar players in
them. I also am more inspired by rhythm parts and
the progressions that make up great songs as
opposed to the lead guitar.
I picked up the guitar when I was around 15. So,
that is about (cough) 32 years (cough). LOL... I
didn't really take any formal lessons, I am pretty
much self-taught, but I did learn from friends who
played. I would go hang out at the local warehouses
where bands would practice and rehearse and
just watch and listen. When I could, me and my
friends would sneak into bars and clubs and I would
just sit, watch, and listen. Often times when a band
would take a break, I would go up to the guitar
player and ask them, "Hey, how do you do that
lick?" or "How do you get your sound?" I was
always learning. I still am... The best way to learn
something is really just to ask someone who is
doing what you want to do. I guess I am lucky, as
all the guitarists and musicians I ever ask, were and
are always open in sharing the things they know.
Well, I had to
take some time off from playing out live. My Mom
was going through some health issues and I had to
be there for her. So, in our down time April and I
started writing originals and recording demos. We
initially intended to just do originals, but the universe
had other things planned at that time. We
decided to play out with a few covers and it just
took off from there. We found ourselves just
enjoying playing out again.
I was in an
original/cover band called Anthem back in the late
'90s. I did a lot of studio work after that for several
years. Then in around 2011, I joined a cover band
Twisted Logic, and following that Sanctuary. There
were many recording projects and other little live
projects here and there, but those are the more
recent. My first band shortly after picking up the
BUZZ MAGAZINE NOV/DEC 2016 / 17