REGENT REVIEW-- May 2017

Page 5
Entertainment
cont. from page 5
year studying abroad in
Seville, Spain, immersing
himself in the music
and culture of Spain,
which would have a
huge impact on his own
music which, ever since
then, has had a strong
international flavor,
as heard on his recent
CD Mucho Leo and especially
his collaborations
with Uruguayan
singer Jorge Drexler,
whose Academy Award
winning song “Al Otro
Lado del Rio” was produced
by Leo (who also
performed on the recordings
completed in
Madison) and was featured
on the 2004 film
Motorcycle Diaries.
Besides his collaborations
with Drexler,
Leo has worked as
music producer for an
impressive list of recording
artists while
also composing music
for motion pictures and
television commercials,
especially after leaving
Madison in 2005 for
New York City where
he works and lives with
his family. Since he
frequently returns to
Madison, it is still often
possible to hear Leo
performing locally, and
Leo’s current plans include
some gigs in Madison
during the coming
summer. But you can
also get to know his music
through his website
at www.leosidran.com.
In the interview that follows,
Leo talks about
life and music ever since
his days at West High.
Stella Rumble:
We’re super happy to talk
to you about your life
and career as a musician,
especially since you’re a
West High alum. When
did you graduate from
West, and what do you remember
about your time
in High School? What
impact did your time
at West have on you?
Leo Sidran: I’m
super happy to talk to
you too! I graduated in
1995. I had a very positive
experience at West.
I was involved in theater,
writing (I wrote for
and edited an alternative
paper called WestWord),
student government (I
was the Student Council
President my senior
year) and playing music.
West was wonderful because
you could get involved
in a lot of things
and explore anything
that seemed interesting.
I also got into
studying Spanish at West.
I had wonderful Spanish
teachers who encouraged
me and inspired me, and
they changed my life
because of it. I’ve often
said that the most
Highschool-aged Leo Sidran performs with the Steve Miller Band
important teachers in
my life were in High
School, not in college.
Specifically Señor
Zintel (Spanish teacher,
obviously), English
teacher Bill Keys,
history / social studies
teachers Mr. Putnam,
Mr. Brumm, Mr.
Prugh and Mr. Ross (I
think he might still be
there?), music teacher
Mr. Rafoth, and chemistry
teacher Mr. Lipp.
It might seem like a
lot to mention all these
names, but each of
them stayed with me in
some way and helped
guide me in my thinking
over the years.
I wasn’t a brilliant
student, but I
wasn’t bad either. It
didn’t matter though,
because regardless of
my grades, I think I
managed to learn a lot.
I caught the end of a
generation of teachers
who had been at
West for most of their
careers and were just
about to retire. By the
time I left, a new group
of teachers were starting
to arrive. I suppose
today some of those
teachers are probably
starting to resemble the
teachers I had when I
was there, since they’ve
had over 20 years of
experience at West.
SR: Do you think
the world has changed
much since you were
at West or are the challenges
and possibilities
basically the same?
LS: There’s no
question the world has
changed. First of all,
my freshman year in
college was the first
year that students were
required to sign up for
an email account. So
when you think about
life pre-Internet, it almost
sounds quaint and
innocent. I think the
kids at West were always
smart, talented,
motivated and connected
to the greater world,
but without the Internet
our general world-view
was maybe a bit smaller.
In many ways I
think I was at the end of
the “old school” at West.
Also we were entering
a world in which there
was a pretty good sense
that there would be
work for you when you
graduated. The economy
was completely different
then. Today a lot
of people coming out of
college are having trouble
finding work and
so their choices reflect
that – they start thinking
about their careers
much sooner. I never
asked myself what kind
of job I was going to
get or even what kind
of opportunity would be
out there for me. I just
pursued the questions
that compelled me. I
think that’s a good way
to go – for me it was
the only way - but I
can understand today
that it might seem like
a less responsible thing
to do than it used to.
SR: Tell us about
your college years:
where you decided to
study; the area of specialization
you chose;
your time studying
abroad, and anything
else you might want to
tell us about college.
LS: I only applied
to one college:
UW Madison. I didn’t
think too hard about it;
it was pretty automatic.
Part of that was because
in high school I had
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