Music Interview with David Leinweber

Music Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series


By Isaac Davis Jr., BGS, MBA

Meet Folk and Rock Singer/Songwriter David Leinweber who candidly speaks to our Webzine about his incredible history with music, his major influences in the music industry, and his role today in the music industry. Here is our online meeting that readers of this Webzine will find fascinating. Enjoy!

Online Bio:
David Leinweber has played in a wide variety of venues and musical styles, ranging from rock, to blues, to folk, to gospel. He has been featured as the "Flatpicking Professor" Dr. Leinweber at the Scottish Bluegrass Association Festival in Perth, Scotland and has also performed widely at regional acoustic music festivals in the South.

He has shared the stage with many fine musicians. His influences include Dylan, Neil Young, The Dead, Clapton, Norman Blake and Doc Watson.

Leinweber has taught piano and guitar for 25 years. He has extensive experience as a studio musician, as a songwriter, and as an arranger. In addition to his solo efforts, he has performed on many records, demos, and CDs by other artists. His music has been featured on radio and in many concerts throughout the Atlanta area.

Interview:

Isaac: We'd love to know about your inspirations growing up. I hear so many influences in your music. How old were you when you first discovered music? Is there any kind of musical history in your family?

David: I come from a very musical family. My maternal grandfather was a fine pianist and played most Sundays for the Methodist Church where he was a lifelong member. He also taught most of the kids in his area piano lessons. Even though he died in the seventies, I still run into people who learned piano from my Grandfather whenever I visit my Mom. My uncle is Clark Bedford, a really excellent pianist and organist and his brother, my other uncle, is a fine saxophone player up in the Thumb of Michigan who’s played in a popular dance band since the late forties. My Mom’s also a fine pianist and she teaches piano and plays a lot for area Churches.

Isaac: Wow!

Isaac: What drew you to pick up an instrument in the first place?

David: I had piano lessons as a kid so by the time I was a teenager I was able to play the piano for Church, festivals, and the like. I still play the piano a lot and have been able to serve Churches with it. I’ve also made a decent side income from playing piano for weddings, restaurants, etc. I teach piano lessons and enjoy that.

The guitar came along when I was 12 years old, which I now realize was a life-changing, marker-moment event. My folks gave me a Harmony guitar for my birthday – one of those old warhorse guitars like you can hardly buy anymore. I was a full-size dreadnaught shape and it did stay in tune so you could really play it. On the other hand, it had a pretty high action – like a lot of inexpensive guitars used to have back in those days before they started using computers and lasers to measure and cut guitar-necks like they do today. The tone was pretty harsh and un-resonant. But man, did I play old guitar a lot. I wore it out, literally. By the time I was a senior in high-school and got a better guitar that Harmony’s old fret-board was completely grooved from my fingers, and the finish had been totally worn off the back of the neck, especially down around the first five frets – not to mention all the dings and chips in the top and sides!!!

There’s a picture of me on my web-site playing that old Harmony guitar and in a strange sort of way, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to see that Harmony as my favorite guitar – even though I really love my Martin HD-28, which is an absolutely flawless flat-top. When I was around nineteen, I left the old Harmony guitar at a friend’s house and his little brother trashed the thing. I was kind of upset, but hey, that’s what you get for being careless, right. Anyway, I’d like to have it back sometimes, just for sentimental reasons, but it’s long-gone.

Isaac: As you hit your teenage years, did you know that this was what you would be doing for the rest of your life?

David: Well, I wish I could say I thought that far ahead when I was a teenager!!! I wasn’t like these kids I see today who have their whole lives planned out by the time they are twelve. On the other hand, I really loved music and when I started to get into Rock & Roll around the age of 15 or 16, boy did things change. Yes, at that point, I really wanted to be a Rock & Roll guitar player. I also really loved the Singer-Songwriter stuff – and I always will – but during the teen years I really went for the heavy rock that was popular on FM radio back in those days—anything from Mott the Hoople and Deep Purple to Detroit rockers like Seger, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, and The Rockets. I wanted to play in a kick-ass band so bad I could taste it. I wasn’t really a poser either, just into the image. I spent a lot of lonely hours with my guitar learning songs, chords, and, later, lead chops. I’ve never really quit playing since those days, even these many years later. So I guess in a way I got my wish, sort of, lol.

Isaac: Is there a performer in any genre of pop culture that you would like to work with?

David: Wow, that’s a hard one in a way. I guess my most significant “Idol” or role-model for guitar has always been Eric Clapton – the consummate guitarist. I like just about everything he’s ever done, though the stuff he’s done since the mid-eighties or so represents another era of his music I relate to less. But the stuff he did from the Yardbirds on through his solo albums – 461 Ocean BLVD, No Reason to Cry, Backless, Slowhand – those are such great albums, and they influenced me so heavily. And, of course, there is Derek and the Dominos Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, easily one of the greatest albums ever in terms of guitar-playing, as well as being a great collection of songs and rock jams in general – Tell the Truth, Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad, Key to the Highway, I Looked Away --- well, the whole album is just great. To this day, I can play virtually all those songs from those early Clapton records, if asked. I love them so much. So of all the artists who I’d love to jam with if given the opportunity, I’d guess it would mean the most to me to have the chance to play with Eric Clapton.

Isaac: Who are some musicians that you really like, present or past?

David: Well, there are so many – major acoustic influences include Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce, Seals and Crofts, the Eagles, and so many more. In terms of electric guitar, again there are so many; I’m a huge Stones fan, and love the rhythm guitar of Keith Richards. Jimmy Page was an absolute wizard both in terms of the technical aspects of his playing, but even more so in the creative and cool things he did with the guitar and his songwriting. I’m a huge Allman Brothers Band fan – love Duane and Dickey Betts. I’m also an old Detroit boy, so I love the straight-up Rock that came out of that city in the sixties and seventies. I love the way the Detroit guitarists – especially Drew Abbot (Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band) and Jim McCarty (Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, and the Rockets) – used to tear up those old classic, Chuck Berry Rock & Roll riffs. They really made the stock rock licks their own, with great bar-band arrangements and high-energy, very raw live performances.

In terms of acoustic music, I love the simple guitar-gems penned by Cat Stevens, back before he was Yusef Islam. I’ve always loved Gordon Lightfoot, and I respect him now more than ever. I enjoy Country and Bluegrass, when it is smart and thoughtful, which isn’t always. Ironically, I grew up saying I didn’t like Country, even though there was obviously a lot of country influence in acts I loved, like Neil Young, CSNY, the Eagles, Dylan, the Band, and many others. In my early twenties, I started listening to Doc Watson some and over the years I’ve learned to flatpick. In fact, to the extent I’m known for my guitar-playing, I would say it’s helped that I’ve done a lot of good Bluegrass gigs as a flatpicker. I love Bluegrass, but if you’re not careful it can get boring, redundant and every song sounds the same – just like Blues, Jazz or Baroque, for that matter. But Doc Watson is one of the best Folk and Bluegrass artists ever. A lot of guitarists tend to focus on technique and theory, overlooking the importance of having a great and interesting repertoire of cool songs – songs that tell stories or songs that need to be remembered for posterity. Doc Watson is not only one of the finest flat-top players ever, but, as important, he’s a great song-stylist and preserver of our musical heritage.

Isaac: What is your ultimate goal with your music career?

David: Well, I’d certainly like the business end to continue to improve. I can’t complain, but I’d definitely like to take my music to the proverbial “next level” in terms of the business end of things, if you get my drift. I’ve learned that the business end of music is closely related to the music itself. Most aspects of playing music are beyond your control. No matter how hard you try, you can’t control whether or not somebody books you for a gig, or doesn’t want to pay you what you think you should get, or anything else. You can’t control how many people show up to see you play, which is always a factor in the business end of music. You can’t control whether people like you or not. You can’t control if the people who book you don’t know doodley squat about good music, or are jerks. You can’t control whether your stuff gets selected for this media endeavor or that one. The only thing you can really control is the music itself. Your music is the one thing that nobody can really take away from you. That’s the irony of it all. The only thing you can really control is how well you play, and how well-prepared you are for a gig. And at the end of the day, the best thing that you can do for the business end of things is to have great music, because music is the only thing you can really control. You have to keep working on the business end of things, but keep the focus on music, trusting that fate, karma or whatever will finally.

Isaac: Indeed!!

Isaac: What has been some of the obstacles it has taken to get this far in your career?

David: Oh boy, more painful truth time, eh??? Well, I think the live-music scene is not what it was. When I was in my early twenties, there were tons of places that had live-music, many of them small clubs, and many had music seven -nights a week, with full bands. But for whatever reason, I would say that there just isn’t as much live-music anymore. A lot of places now have Trivia, Karaoke – all at the expense of having live music. A lot of music also happens now in little “coffeehouses,” which can be very cool but are usually small-scale gigs, at best. It’s better somewhat if you are an acoustic act. Thank goodness I’ve got a nice acoustic act—The Silverbirds -- and can handle smaller gigs where, a) we are cheaper to the club owner and b) we are flexible to the space where we are playing. I’d hate to be a drummer.

Another painful truth? Oh boy. I think physical appearance and image is more important that I used to think it was in my more idealistic youth. MTV made appearance especially important, though the classic rock bands of my pre-MTV youth usually looked as cool as they played. In my darker moments, I have thought that if I had had a 28 inch waist I could have been a famous rock guitarist. But that didn’t happen, lol.

Probably the most important obstacle I’ve faced is finding good players to play music with. I’ve played with so many people of varying levels of ability. By the way, great players don’t all have to be virtuosos. You might find great entertainers, or good musical players who don’t necessarily have a lot of flash and trash, but who play with dynamics, a good ear, and know how to mix into a unit. Good players need to play in tune, they need to know a lot of songs in different styles and keys, and they need to add, not detract, from the overall sound. Oh, and for the most part, everybody you play with should be able to sing well and carry a harmony-note.

On a related note, it’s important that the people you play music with are responsible and available, as well as being good musicians. Musicians do have to be available, however. If you want steady work, you have to have a group that is around when the gigs come up. If you can put together a decent pick-up band for an occasional special gig, that’s OK to a point, but sooner or later you need a steady and reliable band so that booking agents, if nobody else, know what they are getting when they call. You can’t really build a good reputation with a pick-up band that changes players all the time. A pick-up band will also never really develop an A-grade repertoire or nicely-honed arrangements.

Isaac: Would you recommend this "field" to others who are aspiring to be musicians like you?

David: I’m a little too countercultural for the mainstream, but here’s what I think: I believe in the parable of the talents, as taught by Christ in the Gospels. That is, we should develop the talents God gives us, to the best of our ability. I think a lot of young people, rightly nervous about professional and career goals, should remember Christ’s humble admonition to develop our talents. Life holds no guarantees. At the end of the day, developing your individual talents is the only thing you can really control. If you have the potential to be a good musician who can really play, then God wants you to develop that talent. And you know what? You are more “practical” developing a God-given talent like music than you are than going to college and spending tens of thousands of dollars majoring in something somebody else tells you is practical, or just finding something you can pass in order to graduate. You’d be better off as a bar-tender or truck-driver. Seriously!!

So my advice is to find your talents and develop them. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Develop your talent!!! That’s what you can control, and that’s what you won’t regret down the road. That’s true for music, and it’s probably true for everything else in life.

Isaac: Describe one piece of advice you've have been given to by others in the music industry.

David: Finish your songs. For many years, I was one of those guys who had had several decent original songs I could play. But for every original song of mine I could play from beginning to end, I had ten more “ideas” for songs that I never seemed to finish. Some of these “ideas” were years old. So finish your songs!!! Force yourself. Some finished songs will turn out better than others, but you need to finish your songs to build a catalog of originals. The gems will stand out, over time.

Isaac: What genre of music do you consider most of your music?

David: Wow, another question where I could go on and on. I like most guitar-based forms of music – Rock, Blues, Country, and Bluegrass, to name the major genres. I guess the label that would be most encompassing and appropriate would be “Folk-Rock,” since it kind of encapsulates all the different things I like. I love Bluegrass and Acoustic music, I love Rock, I love Folk, I love the Blues, and I love well-written songs, as in the Singer-Songwriter genre. So Folk-Rock seems the vaguest moniker but therefore perhaps the most applicable.

I also love Traditional Hymns, but I guess that’s another story.

Isaac: What has been your favorite piece of work?

David: Another tough question in terms of narrowing it down. Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs were like a guitar-playing Bible for me, and I guess it’s probably still my favorite album, among the many other recordings I dearly cherish. For acoustic music, I would cite the following records as not only being recordings I wore out, but also recordings that heavily influenced me: James Taylor’s Greatest Hits, Teaser and the Firecat by Cat Stevens, and Gord’s Gold, by Gordon Lightfoot.

For my own stuff, I guess my new disc Silverbird would be a favorite, since it was the first disc I did of all original songs. I’ve even more excited about the upcoming Silverbird II disc, later in 2010.

Isaac: How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?

David: Check out my web-site at www.davidleinweber.com. There are some downloads on there. I’m also on iTunes and other digital downloading sites, especially two of my folk CDs, and two recordings of Traditional Hymns I did. As I said, my newest project Silverbird is something I’m excited about since it’s a move more towards original songs than the earlier folk and traditional recordings I was doing. The Silverbird disc is available when I perform and I’m also working to get-it on-line. The Silverbird song Thursday Ride is available for download on my web-site, as is Mitch Ryder Revisited. Both these songs are about growing up in the Detroit area, my musical roots, as well as getting on a bit. If you would like the disc, you can order a physical disc via my web-site e-mail at david@davidleinweberl.com.

Isaac: Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge for offering financial or emotional support?

David: Well, of course I’d like to thank my parents. My mom used to grade student essays waiting in the car (she was a High School English teacher) while I was taking my piano lessons. Thanks Mom. Thanks Dad for your love and support, too.

Also, I’d like to thank Mrs. Mildred Benson of Union Lake, Michigan. She was my piano teacher. She was one of the best piano teachers in the state of Michigan, as far as I’m concerned. As well as being a very fine pianist who could not only do the classical music, she also played great boogies and “schmaltz” style piano. She was a stickler for music theory. She emphasized scales and chords, along with developing a repertoire of songs. It’s stuck with me over the years. Her lessons helped me in all things musical, not just the piano alone. She was wonderful. Really great.

There are so many others -- musicians I’ve met along the way, some whose names I never knew or can’t recall – I’ve learned from all of them.

Isaac: Any last words?

David: Who knows what the future has in store? Focus on the music; it’s the only thing you can really control. Hopefully the other elements will follow. I’m going to continue to work on writing songs.

Come to our shows.

Oh, and God bless everybody.