Finding Dark Peace with Leslie Mendelson
Leslie Mendelson is one of my favorite singer-songwriters. She writes really powerful songs that can break your heart like a twig in a mere second; she exudes confidence onstage but her lyrics, on her latest album particularly, are oh so vulnerable. She put out a great record, sparse yet heavy, just at the precipice of the pandemic that was all too timely, entitled If You Can’t Say Anything Nice… The record discusses dealing with anxiety and depression, among other things, which many listeners are likely able to relate to.
Leslie is doing a show at TOF Virtual Nightclub next week on Thursday, December 10th. TOF is the interactive live streaming organization that provides the space, technical support, and does the heavy lifting of marketing live stream events. Unlike on other platforms, at TOF, the artist can perform and actually interact with the audience, say hello, hear cheers, answer questions, etc. You can get tickets for Leslie at TOF here. I’ll be there and I hope you will be too!
We caught up with Leslie to ask about the state of music and how she’s dealing.
If You Can’t Say Anything Nice is a fantastic album that’s also one of your most emotionally translucent that addresses isolation and political turmoil, amongst other topics. Certainly a timely release. Has releasing this record on the precipice of a worldwide pause been healing or cathartic in any way?
There wasn’t much I could possibly do other then to accept the fact that this was happening. I was pretty depressed about it at first, knowing that all my shows and tours to help support the album were cancelled, as well as feeling isolated and paranoid that anyone could get this damn thing at any point. As unfortunate as it sounds, after a while, it started to normalize. We learn to adapt. I decided to release the album even though it wasn’t going to have a proper release because I thought people might want to hear what we made. There are a lot of topics that I cover on this record that seemed to reflect the current mood. I found it helpful to be busy working on something, as well. Even though I was home when we released it, the way it connected with people really helped me and hopefully others combat the feeling of isolation and sadness because we were all in this together.
You’ve used a pretty wide variety of different platforms to work around the inability to perform live – performing at City Winery, in backyards, and live streaming. How have those experiences varied and do you prefer one over the other?
Without a doubt I love performing live in front of an audience way more than doing a livestream. There’s nothing that compares to it. At all! Livestreams are a good place holder, but the few times I was actually able to get in front of a crowd this summer was an amazing experience. I cannot wait until it comes back. That being said, I know it’s going to be a while but I also know how grateful I am when they are able to happen even in a limited capacity.
Have you found any silver linings to this live stream culture?
I’ve just about had it with livestreams. I think I speak for most of us. In the beginning we were all longing for any sort of connection even if that very thing was unpredictable. As in glitches and bad WiFi. At first it was novel but now it’s just annoying because you such little control over how clear or smooth it’s going to be. As I say that, I still plan on doing them, warts and all. It’s one of the only ways to stay connected right now and it keeps me sharp because it gives me something to work towards. Goals are always important. I just hope people stay forgiving of all livestreams imperfections!
Any newfound interests, hobbies or records keeping your spirits up through the duration of lockdown?
I actually started running. I didn’t belong to a gym or anything before, but I felt like I needed to get moving. My friend introduced me to an app called Couch to 5K. It’s amazing! I couldn’t even run for 5 minutes without feeling awful and this program gets you going slowly. I started over the summer and now working on 10k. I’m also trying to learn Italian, but I’m useless at it. Other then that it’s pretty much just trying to stay positive and work on writing this winter. It’s going to be a long one!
Get Leslie’s latest album If You Can’t Say Anything Nice on Royal Potato Family and get tickets to the show here!
