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The Chalks
 Leenya Rideout is Belva Chalk in this Country Western/Comedy Improv Trio  Leenya Rideout provides vocals for this band with Darryl Rideout & Lew Hill  Celtic Rock with Leenya on vocals and fiddle Broadway Original Cast Recordings  Leenya is Jenny in this 2006 Broadway Revival  Leenya is Texas, one of the infamous Kit Kat Girls in this 1996 Broadway Revival She is the only violinist in the orchestra.    |
To answer one of the most frequently asked questions about my music, I am a folk singer... who rocks. I am a violinist...who can plug in. As for my influences, I have one of the most ecclectic collection of CD’s you could imagine, ranging from J.S. Bach to Joan Jett. But as for the songwriters, my favorites are Prince, Billy Joel, Melissa Ethridge, John Denver, Indigo Girls, David Wilcox, John Prine to name a few: those who tell a story, paint a scene with their words and music. I dare to hope I do the same with my songs. So these are my stories. I tell people that I have a hard time writing anything that feels untrue. I sketch still lifes, characters, moments. I only write what actually happened, what I saw or experienced, never what I think should be said, or what will sound more accessible. Anyway, I tend to think that the more personal an artist is with their art, the more universal it becomes; part of the paradox of the cosmos. “Colorado” was written in Los Angeles, in my first apartment away from home the fall after I graduated from college. It is a song about homesickness, but has been sung as a duet about missing a lover. I like that it can work both ways. “Friendship Rentals” was written during a regional theatre gig in Pennsylvania right after New Year’s Day, a day I always find myself reflecting. I was taking a bath when it came to me, (thus the first line...) about how, especially in my strange career, places and things become more constant than relationships sometimes. Luckily and ironically, most of the people mentioned in this song ended up being long term leases. The violin “solo” section of this song was an accident. I played 3 takes of a solo, didn’t like any of them, was about to axe them all, then said, “Mike, play them all together”. I love how this effect turned out. I wrote “Alaska” while I was working on a cruiseship that took weekly trips from Vancouver to various breathtaking ports in Southeastern Alaska. I think the song speaks for itself... La Cote D’Azure is a combination song, written in New York, but reflecting on an escape of sorts that I’d found off the beaches of Monte Carlo. Someone once said, “oh yeah, palm trees and angst.” I guess that just about sums it up. I wrote “Rain” when I was 17 from the dormer window seat of my bedroom. Fred Lassen's piano arrangement inspired the production of this song. “Alone” was written while I was still in college. I think this song ended up exactly how I pictured it should, even then. “Through my Window” was written the summer before “Alone” was written, when I was looking out my 2nd story window at some guys playing basketball below. The second bridge section was written last year to lengthen this favorite song of mine, and I’m relieved it came out in the same feel as the rest of the song. Mike Nolan had so many effect options in the studio. This song has 5 tracks of electric violin on it, layered, one put through an “echoplex”, I believe it’s called. Thus the “whale songs” sounds, or bagpipes, as my brother said. “Tinman” is a very personal song to me, and I had a hard time figuring out what to do with it. This simple treatment ended up being the best, just mandolin and cello. It features the words, which are most the most important element of this song. This song, “Friends Like You”, is about 2 of my best friends in the world. It says it all...I wanted a song on the album to exist like many people have heard me in Coffee shops or living rooms or around campfires: just me and my guitar. I wrote “Coming Home” at the end of a Theatre gig 3 years ago. It fell together quickly in the studio and during one of my first recording sessions, all the musicians and engineers (save a few with colder feet) went into the booth and sang the last verse with me. Talk about good sports... “Just Around the Bend” is a song about how loved ones (or, more specifically, kooky golden retrievers) will live on forever. I love that my brother, Vale, is singing backup on this song, because he knew Jansci like I did. “Goodbye, Solitude” was written the same year as the previous two songs. It, too, speaks for itself. The title track, “Phoenix”, used to be called “Happy Song”, because my freinds and fans used to say, “Leenya, why are your songs all so sad? Why don’t you write a happy song?” Up until then, it was my one happy song. But to me, the title “Phoenix” says more about the event of the song. And I’ve had many happy songs since, so there. So we come to “The Right Track”. I wrote this after I quit “Cabaret”, which was one of the hardest things I’ve done. The people in that show were like a family to me. But I’ve learned recently that sometimes, in order to make room for the right thing to come along, you have let go of something else. So here’s to the right thing; the right track. The bonus track is me...at age 3. Mike did some magic with an ancient cassette tape that my father recorded in a little cabin in Montana. The song is “The Little Nut Tree” and it is a children’s song handed down from the 1500's. If you’ve read this far, you trully are a fan! Thanks for your ears and your interest. Peace to you, Leenya |
