Josiah Leming 'Angels Under Cover' album

In 2008 the talented Josiah Leming has released his album "Angels Under Cover". MusicRemedy had the opportunity to talk with the Josiah about his album, his personal life and childhood, a bit American Idol and a lot more...

Jermy Leeuwis (MusicRemedy) asks a question [Q 1]: For people who may not have heard some music from you yet... what can someone who's never heard of you expect from your music?

Josiah Leming answers [A 1]: Ah man, I can't really say. It would be my hope that each person would not only think something different of it, but take something different from it. In a nutshell, an array of negative emotions breeding positive emotions.

Josiah Leming interview - continued
[Q 2]: Your upcoming album is your first major album release. Tell us about it.

[A 2]: It's very exciting, being that it is the musical documentation of the best things i've written thus far. It was a pain in the ass to make, but ridiculously worth it. Quite a bit different than my previously recordings. I can't promise everyone will love their first listen, but I can assure them it has not lost the emotional quality of the previous stuff. That has been, is, and always will be top priority. I'm probably most interested in seeing what my longstanding fans think.

[Q 3]: Which song on the album took the longest to complete? Why?

[A 3]: A song called "One Last Song". Probably too much stress on its importance.

[Q 4]: In what way has your personal live affected your music? And what about the other way around?

[A 4]: Well, the lack of a personal life is always good for music. And vice-versa. Girls seem to have started liking me recently so that's always nice! It's usually heavy to one side or the other, never in a good balance.

[Q 5]: You left home when you were just 17. Two years later you are about to release your own record. Wow, were you expecting this when leaving home? If not, what do you think would be the main reason for this career?

[A 5]: Like I've said many times, it's been an absolute whirlwind. I'd be a liar to say I never expected it when it was all I ever thought about, but it would be a fabrication to say I was always certain. Let's just say I had a specific goal in sight from the beginning, and I'm very much on track.

[Q 6]: When creating a track, do you have a set theme and pre-written lyrics, or do you start with an idea or the music first?

[A 6]: I've always been a strong believer that there's no need to write a song unless I have something to say. It always starts with an emotion, a feeling. That leads to words, which leads to melodies and music, and eventually a song. Every now and then I'll write music, and wait for something to say.

[Q 7]: You have had a rocky childhood, yet you have managed to be signed when you were just 19-years-old. To what extent has your childhood affected your personal drive for success (credibility)?

[A 7]: I think everyone had a rocky childhood, I've never thought of mine as any more or less hard than anyone else's. In my mind, it's one scale that can be completely thrown out. Everyone's hardships are different, but the impact is always the same. That being said, the environment I grew up in is very much responsible for a large (perhaps too large) amount of ambition. It's partially because I always feel like i've got something to prove to everyone. To prove to myself even.

[Q 8]: How hard was it to be more social when you hit the road?

[A 8]: I'm not a very social person. I'm personable, but there's a difference. The road is my favorite place because it's my alone time to discuss things with myself, turn ideas over in my head, challenge my own ideas, etc... I see the road as almost a friend, a teacher. I've learned more about life from the road, and the loneliness it brings, than I would have learned a million years in a classroom.

[Q 9]: Why have you succeeded in getting a record deal but not getting through on American Idol?

[A 9]: I'm a songwriter.

[Q 10]: In what way have your songs ("Punk Ass Rain" and "They Say") to do with each other?

[A 10]: Complete indifference toward the doubtful opinions of others. In the most positive oriented way.

[Q 11]: Any instruments you would like to learn to play on?

[A 11]: Violin! And I must get a new drumset. I also saw a guy play a saw in Memphis. Couldn't hurt.

[Q 12]: Do you think success and credibility are mutually exclusive?

[A 12]: Well, according to the 90s and 2000s apparently so, with a few exceptions. Yet, that opinion is from a kid with neither, so I'll come back to that later in life!

[Q 13]: What artists are you listening to at the moment?

[A 13]: Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens, and lots of Dylan. The album "Blue" has changed my life.

[Q 14]: Are you living the American dream? Is it anything you hoped for?

[A 14]: The only thing I'm known for is crying on TV, so I believe I've got a ways to go.

[Q 16]: Recently, what is a typical day like for you?

[A 16]: Pretty normal, actually. with more music.

[Q 17]: Final words?

[A 17]: Thanks!

Josiah Leming biography
“Music is in my blood,” says singer and songwriter Josiah Leming. “It’s the only thing I want to do. I’d rather die in a ditch somewhere than not be able to make music. There are no other options for me. Music is my way of getting things out. It has saved my life many times.”

Such intense statements may sound like the drama of being a teenager, which Leming is, but spend any time with this thoughtful 19-year-old and it quickly becomes clear that it’s true. Josiah Leming plays music as if his life depended on it, because for him, it does. Born and raised in the hard-luck rural town of Morristown, TN, Leming left home at 17 to make it as a musician, leaving behind eight siblings (six of whom are adopted), an out-of-work stepfather, and a mother battling serious illness. As Leming traveled around the Southeast playing open-mic nights in any club or coffeehouse that would have him, he slept in his car and took odd jobs to pay for food and gas, all the while dreaming about the album he would one day make.

Now he has finally gotten his chance. Leming has begun recording his debut album for Warner Bros. Records, with whom he signed a recording and publishing deal not long after appearing on Season 7 of American Idol. His brief, yet memorable time on the show spurred fans to turn up in droves online to demand his reinstatement. They sent him messages of support and encouragement. Many posted clips of themselves performing Leming’s original songs on YouTube.

Thousands of fans also purchased Leming’s music through his MySpace page, proving that the young artist’s songwriting skill, powerfully expressive voice, and passionate performance style had touched a chord and could indeed capture a wide audience. “Josiah’s talent as a lyricist is one of the main reasons I signed him,” says Warner Bros. Records’ Senior Vice President of A&R Perry Watts-Russell. “All of his emotions go into his songs. He has an extraordinary gift for turning his experiences into art.”

“No matter what I’ve gone through, I have the same feelings every kid has,” Leming says. “And I think I can put those feelings in such a way that they connect with people and help them get through their hard times. If my music can give others something they can express their emotions through, that’s the whole point.”

Leming first fell in love with music at age seven when his parents brought home a keyboard as a Christmas present for the family. “I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen in my life,” Leming recalls. “I went downstairs at 5 a.m. and played ‘Joy to the World.’ It came very naturally. Playing that piano flipped a switch in me and everything changed.” He took a few months of lessons, but says, “I had no interest in playing anything that some guy named Bach had written. From the beginning, I just wanted to do my own thing.”

In 2000, Leming’s parents decided to expand their family, which already included Josiah, his older brother, and younger sister. In order to complete the adoption process, Sharon Leming had to see a doctor, who discovered that she had ovarian cancer. Multiple surgeries, radical chemotherapy, and radiation treatments followed, financially strapping the growing family. Meanwhile, young Josiah struggled to fit in at school. “I was short, chubby, and really pale,” Leming says. “I wore glasses and my teeth were all messed up. I never had nice clothes because money was scarce. So it became all about the piano. It was the only way I could express my anger and anxiety and sadness. It was like the friend who never went away, who never said no. I hid away from the world. I didn’t talk to anyone. My life just revolved around music.”

Leming finished his junior year of high school, but decided not to return for his senior year. “There was no more need for school,” he says. He hit the road in his battered ’89 Mercury Topaz, spending time in Jacksonville, Charleston, and Fort Worth, waiting tables, doing temporary labor, and trying to find a safe place to park at night so he wouldn’t get robbed. In August 2007, his mother mentioned that American Idol was holding auditions in Atlanta and suggested he try out. Despite wowing the judges with his performance of his own song, “To Run,” and Mika’s “Grace Kelly,” Leming fell short of the cut for the top 24 during Hollywood Week. “I really wanted to make it,” he says. “I worked my ass off and poured my heart and soul into the music. But it turned out for the best.”

Leming is now working with musician/producer Dave Kosten (Faultline, Bat for Lashes) helping Leming, who is accustomed to accompanying himself on piano and guitar, to flesh out the instrumentation on his songs. There’s “One Last Song,” (“that’s about Mom and her situation with cancer”), “To Run” (“a loss of love song”), “Punk Ass Rain” (“about the moments when you just don’t care about anyone else”), and “They Say” (“about how people are always going to try and put you down, especially where I’m from”).

“I try to use imagery that really sticks with people, but at the same time, every song I write is about something I’ve been through,” Leming says. “So it’s impossible for me to write a song that doesn’t tell a story. I can’t write about things I don’t feel. That’s just faking it and I want the music to be real. I can’t control what anyone thinks of it, but I can promise that it’s going to come from my heart.”

Josiah Leming tour dates
November 12 Biltmore Cabaret Vancouver, BC
November 13 Hawthorne Theatre Portland, OR
November 14 El Corazon Seattle, WA
November 16 Red Devil Lounge San Francisco, CA
November 18 Downtown Brew San Luis Obispo, CA
November 19 The Coach House San Juan Capistrano, CA
November 20 Plush Tucson, AZ
November 22 Dos Amigos Odessa, TX
November 23 Midnite Rodeo Abilene, TX
November 24 The Marquee Tulsa, OK
November 26 Young Avenue Deli Memphis, TN

press quotes
* "Leming does not play piano so much as he assaults it. The music that explodes from the rickety piano is booming and urgent, a little unsettling, incredibly raw. Honest. And then there's his voice, which is startling as much for its clarity as for the reckless way Leming wields it." -- MTV.com
* "From living in his car to living out his dream... Josiah Leming's story is etched with both giddy excitement and unbearable sadness". -- USA Today
* "People need to know about Josiah Leming". -- Ellen DeGeneres
* "A genuine talent... His voice is unique, his story compelling" -- Buzz Sugar
* "Britpop-loving ragamuffin Josiah Leming.. made a star-making appearance guest appearance on Ellen and generated more Yahoo search queries than for any of the actual 24 American Idol finalists". -- Yahoo.com
* "Leming is magnetic in person... disarming and electrifying. (His) music drips with a deep hurt but remains defiantly hopeful." -- LA Times

Angels Undercover: The Josiah Leming Story
Josiah Leming dropped out of school and left home at the age of 17 to drive around the American South East in search of the musical career that he deemed impossible if he remained in his home town of Morristown, Tennessee. He left behind 8 siblings (7 of them younger than himself and 6 of them adopted), an out-of work father whose job had been lost when the furniture factory he worked at was closed down and the jobs exported abroad and a mother diagnosed with terminal cancer who had undergone multiple surgeries and was receiving radical chemotherapy and radiation treatments. He needed to get away from the emotionally difficult situation at home, he needed to prove his independence and he needed to try to set himself on a musical path that might ultimately financially help his family. He took any odd job he could find, slept in his car and performed at open mic nights in those clubs and coffee houses that would have him, usually playing to virtually no-one. While engaged in these often dispiriting endeavors and feeling somewhat desperate about his prospects, he acted on his mother's suggestion that he try out at the cattle-call American Idol auditions in Atlanta. He auditioned with 16,000 other contestants, having waited 13 hours in the auditorium to perform, and somehow made it through not only that round but all the way to the Final 50 and the American Idol Hollywood Week. At which point, having gained a reputation as a passionate and emotional performer, he was unceremoniously and unexpectedly booted off the show. This rejection led to blog message boards lighting up all over the country demanding that he be reinstated, an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show, an MTV news story, many thousands of sales of his songs on his myspace page and multiple articles lamenting his dismissal and making the obvious point that American Idol is not well-suited for singer-songwriters. Josiah returned to Morristown to lick his wounds but was soon on the road again back to Los Angeles, performing in Nashville, Dallas, Phoenix, revisiting his earlier open mic haunts and work places, meeting prospective producers for the debut album he is determined to make for his mom while she fights for her life against the cancer that continues to spread. He has signed a record and publishing deal with Warner Bros and is in the studio recording the songs that document the highs and lows of a young life already filled with a lifetime of experience.

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Josiah Leming - Angels Under Cover