 Hi, welcome to Think Tech. We are raising public awareness on technology, energy, diversity, and globalism. This show is center stage, and I am your host, Donna Blanchard, proud managing director of Kumakuhui Theater. We are coming to you live from Pioneer Plaza in the heart of downtown Honolulu, very near Kumakuhui Theater. I am excited to introduce my guest today. This is a very interesting gentleman I've wanted to talk to for some time. His name is James Leonin. I believe I pronounced that correctly. And he is a singer and guitarist with the band Granite Saints. Welcome, James. Oh, nice to be here. Yeah, I'm anxious to talk to you. I want to hear all about what you do with the Granite Saints and the history of them and where you started before them and the formation of that group. Because it's a very, you have a very unique sound. Oh, thank you. Thank you for trying. Let's start off with what you are working on right now with the Granite Saints. Right now, we have two shows coming up, two big shows. We have this coming Saturday at Next Door, right on Hotel Street. And then on the 27th, we get Crossroads over Hawaiian Bryant's. Oh, yeah. We got a lot in the works. In fact, our T-shirts just got finished today. So I picked them up. I'm pretty stoked about that. 25 bucks. Oh, good deal for a similar shirt. We're also in the studio recording. So that's number one priority next to performing. We're gonna try and space the performing out a little bit so we can focus on studio work. Oh, do you have, you don't have any EPs currently? No, we've been together less than, this current lineup has been together less than five months. This current lineup, less than that. The lineup I had before, it's always been myself and Giri Haynes. We've been together for a year. So Giri and I have like an anniversary. But with regard to this current lineup, it's less than five, six months. Oh, wow. Okay, so this is a good time for you to start getting into the recording part that you played out a few times. Yeah, these guys are very, they're experienced. You know, they cut their teeth in other markets other than here. So it's a nice diverse group. Okay, cool. Experienced. All right, so next door this weekend and then Hawaiian Bryan's. The 27th. In two weeks. That's a big stage. Where are you gonna be in Hawaiian Bryan's? At Crossroads. Oh, right at Crossroads. Yeah, okay. I guess that's the bigger stage from what I understand. Yeah, we're gonna make our mark. Good. Well, let's see if we can help you do that. Let's talk about you and then we'll get more into the band and we've got some photos we can look at later. Okay. So what is your background? Did you grow up here? No, grew up on the mainland and came back when I was in the Navy, you know, and then went back, met the kid's mom, stayed there for too long, came back like probably five years ago. Oh, okay. Or five years ago. And when did you start getting interested in music? Long, I'll age myself if I say the Beatles. You can just say your age. Oh yeah, the Beatles. I don't. I saw the Beatles. My first record, my 45, was I Wanna Hold Your Hand. Yeah. With I Saw Her Standing There on the Flipside. Yeah. And then as I got older, I thought, oh, you know, it's just a great way to meet, you know, anybody who says that, oh, I'm doing it for the music when they start. No, they're not. You did it for the girls? Absolutely. You're the only person who has ever admitted that. I'm honest. I'm honest. Good for you. Okay. And you must have had some sort of natural talent for it. Wait, did it work? No. As far as the ladies know. But I started out as a bassist. And I played some classic venues like the original CBGBs. Did that once or twice? We did, oh, crap. We did some big music halls in Philadelphia. Oh. So, you know, we cut our teeth. And this is a band in how young were you? Oh, I was probably in my, late 20s? No, I was in my 20s. You were in your 20s. Do you have musicians in your family? Oh, yeah, my brother. My brother is a, he's a really good guitarist. And I never told him that, but he's probably seeing it now. So, we never give each, we always tease each other instead of give credit. Oh, well nice, I'm glad you finally did that. So, he's your older brother? No, younger. Oh, younger brother. Yeah, he used to write the songs and play guitar. And it was, I figured, well, pick up bass because it's only got four strings, it's easier. And we had our friend, a kid, we grew up with on drums. And we were three P's. We released a five song EP. Oh, wow. Yeah, and we were called The Agents. And it recently, a couple of years ago, somebody in France bought a copy of it for like $78 or something like. Oh, wow. I'm like, hey, don't I at least get a Coke or a pizza or something? Because that's what you would have been happy to have when you were in your 20s. Did you ever study music formally? No. Formally? No, never did. Just picked it up, listened. And as far as being a singer, songwriter, I started that probably about three, yeah, about three, four years ago. Because I just got tired of backing everybody else, backing everybody else up on bass. So I'm like, you know what, I can do this. I can write my own stuff. So you decided I'm gonna learn to play lead guitar on your own stuff? Well, no, I could always play guitar. It was just a matter of creating the songs. And being able to put a song together where it can be presented. It's kind of, I hate to use the term, but it's like art. Because it's like, you get tired of doing it one way and then you just have to be creative enough to say, hey, you know what, I can do this too. If they can do it and I'm complaining, then you know what, I'll just do my own. It is art, absolutely. If it weren't, everyone would be doing it. Right? And just the fact that you have the desire to do it makes you an artist, I think. But then you do it successfully, that makes you a good artist. Yeah. So, okay, I have a whole bunch of questions for you then. If you decide I'm gonna write some music, how did you question yourself at all with any of the music? Did I hear that before? Am I copying something else I've heard? No, not so much. I know I take, I mean, everything in rock and roll is all reused, it's the same chord structure, it's the same, everybody's trying to capture that same level of angst or anger or love or whatever. But it's all been done before, that's all. You just have to find a way to make it yours. Yeah. Because you can hear an artist and you can say, he's the most rock and roll person on the planet. But these are my songs, but then when you hear it, it's like, wait a minute, that sounds like the Eagles, wait a minute, that's kind of mellow, how can you say that's not rock and roll? Yeah. You know, that's elevator music. Well, a lot of those rock and roll songs have been very easily turned into elevator music. Oh yeah. There's little tweaks here and there that make that happen. Sure. It's a little scary to think of. But so who do you feel like were your most powerful influencers? My influence is, you name it, Elvis, Johnny Cash, the Beatles, the Stones, Motorhead, the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash, Social Distortion, my Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, it all runs the gamut. Because to present yourself to me, to present a good thing on stage, you can't just stand there and act like, oh, I'm playing guitar, this is, you gotta act like you love what you're doing. And I do love what I'm doing, or else I wouldn't still be doing it. I love it, I love performing. It's great therapy. It is. And when you come home after playing a gig, we'll get back to the songwriting in a moment, but when you come back home after playing a gig, what are you feeling? Exhausted, and I think that's the way it should be. I think if you're gonna do a good, if you're gonna put on a good show, if you're gonna put on a good rock and roll show, you should be totally exhausted. After, and I'm not talking after a three hour play, 40 minutes, down 20 minutes, even if it's just a 40 year, 50 minute show, you gotta put 110% in, in my opinion. It's not just a physical exhaustion either, right? Oh, it's everything. It's everything. You're physically, emotionally, you're just, I'm just drained, and I like it. Because it exercises all that stuff, right? It gets rid of a lot of stuff. Yeah, I absolutely agree. Even if you're singing a love song, you can pour anger into whatever is going on with you that day into it. Okay, which makes me wonder, there's been a big shift in music over the last 60 years. Most songs used to be written in a major key. We used to, and we all associate a major key with happy music. Now, almost all of the music coming out is written in a minor key. Yeah, I know. So when you start off with Beatles and Elvis, you start off major key. I love major keys. I love major keys, and I love three chords, and I love four, four time. Oh, that is. So I don't get lost. Some of the coolest songs ever written have been, you know, no more than four chords. You know, four changes, and as long as you play it loud, people are gonna like it, they'll take it. Yeah. Okay, awesome. So you decided that you wanted to start your own music, start writing your own music, and did you feel any trepidation the first time you let someone else hear that? Oh, sure, because when you play with a band, I started out acoustically. When you start out with a band, you got everybody covering you. You know, you can make a mistake and nobody's gonna notice this difference because everybody else is so loud. When you get out there with your songs on an acoustic by yourself, it's like you're naked. It's like, it's like, okay, okay. But so yeah, there was some trepidation, but then once I eased into it, I was like, okay, let me build, let me build off of this, see what I can do to make it better. Do you still play out on your own sometimes? I try not to. Just because, I just don't have the, I just don't have it on me right now, or in me. I don't have it in me to do it right now, right? Right now my focus is on the Granite Saints and how we can move forward and we wanna hit major markets. We don't just wanna be big here in the state. We wanna hit major markets. And that's our goal, that's our plan. You'll be touring around someday then. Yeah, and not that we wanna be rock stars, we just wanna get our music out. And if we tour and we're being a rock star as a byproduct in so bit, I'll just need a massage therapist after every show. Yeah, that's part of what you get when you tour, apparently. Yeah, I'll throw it in the rider. There you go. I would. Yeah, too, please. Yeah. Okay, we're gonna go ahead and go to our first break. Okay. I think this is a good place to segue into that if you don't mind, Zuri. We're gonna go to our first break. We'll be back in about a minute. Please stay put. Hey everybody, my name is David Chang and I'm the new host of a new show, The Art of Thinking Smart. I'm really excited to be able to share with you secrets on giving yourself the smart edge in life. We're gonna have awesome guests and great mentors of mine from the political, military, business, nonprofit, you name it, so it's something for everybody. Aloha, I'm Chantel Seville, host of The Savvy Chick Show on Think Tech, Hawaii. This show is for you. It's all about inspiring and empowering girls of the future to do what they love, get out there and be healthy, fit and confident. If you're up for that, 11 a.m. every Wednesday, I'll see you there. Aloha! How you doin' there, lassies and laddies? This is Angus McTech here on Think Tech, Hawaii and my favorite show, Hibachi Talk, with my good old buddies, Gordo, the Texara and Andrew, the security guy. Please join us every Monday, no, it's Friday, every Friday from 1 p.m. to 1.30 p.m. here on Think Tech, Hawaii and you can also find us on YouTube, Hibachi Talk. Aloha! Hi, we're back, we're live on the Think Tech Digital Network. This is Center Stage. If you would ever like to join us in the studio here in downtown Honolulu Pioneer Plaza, you may do so, just email Jay, that's J-A-Y at ThinkTechHawaii.com and he will hook you up, you can come join us. Okay, we're back with James Leonin and we're talking about when you decided that you wanted to write your own music and you like your major chords, which is awesome. I love that. We don't get enough of it anymore, I think. I think it's too easy to go for a minor chord and say, I'm emoting now. Well, don't get me started on emoting. Listen, that's where we're going next. Because I hear a lot of, I hear a lot of music and it just sounds like it could be, it reminds me of the canned laughter from the old television shows. And as much, I think artists today are trying to play what people like instead of creating something and hoping that, hey, I hope this catches. You know what I mean? It seems like they just want to, oh, let me play this, let me write it like this for the crowd. They're guaranteed to like it. No, you're right for yourself. Yeah. You're right songs for yourself. Put it out, hope people, hope it catches. I think that's what happens with a lot of artists who they have a great first album and we can't wait for the second one, you get the second one and you're like, man. Yeah, totally disappointed. That happened with Gaga. That woman is, she's an exceptionally talented woman and her first album first came out. It may not be your cup of tea. I'm guessing it isn't. But she had some awesome music in there. She wrote all of her instrumentation, everything. Everything was her and it was great. And then I feel like maybe it was someone behind her saying now you gotta please the audience. Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too because I can guarantee you one thing. However far we go with this, we're gonna write for us. We're not gonna write for, oh, let's do it so we can get on MTV Music Awards if they still have it. It's like, hey, we're writing for us. We're writing and if people like it great and if they don't like it, well, that's great too. And that's our attitude. Cool, well, and people are liking it. Yeah, yeah, we're getting a lot of positive response. You're getting the big stage. Oh, don't get me on a big stage. You are gonna get on the big stage in two weeks. You want a show. Awesome. So when the music that you are writing, are you writing this collaboratively with the Granite Saints? Are you bringing it in? It's myself and the lead guitarist, Gary Haynes. Sometimes I can write a song with lyrics and bring it in and the guys pick up on it. Or sometimes Gary will come in with a riff and I'll have lyrics lying about and it'll just click and that's it. We have, oh crap, we have like 20 song, 20 song songs. That came about that way. Yeah, and out of the 20, you know, probably 15 or 16, we can just go out and just do, yeah. Wow, that's a good, that's a couple of CDs right there. Not bad for less than six months. Who knows where you'll go from there? So do you feel like your pieces are a collection? If I heard something of yours and then a day later I heard something different, would I say, oh, that's that same group? You know what I mean? Not quite sure. Is your sound recognizable? Like Miranda right now? Oh yeah, we have a signature sound. We definitely have a signature sound. Okay. Yes, indeed, it's loud. It's loud. That's our sound, it's loud. It's rock and roll music. The way I've always interpreted it, just play it loud doesn't really matter. You're a great musician, just play it loud and throw 110% and that's rock and roll. Yeah, and the lyrics that you're working with, these are, do you ever feel like something might be too personal but you start writing it and then question if it's wanted out there? Absolutely not, I just write and I have to see how it flows in rehearsal but as far as the lyrics, no, I just, I write it and I throw it out and if it works, it works. Again, it's all based on how it goes over at rehearsal and then there's sometimes, I'll write a song and we'll play it a couple of times at rehearsal but then there's like two or three songs I can't remember, we can't remember. Like, hey, how'd that go again? What's that song you wrote last week? Oh, jeez. It'll always come back though. That's on point, I hope. Yeah, well, yeah, I feel that way about our, oh, we've got your bandmates are showing up here. Is that you, that's not you. Oh, yeah, that's me. That is you? Yeah, I think so, that's a hat. Oh, I get one hat like that. That's a hat, that's how we know. Yeah, I feel that with our, see, now, yeah, it's the hat and the tattoos. You, anything that you create will come back to you when the time is right. Yeah, yeah. You don't have to worry about holding tight under something, it'll always come back. We, I thought we saw, I thought I saw a tweet just a moment ago, Rich. Then we got a second one, yeah, Kendra Black tweeted the granite saints prevailing and ailing music industry. There you go. I don't know Kendra Black, but yeah, that's what we try to do. We think the music industry is kind of ailing. Again, like I said, everything sounds like, it's like so pre-packaged. Just go buy it and there you go buy. What's one? I can't remember the band's name. They're from Canada. Oh, I don't know, metal, rock? Like top 40, cold play? Are they from Canada? I don't know. I think so. I think it's them, they're pretty repulsive. So I go back, take Justin Bieber with you. I caught myself humming one of his songs the other day and it really upset me. Okay, I gotta go. I know, but now listen, he had, well, that's part of the hook, you know, that someone is right, it's not him writing these. Someone is writing a good hook. Who's I interviewing? Jack Doom, you know, who does the bookings. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And he talked about, sometimes to write his music, he will listen to like Britney Spears, some of the younger artists too, but they have someone writing good hooks for them. Do you concern yourself with that at all? I like to make my stuff, even though it's loud and it can be sometimes, couple songs might be a little offensive to people just because of the, how I, in my delivery. The actual words? Yeah, yeah, and how I deliver it. It might be offensive to some, but at the same time, you need a good hook. You need a good hook, whether it's a guitar line or a drum part or a chorus or, you know, you need a hook, it's that simple. You know, it's the same thing with musical theater. You want the song that people hum when they leave the theater, it sticks in there. And that's what Justin Bieber did to me. I hate him for it, I really do. I don't have anything to do with a young man. I'm sure his parents are very lovely people. So the way you deliver it, your emotion that you're putting in is what you're talking about, yeah. That's awesome. Yeah, I tend to rail slash rant, but not in a way that you can't understand what I'm saying, but you just under, you get the emotion that I'm trying to deliver. Our show is a pretty emotional. Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm sorry to say I haven't seen one yet, but I'm very anxious for Saturday night at Next Store, which is Next Store to bar 35. Oh yeah. And Next Store, just in case people are wondering. I happen to be down there today. I was like, oh, that's not where it's at. Yeah, right there. Good space, partners of Kumakuboi Theater. Oh, okay, okay. Yeah, happy you're gonna be in there. So what is next? You're going to be putting together your EP. Yep, yep, that's what we're working on right now. We have, I wanna say we have two in the can. We're probably gonna do another four more to put on the EP, so we're pretty stoked. We'll put it on iTunes and whatever, whatever other website that people can pay for and download. Can you download? Cool. Get it out there. Oh yeah. Yeah, because you can, it's so much easier than it used to be, you have to start there. And then, are you the person, are you doing the booking and the marketing as well? Well, we all tried to do the booking, but we wanna choose our spots. We don't wanna just go out and play just to say, oh yeah, we played this certain place. For us, like I said, our goal is the major market. So we wanna do exposure, exposure shows this way. Let's say, for example, let's say the cure comes to town again. We'll say, hey, we got these guys on the bill. Oh, there you go, okay. We don't wanna just do, oh, we're big in Honolulu. Oh, we're big on Maui. Oh, we're big on Kauai. Oh, you know what I mean? It's as much as I love it, it's still a limited market. There's limited places to go. Well, and there's a limit for your audience. How many times are gonna be able to be really excited to go out and see you? Yeah, so you need to spread out a little bit. I think the next goal, once we conquer the state, next one's gonna be San Diego. I don't wanna get into San Diego. Got some connections there? Maybe be able to work some. Be able to work some. Okay, okay, that's good. So do you, was the band called The Granite Saints when it was you and, I'm sorry. Gary? Gary, yeah, initially. Initially, when I did Acoustic, I got with a percussionist, Brady Kamai. Oh, yeah, you're Brady. Great guy, and he wanted to back me up, and I said, hey, we'll just call ourselves The Granite Saints, just because. Oh, nice. Yeah, and we made a small splash, but I wanted to take it to another level. Okay, so then you reach out to people, or did people, tell me a little bit about the making of the band. Oh, okay, about the making of the band. First, again, it was just Brady and myself. I did this one song called Mary Jane, and you can figure out what that's all about. It's about Mary Jane, and I love song. A fast, loud love song. But then, so I did a rough draft of it, and somehow Gary, my guitar player, he's like, oh, that's a cool song, and he put some slide to it. I was like, oh, okay, so we started out like that, and then we had various bassists and drummers come in, and then all of a sudden, Nathan, we call him Eight Ball, he's like, hey, oh, he also plays with the alto raise. He's like, hey, guys, mind if I play with you? I'm like, yeah, sure, come on, let's see how it works. And it worked, and then we were, the drummer we were playing with, we needed to go, we love the guy, Al, but we needed a bigger, more, oh, robust sound. Yeah, yeah, more driving. And that's when Brian, he used to play with Sire, he's like, hey, mind if I, how about I play with you guys? And it just jelled, so it's the four of us now, myself, Nate, Gary, and Brian. That is so awesome, do you know how hard some people work to get a band together? It's like trying to get in a good relationship. It's like trying to get out of a good girlfriend, but what happens? You're singing my tune. Okay, that is so awesome that it came together, and people work long and hard to make that happen, and everyone in the band sees the same vision moving forward. Yeah, yeah, we're all on the same page musically, and how we wanna go forward. That is awesome, then that is exactly what is gonna happen, you're gonna move forward. Congratulations. So thank you, thank you so much. We gotta wrap up, I'm really looking forward to seeing you guys on Saturday night. You'll like it. I love it, I love it, I'm sure. Okay, thank you very much for being here today. Yeah, thank you so much. Thank you for joining us here on Center Stage. There's a few other people I would like to thank, Rich Praepus, who is our floor manager, who's right over there, thank you, Rich. I'd like to thank our studio overlord, Zuri Bender, who is in my ear, and Jay Fiedel, who somehow manages to put all of this together. Thank you very much, we'll see you next week on Center Stage. Bye.