A Very Candid Conversation with Lyle Workman

Lyle Workman (year unknown)

 

Lyle Workman has had an extensive musical career that stems from the mid-80s to the present. He first got his start playing guitar with the rock band Bourgeois Tagg in 1986. Todd Rundgren produced their album Yoyo in 1987. Their 1987 single “I Don’t Mind At All,” which Lyle co-wrote with the band’s founder, Brent Bourgeois, hit the Top 40. After Bourgeois Tagg broke up, Lyle became a session musician, both in the studio and live performances. Some of the musicians Lyle played with include Sting, Sheryl Crow, Beck, Shakira, Norah Jones, Todd Rundgren, Frank Black, and many others.

Lyle’s résumé doesn’t end there. He has composed the film score and/or produced the music for many well-known Hollywood comedies such as Superbad, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and several others. In addition to films, he has written the music for TV shows such as Love and Good Girls.

Yet despite Lyle’s busy schedule, he has found time to release four instrumental solo albums since 1996. He released his latest solo album Uncommon Measures in 2021. Uncommon Measures is a jazz fusion album that features orchestration by John Ashton Thomas, who was the orchestrator for the Black Panther and Captain Marvel films. Guitar legend Steve Vai has praised Lyle’s album.

In this candid conversation, we cover Lyle’s extensive career beginning with Bourgeois Tagg, his session work, his film and TV work, and Uncommon Measures. I want to thank Billy James of Glass Onyon PR for setting up the interview, but most of all, I want to thank Lyle.

Jeff Cramer:  So, what got you interested in music?

Lyle Workman:  The Beatles. My dad played guitar as well, so I wanted to do what my dad did, but I also wanted to do what John and George of the Beatles did. He bought me a little guitar and taught me the basic open chords. Then I had a record player in my room, and I would play the Beatles’ music and play my guitar simultaneously. I was hitting on chords that they were using and, in the process, teaching myself how to play Beatles songs. That process pretty much just continued for the rest of my life [laughs] learning things from records. As my tastes expanded and I grew up, so did my taste in music and learned a lot by ear. I went to a college and studied music, and I still am.

JC:  How did you wind up playing with Bourgeois Tagg?

LW: Just from playing with local bands and club bands in the Bay Area. That's how I met the central songwriters of Bourgeois Tagg—Brent Bourgeois and Larry Tagg. They saw me, I saw them. We were playing in different bands. That’s how that started.

 

Bourgeois Tagg (Lyle, far right, year unknown)

JC: What’s interesting about the video for Bourgeois Tagg’s single, “I Don’t Mind,” is that it’s directed by future film director David Fincher.

LW: This is the first time anyone’s ever mentioned this. [To watch the “I Don’t Mind” video, click here.]

JC: Oh.

LW: Yeah, at the time, David Fincher was in his mid-twenties. We were all young. He was a pretty big music video producer at the time. I think he had directed music videos for Sting and Madonna. But yeah, I remember working with him. He was great, really fun.

JC: Did you have any idea that he would be doing movies later on?

LW: No. Neither him nor me. [laughs]

JC: Also Todd Rundgren produced Bourgeois Tagg. You would later work with him. Talk about how that went from Bourgeois Tagg to eventually working with him.

LW: Yeah, it was a big thrill for us to have him produce our record. Shortly afterwards, our band disbanded.

Several of us went on to play, tour, and record with Todd, which was a huge treat. I was a gigantic fan and continue to be.

 

Lyle in Todd Rundgren’s band (1990)

JC: And now Todd’s been inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.

LW: Yeah. It's about freaking time. It's kind of a no-brainer. But, yeah, I mean if there's anyone who belongs there, he sure does for all he's done in music.[To hear a live performance of Lyle and Todd

Rundgren playing “Parallel Lines” click here.]

JC: After Todd, you worked with Jellyfish.

LW: Jellyfish was something that happened right afterwards.I recorded a record with them called Spilt Milk [1993],  which is a fantastic record.[To hear Jellyfish perform “Glutton of Sympathy,” click here.] Then I went on the road with an artist named Jude Cole, who had a hit single out at the time called “Start the Car.” That was one tour. Then I did a more substantial tour with Frank Black..

JC: I understand that you worked with Frank a lot because you even arranged some of his songs in addition to playing with him live.

LW: It was about five years of touring and recording with Frank. It was a great gig, personally and musically, yielding several records that I’m very proud of being a part of [To hear Lyle perform with Frank Black performing “Headache” live, click here.] This went on from the early to the late ’90s. At that time, I moved to Los Angeles and I've been here ever since.

JC: Around that time, I guess you also worked with Beck.

LW: Yes. That was another fantastic experience. It was almost three years of touring for his Midnite Vultures album which was a lot of fun. [To hear Lyle perform with Beck performing “Debra” live, click here.]

JC: Then you worked with Lazlo Bane.

LW: [laughs] Yeah, a good friend of mine, Chad Fischer, that’s his band. We're very good friends. Also, another composer. [To hear “Buttercup,” a song that Lyle wrote with Chad, click here.]

JC: You've performed live a lot of with artists. You had to cover a lot of other guitarist’s parts. How did feel playing guitar parts that were not originally yours?

LW: Well, you know, when you work with a number of artists and number of bands, you learn how to be a chameleon. You learn how to play other people's music and guitar parts if that's part of the job. It's part and parcel of being a session musician. It's great in that it helps widen your scope of interpretation of music when you learn other people's material.

JC: Is there anyone who stands out during your session musician time?

LW: Well, they all stand out for very different reasons. I would have to list a few of them. You know, Todd Rundgren was a huge influence on me before I started working in his band and recording with him. The most substantial are Todd Rundgren, Beck, Sting, and Frank Black. They all had a huge influence on my music and my versatility. You know, they don't sound anything alike and through their vast differences, important to my growth as a musician. It was and still is rewarding to work with such a wide range of artists.

JC: So how did you go from being a session player to writing music for movies?

LW: It was through session work. I was working with a film composer named Ed Shearmur, and his wife was an executive at Universal Pictures. Harry Garfield, who was the executive Vice President of Music at Universal, needed a guitar player for a personal project. I gave him a CD of some of my music to take with him, and that's how I ended up with Judd Apatow. [Judd Apatow is the director of Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old-Virgin.] It was through that connection. Judd had his own take on comedy, his own formula—his own brand of heartfelt comedies—and it was great being part of that scene when his films were exploding, it was very fortuitous to be in his team.

JC: What's the difference for you musically as being a session player as opposed to scoring the music?

LW: I’m not writing the music as a session player. I'm not hiring musicians, working budgets, working with directors, film studios, and music contractors. It's a big responsibility being a composer as opposed to being a session musician where you essentially show up on the day. Most often you’re hearing the music at the beginning of the session and by the end of the day, you’re done. So, it’s a gigantic difference. Maybe the same difference as farming to being a chef. [laughs] It's somewhat related, but it's a different aspect. Again, it's a much bigger responsibility being a composer, I feel.

JC: Yeah, okay. Is there any particular film score that you've worked with that you're super proud of?

LW: Super proud of Superbad.

JC: Okay. That one particularly?

LW: It was an R&B and funk-based score, and Sony was okay with financing and bringing the architects of that music into the fold. So, we flew out Bootsy Collins, Catfish Collins, Clyde Stubblefield, Jabo Starks, and Bernie Worrell. That kind of legitimacy in that genre was brought to my music. [To hear Lyle’s music for Superbad, click here.]

JC: Also, I understand you've worked as a producer as well.

LW:  Yes, but to be precise I produced the original score for soundtrack, I was not a producer of the film. My largest scale music production was for the film Get Him to the Greek with Russell Brand and Jonah Hill. Twenty-something songs that had to be written, recorded and produced for the soundtrack. We whittled down our favorite ones to be in the movie and then which also appear on the soundtrack CD. That was great fun. [To watch the “African Child” video from Get Him to the Greek, click here.]

JC: What is the difference between producing a soundtrack as opposed to composing it?

LW: Well, there is overlapping in the two. Being a composer, I’m automatically the producer of the music. When I’m producing a soundtrack, I’ll bring in musicians and follow through to mixing – that’s the same job between the two hats.

JC: You released Uncommon Measures in 2021. Your last solo album was released in 2009. Why did this one come out much later?

LW: The reason it came out much later was due to my workload composing over the last decade. To add to that, it takes a long time to make a record of this scope; just the preparation and planning of orchestral recording alone took a good amount of time. I worked on the record when time permitted, within a four-year period. That's why it took so long.

JC: Uncommon Measures is a jazz fusion album. That’s very different from what you’ve played on before. How did you decide on jazz fusion?

LW: I think there's a thread of that kind of music on all of my solo records. For this record, jazz fusion only applies to certain aspects, whereas other some are neither jazz nor fusion. There are elements of rock, classical, soundtrack, prog rock, funk. All the tracks are instrumental and feature high levels of musicianship. This record was an opportunity to express various sides of who I am as a musician.

JC: You brought in John Ashton Thomas who had done the music orchestrating for Captain Marvel and Black Panther.

LW: Oh, John’s an orchestrator, arranger, conductor and composer. A brilliant musician all around. We've worked together within thirteen years on some of my movies. We’re kindred spirits in music, loving jazz, progressive rock, the music of our formative years. I knew I wanted him to be involved because he's such a great orchestrator and arranger. It’s a real joy and for me, each time a learning experience in the orchestral domain.

JC: Now, had you used an orchestra on your other solo albums?

LW: Yes, on my previous record I had some strings, miscellaneous woodwinds and brass, but recorded in piecemeal fashion. hadn’t booked a studio with a large orchestra for my own project, although I have several times for my film scores.

 

Orchestra playing on Uncommon Measures (2021)

JC:Is there a particular favorite for Uncommon Measures?

LW: I like them all quite a bit, but I would say that “North Star” is akin to the “greatest hit” of the entire record because it features the orchestra, has fantastic solos with drums, violin and guitar. It has a section that’s purely orchestral and dynamic. That piece alone is a pretty full meal. [To watch the “North Star” video click here.]

JC: Have you ever toured behind any of your solo albums, or are you planning to tour behind this one, Uncommon Measures?

LW: I haven't toured any of my music primarily because I've been busy working for other people. That has been my primary focus in making a living, and quite frankly how I was able to self-fund such a record as Uncommon Measures. It was not done on the cheap and was a huge expense out of pocket. Additionally, it's very to expensive tour without the support of a label. I've got a family and need to be responsible and keep the money coming in. So, at least for the time being going on the road—especially with an orchestra—is not in the works.

All that said, if an orchestra in Europe would finance to have me over to do some shows, that would work.

JC: In addition to recording Uncommon Measures, what else have you been doing the pandemic?

LW: I worked through the whole pandemic. I write music for Facebook, which is another job that I have. They have a program called "Facebook Sound Collection."

JC:  Oh really?

LW: It's essentially what they call "library music." It’s license free music for Facebook and Instagram users to accompany the videos they post. It’s a free service.  The music can be downloaded from the Facebook Sound Collection web site.  I’m one of many writers for the program, and was writing music for it during the pandemic.

Also last year, I released twelve records on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, etc. They’re my favorite collections of songs written for the Facebook Sound Collection, in a number of styles, also all instrumental. They're available for streaming and downloading on all the popular formats. 

JC: It’s quite a musical journey you had. You first started with Bourgeois Tagg, then a session musician, then you're a film composer, then a soundtrack producer and in addition you do these instrumental solo records. It's quite a lot of destinations along the way. How would you describe the whole journey?

LW: Yeah, it's been a physical manifestation of all my interests along the way. I feel very lucky to have had these experiences in such a broad arena. We all put our energy into the areas of life we're most passionate about .My musical interests just happen to vary widely and so it was natural for me to sidestep into different genres with different kinds of artists and then into the world of composing. The key is to say “yes” to any opportunity, even if it feels like a stretch. For me, that’s what led to other projects, and those to other projects. Through dedication, persistence, and perseverance through good times and bad, I was able to sustain a career over the long haul in this ever changing music business, and feel very blessed that things worked out the way they did. 

A Very Candid Conversation With Leslie Hunt

 

Leslie Hunt (year unknown)

 

On the music reality show American Idol, most of the contestants sing pop like Kelly Clarkson, or country like Carrie Underwood. Leslie Hunt was a completely different contestant. In 2007, Leslie was a semifinalist on season 6 of American Idol, and would stay in the semi-finals for two week. On her first week, she covered Aretha Franklin’s “Natural Woman.” On the second week, she covered Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good.” At the end of her performance, she was “scat singing,” which is an improvised way of soloing using various nonsense sounds and syllables. Her scatting didn’t warm the hearts of Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell, and she was voted off the show shortly after. Her performance of “Feeling Good” and the reactions by the judges can be seen here.

Leslie may have been done with American Idol, but she was not done with her music career. In 2009, she recorded a solo album, Your Hair Is On Fire, and then joined District 97 as their lead singer. District 97 was unlike anything that Leslie had done before. They are an unusual music mixture of metal and progressive rock. (An example of the musical style of District 97 can be heard here in the video for “Snow Country.”) District 97 have recorded six albums, starting with Hybrid Child (2010) and most recently with Screenplay(2021). Their music has received favorable mentions from legends in the progressive “prog” rock genre as John Wetton (King Crimson and Asia) and Bill Bruford (Yes).

In addition to fronting District 97, Leslie has decided to make two solo EPs in 2021. The first EP, Ascend, will be released on June 25, and the second and EP, Descend, will be released in September. Each EP will have seven songs and both will contain new music genres for Leslie to explore.

In this candid conversation, we will cover Leslie’s musical journey from American Idol to District 97 and her current solo endeavors. I want to think Billy James from Glass Onyon PR for setting up this interview with Leslie, but most of all, I want to thank Leslie.

Jeff Cramer: So what got you interested in music?

Leslie Hunt: Well, I was raised in a very musical family. Both of my parents played music. They performed it, rehearsed it, or taught it in some capacity every day. I loved to sing, and I started playing piano at the age of four. Music was just a huge part of my upbringing. All of my aunts and uncles, and cousins, and grandparents on both sides played music. It was just a super musical environment. I basically had no choice.

JC: When you were on American Idol, you mentioned that your grandfather was a particular influence. How was he an influence on you?

LH: Yeah. Well, I grew up in the same neighborhood as my grandparents, so I was able to walk over to their house quite easily. And my grandpa was very supportive of my songs. When I first became a songwriter, he loved to listen to them and analyze the lyrics. He would say. “Oh, play that part again.” With grandparents, it’s usually a less complicated relationship than with your own parents, so in a lot of ways that was probably the easiest adult relationship that I’d had at that time. It was sad to lose him so early in my career because I felt he would really have gotten a kick out of everything I’m doing now. 

JC: When did you discover that you could write songs?

LH: I think the first complete song with words and instrumentation was when I was fourteen—that was like when I finished a song. I used to write little mini songs, like silly songs all the time. The first song of mine I performed with my friends when I was in a band in high school. The band was like, “Well, you don’t need to be writing songs for this band,” and I’m like, “Oh yeah. All right. Challenge accepted.” And yeah, and it just hasn’t stopped.

JC: Okay. I understand before American Idol, you actually teamed up with Jim Peterik (performer and songwriter for “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor, and “Vehicle” by the Ides of March). 

LH: Jim Peterik took me under his wing when I was fifteen years old, and he started mentoring me as a songwriter. He helped me shaped my songs and record them. We still work together, actually. He helped me a lot when I had a development deal with Sony, which didn’t end up going through, but he definitely was a big help.

JC: I understand you had a health scare shortly before you went on American Idol?

LH: Yeah. That was actually a big reason why I even did American Idol in the first place, because I realized how I almost died at the drop of a hat. I ended up getting the Yellow Fever vaccination to go to Brazil. We had plans to be in the Amazon rainforest, so I had to get the Yellow Fever vaccination. But I had a very adverse reaction to it, and basically all of my organs started to fail, and I was more or less unconscious for roughly ten days. My parents came to say goodbye to me, and I ended up pulling through. The doctors said that if I lived, I would be basically a vegetable and I would suffer severe brain damage. But none of those things ended up happening, and I’m completely unscathed. So I was thinking, “I’d better do something big—so yeah, that’s pretty scary.” But I don’t remember any of it. I just remember waking up and feeling pretty much okay.

JC: Okay. How did you become involved with American Idol? 

LH: Well, I auditioned. I was one of the 104,000 people to audition in Season 6. I was a singer and had always been, and I thought that might be a key thing to do. I’d never seen the show, so I auditioned without any knowledge of what the show was like. It probably would have been helpful for me to know a little more about it going into it . . . but yeah. I ended up making it to the top twenty, so I was like a top ten female finalist. But overall, I was a semifinalist.

Leslie on American Idol (2007) 

JC: Okay, I was about to ask if you had seen American Idol before you got on the show since you performed both Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone, both who aren’t usually covered by American Idol contestants.

LH: I’d previously just been to music school, and I’d been performing in different jazz clubs around Chicago. I played piano and sang exclusively. I didn’t really like just standing and singing. I needed to be playing piano at the same time. Actually, that’s how I entered American Idol too. So standing there and singing in American Idol felt very strange. I strongly would have preferred to have my piano in front of me. I did Nina’s “Feeling Good” pretty often. And I just kind of mimicked Nina Simone’s scat, which did not translate well, so that was a pretty hilarious unfortunate choice. I identified as kind of a soulful singer, but in hindsight, I guess I wasn’t really developed yet.  

JC: You would scat again over the closing credits of American Idol.

LH: I think I actually started to swear, and they cut me out before I got there. I walked off the stage, and I’m like, “Oh my God, what did I just do? What did I just say?” It was a horrible thing to ask a contestant to do in the first place, let alone something that’s so kooky. To have credits rolling when you’re like expected to do this big scat. I’m like, “Oh no, this is horrible.” So I was going to sing about how horrible this is.

JC: You scatted, “Why did I decide to scat? America doesn’t care for jazz.” You maintained a good sense of humor after what had just happened.

LH: Yep. That’s me. I’ll spin the worst things. Try to make it funny somehow. It’s a coping skill.

JC: You started your solo career before joining District 97.  I heard “All The Way” and “American Dream Man.” Those songs don’t sound like jazz to me.

LH: Now those are pretty pop. The first album that I made after American Idol was decidedly kind of all over the place in genre. You know, it had one jazz piece on the album. Jazz drummer Vinnie Colaiuta is on the whole record. There was like a slight jazz influence. You know, complex harmonies and things like slightly unexpected turns but sonically it hits the ear as more of a pop record for sure. [To see Leslie perform “American Dream Man,” click here.]

Your Hair is on Fire album cover (2009)

 

JC: After hearing your solo singles and American Idol stuff, I don’t think anybody could have predicted your next turn. You became the singer of metal prog [progressive rock] band District 97. How did that all come about?

LH: I was in music school, and that was how I met the bulk of the band members, at the time at least. We all went to school together. When I got off American Idol and got back into town, Jonathan [Schang], the drummer, asked me to open up for District 97 as a solo artist. So I did, and I stuck around to check out their set and they didn’t have a singer yet. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I was blown away.

My sister had just passed away and she was a big fan of metal. District 97 had enough of a metal kind of quality in it that I just felt like I needed to kind of create an alter ego for her. For her kind of rebellious energy, and anger, and just a way to kind of get some of those feelings out. District 97 has been a wonderful outlet ever since. I’ve been in it for almost twelve, thirteen years or something.

JC: District 97 is metal, but it also has a prog element to it as well.

LH: My dad was a free jazz drummer. [Free jazz is an improvised style of jazz characterized by the absence of set chord patterns or time patterns.] Prog’s sort of like free jazz. It begins with a very bizarre, complex melodic odd kind of time signature line, which is really unconventional but complicated. It’s almost impossible to dance to.

 

District 97 in 2018

I had that grooming already and had that sensibility and appreciation for that. So, I guess the avant-garde didn’t feel like a stretch thing. Although, what I had been doing at that point wasn’t along those lines, but I just felt like I was able to fit right in and come up with melodies and words that would make it a little more memorable. I brought some of my pop background to those complex songs, and I think it worked out pretty well.

JC: I do detect a minor bit of jazz in “Forest Fire” when you’re doing the verses. [To hear “Forest Fire,” click here.]

LH: Oh, yeah. [Hums the “Forest Fire” melody.] I hear that. It’s in there somewhere.

JC: Now District 97 was getting attention from some prog legends. First, there was John Wetton. [John Wetton has played bass and vocals with King Crimson and Asia.]

LH: We did multiple tours with John Wetton. He really liked our music. John and I got along as singers and front men. We talked about a lot in common, and he was just such a generous, humble, appreciative person. He really opened up a lot of doors for us with his audience. I think there were three times when we did a set of our own music, and then he joined us on one song and then we played a bunch of classics like King Crimson.

JC: Did you cover any Asia tunes?  

LH: You know, we were about to. We didn’t end up getting there. Unfortunately, John got sick and we had to cancel it. So we didn’t have a chance to perform the Asia songs with him, but that was the plan. I think we had planned to do “Heat of the Moment.” 

JC: Another prog legend, Bill Bruford, who was the drummer for Yes, has praised District 97.

LH: Bill Bruford is a big, big supporter. He mentioned us in Rolling Stone as a younger band to kind of look out for. That was really cool. A younger band that’s been at it for a long time, I might add. I’ve never met Bill myself, but he’s very supportive of us.

JC: I was hearing the recent album Screenplay, and you did some covers. What’s not unusual is that you covered Yes’ “Long Distance Runaround,” but you also did “Walking On Sunshine” which is not prog or metal.

LH: Right, I know. I was working with a company called Music Dealers, and they asked me to record a version of “Walking On Sunshine.” Neil Kernon, who used to produce Hall & Oates, produced that track at Wax Trax in Chicago. District 97 had it in the vault. Jonathan, our drummer, runs the band and he keeps stuff around for special things like this. So we had content and we piled it all together. You  know, it doesn’t all match, but it’s all us. It’s all cool. [To hear District 97’s “Walking on Sunshine,” click here.]

JC: So what made you decide to go back into your solo career? It’s been a while since your last solo album.

LH: Yeah, it sure has. I just got really inspired again. My boyfriend and I have been together for almost two and a half years. I got very inspired when I started dating him. I just felt like I wanted to write songs again. I was writing some love songs, but I’ve also since written songs around the big George Floyd protests across the whole world. I’ve also written songs about the quarantine and the effects it has had on humanity. My boyfriend kind of helped open the floodgates.

JC: I’ve listened to the Ascend album. I understand that this is a two-part series. On June 25, the Ascend album will be released. But in September 2021, Descend, a second album, will be released.

LH:  Both albums are stylistically quite different. They sort of represent the world pre-pandemic and post-pandemic, but they are . . . you know, they feel like they could become one body of work. Like maybe go into a final double issue or something like that to kind of combine the two.

Ascend has kind of a Nashville feeling to it at times.

 

Ascend album cover (2021) 

JC: I noticed some country elements in one of the songs from Ascend, “Down the Road.” I hadn’t heard any previous country themes from you.

LH: “Down the Road” sounds like a driving song, like watching the trees go by. Kind of like writing a letter to my sister who passed. Kind of catching her up with everything that she’s missed.

JC: One interesting choice off Ascend is “Wolf Cried Boy.” That’s an interesting title choice. How did that come about?

LH: So I kind of slipped the metaphor of the boy who cried wolf. In this song, I’m kind of depicting somebody as the wolf. Basically, the girl has a lot of boyfriends and keeps trying to tell everybody, “This boyfriend is the best one yet. No, this one is the best one yet.” Kind of like you just had a long line of relationships when you start to kind of feel embarrassed after a while. You can imagine that people are gossiping about you. So yeah, it’s just sort of that. I don’t know. It’s a song about fear of judgment, or mild paranoia, I guess. [To hear an acoustic take on “Wolf Cried Boy,” click here.]

JC: Are there any other tracks from Ascend you want to talk about?

LH: Well, I’ve got some videos coming out from Ascend. There’s going to be a really, really fun stage video for “There You Are.” [To watch the video for “There You Are,” click here.] And then there’s this really cool video coming out for “Right Here.” When I wrote that song, I instantly had a visual of what I thought the video would be, and I think it did a good job with my vision. It’s like visualizing carrying this giant heart around the city of Chicago and trying to fit it into my car. Crossing streets just carrying this huge heart. And it’s heavy and it’s windy out, and it’s really difficult. I hope other people will like that one and think it’s pretty cool.

JC: Talk to me about Descend.

LH: I’m actually working on Descend, and my producer is in town right now. I’m taking a break from recording to talk to you right now.

JC: Really?

LH: And then I’ll go right back to work once we’re done. Descend has got some funk and soul quality to it, but it’s still my songwriting. It’s still my voice.

JC: And soul funk is yet another genre you have chosen to work on. Do you decide on genres before working on them?

LH: I don’t think so. I’m just realizing after the fact that they are kind of going along those lines, but it’s not something I deliberately did. I don’t know. I don’t think it’s something I decided that I was going to try to do. I think it just happened.

I listen to a huge variety of genres. My main income source as a musician is that I lead an event band. We do a lot of weddings and stuff like that, and so I listen to just tons of different stuff because of that. And also just with District 97, I feel like I’m exposed to a huge variety all the time.

JC: What plans do you have with either District 97 or your solo career? Do you have any touring plans in the future?

LH: Yeah, we do. District 97 is planning a tour at the end of October to go down South maybe. We’re going to be in Florida and those surrounding areas. And then I am trying to line up some release shows for both Ascend and Descend, respectively. Yeah, so that’s kind of what I’m working on. I’m still trying to finalize some of the details to see what I’m going to be able to pull off. You know, pretty much everyone I know is vaccinated, but some of their standards are different from what they’re willing to do. So it’s always an adventure at this point still for music, but the future’s looking pretty good. And we’re going to be on the cruise again.

JC: The Yes cruise?

LH: Yes. Yeah, we’re going on the next one.

JC: It’s been quite a music journey. First, you started with American Idol, then District 97, and now you’re back on your solo career.

LH: Yeah, I think what really shaped my direction was my affinity for songwriting. I’m always taking a thing of beauty and making it more beautiful. I think that’s how I’ve always kind of dealt with life and also try to help those around me. My sister kind of had a troubled time of this thing called life, and I wrote a lot of songs to hopefully inspire her to see things in a new way. When I realized that I could really affect people and help them see things in a way that I found helpful, that’s really what did it for me. Just the outreach of it. I wanted to be a therapist, honestly, but then I started writing songs, and I would give a tape to a bunch of people, and they would all tell me how much my songs helped them. I was like, “Okay, this is it. I love this.” Honestly, performing is a huge part of my identity, and it just really feels like I get to be my whole self. I need the performance, and I need the songwriting and the singing.