Leah Marie King: breaking off into her own groove

By Lindsay Wilson

as printed in beatroute

It was no small step for edgy blues-rock guitarist and singer/songwriter Leah Marie King to part ways from the touring cover band circuit to venture down the sometimes uncertain and altogether overwhelming path of an original artist carving out a name for herself amidst the masses of contemporary singer/songwriters.

But she’s really getting out there and giving it everything she’s got, and has made leaps and bounds on her solo journey since the release of her debut album, Raven Child (2008) and the immediate following of her second album, Back to the Bridge (2009).

While King remains a hired gun when she’s not busy with her own band, she has made the conscious decision to put her own music first, and is feeling the personal satisfaction of laying down her original hard-hitting rockin’ blues sound for audiences across North America.

“She’s got an incredible rhythmic sense – one of the best rhythm players I’ve heard. I also really like her lead playing, which is very blues-influenced,” says John Gray, who has played with some of the best in the business, including Stevie Ray Vaughn and Ray Charles, and is enjoying being the bass player in King’s band these days.

To hear King’s guitar playing, it’s evident that many hours were spent on the edge of the bed practicing the licks of Stevie Ray Vaughn and Buddy Guy; her vocals and songwriting are reminiscent of the likes of Neil Young and Ian Tyson, and it’s no surprise that King has a soft spot for bands like Fleetwood Mac and the Guess Who.

One of the most common remarks about King’s musicianship is her solid songwriting. Her compositions are heavy in weight and her playing is fierce: a key combination for onstage performance.

Some may attribute King’s rising success in the blues circuit to her hard work and natural abilities, but King knew back in 2002 – when she officially launched her music career through joining the guitar duo Blue Shift – that she had to throw herself into the music full-fledged if she wanted to make it her mainstay career.

“At 22, I stated playing electric guitar. I just thought without question this is what I was meant to do,” reflects King, who remembers eyeing up a Stratocaster leaning against the wall in the laboratory she was working in while finishing her degree in psychology and philosophy at the University of Lethbridge.

It was shortly after this revelation that King took up with Blue Shift, with whom she toured across the country, returning to Lethbridge in 2003 to join the highly regarded blues-rock band, Texas Flood, with whom she toured across Western Canada for six years.

Breaking her chops on guitar and vocals fast-tracked King through the festival and club circuits and her abilities onstage won audiences over – enough to convince King that a solo break would be a smart move for her.

Since the release of her two albums, King has spent a great deal of time touring the U.S., learning up close and personal from her heroes such as Buddy Guy and Jimmie Vaughan from time spent in music centres like Chicago, Nashville and Austin. For Leah, life on the road was a natural fit – and an opportunity not to be passed up.

“As far as I’m concerned, I could live on a tour bus,” laughs King.

Despite her love for the States, King felt uncertain about remaining south of the border after the recession hit and decided to move back to Alberta – back to her roots – to base herself as a musician in the heart of the Rockies.

And back to her roots she went. With a heavy background in the horse business as a trainer of cutting horses, King combines her Western groove with her extensive experiences of life on the road as a touring musician to produce music that contains strong lyrics and bold arrangements.

“It’s folk-rock with a blues guitar flavour,” explains King of her music, who admits her full obsession with the guitar, as well as the intimidation of breaking onto the scene with original music after building her reputation with such a well-known band like Texas Flood over the last several years.

Even though the music industry is clearly in a time of transition, King is hopeful that live music will always be a part of North American (and global) cultures and has full intentions of trucking onwards as a full-time artist.

“Music is such a pure art form, and I don’t think that’s going to change,” nutshells King. “There’s not a time in my life when I feel better than being in the moment up on stage. I want my music to be about the music and that’s it.”