Brian Leighton brings heartland rock to bass tournament

Leighton recalls that his uncle Les Etienne is from the Falls and still has some extended family in the area. He said the band enjoys playing up north during summer festivals where they find locals and vacationers enjoying the beautiful season.

“There is definitely a good atmosphere and the people are in a little bit more of a mood to party,” he added. “It’s always good to play for new people.”

GB Leighton has been around since 1988 and now plays more than 200 shows a year. The band has marketed nine recordings and a live performance DVD without ever signing with a major label, becoming one of the most successful acts ever in Minnesota.

The band keeps it exciting and fresh by trying new things, according to Leighton. It has built a loyal fan base over the years by connecting with people through the songs. But it is the band’s performances that move people at big venues, small clubs and sometimes even house parties or traveling around the country to play for Minnesota National Guard troops before they deploy overseas.

“Definitely, performance is a part of it,” he said. “People come out to have a fun time night after night to see us and there is a good atmosphere.”

After years of writing, recording and performing several shows a year, Leighton says the next new song, project or a new tour with new faces makes it fun. He keeps it all in perspective by keeping in mind that the fans want to have a good time and enjoy themselves while they hangout with friends. He likes that his songs are stories that people can relate to their own experience.

Early on in his career, he was not so sure about how people would accept his music. Now, Leighton says, couples tell him they met at one of his shows and then got engaged at another.

“I found that everybody has similar feelings with the ups and downs in life and that is why fans connect with the songs,” he said. “People tell me why my songs are so personal to them and what they meant to them.”

It is not easy to categorize GB Leighton. The full, rich sound and lyrics have elements of classic rock and progressive country, but has a sound all its own. Leighton compares it to John Mellencamp, who he said epitomizes the Midwestern feel in music. He said he proved that nontraditional instruments and a storytelling style could win over both rock and country fans.

“It’s right in middle, ‘heartland rock’,” he added.

This heartland rock style is as much about sincerity as about sound, Leighton says, and that it’s not about imitation or chasing trends.

“I have been loyal to what I write and do not try to write for a specific style or what is hot right now,” he added.

GB Leighton is caught in the middle with the advent of Internet music and the decline of the mega labels. It’s difficult to come of age at a time when a major contract could have given the band national exposure, he said. Selling some 70,000 CDs at their concerts was all without label support.

However, Leighton said the band is beginning to see new light with its music on iTunes and via its own Web site at gbleighton.com. The exposure has helped to get the music, including the band’s recently released tenth CD, ‘Ghosts’, to new fans that now prefer downloading to buying a disk.

Despite all the possibilities, the short road to national success would still come with major label promotion and touring. Leighton said this is difficult as independent stations get bought up by conglomerates that control the air play.

“I’ve always been trying to do the next bigger step,” he said. “Our big thing now is to get people on e-mail lists and do blasts on everyone at one time, to let them know where we are at and what is going on. That is the way people are doing music now.”

Leighton writes his own lyrics and musical arrangements. He often co-writes for big name artists like Blake Shelton, who already has one of his songs, and Leighton hopes that it gets recorded.

After recently getting involved with Nashville writing circles, including Brad Paisley and Patty Loveless, Leighton said he has reached a major stepping stone in his career. Staying true to his own voice and style pleases other writers, who he said need a consistent and contrasting voice to make the magic work.

“I am always striving to become bigger than I am,” he said. “We still need that big break and a song that’s going to break out there, whether in a movie or TV or on the radio.”

Leighton learned early on that music could impact his life. He was just age 10 when heard Bruce Springsteen’s version of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.” He was impressed that someone could give a Christmas classic a rock twist.

“It started me saying, ‘that is what I want to do’,” he said.

Riding in the back seat of the family car, Leighton’s father would play Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, Alabama and Neil Diamond. He later became a fan of Springsteen, Mellencamp, and Tom Petty. He noticed that the line between country and rock was getting thinner.

By age 14, Leighton picked up his first guitar and taught himself how to play a few chords. He began to mix with neighborhood kids in basement groups. All he wanted was to play rhythm guitar, but other members made him the singer because of his voice. He couldn’t sing the heavy metal songs of the day because they called for such a high vocal range. So, he began writing his own material for the band.

It was then that Leighton found that creative writing was a way to describe his feelings with a poetic touch. He began assembling band members that could adapt the lyrics to the sound that he was looking for. In 1988 GB Leighton was on its way.

The band includes Luke Kramer, guitarist, who has been with Leighton for 16 years. Leighton says the two are so close they know what each other are thinking.

Natalie Murphy, violinist and vocalist, is the first ever woman in the band.

“It’s a whole new dynamic,” he added.

The six-piece band is rounded out with Nick Salisbury, bass, Ryan Inselman, drums, and Mark Wight, keyboardist.