Leeroy Stagger is excited to return to Lethbridge to play a special roof top show for the Geomatic Attic’s Wide Skies Reimagined Festival, Wednesday, July 28.
Stagger, who moved back to his home of Victoria during the pandemic is happy to be playing his music in front of people again.
It has been an adjustment being back on the road and has taken a toll on his voice so he answered some questions by e-mail.
“Hi Richard, nice to hear from you! Just adjusting to be back on tour and performing again, it’s such a trip. Love the performing but not so much the travelling. We are loving being back on the coast, all of my family are here, the best part of moving back has been being able to spend so much time with them. We miss
Lethbridge and I’m certainly excited to be back for a little visit,” he wrote, adding he is having to get his voice back in shape.
“The best part is playing and the camaraderie between me and my band, that’s a real thing that years on the road together cannot break. I’m really having to take care of myself on this run as my voice warms back up, lots of vocal exercises and I talk very quietly before shows, it’s comical really,” he noted, adding he will be touring with long time bandmates, bassist Tyson Maiko and multi-instrumentalist Ryland Moranz. He will be joined by drummer Kyler Harmon for the Alberta dates and Nick Stecz was on the BC shows.
“It’s been great to play with Nick again, he’s played with us on and off for well over 10 years, same with Kyle,” he noted.
It has been challenging as a touring musician during the pandemic, but he has been able to spend more time with his family.
“The biggest challenge has been having my income cut down to a third but how honestly it’s been a real blessing to have so much time to spend with my family and to have time to go inwards and decide what I really want in life. Family is more important than ever to me these days. I’ve dedicated far too much time to touring and that life over the last two decades and now it’s time to reverse that,” he noted.
He released two albums right before everything shut down and released another new album during the pandemic called “Dystopian Weekends,” which he described as going back to his roots music roots.
“iI was recorded in March of 2020 so right as the pandemic was starting, it was wild and eerie and exciting. As far as musically speaking, it’s definitely a return to more of a roots sound for me. I made it strictly for myself and wanted to capture some of that ’60s Dylan vibe as I was really into those records at the time. I wrote about six songs during the pandemic but made another album this spring, I like to work obviously and this is how I make my living, if I can’t write 12 songs a year I figure I’m doing it wrong and might as well do something else,” he noted.
Stagger plans to make the most of his return to Lethbridge and is planning to play a brand new set of music.
“I am excited! I love the city where my children were born and were I came of age. I’m excited to see my friends and get a run in the coulees with my running buddies. It will be a short visit but I’ll make the best of it,” he said adding there might even be a jam with MonkeyJunk at the end.
“It’s a brand new set for us but of course we’ll pepper in some classics and maybe even a couple covers. MonkeyJunk, well those guys are part of the extended musical family, I’d imagine there might be something we do together,” he noted.
Wide Skies Reimagined begins, Wednesday, July 28 with a beer gardens and food trucks in the Bowman Arts Centre parking lot at 6 p.m. featuring music from Ryan Skinny Dyck and Evan Eushenko.
MonkeyJunk and Leeroy Stagger play on the Park n Ride roof top across the street at 8 p..m.
Admission is free, but seating is limited, so book a ticket through www.geomaticattic.ca
—By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
