- T. Ballard Lesemann
- Jonathan Carman, Sadler Vaden, and Jason Fox
Nearly two years in the making, Charleston rock band Leslie’s new full-length studio album Lord, Have Mercy is finally ready for a proper release.
Singer/guitarist Sadler Vaden, drummer Jonathan Carman, and bassist Jason Fox began working on the album in late 2009 at Ardent Studios in Memphis with producer Paul Ebersold at the helm. They completed the final mixes and mastering in 2010. After negotiating with a handful of record labels, they decided to put Lord, Have Mercy out independently in April. They raised funds to manufacture CDs through a Kickstarter campaign over the winter.
“I think the album is defining,” Vaden told City Paper during an interview this week. “We’ve been through a lot. We know where we are now, and we know where we’re going. It’s a more mature sound. It’s more developed and better thought out. We spend more time with the songs. I think we made a record that will withstand the test of time.”
The band performs the CD release show at the Music Farm on Fri. April 15. The Bridge at 105.5 is currently playing “Shine a Light,” the first single off of Lord, Have Mercy. Leslie’s already working on booking spring and summer tours.
“One of our big goals is to put out an additional collection by the end of the year — either an other full-length or an EP,” says Fox of the band’s plans for 2011. “And we definitely want to do some heavy touring. From a lot of people’s standpoint in Charleston, we’ve been a band for six years and we’ve put music out and all that, but in the big picture, this is the beginning of our career.”
Visit lesliemusic.bandcamp.com for more info.
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