Biography
In the beginning, there was a voice. Before she could even speak properly, there was song. Have you ever experienced a 3 year old, singing her heart out in a Baptist Church?
That was LEA, some 27 years ago. The song is still one of her favorite hymns, "Sweet Sweet Spirit."
At 13, LEA began to teach herself to play the acoustic guitar by spinning songs out of the chords she'd learn in an old Mel Bay book she'd found. That six-string was her best friend and accompanied LEA to Washington DC area open mics where she honed her skills in song writing and performance.
Her father, who had traveled the world playing trumpet with the 70s soul band, Black Heat, warned LEA early on to treat music as a hobby. Her mother, on the other hand, had once dreamed of being an opera singer and initiated LEA at age 8 into the Jones Family Gospel Singers. She showered the young artist with many of the instruments that line her studio to this day.
LEA waded a while in theatrical waters, but always found herself with a guitar in hand and a song on her mind. So, after a year spent as an exchange student in Germany, where she played her first paying gig, LEA returned with the mission of being a full-time singer/songwriter.
Since then, LEA's voice and songs have graced the stages of a variety of venues including the John F Kennedy Center, American University, Eddie's Attic, and Harmony Hall. She continues to perform in Europe, where her 5th full length CD was released. LEA's songs have been featured in TV, films and have earned her recognition from the Washington Area Music Association and the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest.
Now, LEA is entering new territory as a co-founder of bigBEE Records, an independent label dedicated to "making the world a little sweeter, one song at a time."
Instrumentation
LEA - acoustic guitar & vocals
trio or quartet also available:
Will Henderson- bass
Doug Alan Wilcox djembe and vocals
Discography
creation (2000) - Fully produced. Nominated Best Debut Recording by the Washington Area Music Association!
Looking Forward (2003) - Light instrumentation. Nominated Songwriter of the Year!
LEA "live" (2004) - Recorded at Eddie's Attic in Atlanta, GA.
shine on (2005) - Uplifting songs, rendered simply
open your eyes (2005) - collaboration demo of tunes cowritten with German Hip Hop band, Jazzafact
Great Big World (2007) - Described as a "great voice singing great songs". LEA collaborates with the best DC area musicians to create her best recording to date. Maiden release for ListenGood Records in Arlington, VA
Something Worth Keeping (2008) - return to the acoustic basics
Get It Right (2008) - released on bigBEE Records.
Links
| http://www.thisislea.com |
| bigBEE Records |
| Buy Get It Right |
| MySpace |
| You Tube - "A Candle Burning" |
| You Tube - "Xenophobia" |