Daily Inspiration: Meet Leland Grant

Today we’d like to introduce you to Leland Grant.

Hi Leland, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Music was always in my life. We have had a piano and guitars in the house since I can remember. Naturally, in high school, I wanted to play the drums as I was a skinny kid and needed the work out of loading and unloading gear for countless amounts of time. However, the benefit of being the drummer in the band is that band practice is always at your house. I played drums in bands through high school in Virginia, and then in college (O.D.U. and Hampton U.), my alt-rock jam band “Subject to Change” went into a studio and recorded some demos while we were in college. Yes, I still have the recordings; no, you cannot hear them. I fell in love with the recording process again – much more so than when I was 15 and connecting a Tascam 4 track into my Gateway P.C. with a thin headphone cable to get the audio from tape into a program called Cakewalk, which was one of the predecessors to modern D.A.W.s (digital audio workstation). The recording was fascinating, not only the physics of sound waves and electrons but how they translated to microphones, drums (oh yeah, I began singing lead for a rock band at some point), guitars, and vocals. Naturally, I started buying cheap microphones, mixers, cables, more cables, and some cables to hook it all up.

You said, “briefly tell my story,” so lemme fast forward. I left the band in Virginia, moved to Los Angles for 5 years, and then to Nashville in 2009, where I am now. The entire time is playing in bands, working with musicians, and having the passion and knack for production, sounds, arrangement, energy, and songwriting. Somehow in the past 20 years, I’ve found a way to earn a living.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Oh, got it, so you want to do what you love and get paid for it – and you also want to run your own business and work for yourself? There are no obstacles at all!

“It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll!” -KISS

Right. Everything is an obstacle, from friends (who you thought were better friends) telling you to get a real job to family members asking you, “when are you coming home’ while sending you videos of A.G.T. and American Idol performances and suggesting you go on “that” show. The struggle is real, but when I find moments to step back and take stock of everything, the truth is that I get to make music with people I genuinely enjoy being around – so even on the rough days, it’s pretty great.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a music producer/songwriter specializing in artist discovery and development. What drives me is taking a concept from start to finish and seeing the development in the person and people creating it. That usually includes me too!

It’s incredible when someone brings in songs, and we can take them from zero to a hundred and watch the project sound/become more than they thought it could be. I’m different from other people in my field because I surround myself with people who are more talented than me and what sets me apart is I will outwork anybody.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.southlightsound.com
• Instagram: southlightsound
• Other: www.lelandgrant.com

Image Credits
Dusty Barker