Ted Leonard is a seasoned musician known for his versatile talents as a vocalist and guitarist. With a rich musical journey spanning multiple progressive rock bands, including Enchant, Spock’s Beard, Pattern-Seeking Animals, and the official 5th member of progressive titans Transatlantic, among other projects.
Ted Leonard has become a familiar name in the world of progressive music. In this exclusive interview, he shares insights about his latest project, “Spooky Action at a Distance,” his experiences in the music industry, and what the future holds for his musical endeavors.
Join us as we delve into the mind of Ted Leonard, a musician whose passion for storytelling and emotive performances has captivated audiences around the globe.
LotsOfMuzik: Hello Ted, thank you so much for your time and the chance for this interview, Spooky Action at a Distance is coming out on October 27th through InsideOut Music. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the title of the album?
Ted Leonard: I’m the wrong person to ask, actually. John chose that title and I don’t know the background of it. I think it’s some kind of theory thing like, not Einstein theory, but some <laugh>, when he chose it, I was just like, okay, it sounds neat. So, when it came down to putting down all that sort of thing, because I live in New York now, I was pretty uninvolved. I was really just involved in recording the vocals, which I did here at home. In my studio, I just sent my vocals and guitars off to California to be mixed. So, with Spooky Action at a Distance, I should probably know the answer to that question. And I don’t <laugh>, so I’ll have to get back to you. I’ll send you an email with the answer.
LotsOfMuzik: <Laugh>. Thank you. How has the band’s musical approach evolved since your self titled debut album?
Ted Leonard: I would say that, we were kind of talking about this just now on another call. The first album still had a little bit of Spock’s Beard DNA on it. I think obviously there’s some similarities in sound because there’s three of us in PS-A. But I think the second album is where we started to kind of form our own sound with Prehensile Tales. And there was a little bit of, there were a couple moments of this like spaghetti western vibe. Kind of country guitar vibe, which I’m a huge fan of, so I love anything too. I love chicken picking and, and stuff like that. So I, even though I don’t necessarily listen to a whole lot of country, I love country guitar. And so that started to come out a little bit in Prehensile Tales and definitely continued on with, with Only Passing Through. And there’s a little bit of that still going on on this one. I would say this album has taken kind of a step towards a pop vibe, in a number of ways. I mean, we still have the long, kind of proggy songs and stuff. There’s, but even the vocals where they sit in the mix is much more of like a kind of a pop type mix where they’re, the vocals are right in your face. And it doesn’t have a ton of effects. There’s nothing really disguising the vocals like there would be, so it was actually kind of cool to hear my voice that loud on the album. ‘Cause I think it’s pretty unique in that way. Is it a huge leap away from the previous album? I think in some ways it is. I mean, sonically it is for one thing, we brought in some female vocalists for backing vocals kinda like the Pink Floyd thing where it really brought a different kind of vibe to a lot of those spots. I mean, prior to them being there, we already had the demos for the songs pretty much done. And, without those backing vocals, it sounded pretty much like the previous album. Those backing vocals are a big kind of game changer for how this album separates itself from the previous. And I think the drums, because we used a different producer on this one. We’ve always used Rich Mauser for the first three albums and for a lot of the Spock’s Beard stuff and Transatlantic, for that matter. But for this album, we used Frank. I don’t remember his last name, <laugh>, but it’s on the album, so, but he’s been around for a long time. He dates back to the Beware of Darkness Days offered up his studio in lieu of Kevin when Kevin Gilbert died, So they did some of the last recording for Beware of Darkness Days in this guy’s studio. And so he’s known them for a long time. So we got him back involved. And he approaches mixing from a very different perspective. He’s very much like vocals first. In fact, he won’t mix the song until he has the full lead vocal. So he won’t start mixing the song with bass drums and then layer the vocal on top. He wants the vocal, he wants to get the vocal sound first and then bring the music in around it. And so I think that’s why the vocals kind of are so on top of the mix on this album.
LotsOfMuzik: Yeah. I’m loving the mix on the album. By the way Ted, the lyrics on the new album cover a wide range of topics. Can you share some insights into the songwriting process and the themes explored throughout?
Ted Leonard: Sure. I can share what I know about this more than on previous albums, I’ve been involved in some more of the writing on this album. It was all John, so he wrote everything. And when he writes everything is like basically a short story. He’s very much a fictional writer, so he doesn’t draw upon personal experience or anything like that. He basically just starts to paint a picture in his head of what this story is and then goes with it. So it’s like you have these scenarios. One of which sounds like it’s almost like an alien type of<laugh> thing or invasion or something like that. And some of it’s very much just like personal life tragedy or going through changes in your life. And I mean, it’s all over the place. There’s definitely no single theme. The recurring theme, I would say with John, is that there’s always a breakup going on. In most of his songs, he’s always breaking up with some girl <laugh> <laugh>. So that’s definitely a recurring theme. But yeah, I mean, as far as specifics go, we’d have to probably listen to each song, and I could probably kinda walk through how I would interpret it. But even John, I know from sitting in interviews with him so many times, it’s like it’s just a fictional story that he just made up in his head. Yeah, and sometimes it’ll be because he watched some TV show, or sometimes it’ll be because, some other song’s reminder of something or something like that. But it’s never autobiographical. It’s never about his own life.
LotsOfMuzik: Could you discuss the collaborative process within the band when it comes to songwriting, musical experimentations, and that type of thing?
Ted Leonard: Yeah, so, I mean, this band’s a little different than a lot of the bands we’ve been in because it started out as a project that John wanted to do for himself. So this band’s a little different because it’s not as collaborative as, like Spock’s Beard, or Enchant would’ve been. It’s really John‘s baby. And we add our parts. But that being said, if you heard the vocals that he sends me are very, very different from the finished product. And the guitars are the same way. He’s not a guitarist, but he’ll lay down a guitar part just as a reference, and then I get to create my own guitar parts, and put my stamp on it. Same thing with vocals, same thing with bass and drums. He sends the demos and the demos can be pretty thorough, they’re pretty almost done. Even the drums, he is really good at programming drums once you get Jimmy, putting his stamp on it and me playing guitar or me singing. And oftentimes he’ll change melodies around and change phrasing around a lot. And he’s just totally okay with whatever, he knows that as a singer, I’m gonna know better what sounds good or what feels good to say. Like, if I drop a word, then sometimes that’ll happen. But yeah, I mean, so in that way there’s collaboration. But as far as when the song is being written, even the songs that I’ve helped in, like, I’ve written a song, I’ve written lyrics for one of his songs on the first album, and then we had two of my completed songs on the previous album. But in those cases, there was some collaboration, but it was basically the song was done and then the band put the stamp on it, with the exception of a song on the previous album, because the song was done. But then John said, let me try something. And he just totally reworked it and changed it up. It’s very, very different from the original demo now. It was actually gonna be an Enchant song.
LotsOfMuzik: Ted, Spooky Action at a Distance is your fourth album in less than five years. Are you already working on the Fifth album and how as a band do you manage to maintain such a high level of productivity and creativity?
Ted Leonard: I think part of the secret is that John writes every day, like, I have a job, and so does he, but I have a job, and I just don’t have the time to write like he does. He’s not married. So when he gets done with the workday, he’s in his studio and he is writing every day. And since he doesn’t tour with us, like when we’ve gone out and played live, there’s never that interruption for him either. And when I’m out with Transatlantic or out with anyone else, he’s still at home writing. So part of it is because he has the time to do it, and that’s just how much he writes. He writes constantly. And so yeah, there’s definitely already songs that we’re talking about for the fifth album. One of which is a reworking I probably shouldn’t give it away, but it’s a reworking of a song that was on the B-Sides of Noise Floor, kind of like Bulletproof was on the B-Sides of Oblivion Particle. This song was on the B-Sides of Noise Floor, and it was too good of a song to be relegated to a B-side. So, he’s reworking it right now. It’s funny ’cause the song was originally written to present to Kansas when everyone found out Steve Walsh was leaving, and they wanted some outside songwriting help. And so I recorded demos for John and Neal. Neal had some really cool songs that were very Kansas. And of course, that’s who I probably sound like most is Steve Walsh. So, I recorded a couple songs for them, presented them to them. They decided to keep the writing in house, so they never used outside writing. And so, that song ended up on a b-side of Noise Floor. Which was kind of a bummer because I thought it was too good of a song to be, excuse me, I’m picking up my pick. (got guitar pic from the floor) I dropped my point <laugh>. And so it was kind of a bummer to have that song be on B-Side ’cause I thought it was a really strong song. Hmm. So we’re gonna redo that on the fifth album. But then there’s a bunch of fresh, new stuff too. And I need to get back to writing again. I’ve been kind of not lazy, it’s just that I’ve been busy with work. I’m just kind of uninspired to write every time I sit down to play guitar. I’m working on playing guitar rather than working on writing. ’cause I obsess on my guitar way too much, <laugh>.
LotsOfMuzik: Yeah. Cool. <laugh>
Ted Leonard: It’s more, it’s, it’s fun. Yeah, it’s my mental break at the end of the workday
LotsOfMuzik: Any memorable moments or challenges that you encounter while recording your vocal parts for this album?
Ted Leonard: There were a couple because with the other albums, when I would get the first mixes back, my voice was buried. I usually had to say, can you turn me up a little bit? I can’t even hear myself. Right. on previous mixes and on this album, the vocals were so loud that I would hear it. And I’m like, I don’t wanna change the key. Let’s leave it in the girl’s key. So it’s really high and kind of blendy. It is a challenge to record that a little bit because it gets pretty high <laugh>, but it comes off so cool that way. I think if I would’ve sung it in a too comfortable of a spot, it would’ve been a kind of just a mushy-gushy love song, it’s already kind of a little sweet to the taste. So there had to be something special about the vocals. So I figured leaving it in that key would give it a little vibe. And it turned out great. I don’t wanna say much of my favorite song on the album, but the vocal performance is pretty strong.
LotsOfMuzik: And as a vocalist, how do you approach conveying the emotions and stories within your songs to connect with the audience?
Ted Leonard: I think singing is very much akin to acting, and when I was taking voice lessons and everything, we would get into things called subtext. So when you’re reading a lyric for the first time, you’re not just reading it like you would a script and really trying to understand what is the person who’s saying whatever they’re saying what were they going through, what were they feeling when they said it, And then when you’re singing it, once you learn the melody, and once you get past the mechanics of getting that part right, you wanna have the take be one where you’re fully invested in the emotion that you’ve decided that song needs. And so I think that’s a huge part of singing. And just telling a story. I mean, there’s a lot of great singers that can sing higher than me. They can sing louder, with a big vibrato, or better tone or whatever. And what I think is, at some point when I was in my twenties, I decided I was trying to just compete. I wanted to be James LaBrie and Geoff Tate, I wanted to be like them, and at some point I realized, Hmm. First of all, I’m not sure if I’m physically equipped with that. I have strengths, I’ve got a pretty darn good range. But I don’t know if I’ll ever be like those guys, but I am good at selling an emotion. And so maybe focus more on that rather than treating music like a sport. It’s pretty easy for a lot of guitar players, the difference between a guitar player that you admire for 30 seconds on Instagram, and one that you wanna buy the album and listen to the whole thing and listen to it over and over again is oftentimes the fact that it’s not just the agility on the instrument, it’s not just the proficiency on the instrument, it’s what they say with it. So I try to, I just, I really try to understand what the lyrics are saying and really, really try to, just sell the emotion.
LotsOfMuzik: Ted, what can fans expect from the band in terms of touring or live performances to support the new album?
Ted Leonard: That is a good question, because there is nothing on the books as of yet. And I’m hoping that once the album comes out, there’ll be some opportunities that open up. We would’ve expected, I wouldn’t say expected. It’s always been a privilege to be on the cruises. And I’ve been on every single one since 2014. And this will be the first cruise that I’m not on. And most of those cruises, I’ve been in with two different bands. <Laugh>, like the last one was Pattern-Seeking Animals and Transatlantic in this upcoming cruise, we’re not on it. unless somebody cancels out and they need a last minute replacement, which we can always hope for. But otherwise, yeah, there’s nothing in the books. And so, I’m a little bummed about that.
Spock’s Beard has some live dates that are possible for January and February in Europe. And we’re doing a festival in the Netherlands and then some dates in the UK, just a really short tour. But Pattern-Seeking Animals has nothing on the books, so I’m a little bummed. We gotta get working on that. ’cause it’s really fun to play with the five guys that we have. And then the two guys that we kind of hire from the outside are buddies and they love doing it. So hopefully, fingers crossed, they’ll continue to still wanna do it. ’cause It’d be pretty hard to replace them. I mean, it’s a pretty specific skill set, that’s required to get this music across.
LotsOfMuzik: Yeah. And talking about Spock’s Beard Is the band still active, on hiatus, or are there any plans for future projects?
Ted Leonard: It seems to me that it’s really just like we’ll do festivals and we’ll do some live shows. it seems pretty unlikely that we’ll be making any more albums together, at least with this lineup.
LotsOfMuzik: That’s such a bummer to hear. You’re punching me hard in the face with these news.
Ted Leonard: Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, it’s a bummer, Yeah. And there’s a bunch of reasons, but it’s not really appropriate to talk about. But it’s just this tension. It’s been a long time, it started around the Noise Floor album, when we recorded that album, the recording process itself caused a lot of division and stuff. Everyone came away from that with a bad taste in their mouth, and the rest of the band thought that the album wasn’t great either, I thought it was like, of the three that I was on, I thought it stood up against the other two just fine. I thought it was a good album. I thought there’s some super big highlights on that album for sure. Beginnings was great. Somebody’s Home, and the couple of songs John wrote and there was some definitely strong material in that. But yeah. Anyway, I shouldn’t talk too much about that. <Laugh>.
LotsOfMuzik: <Laugh>, Thanks for sharing that. And similarly, what is the current status of Enchant? Did your move to the East Coast have any influence on the band’s activity, and also, what can fans expect of any new material or projects in the future?
Ted Leonard: No, the move didn’t really have anything to do with it, I mean, I was already living about two hours or an hour and 40 minutes away from the rest of the band in California. So the move didn’t really have any impact. It really just comes down to, I mean, Doug is the main guy, the driver of that band, and he just doesn’t have either the time or is not interested in making the time to continue writing. And there was a period of time shortly after the last cruise that we did where we were passing back and forth, back and forth, some demos, and there were five or six songs that were pretty much in the bag and then just stopped. So I’m not sure what happened there. We still talk and we’re still buddies and there’s definitely no weirdness there. Like, it’s just that everyone’s got their own personal lives and, and it just isn’t the priority that it once was for sure. So, yeah. That’s why, that’s why I love the fact that John keeps so busy with this stuff because I love the fact that we’re putting out a fourth album in five years. I mean, that’s almost unheard of these days. And it’s all good stuff. It’s not like just putting out albums for the sake of putting ’em out, you know? And I’m hoping that the next one will be even more. I’m hoping to do some writing myself and get a little bit more of the guitar up front on the next album. <Laugh>. I’m still a rocker at heart, I like stuff that’s a little, got some sort of heavy element to it. Not heavy, like Dream Theater, but heavy, more like 70’s heavy <laugh>
LotsOfMuzik: I don’t know if you are aware, but in 2018, Doug mentioned in an interview with Sonic Perspectives that a 20-minute epic called “Beauty & Wonder ” was in the works. Can you shed some light on what happened with that and whether there are any plans to revisit it or release it in the future?
Ted Leonard: I wouldn’t exclude the possibility by any stretch. I haven’t heard any other progress on that. I think it’s more like a series of songs that’s kind of an auto autobiography of Doug‘s life. So I haven’t heard any other progress on that, but it seemed like a good idea, <laugh>. Sure. I wish I had better news for you on those fronts. Right now, it’s just like, I don’t know, it’s just part of me that feels like it’s kind of winding down. I don’t feel like I’m old yet. I feel like I still have a lot of years left in me, but, as far as touring and stuff, I’m just like, every time I get to go on tour these days, I always have to go, this could be my last one. Who knows what the opportunities are gonna be. Like. The crazy thing about the passing of life is that you never know the significant things in your life, that you never know when it’s gonna be the last one of those things. Like, I was thinking about this the other day, like, it’s a really sad thing to think about, but you never know the last time you’re gonna sit your daughter on your knee and, or put your son up on your shoulders and walk around. I
LotsOfMuzik: I can totally relate, I can relate to that part. Last Thursday I had a car accident. I was driving with my family in the truck, and suddenly the rear wheels drifted and I lost control of the truck, it was crazy. The truck rolled over, and we got out of that situation unharmed, and I thought the hand of God protected us at that moment, and when I came home that night, I was thinking I could have lost my family in that accident. Right. Or they could have lost me. And like you said, you never know when’s the last time that you’re holding your loved ones.
Ted Leonard: Yeah. It’s just like that and it’s just like those little moments in childhood, like you’ve still got a pretty young son there. my daughter’s 23 and my son’s 21. Those little moments where they’re tiny little kids. And my daughter used to, we’d be walking anywhere. She always wanted me to carry her or throw her on my shoulders, and she was like two years old. She would always go “upy, upy”, <laugh>. But stuff like that, when it comes to touring and stuff too, it’s like you just said. Even though I don’t think my life is nearing its end or anything like that, I think that you just never know when the last opportunity to do a big tour is gonna come. I was really not in a very good place to accept the Transatlantic tour this last time. I was way too busy with work to give it the focus that it really needed. But there was no way I was gonna say no because of that, because I thought this could be my last thing to do, to play in front of big crowds, and travel the world.
LotsOfMuzik: Yeah, and now that we don’t even know if Transatlantic is going to continue or not, like, right?
Ted Leonard: Yeah. it’s pretty unlikely.
LotsOfMuzik: So, well, that’s a bummer.
Ted Leonard: I’m sorry, yeah I’m making, I’m just being a bummer. <Laugh>
LotsOfMuzik: No problem. Ted, anything else that you wanna share with our audience before we close the interview?
Ted Leonard: Yeah, I just ask people to check out the album and I hope you dig it and if you haven’t checked out Pattern-Seeking Animals previous albums, there’s a lot of good stuff in there. And I appreciate all of you that have followed the various things that I’ve been involved in through the years. And, I just appreciate you as the fans that are maybe listening to this. I don’t never, I never take for granted the fact that I’ve gotten to spend the bulk of my adulthood, traveling the world and playing music for people that love what we do. And that’s just like, I have a lot of talented friends that never got to do the stuff that I got to do because it was prog, they were trying a different kind of music. And prog has been this vehicle where I’ve gotten to have an amazing life, really. I mean, I really cannot complain about some of the things that music has gotten me exposed to, playing all over the world. It’s been amazing. So I appreciate you guys and yeah. Keep listening.
LotsOfMuzik: Yeah. For sure. Thank you very much for your time, Ted. Hope to see you soon on the road. Have a nice evening.
Ted Leonard: Yeah. Bye Jorge. Take care.
LotsOfMuzik: You too. Bye.
Spooky Action at a Distance is available in the following formats:• Limited 2CD Digipak*
• Digital album*
• 2LP Gatefold vinyl 180g***including 3 live bonus tracks from ProgStock 2022
**including 2 live bonus tracks from ProgStock 2022
Pre-order Spooky Action at a Distance here:
https://patternseekinganimals.lnk.to/SpookyActionAtADistance
(CD 1)
The Man Made of Stone
Window to the World
What Awaits Me
He Once Was
Underneath the Orphan Moon
Clouds That Never Rain
Bulletproof
Somewhere North of Nowhere
Summoned from Afar
Love Is Still the Light
(CD 2)
There Goes My Baby
Orphans of the Universe (Live at ProgStock 2022)
Elegant Vampires (Live at ProgStock 2022)
Time Has a Way (Live at ProgStock 2022)*
*CD & Digital album only
(Vinyl 1 Side A)
The Man Made of Stone
Window to the World
What Awaits Me
(Vinyl 1 Side B)
He Once Was
Underneath the Orphan Moon
Clouds That Never Rain
(Vinyl 2 Side A)
Bulletproof
Somewhere North of Nowhere
Summoned from Afar
Love Is Still the Light
(Vinyl 2 Side B)
There Goes My Baby
Orphans of the Universe (Live at ProgStock 2022)
Elegant Vampires (Live at ProgStock 2022)
About Pattern-Seeking Animals:
Pattern-Seeking Animals (PS-A) is a pioneering force in the progressive rock genre, consistently pushing the boundaries of musical exploration. Having already left an indelible mark on the genre since their self-titled debut in 2019, Pattern-Seeking Animals weave captivating narratives into an eclectic soundscape that pushes the boundaries of creativity. Hailing from the lineage of the influential Spock’s Beard, Pattern-Seeking Animals features John Boegehold (keyboards and production), Ted Leonard (lead vocals and guitar), bassist Dave Meros, and the dynamic Jimmy Keegan on drums. Formed as a conduit for Boegehold’s visionary compositions, the band has evolved into a driving force of progressive exploration, crafting music that is both intricate and immediate.
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PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS online:
http://PSAnimals1.com
http://Facebook.com/psanimals1
https://twitter.com/psanimals1
https://www.instagram.com/psanimals1/
INSIDEOUT MUSIC online:
www.insideoutmusic.com
www.youtube.com/InsideOutMusicTV
www.facebook.com/InsideOutMusic
www.twitter.com/InsideOutUSA
www.insideoutmusicshop.com
INSIDEOUTMUSIC Spotify Playlist:
http://spotify.com/progrockessentials
