Kalispell

Kalispell is the songwriting project of Shane Leonard, who resides in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He has the good fortune of often being joined by Ben Lester (A.A. Bondy), Jeremy Boettcher (S. Carey), Kevin Rowe (The Barley Jacks), David Power (Meridene) and Steven Hobert (transcends parentheticals) on recordings and live performances.

OFFICIAL SITE  ::  FACEBOOK  ::  BANDCAMP  ::  TUMBLR

The Last Year EP contains two alternate versions of songs from the upcoming full-length, along with another unreleased track. Leonard's writing shows his affinity for wordsmiths like Steinbeck and Fitzgerald; the EP lyrics find a striking balance between blunt sentiment and abstract wordplay. His interest in the song forms of Appalachia also comes across as the tracks move steadily forward through use of minimalistic sonic textures rather than the usual verse-bridge-chorus lineup. Kalispell's songs are culled from Leonard's experience playing in diverse settings - an MIT gamelan, old time stringband, jazz trio, and classical orchestras - but somehow manage to seamlessly meld these influences.

Songwriting, although Leonard's focus, has long been accompanied by other endeavors. After realizing the many sources outside of college from which he could learn music, he dropped out of classical percussion studies and opted instead to graduate as an English teacher. He taught high school and improv comedy (and found the two had much in common), directed plays, and traveled throughout his early twenties before resettling into music. Kalispell reflects these experiences, and is his most self-realized effort to date.