Amber Leigh : Southern Florida, Family and Fiddle

Amber Leigh : Southern Florida, Family and Fiddle

Welcome to Florida! Welcome to Amber Leigh and her awesome band

THE AMBER LEIGH BAND.  

Let’s dive in shall we?  I conducted an interview

with Amber Leigh that started out on Twitter and she graciously agreed to

answer some questions for me.  Now, I promised Amber Leigh that I would

make at least 4 to 5 posts on this here Country blog so here is the first of

what I hope to be 5 posts concerning 

Amber Leigh and the Amber Leigh Band.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I have enjoyed getting to know this amazing

musician from Florida.

Country Christo  “What are 5 tips you would give to aspiring musicians

BEFORE they launch their music career and dive into the music industry? “

Amber Leigh:

 “Know how you want to sound- more importantly,

embrace that you sound original- don't try to copy anyone else's sound,

because it is individuality that fans love.  Use your influences to enhance

your sound, not define it.

Know what demographic you are wanting to hit- If you want to hit

Taylor Swift fans, play venues that cater to that age group- like 
family friendly fairs and festivals. Having your merchandise 
and music readily available to sell to the right demographic is 
important and helpful.

Be ready- Realize that there are no real "overnight successes". 
There are however, "overnight success" that have been 
12 years in the making- that finally popped.

To the consumer it may seem like the next new thing came 
from nowhere. It is a long road, longer for some than others. 
But, if your are playing music everyday and really live for it, 
it is easy to enjoy the ride.

Practice. There is always someone younger, prettier, and more 
talented than you waiting in the wings. So why not be the 
best you can be all the time?

Have a good attitude- Making music is a gift that only a 
small number of us are blessed with. Always have fun 
when you are performing, writing, practicing or recording. 
Know the sometimes music turns into work when

you are doing it everyday - but, think of how lucky you are 
to be doing

MUSIC EVERYDAY. “

Country Christo “  In 50 Words or less per person, can you describe each

member of your band including sound and lighting? Starting with their

names , after that get descriptive.  “

Amber Leigh:

“First off, let me say, that in my opinion, I have the most 
amazing band and crew ever! My band is extremely talented 
and diverse... They are my best friends and family - literally.

Let's starts with the Band-

Randy James  

( acoustic guitar & vocals ) my dad. We call my dad the hulk

he is a 6'2 powerhouse that should be on the cover of 
workout & GQ magazines. We have been playing music together 
since I was 4 years old. The women that come to see the  band 
always fall head over heels for my dad which is hilarious to 
watch. I think his fan club is as big as mine.

Sean Radford

electric guitar, mandolin and vocals- aka "seattle" 

you can guess where he is from.  Sean is a monster 
on guitar and absolutely killer on mandolin. Sean is the 
other book end to my father- with huge muscles

they both balance out both sides of the stage and 
put me in the middle.

Ralph Cenilli

 bass- we refer to him as "rockin ralph". Before I was born, 
my dad had a rock band called Randy James and the Availables.  
Rockin Ralph was the bass player for that band. When my 
first band was formed, I was 8 years old and Rocking Ralph 
was the bass player then. He always says, 
"I knew Amber when she was in 2 pieces".

Matt Crowning

drums- matt is also my husband. :) Matt is the musical director

for the band. Matt and I have been married for 2 years 
and have been together for 6 years (playing music & dating). 
We do a lot of the song writing together. I am usually

the one to get the song started, and when I get stuck, 
Matt finishes my sentences- or songs :) On stage 
Matt is known for his legendary drum solos. He is a blast to 
watch live. I always want to turn myself around with my back 
to the audience just so I can see the show too.

Now onto sound and crew-

Matt Hyman 

everything we need- "Matty" is our guitar tech, drum tech, 
stage hand, merchandise manager, cable wrapper, water getter, 
make -up fixer, fiddle tuner, grab a sharpie, take a picture, 
hang the banner, one man do-it-all kinda guy.

Matty has been with us for over 8 years and we couldn't 
live without him. Matty likes to drink Captain Morgan and is 
always telling jokes with the rest of the band boys.

Holland Ryan

sound engineer- This guy is the most important piece of 
the puzzle. He runs front of house sound and our ear-monitors. 
Holland also does all the live recordings for all our live tracks 
that are released. Holland is the most, calm,

sweet, amazing guy. Even if we get to a show, and all the 
back line is wrong, Holland always is like " don't worry, it's fine, 
I will fix it." He has been running our sound for over 10 years  
and  he is just as big a part of the band as I am.

Hanna Rachael

 "hanna- bear" - Merchandise-  my best friend since 
middle school. A blonde bombshell- everyone loves to go to 
the merch table to chat with her. Bear is super organized and 
because of that, we thought merchandise would be the

job for her. Hanna travels everywhere with me and is really 
more of a life line to protect me from all the boys we have to 
hang with all the time. “

Country Christo “ Who are your top 5 musical influences? “

Amber Leigh

“Mark o Connor

The Corrs

Shania Twain

Patsy Cline

My dad “

Country Christo “How many songs do you perform on stage for a Amber Leigh Band

show and do you have a set list? “

Amber Leigh

“Set list! Ha ha ha- that is a running joke- I try, try, try. 
Every show I hand out the show list, and I can never seem to 
keep to it. I always feel that every venue we do, the audience is 
different. I feel out the the crowd, and of they are digging' the 
fiddle music, I will throw some extra Irish tunes in, or if they

loved to slow dance, or if they like to rock.... It's easier for me 
to keep a master list near me and a "guideline" list as well. 
The band hates it, but I think it's good to keep them on their toes. 
I think the only time in 15 years I stuck to a list was because we 
were live on tv..... Don't want to throw any curve balls

then. We do a 2 hour show.

Country Christo “How is the search for a major record label 
going OR are you happy with being " REBEL INDEPENDENT " ?
( that would be the name of my music company but I digress :) “

Amber Leigh

“ We are definitely on the hunt for the RIGHT major label. We 
are very gratefulfor how successful we have been being a 
Indi act, but I feel the major would help us with the big push. “

Country Christo “This is the first 5 questions for now Amber Leigh,

thanks for playing along. I'm writing a book called the

ORANGE RACE

to go along with my National Debt Training.  It's geared toward

Women Entrepreneurs who can kick it into high gear when it comes to

being successful.  I think you fit right into this category. Thanks again
go out to Amber Leigh for this interview.  

Respectfully in TRUTH,

"Country"  Christo Strom on Twitter

Author

Sole Owner of Orange Race Card Angels ( on Facebook )

Head of Angel Promotions