Nashville.com may be very excited concerning the Leonid & Mates Present tomorrow evening at Fisher Heart for the Performing Arts. We turned followers like many others when their movies went viral. They pay tribute to Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fireplace and others by means of the wonderful accuracy in every efficiency. The band is extremely tight and that horn part, properly, you simply must see it. They’re promoting out everywhere in the nation so we advocate you get tickets for this Nashville present whereas they’re nonetheless out there.
Band chief, Leonid Vorobyev, took the time to reply a number of questions for Nashville.com:
Leonid, what impressed you to kind a tribute band devoted to Chicago’s music, and the way did your musical background affect this choice?
I grew up in USSR behind the iron curtain, residing in a small city in Siberia however Chicago was extremely popular amongst our musicians. In reality, many bands in Russia at the moment tried to emulate Chicago and had rhytm part and the horn part and vocal harmonies. So, in fact, I used to be a fan of Chicago as properly and musical background and coaching as a choir conductor and over 2 a long time in studio allowed to provide my favourite Chicago songs with my pals musicians.
Your preliminary YouTube video was a recording of “Model New Love Affair” in 2014. Did you anticipate the overwhelming constructive response it acquired?
All of it occurred on my sixtieth Birthday which was a retirement age on the time in Russia. I made a decision to have fun it with one thing enjoyable and as a present to myself I requested my pals – who’re all extremely expert skilled musicians – to document one in all my favourite songs from 70s by Chicago and I knew they wouldn’t refuse me a favor as I helped them many instances earlier than. So we bought collectively, performed the music and recorded a easy video as properly so I may share it with my pals and what are you aware – it went viral and some weeks later it was on Chicago’s official web site! And the remaining is historical past…
Leonid and Mates options musicians from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus. How did you assemble such a various group of gifted artists?
I’ve labored with lots of them within the studio in Moscow and I knew they’re very gifted and as we produced extra songs, we would have liked new skills for the band so I invited every one in all them to participate on this. And we now have at all times been about unity by means of music and we attempt to examplify that in all we do.
Given that you just and plenty of band members had by no means seen Chicago carry out dwell, how did you handle to seize their sound so authentically?
You understand after I launched the primary video I really thought that Chicago followers will most likely give us some warmth – like “these Russians – why do they attempt to copy Chicago?” – however really the response was overwhelmingly constructive. I assume a few years in bands and a few years within the studio allowed me to realize the extent of manufacturing that’s proven in our movies.
Your son, Roman Vorobyev, manages the band. How has this household collaboration influenced the band’s journey and success?
We’re an awesome workforce and we’re very pleased with one another and he additionally grew up listening to 70s music and Chicago included so he immediately turned our fan and he joined us to assist deliver us to America and it labored out nice!
After gaining reputation on-line, Leonid and Mates launched into excursions throughout Russia and the USA. What challenges and rewards have you ever encountered whereas transitioning from on-line performances to dwell excursions?
It’s one factor you play in a studio – nevertheless it’s a complete different to have the ability to duplicate that very same degree and that very same precision to the word in a dwell efficiency. And since we set the bar fairly excessive with our YouTube movies, we had to verify we ship exacrtly that with dwell vitality at our exhibits. So it’s been unbelievable quantity of labor for us however we take nice pleasure that we’re in a position to reproduce the album variations of every music in a dwell present and transport our viewers again in time.
In 2022, the band expanded its repertoire to incorporate covers of artists like Earth, Wind & Fireplace and Steely Dan. What motivated this diversification, and the way has it been acquired by your viewers?
As we stored on making new movies of Chicago songs, we stored receiving requests to provide Earth Wind and Fireplace as properly and sooner or later I made a decision that we want a very good music for the tip of the present and September is an ideal match – and likewise they’ve toured and carried out with Chicago a number of instances. And after September, we did the following one and the following one and now we nearly have a full album of EWF songs in our catalogue. The opposite factor is that when Dani and Michael joined us again in 2021 and 2022, they added a brand new kind of talant to the band and Dani is ready to sing Philip Bailey components that nobody else may and Michael does unbelievable job with Tower of Energy songs. And, in fact, Ksenia is in her personal class and Celebrity by Carpenters was a particular addition for us.
Your cowl of Rufus and Chaka Khan’s “Ain’t No person” that includes Ksenia Buzina was added to your setlist in 2022. How do you choose new songs to include into your performances?
I prefer to selected songs that give me musical problem and that makes it actually enjoyable for us to transcribe and play. As we add new movies we play these songs for dwell exhibits as properly and plenty of of them turned an integral a part of the setlist.
As a multi-instrumentalist and sound engineer, what’s your method to arranging and producing the advanced compositions that Chicago is understood for?
Since there aren’t any scores for Chicago music – a minimum of not as thorough that I can depend on utterly – I made it my job to transcribe every music myself by ear – I take every instrument on the observe and break it down word by word. This additionally features a exact tempo map that lays out all of the modifications of rhythm in every music because the rhythm actually breathes in every one in all them. However I can be sincere – it’s one in all my favourite actions – I lose observe of time as soon as dive right into a music and I really feel like a child taking part in probably the most attention-grabbing recreation!
Reflecting in your journey from recording movies in Moscow to performing internationally, what recommendation would you supply to musicians aspiring to achieve international recognition by means of digital platforms?
As I began this venture as a present to myself and my unique aim was to benefit from the product for me and for my pals, I really feel that its essential that every musician strives to make one thing that they really feel significantly pleased with and so they care about and maintain placing it on the market and share with the world and as they continue to learn extra and as they get higher, the viewers will discover them and share it too – however solely so long as they belief themselves in what they actually wish to create.
Because of Leonid Vorobyev for this interview! See you at Fisher Heart for the Performing Arts tomorrow.
–Jerry Holthouse
