Popbang Radio's Interview with Amanda "Blue" Leigh

Hi Amanda,

HI JAY *).

Let me start off by saying it’s an honor and a privilege to talk to one of the greatest female voices in rock and roll. I’m really excited to have the opportunity to ask you some questions. Thanks for taking some time out with Popbang Radio.

       WELL, THAT’S A HUGE HONOR RIGHT THERE FOR ME TOO, THANK YOU…ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC WAS THE FOUNDATION OF ALL MY DREAMS, THE BEGINNING OF BECOMING A FREE MUSIC ARTIST IN THE WORLD *!.

How did you end up with the band Spider, and what were you doing prior to joining the band?

ANTON & KEITH WERE IN BANDS TOGETHER SINCE THEY WERE CHILDREN IN CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA. I WAS BORN THERE AS WELL AND JOINED THEM WHEN I WAS 16. WE WERE IN A BAND CALLED ‘HAMMAK’, IN THE EARLY 70’S. KEITH AND I WENT TO LONDON RIGHT AFTER, HAD A BAND THERE CALLED ‘FRED’, …THEN THE THREE OF US MET UP AGAIN IN NYC IN 1977 AND FORMED ‘SPIDER’ IN A LOFT ON FRANKLIN STREET, DOWNTOWN SOHO, WE HAD TWYLA THARP DOWNSTAIRS AND JOHN HAMMOND JUNIOR DOWNSTAIRS FROM HER IN OUR BUILDING, QUITE A TRIP *).

Spider’s first single “New Romance (It’s a Mystery)” cracked the Top 40 when it was released and was the highest charting Spider single. What did it feel like to have a hit record?

IT WAS AMAZING AND SCARY ALL AT THE SAME TIME…I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING ABOUT THE BUSINESS, NEW YORK CULTURE, NADA…I WAS A COUNTRY GIRL ACTUALLY - NO FORMAL EDUCATION, IN NEW YORK CITY AT ONE OF THE MOST CREATIVE TIMES IN HISTORY FOR ARTISTS OF ALL KINDS(1977-1984).

IT GOT PRETTY WILD @ CBGB’S, THE MUDD CLUB, STUDIO 54 @ TRAX. WE PLAYED THOSE CLUBS QUITE A BIT OVER THAT TIME PERIOD. IT WAS THE FAST LANE, A LOT OF FUN, BUT DEFINITELY ON THE WILD SIDE, FOR ME ANYWAY *).

Looking back at all of the Spider tracks, are there any that you consider your favorites?

YEAH, I LIKE ‘BURNING LOVE’, ‘ZERO’, ‘BETWEEN THE LINES’….

I’d like to get your opinion on a few of my favorite Spider tracks… “Crossifre”, “Zero”, “I Love” “Going By”. These songs really sum up what I love about Spider, and coincidentally, all 4 songs finished every side of each Spider record.

THESE SONGS WERE MAINLY INFLUENCED BY ANTON’S WRITING AND STYLE…HE’S GOING TO LIKE THIS ))) HAHA…SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE A SLIGHT LEANING TOWARDS JAZZ MAYBE TOO…*). ANTON IS A PRETTY SOPHISTICATED MUSICIAN.

WE ALL TOOK TURNS WRITING, CO-WRITING…IT WAS A REAL DEMOCRACY…IT HAD IT’S UP AND IT’S DOWN SIDES *)...THERE WAS A LOT OF COMPETITION AT THE TIME…BUT THE CORE OF THE BAND, ANTON, KEITH AND MYSELF COLLABORATED A LOT FOR MOST OF THE SONGS, ESPECIALLY AT THE BEGINNING.

       What was it like working with legendary producers Peter Coleman (AC/DC, Blondie) and Mike Chapman (The Knack, Sweet), and how was it being on a smaller label like Dreamland records.

IT WAS A FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE. MICHAEL CHAPMAN REALLY GOT THE SOUND OF THE BAND AND WAS ALSO VERY INVOLVED IN GETTING PETER IN ON THE PROJECT, REAL PROS IN THE STUDIO, WE HAD STATE OF THE ART EVERYTHING. DREAMLAND RECORDS WAS A POWERHOUSE OF A LITTLE COMPANY. NIKKI CHIN & MICHAEL WERE A VERY HOT TEAM AT THE TIME ,MICHAELS WORK WITH DEBBIE HARRY’S BAND ‘BLONDIE’ ESPECIALLY.

Your second Spider album, “Between The Lines”, was just as good ( if not better) than the debut. On this album, Spider recorded the original versions of two hits for other artists.. “You Better Be Good To Me” by Tina Turner and “Changes” by John Waite. Is there any sort of gratification that your band recorded them first?

IT WAS A HUGE HONOR FOR ME, THE SONG WITH TINA TURNER ESPECIALLY. ‘BETTER BE GOOD TO ME’ TURNED INTO A CLASSIC, HOLLY AND MICHAEL DID AN AMAZING JOB ON THAT ONE. HOLLY ALSO SUPPORTED ME A LOT DURING THAT VOCAL, ENCOURAGING ME, HELPING ME GET MORE CONFIDENCE IN FILLING THAT VOCAL MELODY UP.

I LIKE TO HAVE AN OPEN FIELD IN ORDER TO DO MY BEST WORK. THAT’S WHY THE NEW MATERIAL ‘BLUE.FIG” MAKES ME SO HAPPY, WE JUST JAMMED LATE AT NIGHT ON THAT STUFF, RELAXED, HAVING FUN, CREATING MELODIES AND WORDS TO THE MUSIC ANTON WROTE AND RECORDED, FREE TO CREATE , FREE FROM TOO MUCH STRUCTURE…THAT’S WHEN THE BEST STUFF/IDEAS & PLEASURE COMES TO ME *!!! 

7. What has happened to the rest of the band? I know Anton Fig went on to Paul Shaffer’s band, Holly Knight went on to be in a few bands (Device) and become a songwriter, and Keith Lentin has done some studio work. I have no idea what happened to bassist Jimmy Lowell. What is the latest?

THE LAST TIME ANYONE SAW JIMMY WAS IN NEW YORK YEARS AND YEARS AGO…

Why did Spider break up, and is there any chance of a reunion?

HOLLY WENT OFF TO LOS ANGELES WITH MICHAEL CHAPMAN AND A SOLO CAREER. SHE WENT ON TO GREAT SUCCESS AS A SONGWRITER. ANTON HAS ‘LETTERMAN’ AND A STRING OF BANDS AND PROJECTS HE IS ALWAYS WORKING ON, KEITH TOO.

MY LIFE IS VERY FULL WITH MULTIMEDIA PROJECTS, TEACHING, HEALING WORK AND FAMILY…SO… IT WOULD BE HARD TO GET EVERYONE TOGETHER. ALSO, I FEEL IT IS IMPORTANT SOMETIMES TO LEAVE THINGS AS THEY ARE, THE BEST OF A BAND, AS A MEMORY. I DID SCRAPE OUT ALL THE VIDEOS FROM UNDERNEATH BOXES, CONVERT THEM INTO DVD’S, NOT AN EASY PROCESS I TELL YOU, THOSE MACHINES DON’T EXIST ANYMORE AND THE TAPE THAT I HAD DETERIORATED…QUITE A JOB… , AND PUT THEM ON ‘YOUTUBE’, THIS WAS REALLY WORTHWHILE, EVEN THOUGH THE SOUND QUALITY SUCKS *0 …I HAVE BEEN RECONNECTING WITH HUNDREDS OF SPIDER/SHANGAHI FANS OUT THERE I DIDN’T KNOW EXISTED AND IT HAS BEEN A REAL GIFT TO ME NOW, A REAL GIFT.

I used to bring my Spider albums over to my friends’ houses and make them listen to them, and almost all of them fell in love with the band just like I did. Why do you think the band never really caught on with the mainstream?

THANX JAY, WHEN I LOOK BACK NOW I SEE THAT WE SHOULD HAVE GONE TO THE WEST COAST. THE BAND NEVER PLAYED LA…THIS WAS OUR BIGGEST MISTAKE AT THE TIME…WE HAD A SINGLE ON THE CHARTS, WE WENT OUT WITH ALICE COOPER ON TOUR , BUT WE DIDN’T FOLLOW THROUGH...THE BAND BROKE UP RIGHT AFTER THAT…

The band Spider morphed into Shanghai, minus Holly Knight, replaced with producer and artist Beau Hill. Shanghai put out one very good album on Chrysalis Records. What are you feelings on this album?

I THINK IT IS OK …THERE IS A MIX OF STYLE THAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT TO SPIDER….IT WAS INTERESTING WORKING WITH BEAU, HE ADDED ANOTHER DIMENTION TO THE BAND *). ALWAYS VERY SUPPORTIVE OF ME, I LEARNT A LOT FROM BEAU, GOOD CRAFTMANSHIP TOO..VERY FUNNY GUY, PEED MY PANTS A COUPLE OF TIMES *)))

   Why was there no second Shanghai album?

THE BAND COULDN’T STAY TOGETHER…WE WERE ALL BEING PULLED IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. IT WAS ALSO A TIME IN OUR LIVES WHEN MOST OF US WERE CARVING OUT OUR FAMILIES, MUSIC IDENTITIES AND CAREERS, DOING DIFFERENT THINGS ON THE SIDE TOO…

     Did Spider/Shanghai do a lot of touring? What was your favorite band to play with, and what might be your most favorite and least favorite gig ever?

SPIDER WOULD PLAY ‘TRAX’, ‘CBGB’S’ ‘BOTTOM LINE’ A LOT IN NYC. WE DID A TOUR WITH ALICE COOPER THAT WAS THE REAL HIGHTLIGHT OF THE BAND. IT WAS BOTH MY FAVORITE AND MOST SCARY OF GIGS ROLLED INTO ONE…I WALKED ON TO STAGE WITH THE WHOLE OF THE FRONT ROW, SCREAMING AND THUMPING, CHAINS INCLUDED, ‘WE WANT ALICE *!!!!’ QUITE A CHALLENGE FA SUR *)) …BUT KICKING A COUPLE OF STRAY HANDS AWAY, WITH MY VERY HIGH HEELED BLACK BOOTS, ANTON KICKED IN AND YOU JUST KNEW YOU HAD NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT *)))

    After Shanghai broke up, you seemed to take a break from the music business. Is that true? And what direction did you move into after that?

YES, MY PERSONAL LIFE STARTED TO SUFFER FROM THE LIFE STYLE. I NEEDED TO REEL IT IN, I HAD CHILDREN TO RAISE, I NEED TO FACE SOME OF MY ISSUES THAT SEEMED UNMANAGEABLE AND CAUSED ME, AND OTHERS, PAIN. I HAD NO FAMILY OR FAMILY HISTORY HERE EITHER, IT WAS HARD AT TIMES, EMOTIONALLY, BUT IT ALL WORKED OUT. I HAVE STUDIED AND TRAINED IN ENERGY HEALING WORK, CORE ENERGETICS , ENERGETIC CLEARING, RADICAL ALIVENESS/LA, PHOTOGRAPHY/POETRY…TONS OF STUFF THAT I LOVE AND GET LOST IN @}~~~

Who are some of the artists that inspired you, and are there any current artists that you enjoy listening to?

THIS IS A HARD ONE…I WORK IN MY STUDIO A LOT…I AM NOT THAT PLUGGED INTO EVERYTHING THAT IS CURRENT, NEW AND THE LATEST…SO I AM DRAWN TO ARTISTS THAT CROSS MY PATH SOMEHOW. I LOVE PBS RADIO/SIRIUS & CABLE/PBS/HBOTV, HEAR SOME GREAT STUFF THERE ALL THE TIME…FAVORITES…? Alanis Morissette’S NEW WORK IS AMAZING, I STILL LOVE ALL MY OLDER FAVORITES, LEONARD COHEN, BOB DYLAN, ARETHA FRANKLIN, JONI MITCHEL, OTIS REDDING, MAVIS STAPLE, LED ZEPLIN, MARVIN GAYE, GLADY’S KNIGHT….ALSO PRINCE, U2…THE LIST GOES ON AND ON AND ON FROM THERE…MICHAEL JACKSON WAS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE BY MILES…RISES ABOVE ALL THE REST FOR ME…TOTALLY ON THE BEAM, IN THE GROOVE, IN THE ZONE, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT…AN ANGEL ON EARTH @}~~~

Besides making music, what else do you channel your creative energy into?

I AM A TEACHER, MULTIMEDIA ARTIST-amandablueleigh.com-PRACTITIONER, IN THE ENERGETIC CLEARING/CORE ENERGETICS/RADICAL-ALIVENESS-LA - healing work.

Your “new” release is “blue.fig” is a really great collection of home studio recordings from the late 80’s that you and Anton worked on. What were your hopes for these songs, and why haven’t they seen the light of day until 2010?

WHEN I FIRST REALLY STARTED TO GO ONLINE SERIOUSLY AND LOOK FOR WAYS TO CONNECT WITH OTHER ARTISTS/FRIENDS/FAMILY ETC, I WAS SHOCKED BY THE RESPONSE WAITING FOR ME. SO MANY SPIDER/SHANGHAI FANS OUT THERE THAT I HAD NO IDEA ABOUT. THEY ARE THE ONES HAVE ENCOURAGED ME TO GO LOOKING FOR NEW MATERIAL, LOST MATERIAL REALLY, FROM THOSE YEARS, SO HERE WAS AN AUDIENCE WAITING…I WAS AMAZED AND VERY GRATEFUL. A NEW FRIEND BRIAN KEHEW IN LA DID AN AMAZING JOB OF MASTERING THESE TRACKS TO SOUND LIKE THEY ALL HUNG TOGETHER AND HE TRULY DID A BRILLIANT JOB AT THIS I THINK.

I WORK IN MY STUDIO A LOT, WHEN I AM NOT WITH MY CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN, EXTENED FAMILY OVERSEAS, ETC…I LOVE MY STUDIO… I GET LOST THERE FOR HOURS WITH WRITING, IMAGES, POEMS, MUSIC…JUST LOVE IT @}~~~

1I really like “Inside Out”, “Day By Day” and “Don’t Say It” What are some of your favorite tracks on “blue.fig”. Did Anton write most of the music, and you wrote most of the lyrics?

ANTON WROTE A WHOLE BUNCH OF TRACKS AND HE WOULD GIVE THEM TO ME AND I WOULD TAKE A LISTEN AND THE VOCAL MELODIES, HARMONIES AND POEMS/LYRIC WOULD COME TO ME, ALL JUMBLED TOGETHER, IN BITS AND PIECES, WRITTEN OVER 3 DAYS OR SO,…THEN I’D SORT IT ALL OUT, PUT IT TOGETHER, AND START RECORDING…

I REALLY LIKE ‘CLOSE YOUR EYES’, ‘HOW CAN YOU LEAVE ME NOW’, ALL I NEED, - TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, THIS STUFF IS ON THE TOP OF MY LIST FROM ALL THE WORK I DID AT THAT TIME.

I see you are recording a new album “True Blue” to be released in 2010. Can you tell me what we can look forward to with the new album?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST. IT MEANS A LOT TO ME.

IM NOT SURE YET, THINGS ARE STILL FORMING IN MY HEAD, THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS I CAN GO MUSICALLY…I NEED TO BE CLEAR WHICH MUSICAL ‘ME’ IS THE ONE THAT NEEDS TO BE FED, THE ONE THAT IS THE MOST HONEST, THE ONE THAT NEEDS TO STAND UP NOW *? HMMMM… @}~~~

Thanks for your time, Amanda,

THANK YOU JAY FOR YOUR INTEREST AND APPRECIATION, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME.

amanda ‘blue’ leigh 9/27/2010

and I encourage people to head over to http://www.amandablueleigh.com/ for more information on you and the new ‘blue.fig’ release. It’s been a real pleasure.

Jay (popbang radio)