Features
Crossing Over With Leland Sundries
The band is led by public relations handler Nick Loss-Eaton, who used to earn a paycheck at Shore Fire Media, the outfit that handles press for major artists such as Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello. Leland Sundries just completed a string of dates opening for Todd Snider and is now prepping to begin its first national tour where it will venture forth acoustically armed with harmonicas and kazoo.
What kind of music are we talking about? The band’s The Apothecary EP released on L’Echiquier Records generated a grass-roots buzz with music site My Old Kentucky Blog describing it as “what Lou Reed would sound like if he was asked to front Tom Waits’ Mule Variations band” while The Boston Phoenix said the EP “Mates gnawing electric guitar and old-time acoustic six-string, banjo, and harmonica melodies with dry-witted, drawling, modern-day ennui.”
Then there’s the New York Times’ solid description of the band and its music, saying its “scrappy American will get you longing for empty two-lane highways and kudzu-encased back porches.”
Tourwise, Lealand Sundries opens its first national journey on familiar ground when it plays Brooklyn’s Northeast Kingdom June 15. Other destinations include San Diego’s Tin Can Ale House June 20; Lubbock at the Gas Light June 25; Austin’s Café Caffeine June 28; Birmingham, Ala, at The Nick July 7; New York’s Parkside Lounge July 19 and Arlington, Va., at the Galaxy Hut Aug. 15.
Other cities on the schedule include Albuquerque (June 23), New Orleans (July 4) and Baltimore (July 12). For more information, visit LelandSundries.com.