Written by: Aaron, ConcertPhotography208

Faded LeroySource: ConcertPhotography208 — Faded Leroy
Source: ConcertPhotography208

It’s time for Music Monday to throwdown with the high energy, post-hardcore, band Faded Leroy!

The beginnings of Faded Leroy are rooted within Brendan Nickel, guitar/vocals, and Beau Kolar, drums, playing in various bands for nearly a decade and touring regionally with a local band called Abrupt Edge. In 2012, Brendan found himself between projects but kept up with Beau a few times a week. These jam sessions between the two created an album’s worth of material, but they needed help to further the idea. Brendan and Beau sought the help of Jeremy Cummings, vocals, and after a few bassists the trio put a Craigslist ad out to find their fourth. Brian Lewis answered their call saying “We hit it off immediately.” And from that fateful Craigslist ad, and friends striving to create, the awesome band Faded Leroy was born.

The band brainstormed for a name for quite sometime ending up with a list of hundreds of names! The band had everyone pick 5 names off the list they felt were the best and Faded Leroy was on everyone’s list. “Faded Leroy is a character that time forgot, that people passed by. He may fade into the shadows for a time, but he will eventually have his day. It's a lesson in not underestimating people that presently fade into your background, because you never know when they will come back to haunt you. It's also about not worrying what people think of you and using your hardships to make you stronger.” They said. We all can relate to this message of the character that Faded Leroy represents. Everyone experiences times of hardship where life takes them on a different path but eventually we find ourselves again. Hardships make us stronger, this band’s name and their performance is wonderfully electric, and you can feel it from the audience.

Brian found his connection with the bass while playing with his first band and continues to strive for perfection each time he plays. Jeremy found his love for the harsh vocals by screaming along with his albums. Jeremy staid “…it was something I was arguably good at and I enjoyed writing poetry/lyrics and creating music. Got serious about vocals when I joined a band called Sub*Vert in the early 2000’s.” Brendan grew up in a musical household with a mother who was a concert pianist as well as a piano teacher. Brendan started playing piano at a very young age and backed up his skills by studying music theory. As he grew older he moved from the piano to the guitar and spent hours self-learning the songs of Tool, RATM, and Alice In Chains. Beau started playing the drums at 12 years old and hasn’t stopped since!

Each band member brings their own musical influences to the sound that is Faded Leroy. Influence is drawn from Deftones, RATM, Tool and Sparta. As a group the band tries to create music that fits their world and their thoughts saying “As a group, we have always tried to let our music develop organically and never really set out to write a particular style of music. We really just try to let the music happen naturally.” The band understands that their music may change with the current state of tension in their lives and the lives that surround them. The band members, much like the character that is Faded Leroy, understand that there are dark times in life and they use their music as a healthy expression.

This healthy expression can be found within the band’s lyrics. Bringing the thoughts of frustration, conflict and loss into the feel of their music saying, “the band has become very cathartic and is often a place for us as individuals to work out things that we are witnessing or going through personally.” These guys do not want to sit on their struggles but provide a type of positive message or solution when it comes to facing any type of conflict in life.

In 6 years, the group has written, recorded and produced two full length albums as an independent band, which are awesome! They have had the opportunity to open for great bands and play at some fantastic venues. They love connecting with the different bands and their fans as they play their gigs. They look forward to playing and expanding their fan-base.

The band would like to “…Thank all of our fans, our families, the promoters, dj's, venue owners and all the bands we've played with. We are honored to have the privilege of doing what we love and sharing music with others and we appreciate all the people that help us make that happen.”

Music Monday has been fortunate to see this band play several times! Each time they leave everything on the stage and hold nothing back. If you hear the that Faded Leroy is playing anywhere in the Boise area, make sure you see them. You’ll feel better about life no matter what ales you as this band will allow you to release some tension!

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