interview: Leonard Mynx

I posted about Leonard Mynx's beautifully melancholy folk album Vesper back in April. his new album is being mastered right now, and will be released soon. he promises that it isn't as sad as Vesper, so it'll be nice to hear him sing in a less dreary manner. I've had a chance to ask him a few questions, so read on below for more info on the Portland-based singer

How autobiographical is vesper? I'm assuming some of these things are figments of your imagination, else you have had a very colourful life so far.

Vesper is no[t] strictly autobiographical in the sense that I did not live every story. But it is autobiographical from an emotional standpoint. I feel like I know all the characters very closely and sometimes it really hurt me to hurt them, but that was their story, it had to happen. It is still painful to perform some of the songs. I have never performed "Robert" live.

When did you start writing music? Why?

I always wrote as a child. I don't know why. I loved stories and I felt like I had some that needed to be told. I was an avid short story composer for a while. Naturally, I suppose, it developed into music in my mid-late teens. Songs were so concise. A short story has to be well structured, but a song must have ever word in place to convey the proper mood. Maybe it was fast food culture that forced me to trim down my stories into songs. Also, I was moved by music my whole life. I never went to bed without the radio on. I needed to hear music everywhere. I guess the two, stories and music, were just ready for each other by that age.

Do you write songs in some sort of secluded place, like in a cabin in the woods, or do you simply write them as you go along, using napkins and such when thoughts come to you?

Songs are strange in that they don't wait for you. I don't control the songs nor own them. They come when they want and if you decide to ignore them for a while, you will miss them. They are in command. I have to write whenever and wherever the songs decide to come. It can be a burden. It sounds cliche but it is true. Anybody who says that they are in charge of the songs either doesn't write good songs or is a liar. Songs come from a different place and different songs definitely come out of different settings, such as a secluded place or in a bustling city.

What was your favourite album when you were in high school?

There are too many to answer. It depended on mood. It depended if it was a Wednesday or snowing or if leaves were rustling or if more trains went by that day. The atmosphere sets the mood and then you find the album to match it. Or vice versa.

If you could collaborate with any artist, dead or alive, who would you choose?

Prokofiev.

Drugs and alcohol: good or bad for music making?

A blessing and a curse. Drugs are like songs. They can end up in control if you aren't careful. By the time you notice you are lost, you might have a long road ahead of you to try and get back to where you were. And you can never fully go back. I do believe in altering perceptions. I think it can be an amazing experience. The myth about that is that drugs are the only way to do that. That's not true. There are infinite ways to change perception. Drugs just are easy, but like with most easy things in life, they may not be the best way or worth it.

If you could have one superhero power, what would it be and why?

The power to make people forget. Being able to forget is what keeps us going. If we remembered everything, everyday, we would be trapped. Even still, we remember too much useless information. We cling to the wrong sorts of experiences. We get bogged down. War and hate and pain and fear, are all from memories. If we could just forget, we would move beyond all that nonsense. Humanity will never grow until we learn to forget the things that don't matter anymore. Memories are like ghosts. They haunt us, in bad ways, sometimes.

visit Leonard Mynx on MYSPACE