Local singer/songwriter Leeoy Stagger  enjoys  the “Little Victories” of life.
 And that’s not just his excellent new CD by  the same name, which will officially be released in Canada on Feb. 5 on his own record label, Rebeltone Records.

He capped off a successful year by  ending this year’s Highway 3 Roots Revue tour, with Dave McCann and John Wort Hannam, with an excellent show in Lethbridge, plus touring with his band the Wildflowers which took him all over Canada, the United States and Europe, where his CD has already been released to critical acclaim.

“I made it in my own studio in Lethbridge. It’s the first time I’ve produced a record,” he said adding he enlisted former Wildflowers and Grapes of Wrath member Kevin Kane to help as well.

“His biggest contribution was in the arrangements because he has such a great ear for different sounds, especially classic rock, while I’m more contemporary,” Stagger said adding they examined about 20 different songs for the CD, and chose 13 of them, some of which he has been playing live for a while like ‘Long Way Home,’ ‘I Believe in Love,’ and ‘George’s Blues.’

 The CD has more of a consistent sound from laid back more John Lennon inspired singer songwriter material, some country folk as well as uptempo rockers which still maintain the laid back feel.

“It’s called ‘Little Victories,’” because it’s about stepping back and wondering why something hasn’t happened and instead, looking at all the cool things that have happened,” Stagger said adidng a lot of the songs came together while on tour with the band in Europe.

“We were listening to a lot of Led Zeppelin then. And there is a lot of slide guitar too we were referencing like Jackson Browne and David Lindley. And we were also  listening to John Lennon,” he continued.

“Some of the best music was in the ‘70s. You can’t beat classic rock,” he said adding his goal is to give his songs a similar timeless feel.

“Response has been really, really good. People have been saying this is the one that will really catapult my career, but they’ve been saying that for years,” he said.

Stagger also tells some disturbing stories on the new CD like ‘George’s Blues.’
“I’ve had  that  for a while. It’s a story I heard when I was in Montana. I guess it just kind of affected me,” he continued, adding he is pleased with the CD, which has already drawn rave reviews in Europe.

“There’s one song. I won’t say which one, but I don’t think I got it quite right. But I’m not a stickler for perfection. I want to get in there, get it recorded and get it done. I haven’t even listend to the record for months. Once it’s out, there’s nothing you can do about it,” he continued, adding the coming 18 date (so far) tour on the CD, which includes two dates at Casinio Lethbridge will be as a duo, Stagger, bassist ‘Junior’ Evan Euschenko and a drummer to be named later. He is looking forward to playing as a trio.

“It is very different. When I would tour with the big band, I would have to sit back. Now there is a lot more spontanety and creativity,” he said.
The tour will include the west coast, then  all over the United States, where Stagger is well known for playing with Tim Easton.

A version of this article appears in the Jan. 12, 2011 of the Lethbridge Sun Times

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