ESSENTIAL ALBUMS: Lisa LeBlanc shows off her many musical languages
In Essential Albums, our favourite artists dig up a handful of records that they consider “essential” by any definition they choose. This week, folk rocker Lisa LeBlanc explores and explains her incredible fluency in what seem like far-flung musical languages.
Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (1977)
The story behind it and everything around that record is so crazy. I was obsessed with Stevie Nicks when I was a teenager. I wanted to be Stevie Nicks. I was such a huge fan, I went a little crazy. And I knew all the songs. She’s just such a weirdo and it’s great. (laughs) That whole mystical Stevie thing. And I love how she is onstage and she’s just this amazing songwriter.
The three of them together have just made so many great things. Lindsey Buckingham, the guitarist, was a huge influence for me for picking and my work on guitar and also on banjo. It comes a lot from Fleetwood Mac and from all the crazy fingerpicking he does. He was pretty much my idol when I was a teen.
Chart Attack: So you were learning banjo from Fleetwood Mac more than, like, bluegrass?
Actually, growing up I didn’t listen to bluegrass because that’s all that people listen to back home. There’s a pretty awesome bluegrass festival down in Rosaireville where I’m from. There’s a huge country/bluegrass scene out in the country, and people love bluegrass. And I hated bluegrass. I was listening to Metallica and classic rock and thinking I was way cooler than everybody.
It’s just like in the recent years that I really started getting into it again. And obviously when you get yourself a banjo you’re going to get there at one point. But yeah, now I’m a huge bluegrass fan. I love also listening to old-time music.
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