ROBERT LEONARD
Q How did growing up in Nashville, North Carolina, shape the storytelling you bring to your songs on Pieces of Me?
Greatly, the radio was a integral part of my life back home. Every song was like someone reading a story and talking about an lived experience. It struck me deeply when I would hear a song and be able to say “It’s like they are singing about me.” Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to be able to do that. To write stories I have lived, express my experiences, so that maybe someone who listens and feels like they are going through the same thing in life can know that somebody understands.
Q When writing the title track, “Pieces of Me,” how did you decide which personal artifacts and memories to include in the lyrics?
It was the very first co-write that I had with my buddy Noah Garner. He had brought the title “pieces of me” to the write and we just started talking about how we grew up, and what little things meant a lot to us, for sentimental value, or precious memories or funny stories that we experienced. I grew up off of Red Oak Road, used a zebco when I fished when I was younger. The old faded picture, cigarettes and shoal cans, grandaddy’s rifle, those are real items on my part and on Noah’s as well, then we remembered they’re were just certain items you kept around you when you got your license and were able to go at will. Everyone I knew growing up had at least one of those kind of items, if not multiple, in their car. It/They defined them as a person.
Q In “Nashville,” you reflect on both happy and sad memories. How do you approach balancing nostalgia and realism in your writing?
It is the inevitable fact of life that there will be good days and bad. Avoiding that does a disservice to the genre and it’s original roots…in my opinion. I think at the end of the day it’s just a marriage of nostalgia and realism. Each one has a purpose and it takes both of them equally applying themselves in order to make the marriage work, and support the other when the need arises.
Q “Ain’t Got Much Time” focuses on living in the present with someone you love. What inspired that sense of urgency in the lyrics?
Another song I co-wrote with my buddy Noah Garner. It was an interesting because we came up with the music before the words. And we wanted to write a different kind of love song, not a sad love song, or a song about being lost in the moment… we wanted to make another song like “Forever and Ever, Amen” or “Check Yes or No”. It’s about looking forward to the future and the emotions that arise when talking about your hopes and dreams with your partner. It wasn’t about giving your heart away. It’s addressing the scenario of finding that one person you want to share your life with, and talking about the comfort and peace that you both bring to each other and wanting to live in that peace for the rest of your time together.
Q Across the album, there’s a recurring theme of resilience, especially in songs like “Keep On Keepin’ On.” How do your personal experiences influence the way you write about overcoming challenges?
This one in particular I keep kicking myself a little… the line “ I like my job, but I got robbed at a work site out of town.” That actually happened to me, a few months before my buddy Casey Edgar and I wrote this song. I was at another write on Music Row, and my co-writers at the time wanted to go grab some lunch. I was gonna drive separately, but got offered to ride with them, believing I had locked my car back… at the end of the writing session I go out to my car and all my car doors were open and my week’s pay was completely gone. That was a hard lesson learned.
Casey had a newborn at the time and we both came into the writing session looking like we had been up for days on end. We just kept coming back to that saying, “Gotta keep on keepin’ on” and we agreed that that was the song and told each other about experiences and gave it an upbeat feel to keep that optimism alive and thriving.
Q Regret appears as a central theme in “If Only Wishes Came True.” How do you process regret in your songwriting without it feeling overly heavy or negative?
It’s a very regret filled song, but the idea of just being able to wish and dream about something better happening gives it more of a hopeful kind of sound. It’s accepting the reality of what is while hoping, dreaming, wishing for it to be better and holding on to that optimism.
Q “Mister on the Corner” shows empathy for someone struggling outside the spotlight. How important is social awareness in your music, and how does it connect to your personal values?
It’s very important, everyone has a story. We all are effected by our actions and encounters with one another, for better or worse. It’s recognizing that our experiences in this lifetime that we share is on a vast spectrum as far as the east is from the west. I’m a firm believer that being kinder to folks, no matter their background, is better than turning a blind eye to the reality that life is precious no matter who is living it.
Q Many of your songs reference small-town life and objects that hold deep meaning. How do you decide which details are universal enough to resonate with listeners?
I grew up in a small town, but the treasures that I have are precious to me. I feel like most folks have something like a keepsake that a family member, loved one, friend gave them that means a lot to them. It’s not about the actual item itself, but the connection that is more precious than whatever the actual item value is.
Q “Crazy Ride” ends the album with a sense of embracing life’s unpredictability. Was that intentional as a way to close the story of the album?
It happened to work out that way, and it was a very poignant way to end the album full circle.
Crazy Ride was the very first co-write that I had in town with the incredible Russ Roberts. It was a learning experience, here I was a kid just dabbling in the art of songwriting and I got the privilege and honor to work with a Master. It was eye-opening. I had originally brought him the idea of the song and it seemed absolutely effortless to him to incorporate it. I’m very thankful for having that experience to hone my skills as a writer. Thank you Russ..
Q Your lyrics often blend everyday experiences with larger emotional truths. How do you find the balance between simplicity and depth?
I feel like everyday experiences are exactly that.. experiences. There is both simplicity and depth simultaneously. You could just accept life as “it is what it is”, or you could dissect it down to the most philosophical, basic truths that lead up to the experience. Realizing both are legitimate ways that people accept and understand life is where the balance takes place. Knowing how to read the scales of when to expound on a particular subject versus when to just keep the story flowing is just a personal preference.
Q Family appears prominently throughout Pieces of Me. How do you navigate writing about loved ones while keeping the songs relatable to a wide audience?
Family is everything to me. I wish I could say that everyone has that outlook and belief, but I’m not naive enough to disregard that there are those that don’t. Like many of the songs, it’s a hope and dream for something better. It is my wish that those that don’t have that kind of bond can one day have that, and those that do can honor it and cherish it.
Q The album balances reflection, hope, and heartbreak. Did you have a narrative arc in mind while writing, or did it develop organically?
It was completely organic. I was more involved in the overall musical composition and production of the project rather than the over-arching narrative.. but these are songs about real life, they are the “pieces of me” and just like any work of art, it is open to analysis and interpretation.
Q Your lyrics often emphasize small, grounding rituals, like morning coffee or front-porch swings. How important are these moments in the storytelling of your life?
It’s the little things that can bring the most comfort, like sitting on my grandmother’s front porch swing snapping beans and hearing stories of what it was like for her growing up.
Also, I remember a friend of mine was really struggling with some hardships in life and they expressed to me how difficult life could be and I expressed that I understood and shared some of my own personal struggles and said, “but I always could look forward to waking up to the smell of coffee in my cup the next morning.. so when you are having a bad day… find your ‘cup of coffee’”.
Q Many of your tracks explore time, whether fleeting moments or past experiences. How conscious are you of time as a theme while writing?
I use time as the anchor in my writing, in the same way childhood stories always began with, “Once upon a time”. That anchor is what holds the rest of the story through the tempest of scenarios and actions. Time gives room for reflection and room for growth. A way to look back and move forward.
Q Finally, what do you hope listeners take away from the lyrical journey of Pieces of Me, and how do you want it to connect with their own lives?
I hope that listeners find something relatable to their lives. That any one of these songs they could listen to years from now and have the vivid memory of theirs come back to them in an instant. That it speaks to them the way that country music spoke to me growing up and that it keeps country music and it’s purpose alive. That it becomes a masterpiece and a classic for them and their memories they have made, are making, and will make.
