Hardship is sometimes life's greatest inspiration. For Sadler Vaden, Jason Fox & Jonathan Carman of Charleston rock trio Leslie, what started with tragedy quickly turned into a year of self discovery.
The year started out just like any other in the band's history. They were driving around the southeast in an old Ford van, that logged over 400,000 miles, hoping it wouldn't break down before their next gig. Whether it was a packed club or a smokey bar filled with 3 drunks and a bartender, their goal was to play their music to anyone who would listen and to pour every ounce of their souls out on stage each night.
Then, in February, on his 21st birthday, Sadler Vaden's mother, Scarlet, passed away from her battle with breast cancer, making this the second parent he had lost within a few years. No one would have blamed them if at that moment they gave up, walked away, and started over in a different direction of their lives. However, for them, quitting was never an option.
Growing up in a small blue collar town in South Carolina, sacrifice and determination were lessons that were instilled early in life for each member of Leslie. Carman’s mother pawned her wedding ring to get him his first drum set, while Fox’s family taught not only their son, but the band how to invest their earnings back into their passion, music. Vaden’s parents introduced him to stacks of vinyl by Zeppelin, The Who, and Hendrix, which not only shaped his taste in music, but taught him the importance of creating something timeless. Because of this, it didn’t come as a shock when one of Scarlet Vaden’s last wishes was for the band to continue making music on their own terms and grow up to be the men she knew the were destined to be.
In the months following, Leslie took a trip to Memphis, Tennessee, to write and help them cope with the loss of their biggest fan. Maybe it was the experience of living in a trailer park next to the Mississippi River in a town known for birthing the blues and creating some of history's most memorable rock & roll, but something inspired them to open the floodgates and "The Rebel Souls EP" was written.
If a biography is the culmination of one's shared experiences, then "The Rebel Souls EP" is Leslie’s first chapter. We hope you will stick around for the rest of the story.
