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The Knitting Factory in Los Angeles is a great place to find new bands that have yet to be discovered. Such was the case Thursday night when Leap Year took the stage. Leap Year is hard to miss as it is comprised of four attractive men–lead singer and guitarist Drew Girton, bassist Ken Erickson, drummer Steve Sudeth, and guitarist Jonathan Kofahl.
While Girton’s singing in the first song was drowned out by the rest of the band’s playing (due to technical difficulties), these men didn’t seem phased by the problem. Once the problem was resolved, the band remained at ease and ready to have a good time.
And a good time is what they were having! Sudeth was bobbing his head side to side in his corner playing the drums in a way that evoked the image of a toddler playing away on the pots–except that he wasn’t just making noise. With a slight smile, Erickson was grooving along swinging his shoulders and nodding his head to the music. When the bass dominated a song, one just wanted to get up and dance. Kofahl did the "bend your knees and throw your shoulders back" stance with an expression revealing he was in another world. Another world he must have been as he played his guitar to the note of perfection. Girton made use of the stage as he danced along, flirted with the crowd, and commanded the stage as he tossed his guitar behind him and grabbed the microphone. Just watching these guys it was easy to forget the surroundings and become engulfed by the good time that they were having together.
Of the eight songs played there were only a few that truly stood out as something special. All That You Need was one of the songs that were fresh and distinguished by a sense of musical maturity. There was more movement and personality to this song.
The other songs weren’t bad, they just sounded forced and like a lot of other songs on the airwaves. Pop rock group Rooney comes to mind with their sunny and blurred together songs.
Leap Year is currently working on a four song EP to be released in late October. Yet their myspace music page can quence any current thirst for Leap Year music.
Aside from the planning of their EP release, there are also major plans for the band to play on the approaching leap year. The bands name was derived from Girton being born on a February 29th. In 2008 the band will celebrate Girton’s 7th birthday by playing a special show.
The highlight for this band is that they display so much confidence in their performance. Their confidence is evident in those spotlighted songs–and will also be heard in the yet-to-be birthed songs.
To see Leap Year perform is to observe a genuine act with much more potential that will leave you smiling and grooving along with your own friends.
