Leroy Sanchez : Vocals Break The Silence

Well, I was surfing across the Youtube waves today when I came across this shining star. I just got back to Mykonos, where I grew up, and haven't slept since Friday, but anyways, the show must go on. Leroy has an incredibly smooth voice about him, while maintaing that deep scratch that draws people in. And underneath it all he plays his guitar so neatly that it mixes perfectly with his voice. I first came across him doing a cover of Adele's incredibly popular song "Someone Like You". Although I've heard the song a ton of times, I'm not going to be one of those guys who say "It's overplayed." I feel it's overplayed for a reason, lack of other good music. Each cover of the song is different and its about time you check out Leroy's acoustic cover of the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEJfQ9-lhs8

Stunning! No fancy twists and turns, he just does it as it is. I feel that a lot of the times a simple rendition of a song is so much better than a fancy and "impressive" version. I mean, the song does its own job, and the artist should just support it. And Leroy does that beautifully. His crisp and clear vocals break the silence over the guitar line, which sounds as natural as rain outside your bedroom window.

So hopefully, you've taken the time to subscribe to Leroy's channel (and possibly checked out his Facebook for updates), so we can move along. He's got a bunch of great covers available on his channel, as well as stunning originals, which you may want to acquaint yourself with. One that took me by surprise was a cover of "Valerie" (The Zutons), as performed by Amy Winehouse. Once again he's got that slick & smooth sound about him but has a whole lot of explosiveness in his performance. He's got a great rhythm going on the guitar and manages to do the fills here and there, while giving an outstanding vocal performance. I was truly blown away and will definitely be listening to this cover for a while. What do you think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfbSmMq1wew

After listening to it again all I can say is that I'm still blown away. He's got a very personal tone about him and manages to pierce into your soul with that little bit of sharp explosiveness when he hits the chorus. I must say, whatever microphone he's using, it suits his voice perfectly. The irony of it all is that under the video he writes "my vocal performance is not the best". I honestly got a hint of Stevie Wonder's genius in that sound and loved the honesty of the way he touches the lyrics. It's something so rare and unique to each person.

Now, aside from his great covers,  he's got a bunch of fantastic originals. One that really caught my ear is called "Words Unspoken". Once again you get that honest, crisp & clear sound that you love in Leroy but really get personal. And, again, there's something about his tone that just reminds me of Stevie Wonder. Let's hope his inspiration grows to such levels and we hear a lot more about him in the future! Here's to Leroy! Check back tomorrow for another fantastic artist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmosF1WmgVg

Alex Hamel