While dominating the Juno Awards in her home country, Leslie Feist is also fascinating music fans overseas. An intimate profile in the UK's
Independent news charts her path from the East Coast to Toronto.
"Leslie Feist was born in Nova Scotia. After her parents divorced, her mother raised her and her elder brother, Ben, in Saskatchewan, and later Calgary. When she was seven, her mother would drop her at the local community library at 10am, then pick her up again at 4pm. This act of single-parent necessity fostered both a lifelong love of books and a useful independence in the young Leslie."
"'I spent a lot of time alone even before that. I remember doing my mosaics or being in my little hiding place behind the couch snooping. I'd get bored sometimes, but I think that's good for a kid, it forces you to be creative.'"
"By 15, Feist was fronting Calgary punk band Placebo (no relation to Brian Molko's lot). Her uncle Dan Achen, a producer and musician himself, taught her about the music business and helped her make her first demo."
"'My grandma had a gold disc by his band [Junkhouse] hanging on her wall,' she says. 'It seemed so magical and unreal. When I was a little bit older I was able to climb aboard their tour bus while they were hot-boxing [smoking joints with the windows rolled up]. After I moved to Toronto, my uncle showed up at this residency I had where I was playing to about 12 people. He handed me this red Guild Starfire guitar that I still play today and said, "I've been watching – I think you're ready for this now."'"
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Original Source: The Independent