Episode 192: After The Party with Leslie Mendelson

Across the Margin: The Podcast

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Leslie Mendelson. Modeling her music after such '70s icons as Carole King and Joni Mitchell, Leslie Mendelson began making waves in 2009 with her debut Grammy-nominated album Swan Feathers, which was followed by two outstanding offerings, 2017’s Love & Murder and 2020’s If You Can’t Say Anything Nice. Just last month Leslie released her fourth studio album — the focus of this interview — an outstanding collection of tracks entitled After The Party (Royal Potato Family). For this latest effort, she collaborates with not one, but three producers: the legendary Peter Asher (James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt), the young, in-demand Tyler Chester (Madison Cunningham, Sara Bareilles, Sara Watkins) and her longtime songwriting partner, three-time Grammy Award-winner, Steve McEwan. Recorded at Jackson Browne’s studio Groove Masters in Santa Monica, CA, she was joined by an ace band featuring guitarists Waddy Wachtel and John Jorgenson, bassists Leland Sklar and Derrick Anderson, and drummers Jim Keltner and Abe Rounds. Throughout After The Party’s ten tracks, Leslie crafts a distinctive folk-rock, pop-Americana flavor, evoking the sounds of Laurel Canyon, but with the downtown grit and sharp wit of Brooklyn, the city she has called home for over two decades now. There’s a refreshing realness and effortless musicality that feels both nostalgic and new throughout After The Party. In this episode host Michael Shields and Leslie Mendelson talk about how Leslie’s recent album’s title was inspired by Andy Warhol’s still life of the same name while recounting the compelling story how she came to working with famed producer Peter Asher on the album and recording in Jackson Browne’s Groove Masters Studio. They discuss the remarkable band that backed Leslie for After The Party, the diverse and introspective themes found throughout the album, what life on the road is like for Leslie currently, and so much more.

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