Interview with Mike LeBlanc

New Brunswick's MIKE LEBLANC brought his traditional country sound to the Cadillac Lounge this spring as part of Canadian Music Week. He played songs off his album Alive And Well. Born in Moncton, New Brunswick, Mike moved at a young age - along with his family - to a small town called Collette, NB. Growing up, there was always music playing in the house or people jamming with their guitars and other instruments. Mike's first public appearance was at 7 years old in church. He didn't know he could sing back then but his teacher knew right away. At 15, Mike entered a local singing contest and took everyone by surprise with his covers of songs by Randy Travis. From that point on, he was frequently asked to do amateur shows and house parties. When he reached the age of 17, he joined his first band and played all over the province and into the U.S. In 1999, he packed his instruments and his clothes and headed towards Calgary, Alberta to see what the music industry had to offer there. He was hired by a band called Uptown Riders three days upon his arrival to the big city. The band toured all over Western Canada for a few years. In 2011, Mike's songwriting went into high gear. In this period, he wrote songs such as "When I'm Good" and "We Lived On" which were the first songs to be created for the album Alive and Well. His influences range from George Jones to Merle Haggard to Waylon Jennings to Travis Tritt. You can hear those influences in the way he sings a country song.