Wes Leyshon sees a musical revival in Memphis' future.
"I think Memphis music will make a professional comeback," said Leyshon, owner of Avowal Music Production. "Right now it's all underground. A lot of people do music as a hobby here, but very few people are doing it full-time compared to Nashville or Los Angeles. I want to be a part of bringing it back like it was in the '60s and '70s."
PHOTO BY DAVE DARNELL
BUY THIS PHOTO »
Wes Leyshon at the mixing board in his production studio, Avowal Music Production.
In 2006 Leyshon invested several thousand dollars in equipment and renovations to his backyard garage, turning it into an all-digital recording studio, where he records, mixes and produces music of all genres.
Now his engineering skills have seeped into the repertoires of reality-TV icons and a popular MTV series.
The trick to being successful in an entertainment-obsessed market, said Leyshon, is making grassroots connections.
"It's mainly about who you know," said Leyshon.
Originally from rural Maryland, Leyshon got his start in music playing violin, guitar, piano and drums.
"I wanted to be able to record myself," said Leyshon. "A guy told me I needed to buy a four-track, a simple recorder for $600. I thought, 'I'm never going to get that much money.' "
In 2004, he moved to Memphis to attend Visible School, a private school focusing on music production for ministry. He graduated in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in media production ministries with a concentration in audio production.
"I liked what was going on here in Memphis, so I stuck around," said Leyshon.
While in school, Leyshon got to record new bands each week, and the experience has paid off since he started Avowal.
"I had a huge portfolio of music that I had produced and recorded before I went out into the marketplace," said Leyshon.
One school connection got him a gig mixing the song "Avalanche" by songwriter Kevin Griffin of the band Better Than Ezra, for David Cook, winner of the seventh season of "American Idol."
"That was a really cool experience for me because I can compare my work to industry- standard stuff that gets radio play," Leyshon said.
Another connection got Leyshon a similar gig with an "Idol" finalist, Katherine McPhee.
And his mix of "I'll Be Better When You're Gone" by the band 16 Frames was used in the season finale of MTV's "The Hills" in July.
"There are certain frequencies that we hear that can trigger certain emotions," Leyshon said. "For a fast, aggressive song, it needs to have a lot of midrange frequencies that will bring out the attitude. For a slow ballad, you want a lot of high-end frequencies that make it sound softer and more pleasant."
In 2006 Leyshon spent time traveling to Costa Rica and Nicaragua to record the music of poor churches, many of which had never been recorded before. He produced a CD of the music called Mision Hispana.
While he works in all genres of music, the acoustic, unadulterated nature of Mision Hispana
has a special place in his heart.
"'Avowal' means asserting the affirmation of the truth," Leyshon said. "There are so many tricks you can do with modern recording to make an average person sound like a million dollars. I would really like to find the truth of a musician."
