Idol Chatter & Voice Views

 

Check out Lelia Broussard’s music on iTunes and you’ll find an array of impressive solo material.

Between 2008 and 2013, the Louisiana native released an album, two EPs and five singles.

She also placed second in the Rolling Stone’s 2011 “So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star” competition, performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and landed a spot on Season 3 of The Voice.

But these days, Lelia lives in New York and is focused on a project that’s anything but solo.

She’s one of three talented singer-songwriters — along with Bess Rogers and Hannah Winkler — fronting Secret Someones, a band that also includes Zach Jones on percussion.

Signed to Cherry Tree Records, Secret Someones put out an EP in August 2014 and will release its self-titled debut album Oct. 2.

Lelia says the three women were performing together — albeit still as solo artists — when the band was formed.

“We were all friends before we started the band, but it came together when we all went on a house concert tour about three years ago,” she says.

“We were touring as solo artists, but acting as each other’s band. We were playing ‘in the round,’ where one person would play a few songs and then we’d switch off and the next person would play a few songs. We were all switching instruments and singing without any amplification in people’s living rooms.

“We were having so much fun making music together and every night people would ask us if we had anything recorded with all of us. Eventually, we listened and we started our band.”

Though all three women fronting Secret Someones has released solo material, they wrote the songs for the upcoming album together, Lelia said.

“One of us will bring a seed of an idea to the group and then we just hash it out. After that we bring the songs to our drummer, Zach and our producer, Chris (Kuffner) and we arrange them together. It’s a very collaborative process.”

it pre-dates Secret Someones, that was the case with “Let You Go,” a song from the album that the band released last week.

“I was about to go through a break up and was in a particularly rough spot,” Lelia says, explaining the song’s origin. “I was over at Bess’ place one night talking to her about the situation. She ended up confessing to me that she had started writing a song about my situation.

“The song she had started writing made me burst into tears and after a few whiskeys and lots of tears we ended up staying up the whole night writing the song and recording a demo of it. It was one of the most special and cathartic writing experiences I’ve ever had, and it’s become one of our favorite songs to play.”

“Let You Go” is already available on iTunes, along with three other songs from the album — “Head First,” “Quit Pulling Me Down” and “I Won’t Follow.” Anyone who pre-orders the album gets those four songs as instant downloads.

The album includes 16 tracks, including acoustic versions for six of the original songs it features.

Compared to her solo material, Lelia says the Secret Someones’ music has a bit more of a rock edge.

“We had a shared love of rowdy rock and roll and it was a very intentional choice for us to move more in that direction. Our music is also very harmony driven, which my solo material wasn’t so much. We make up the harmonies as we’re writing the songs and it’s a huge part of our sound.

“It’s been really rewarding to be in a band,” she adds. “I feel like I’m at my best creatively when we’re together. It’s also really nice to have people that you love that are equally as invested in the project as you are. When things are good and when things are bad, we’re always in it together.”

Someones will perform a CD release show at the Rockwood Music Hall in New York on Oct. 1. They also have a series of shows scheduled through October, including dates at MilkBoy in Philly on Oct. 8 and Jammin’ Java in the D.C. area on Oct. 9.

And, for those who just can’t wait, the band is hosting a StageIt show on Thursday. You can head here for details; very few tickets remain.

Info on other shows is available on the band’s Facebook page and website. More dates will be announced soon, Lelia says.

“We’re so excited to put this music out into the world and to get back on the road,” she says.

For a look at other music released this year by artists featured on The Voice, head here for albums and EPs and here for singles.