Les LaMotte
Les LaMotte is captivating audiences with his passion, originality, crisp production, on full display in his new radio single ‘Where Are You Goin'’. We wanted to find out what drives this dedicated Christian / gospel artist to push the limits of the genre.
ALEXIS: Let's just get this out in the open- What is the craziest thing that has happened to you in your music career?
LES LAMOTTE: When we were in our group that was called “Men With A Mission” and we ministered in all of the prisons in Minnesota. We headed up toward Duluth Minnesota where Bob Dylan is from and for some reason the man who used to do our driving for us delivered the entire band in a white limo to the Sandstone Federal Prison. So what we weren't aware of was that we were under high scrutiny by the guards because little did we know that major prisoners were picked up in Limo's by their partners or mob connections when they were getting out. So, the whole prison when into heavy security mode because no one was due to go out that day and they thought we were about to pull off a fast one and try to take off with one of the inmates. I know that I learned a big lesson when we were on our way out, the guard asked everyone for their social security number or they weren't going to let us out. I had not memorized my social security number all that well and it kind of shook me and somehow I managed to remember it good enough so they let us go. When we got to the limo, they had dogs sniffing down the thing and guards poking around under the seats and in the trunk. That was one of the craziest things that happened to us while we were out singing and performing at the prisons. I received my first major Music Award at the 2007 Los Angeles Music Awards as Worship Artist of the Year! At the Music Box Theater “On the Walk of the Stars” in Hollywood. Nov 29, 2007. My wife Vicky, and our friends from college joined us there as well as some celebrities I had invited whom I had just met. We walked the red carpet and had a lovely dinner and met tons of great people and made many new friends.
ALEXIS: Your song ’Where Are You Goin'’ is receiving a positive listener response on radio. What was your initial reaction when you first heard your song playing on radio?
LES LAMOTTE: I heard it played on N1M online Radio alongside so many great artists and groups it was a thrill to know that I had reached a new level of success with my music. Then, when I began receiving notes of appreciation from over 7 countries around the world that were listening over 250 times each month. Hearing shout outs of thanks from over 600 consistent listeners was absolutely mind-blowing! The song has become the new Christian anthem for the youth around the globe. “I’m speechless... absolutely amazing music!” Tim - N1M 7/12/18 “Hi, a big thumbs up from me. I'm glad I've found your page on here, I've been enjoying your music for quite some time. I bet you hear this all the time, but I was genuinely amazed when I first heard one of your tunes online Where Are You Goin’.” Nicholas N1M 01/06/16, My song “Where Are You Goin’” hit #119 in the USA, and #23 in April 2018 for Christian Rock in the USA 'Les LaMotte has a voice that exceeds the reach of even the most gifted secular singers - a gesture from God in itself - and 'Sonrise A New Tomorrow' is remarkable as a body of music by any standard; a divinely endowed work.' AKADEMIA MUSIC - LA Singer/Songwriter, Les LaMotte sounds like: “Don Francisco passionate simplicity to his words and music”. Vince Wilcox, Music Exec Nashville, TN.
ALEXIS: What was the inspiration behind your radio single?
LES LAMOTTE: The Back Story to my song “Where Are You Goin’” goes back to when I played and sang in prisons ministering to inmates throughout Minnesota, Arizona, and Texas. This particular song “Where Are You Goin'” was written to confront inmates and everyone who hears it must answer the question of where are you going… “Right Now” in other words what are you waiting for? Why wait till it’s too late? Has the listener considered other alternatives to self-destruction with drugs, sex, and alcohol isn’t there something much more exciting and life-giving to spend their life pursuing? The words ask for a decision from every man and woman are you going to endure the punishment of God for the results of your inherited sin nature and allow it to separate you from the love of God or will you surrender your sinful human condition. The song challenges everyone to hear and take action as Jesus knocks on the door of their heart urging them to invite him in. To receive Jesus who has the power of God to give them a full pardon for their sin nature inherited from Adam.
ALEXIS: It is often said that great art arises from difficult experience. Is there something in your life experience thus far that you would describe as the ‘catalyst’ or ‘fuel’ for your desire to create music?
LES LAMOTTE: Oh yes, definitely to share the good news of Jesus Christ and music is one of the best mediums in which to do that. I am highly motivated by other artists that I met early in my meeting Jesus Christ myself in my freshman year at college in Moorhead University. I became involved with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship who offered me my first job out of College at their national offices in Madison Wisconsin. They invited the incredible singer/songwriter from Hollywood Larry Norman who today is considered the “grandfather of Christian rock-n-roll.” When I met Larry and heard his heartfelt music, I just knew that he is the one I wanted to be like. His personal touch on my life was extremely enlightening. His rough and tough lyric and direct style of presenting Jesus as a real option in your life. I found out later that he had great influence on such rock stars of the 70’s such as Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and was instrumental in Bob and John’s accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior in John’s case only weeks before his death.
ALEXIS: How would you characterize yourself as an artist/musician?
LES LAMOTTE: I have always been a singer/songwriter and have been since I was very young. In fact, my bandmates back in High School almost all became songwriters in their own right as well. I am a self-taught guitar player since I was 14 years old. I have sung in church choirs since I was five all the way to college and in the churches, I have been a member of over the 45 years of my career. I believe my real strength is in my singing and my guitar is my instrument of writing. I studied piano as a young boy, but, I could never get a hang of the notes, so I opted out for feeling the chords that made much more sense to my musical ear. By using my voice and guitar, I was able to find the melodies that streamed from my heart. I have since taken other voice lessons from great professionals in Nashville and studied the concepts of great songwriting, but, being a true artist in all respects, knowing the form of music is not what allows me to make it, it is the feeling of music that allows me to express myself. Sometimes the tunes by others help me to feel and hear what I am trying to write and it inspires me to capture it and write down my true thoughts.
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ALEXIS: What has your experience been like working with the other people on your team?
LES LAMOTTE: When I produced my album, “Sonrise A New Tomorrow” back in 1994 I found one of the best guitarists in Minneapolis Lonnie Knight after hearing him during an in-studio recording session. Producer / Recording / Guitarist: Lonnie Davis Knight, Mosquito Shoals Recording Studio, www.LonnieKnight.com “When he sings of ‘major truths in minor keys’… we know not only what he means, but how he feels.” – critic Scott Alarik writing about Lonnie Knight Singer-songwriter Lonnie Knight may joke that “Legendary is just another way of saying ‘...been around a long time,’ ” but the lanky Minnesotan is one of those rare musicians who has truly earned the title Legendary. He got his start as a folkie, learning from the likes of Townes Van Zandt. Then he played in some of the Midwest’s seminal rock bands, including Jokers Wild, the Nielsen-White Band, and the Hoopsnakes. http://www.lonnieknight.com/bio.html LK@LonnieKnight.com Recording / Mastering: Gary DeHaven, Metro Apple Digital Recording & Mastering I recorded several songs with Gary and he has recorded almost all of the bands from Minneapolis, plus stars like Hoodie and the Blow Fish, to Tiny Tim’s last recordings. Post Scoring & Arrangements: Henry Wiens, Mark Easter, and Susan Montague © 1993-2009 / Les LaMotte, ASCAP
ALEXIS: Did you come from a musical background? Are there other musicians in your family?
LES LAMOTTE: No, I didn’t come from a musical family directly, but, my Mother Katheryn who was adopted, I found out that both her Aunt’s from South Dakota, one was an art teacher and the other a music teacher. Otherwise, the most direct influence in music came from my adoptive grandfather Les McPheron, my mother’s adoptive father, who had a tremendous voice and I enjoyed his vocalizations any time. He not only inspired me to sing, but, he also inspired the development of my business 45 years later which reached around the world into 36 countries and had revenue of over $14 million, by simply building my first kite, I gained the knowledge of tension design. You can read the entire story in my new book “Imagineering Your Future” releasing in April 9, 2019. LesLaMotte.com which has all of my books and music to purchase.
ALEXIS: What do you find most rewarding about being an artist? What do you find most challenging?
LES LAMOTTE: I find that being allowed to have full self-expression through music to enlighten and I love to see the smiles and hear the appreciation of those who listen. Even more, to hear their sharing of how much my songs affects them personally and gives them a sense of uplift and hope. Most challenging for me is because I am an artist in many ways and expressions from music to film, to fine arts, that I am sometimes misunderstood by others and maybe they are confused how one person can contain and maintain such a full realm of artistic ability and therefore, maybe don’t take me as seriously as I would like at times. They only need to look at many renaissance artists such as Leonardo deVinci who did it all master painter, sculpture, designed products, and did the first research into how the body works. Quite a range of Imagineering and so, I like to claim his flexibility and knowledge in large fields all at the same time. Let’s say a Disney before his time.
ALEXIS: Who are your role models in music?
LES LAMOTTE :I would have to say that they include Larry Norman, Love Song, the Beatles, John Denver, Johnny Cash, Steven Curtis Chapman, Simon and Garfunkel, and the late Glenn Campbell’s secular and spiritual works. If I had a chance to do my versions of Larry Norman's work I believe that it is absolutely still relevant especially in the world today with so much discord and lostness hanging in the air.
ALEXIS: Describe your best or most memorable performance.
LES LAMOTTE: That would have to be one in Arizona State Prison in Tucson, where I was given the opportunity to minister to over one hundred inmates and they were quite a fun-filled and very gracious audience. The other was very similar south of Houston Texas at a prison that had probably over 150-200 inmates. They were so positive and full of life because they were able to go out on Sundays to churches to minister in music themselves, that was really cool to find out. I literally felt like Johnny Cash standing up in front of hundreds of men cheering me on and I did all of my music with my guitar and my background performance tapes. They literally came up and picked me up afterward and I was absolutely paid off in spades that day with the energy and excitement that was present as I sang and played my heart out giving testimony to my life and faith in Jesus Christ. I later had the distinct pleasure to be invited to Johnny Cash’s sister's church in Nashville and had the chance to sit down and talk with her about Johnny and I asked if I could meet Johnny but, she said no, as she had just fixed his pants for him and he was leaving for Switzerland. It was a thrilling moment I will cherish forever.
ALEXIS: What advice would you give to young, aspiring artists out there who are unsure and need guidance?
LES LAMOTTE: I believe that being real and being genuine is the best way to write and perform your music. There are many these days that do the programmed musical theater with all the bells and whistles, however, for me, it is far too much and I see little artistry in it. I like to write real music, with lyrics that mean something to you personally first, not just a certain genre that is selling. A true artist and writer is the one who is supposed to reflect their culture with works that challenge, poke fun at, encourage, bring back things that are lost, overall has an impact in people's daily life and walk. I think that right now the music world is sold out to just pure two-note songs and a lot of yelling and screaming with lights and beats. In the end, the music is only about getting people all jazzed up and the content is lost in all of the extras. Try to be as real with your music that flushes out all of your inner emotion and feelings as the listeners want to experience something from you personally, something that will give them a new perspective on life and their world.
ALEXIS: What's next for you as an artist? Is there an album in the works? If so, what can you tell us about it?
LES LAMOTTE: I have recorded my song “The Great Physician” however, I was never very happy about the way it turned out. However, I have won many awards for the song. Since it came from an actual prayer by inmates, I felt that it deserved to be recorded in front of a live audience of inmates in a prison and then it could be considered finished and have the rawness it deserves and the response of the inmate's hearts as they express their reaction to the healing within the song. If I have the opportunity to record this song I will probably do a few more and make it my Live in Prison album that may include some of Larry Norman tunes as well maybe making it a music video as well as an album.
ALEXIS: That sounds great! Thank you for giving us a peek into your life as an artist. I wish you continued success in your career.
https://www.theakademia.com/artistkit/LesLaMotte-WhereAreYouGoin.html