Octopus ballet band Spotlight

Octopus ballet has been performing since the summer of 2017, although Sheryl Clark (tenor and soprano saxophone, flute) and Leanne Trevalyan (vocals and guitar) have known each other for decades through the NW blues scene. Originally, the plan was to put a girl band together – having always loved female energy and working with other women. Originally, they had a female bass player and harmony singer, but like most projects personnel comes and goes. The latest edition includes Chad Russell on drums and percussion, who has been with them for about a year. Leanne met Chad when she was running an open mic more than a decade ago. The trio share their ideas, and each brings unique talents to the table. It is obvious from their performances that they truly enjoy working together.

The name Octopus Ballet came as an homage to the Giant Pacific Octopus which is indigenous to our area. They reside in the Puget Sound and rumor has It, directly under the Narrows Bridge. We also wanted something with a feminine sound, hence the ballet; as an added benefit, Leanne offers that the name allows for a great T-shirt design!

Octopus Ballet melds their collective roots of acoustic rock, jazz, blues, and folk to deliver music that will touch your heart and grab your soul. The poignant lyrics of Leanne Trevalyan combine crystalline vocals and fingerstyle guitar playing to bring life to her pure and simple melodies. The multi-talented Sheryl Clark on saxophone and flute adds texture and flavor to the group’s songs; while percussionist Chad Russel – the group’s newest addition -adds his many talents on djembe, Cajon, and more.

Leanne Trevalyan (l) and Sheryl Clark (r)

I asked Leanne to share what interests she has outside of music and her answer is multi-faceted. She mentions her love of hiking the great outdoors and admits to being “kind of a sports geek, especially football and baseball, but also will watch tennis, golf and the Olympics when they’re happening”. She also enjoys listening to music when not performing and attending the theatre, especially musicals. With all of this, she admits that her favorite past-time is hanging out with a small group of friends in a private setting, and just visiting. Eating, drinking, talking. She says, “I’m really an introvert, even though I’m in the entertainment business”.

During the Covid shut down, she had her very first recording ‘Keeper of Kaleidoscopes’ remixed and mastered to release digitally and on CD. It was originally available only on cassette, it will be released this year as the 30th anniversary edition.  The band will head into the studio this fall to record a new album of originals.

Leanne is working on a book of her song lyrics, presented in poetry format along with a description of her inspiration on the alternate page. She reports “I have written over 300 songs, so half of the book is already written! I really just need to narrow it down and put it together”. She also has a novella about a guitar that she wants to turn into a play. “It’s not a musical, but there will be music in it”.

Leanne began her music career in Florida, performing mostly acoustic rock. Upon moving to Seattle in the mid 90’s she answered an ad for a singer wanted in a blues band. She was playing Pioneer Square, at blues festivals, going to the Washington Blues Society meetings, etc. as well as going to blue’s jams where she met Billy Stoops. Leanne and Billy have been music partners for 26 years and created the legendary band Junkyard Jane, together they created the Sunbanks Festival that is one of the finest outdoor music festivals in the state.

Her musical inspiration began with the Beatles; then, as a teenager she was listening to Pink Floyd, Yes, Led Zeppelin, Emerson Lake and Palmer, the Moody Blues. “That was a great time for music!” she says, “My earliest inspirations were Bonnie Raitt and Linda Ronstadt, then I got into Heart and Fleetwood Mac, as far as female vocalists go. I was also into Crosby, Stills and Nash, and other groups with lots of harmony. My very first band was an acoustic-based trio with great three-part harmonies”. Upon moving to the Northwest, she began listening to a lot of blues on KPLU.

Leanne offers that her method for songwriting is usually a simultaneous gathering of melody and lyrics. “I pick up my guitar and play a chord progression and start ad-libbing. Then I will usually hone in on a theme or hook line and fine-tune things from there. I’m pretty methodical as well, utilizing a thesaurus, rhyming dictionary, and sometimes even do research on a certain subject. I used to keep a handheld cassette recorder on my nightstand, but now I just use my cell phone. If I don’t document the song pretty much immediately, it will go away like most dreams do”.

Leanne started out playing acoustic based music in duos and trios in smaller venues, eventually playing in rock and then blues bands doing four hour club gigs and the occasional festival. In the post Covid music scene for me personally, most of my shows are two to three hours. With Octopus Ballet, I am enjoying performing in an acoustic based group once again doing mostly duo and trio stuff.

Please do yourself a favor and get out to one of their live performances, you won’t be sorry.