Leo Kishore has impressed me with his aggressive, yet deft touches on the bass, his down-to-earth demeanor and the quickness with which he has learned so many staple songs in the Barefoot repertoire. Many bands suffer through personnel changes, while Barefoot Manner has shown a renewed spark since Leo's unveiling at the Boone Saloon in February. With eleven shows under his belt as the new bass player and the beginning of Festival Season just around the corner, Leo took a few moments to share his thoughts with me.

E: Now that the newness has worn off and things are falling into place, what has been the most rewarding part of joining Barefoot Manner? What has been your favorite show to date?

Leo: Personally, being in a band with Jeff again is huge...I believe this is our fifth band together...He really just is one of my favorite dudes. I can't quite put a finger on why, but he seems to be great at everything I am not, and we tend to complement each other well. Favorite show? Well, they all have rocked so far, beyond what I could have expected. The Boone Saloon on my first date was totally exhilarating, and of course coming back to the Lincoln is something that means a lot to me. I have played there a couple of times, usually as an opener or a fill in bass player, but never as a member of the headliner to such a crowd. Some dude came up and gave me a piece of paper that said “Leo Rocks!" I don’t know who has paper and writing utensils at shows and I don’t know if that is really true, but it felt great!

E: What has been the most challenging or difficult thing about joining Barefoot Manner?

Leo: The most difficult thing I would have to say is being a good blue grass player, since it's not a style of music that I had played much before. We initially jammed with Jeff on drums, and it was smooth sailing with a lot of the tunes, just had to figure out the chord changes. But when Jeff gets on the washboard, I get thrown in that traditional bass-bluegrass role. I got decent time, so some tempos weren't so bad to deal with, but at very high speeds I have to admit that initially I was thrown off a little by the 'chop' and the notion that I am often the only dude on the downbeat. Dave is there too, so if I can pick him out it definitely helps. Sometimes I can't, and quite honestly it felt like a million notes were being tossed out and I had no idea which went with what beat. So, that was the thing that required the most practice to get over any 'hump'.

The other thing is the pure speed of Barefoot, its been a while, actually I can't even remember when in terms of a band, that I have played so many tunes at this speed. It's great for my playing. Sitting at home sweating my metronome and drum machine has really been something I had wanted to drill, and this is a place where I have to do it or I won't float.

E: What is the first album that you bought?

Leo: Oh man. Don't shoot me. First ever was Dead or Alive ("You spin me round") on vinyl. (Evan adds: "Like a Record, baby!") First cassette was Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi. First real set of recordings that actually made a difference happened when I was taking a trip to Tennessee with my parents, and I bought Megadeth's "So Far So Good So What," and Iron Maiden's "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son." Didn't like the Iron Maiden as much as the Megadeth. When we got there, I picked up Slayer's "South of Heaven" and Bad Brain's "I against I." I think all 4 of those had just come out, and the Slayer and Bad Brains really intrigued me.

Keep in mind, I had NO idea what the lyrics were saying, and never did care. Even today, I have no idea what most lyrics are in any song, I just listen for beats and what not. Anyways, after hearing those 4, I pretty much wanted to play a bunch of notes in a very short amount of time. I was playing trombone at the time though, so that was a roadblock right there!!! It was this year as well that Max Roach came to a neighboring high school, and we got to check it out. I rarely have seen such greatness, and really wanted that kind of power, or somewhere near. For years, I was into jazz and metal from there.

E: Where did you grow up?

Leo: Born in Toledo Ohio, moved to Greenville with I was in second grade. I have one sister. Both my parents are Japanese (half Japanese, but both raised in Japan), and occasionally make it back to Japan to visit relatives.

E: What is your favorite “Barefoot” song so far?

Leo: Gotta go with a top 3: Roots, Nervous Breakdown, Things. Then again, some of the newer tunes are shaping up a little more than when I got there, at least as far as my understanding of them, so I think maybe the best is yet to come!