After learning how to run live sound and create content out of necessity for my bands for years, I decided to go back to school and learn how to do it better.
At NKU I created a short film, commercial, music video, podcasts, and newscasts.
I also recorded and mixed an EP of original music for my friend Bryan Schaffer.
Joined by my fiance Tia Martini (Canyon Collected) and oldest friend Matt Wolff (Good By March) we recorded a full length album at Lane Gibson Studios in Vermont, January 2019. We released the CD in May 2019 and Vinyl in November 2019.
As a duo we've played over 500 performances in 37 different states.
2019 - Studio Album - Feels Like Home
Canyon Collected was started by Leon Elam and Jake Heidrich (Rising Creek String Band) and many others in Canyon Village near the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone in Yellowstone National Park. Currently a five piece band based out of Colorado. Touring extensively from 2013-2017 Canyon Collected is still playing a few shows a year in Colorado and Montana.
2016 - Studio Album - In The Woods
www.canyoncollected.com
I was working in the box office at Midtown Arts Center when the original bass player quit unexpectedly with only a few weeks left of performances. I learned all the songs in two days (and a few lines and stage directions) and finished out the run with an amazingly talented and supportive cast.
Merry & Bright was a small holiday show performed in the ballroom of Midtown Arts Center in Fort Collins, CO. One of the actors from this show recently performed with the NY Metropolitan Opera.
Leon the Entertainer was a name given to my solo act by a friend. I would perform during my serving shift at Mo'Betta Gumbo and I opened up as a solo act for the Rumpke Mountain Boys on New Years Eve 2015. I also hosted a regular radio show on KRFC 88.9 FM Fort Collins.
Rising Creek String Band is the byproduct of a group of rowdy Kentucky boys getting together and singing songs until late in the evenings. The biggest honor was playing festivals with heroes like Sam Bush, Del McCoury, and Greensky Bluegrass.
My high school punk rock band. We played graduation parties and recorded a five song ep before breaking up to go to different colleges.
I joined band late in my Sophomore year. I played upright bass in symphonic band, electric bass in jazz band, and baritone in marching band.