Meet Jonny Leonard | Guitar player & singer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jonny Leonard and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jonny, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Honestly, Really being consistent and having a strong team to back you up , communication and internally having a drive to achieve the next steps ahead

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My band , The Paisley Bandits, all started as a way to make enough money to move back from Nashville to Columbus in the later part of 2019, Our main singer, Jared Knutson and I just left a band and started busking on the streets of Nashville and Louisville, living out of a Honda civic with one working window… the sun roof, while chain smoking and eating Taco Bell, listening to the cure and the strokes, just to get the bread to busk in Columbus and obtain enough to officially move back home. Elevator brewery at the time gave us a permanent residency for shows till COVID times ended the musician life where Jared and myself worked at a flower nursery to keep income in. During breaks we wrote songs in the fields of flowers that surrounded us and with the addition of our current bassist, Zac Robinson. we started to write and record our first batch of songs with Bobby Leonard, which helped give us some material for when COVID restrictions let up, really testing our patience and understanding that life ain’t always in your direction.
Following COVID we obtained a phenomenal drummer , Owen Morse, who’s helped shape the future of our band, giving us the rock sound we continue to source, crave, and abuse .
Really, the biggest reminder of how we got to this stage in our music career is perseverance and patience , always knowing that something rad is around the corner

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’d say start Monday at kafe Kerouac for coffee and bagels, maybe skate a little at Tuttle skate park, hit up the homies and make the move for some luch at dos hermanos or press grill. Doge park in franklinton would be the next move for more skating and music playin , with the treck to half baked afterwards for Emonday and open mic to release the emotional demons inside and do some drankin’. The following days follow with a mix of jack and Bennie’s, hangover easy and lox bagels to start the day, maybe some classic campus Waffle House to get some chili and hashbrowns . For something new, I’d say Franklin park conservatory or Cosi, Are some of my favorite stops, it brings a sense of peace to the mind after going, especially during the holidays,
For night life, half baked brew, Little Rock bar , hey heys and club 20 are the stops for the night life throughout the week,
Dinner can be complicated, really half of the city has great food, but if I’m listing… Gore Made Pizza, Cinnamon Indian Grill, Hound Dogs, and of course, glorious Taco Bell.
Entertainment wise, I’d look for shows at Ace Of Cups, Rumba, Half Baked, or Dirty Dungaries , also the city is full of exotic stuff like Old North Arcade, Ace Throwing on the south side, and Otherworld

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Half baked Brewery has given me a family of friends that always have my back when times are tough and bless me with support and encouragement to keep truckin’ forward , also the spirit of rock and roll still lives in those who seek it and I tend to keep that spirit alive

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepaisleybandits/

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/ThePaisleyBandits

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCIFKW0VCyGaWbgAMLWTf4rw?si=GjMTHdCYSS60R4Nu

Image Credits
Bobby Leonard Wisconsin Gage Layne