\u201cIf someone was killed, it was valiant, but in reality it was propaganda; what was going on over there was just gruesome and horrible and kind of, at the end of the day, a waste of time,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was just a big waste.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But Leon knows Vimy Ridge was an integral part of Canadian history. He says it was a symbol of Canadians becoming independent in our own country, which he says was very important.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd all the stuff that happened in the actual battle was really interesting,\u201d he says. \u201cI could go on forever about it, but overall the song is kind of about that propaganda and, like, what a waste, and kind of \u2018How dare they?\u2019 you know?\u201d<\/p>\n Leon says war screwed up young people who were only lined up because they were trying to help.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what it sounds like it was for every war, in every decade, in any country,\u201d he says, \u201csomehow riling up people to go fight something that they don\u2019t know about.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But Leon writes about more than history; he also takes on issues of love, loss, and landscape, for example.<\/p>\n \u201cOn this new record, I\u2019ve got lyrics about the Appalachians and then I\u2019ve got lyrics about that turquoise blue water in the mountains just outside Calgary,\u201d he says. \u201cI guess when I exhaust all the Canadian stuff I can think of, I\u2019ll move on, but it\u2019s pretty good right now.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Leon\u2019s brother Mike plays drums on the EP and is touring with Leon. Leon writes the lyrics for his songs, and the two of them figure out the melodies.<\/p>\n \u201cWe get along really well,\u201d says Leon. \u201cWe just work really well together. We don\u2019t butt heads. We\u2019ll work on music stuff together, but I have time to work on the lyrics.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Leon says that getting the audience\u2019s undivided attention during those quieter songs that focus on the lyrics is something an artist has to work their way up to.<\/p>\n \u201cI find that you kind of have to earn those songs where you need everybody to be quiet and listen,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can\u2019t start out of the gate with those.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Mattie-Leon-FOR-WEB.jpg\")
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