10 Questions with ... LEDGER

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

A little over a decade ago, Jen Ledger was a teenager from Coventry, England en route to bible school in the middle-of-nowhere Wisconsin. By age18, just a couple of years later, she was discovered by Skillet's John and Korey Cooper and touring arenas across the US, playing drums and BGVs for the platinum-selling rock act.

"The Coopers were not only training me how to be a full-time touring professional musician," says Ledger, "They were also teaching me all the basic life skills of becoming an adult at the same time! I was thrown into a brand-new career while also learning to drive, open a checking account, pay bills, and have a full-time job."

Earlier this year, Ledger debuted singles from her solo project LEDGER, including "Bold" to Christian radio and "Not Dead Yet" to Mainstream Rock, via Atlantic Records imprint Heart It Loud and Fair Trade Services. Her self-titled EP released in April.

1. For those who don't already know, in a snapshot, what is your career path as a musician?

I joined Skillet as their drummer 10 years ago. I had just turned 18 years old when I started in 2008 and my first-ever tour was WinterJam (the biggest Christian arena tour in the world), so you can imagine, as someone who had only ever played for 200 people at church and been very nervous about it, it was a massive stretch to all of a sudden be in a hugely successful touring rock band playing shows for sold-out arenas. It was an entirely new season. Before Skillet, I had actually quit playing and had set my sights on becoming a hairdresser.

About six years ago, I felt a stirring in my heart to begin writing my own music. I was seeing the impact that music was having on people all around the world, and I couldn't help but wonder if I was also supposed to start writing my own songs. I shared my heart with the Coopers and they began training me and teaching me how to write my own music. I feel like I have been in a 10-year dream apprenticeship of being able to learn from and share life with such radical and talented people. It's pretty surreal and special to be sitting here sharing with you my story and to have just had my own music launch in April 2018. Currently, I am full-time with Skillet as the drummer but am also fronting and enjoying the launch of my own side project LEDGER. It's a lot. But it's an incredibly exciting season!

2. Who is the Jen Ledger who started with Skillet ten years ago vs. the present-day Jen Ledger? How have you grown? How have you changed?

I almost feel like the better question would be "How haven't you changed?"! For starters, 10 years ago I had just joined Skillet as an 18 year-old from England. I came over to the States at age 16 to study at the School of Worship in Kenosha, WI, a small music and bible school program. I was planning to return home after the program finished but ended up staying to tour with the band. I basically left bible school to begin full-time touring. That meant that when I joined Skillet I was brand new and green at, well, everything! The Coopers were not only training me how to be a full-time touring professional musician - I had to learn what a soundcheck was and how to get used to playing and recording in different venues, recording studios, video shoots, interviews, and getting comfortable performing while surrounded by pyrotechnics. They were also teaching me all the basic life skills of becoming an adult at the same time! I was thrown into a brand-new career while also learning to drive, open a checking account, pay bills, and have a full-time job, and all of this in a new country with no family around.

Spiritually, I had grown up around religion my whole life, but had only just became serious about my faith a year prior to getting in to the band. I was new to everything and growing in every area of my life. Ten years later, I feel like I am a completely different person. I now know who I am; I have grown up and grown out of a lot of teenage hurts and insecurities and grown (and continue to grow) in my faith and in my own identity as a woman. As a musician, I feel like I am always learning and evolving. As a drummer, I have grown into playing rock in a way that is emotive and (hopefully) more musical, learning to enhance and highlight moments in our songs. And as a writer and singer, it's taken a lot of work and patience but I am now stepping into a season of playing into my strengths and also leaning into my vulnerabilities. I am learning that in my vulnerability come power and authenticity. With my solo project LEDGER, it was so important to me to not just be Skillet Part B, and it was within the last couple of years that I really felt the project was taking shape and having its own clear identity. I especially love to write melodies, so in my writing I am exploring this new strength and side of myself, and that's something I simply didn't know about myself even five years ago when I began writing.

3. Did you ever deal with any misconceptions personally, being part of a band that was so integrated in both the mainstream and CCM industries?

Yes, stepping into Skillet was an eye opener on many levels. Being from England, I was new to the whole CCM industry and also very unaware of the American Christian culture. It is much more acceptable to be a Christian here than it was in England, but it also came with many strings and expectations that confused me. I was a brand-new believer, excited to be a part of a band that was reaching broken and hurting people. We were singing about issues such as self-harm and seeing music break chains and reach lost and hurting people. At the same time, we were dealing with complaints about the band being a part of a Christian tour such as WinterJam because we wear black and play with pyrotechnics. Christians even felt as though Satan had his foothold in Christian touring because of us. We've been told we don't look the way "Christians are supposed to look", and that we are "wolves in sheep's clothing" because we have tattoos and wear ripped jeans.

On the other side of things, in the mainstream world, we've had bands and tours that want nothing to do with us because of our faith. They don't believe our faith or our music lines up with the sex, drugs, and rock and roll culture. One tour kicked us off for one show, because the local radio station hated the fact that were Christian so much that they wouldn't have the tour come unless we were kicked off the line-up. We've also been told that if we just let go of "the whole Jesus thing", and if the Coopers didn't act like they were faithful to each other and played down the fact that they are married, we could be much more successful and have so many more opportunities.

Truthfully though, I don't mind if people don't get it. In fact, I am happy to be a part of something that shakes people up. I grew up around a lot of "religion" and it made me want nothing to do with it. I hated the hypocrisy, the self-righteousness and the lack of love that I saw. So I'm happy that we look different. Jesus was controversial-he upset the religious, and he loved the unlovable. He stood with those that no one else would and didn't care what people thought. And isn't that the true essence of rock 'n' roll? Basically, I am who I am and I don't care what you think about it. Music is powerful, and I feel so passionately about being a source of hope and light through art. You don't need to have the same beliefs as me to enjoy the power and strength that music can bring.

4. Was creating a solo project always something you had in mind? If not, what sparked the idea to move that direction?

About six years ago, I felt like I was supposed to start writing my own music. I saw how powerful it was. Traveling the world with Skillet, we were meeting people who told us how our music had empowered them to break free from things like drug addiction, hurtful relationships, etc. and in some cases, stopped them from committing suicide. At the same time, I was meeting a lot of young girls who told me they had started learning the drums because of me, or even started to color their hair because of me. I honestly felt really humbled at the influence my role in Skillet had given me. It gives you a platform into people's lives, and we forget that young people are looking up to people in media for influence. I started to feel a strong sense that I was supposed to be using my platform more vocally, and that I could use my influence to write my own music and speak more. With a world full of dysfunctional reality stars, and Disney stars gone wild being the loudest voices shaping our younger generation, why not use this opportunity and platform to be an example of something different? Something hopeful and empowering.

5. As you weighed out the decision to branch out on your own, what were the biggest positives and the biggest insecurities that went through your mind during the process?

I think the biggest issue that kills me is comparison. I am friends with and have toured with so many incredibly talented musicians - people that find performing easy and that make it all look so effortless - that being someone who struggles with stage fright and fear of performing can make me feel so defeated before I've even begun! Like when you look to the left and right and see so many people that find this easier than you, you can feel incapable and like there's no point in even trying. So the biggest thing I've had to overcome is myself and my own fears, insecurities and comparisons. What I've been finding super powerful and super exciting though, is meeting and connecting with so many others who feel the same way. And in some ways, I kind of love that I don't have it all together, and I don't find what I'm stepping into easy. Because I think that that's something that many people relate to. It's awesome to write music about overcoming yourself and stepping out into things that maybe stretch or scare you, because I think that's something everyone has experienced at some point.

6. How has the band supported your solo endeavor?

Incredibly. From day one they've been so supportive, even taking me under their wing to train and equip me for it. The Coopers are some of the most radical, kind, supportive, and generous people you're ever going to meet. They're as passionate and kind off stage as they are on stage. They see and believe in people, and spend their lives helping and giving to those around them. Like I've said already, I feel like I've been part of a dream team/apprenticeship just getting to live life with them, not only being trained by successful writers and musicians, but learning from such generous and serving people that affect and love those around them. It's much more than music, it's a lifestyle of radically loving and living for others. That's worth more to me than anything.

The Coopers not only wrote this project with me, but Korey produced the EP with Seth Mosley, and I'm super excited that my project gets to be her debut as a producer. Korey is honestly a genius, so to work with her felt like hitting the lottery. And on top of that, she has known me for so long and knows my heart and my musical influences and preferences, so when it all came together it felt more "me" than ever.

7. Who were your greatest influences-stylistically, sonically, lyrically-on this project? And for you as an artist, in general?

I would definitely say that former front woman of Flyleaf Lacey Sturm is my biggest musical influence, other than Korey Cooper (who goes without saying). Korey worked with me to train me on vocals, and often she would say "sing it how Lacey would sing it" to help me open up and reach notes I was struggling with. My British accent often made me close my throat and sing from all the wrong places. In addition, I remember the first time I heard "I'm So Sick" by Flyleaf at age 16, and I just thought it was so cool that I remember saying "I want to be her!". I just loved how she was different, passionate, emotive, and powerful. She had a way of writing lyrics that were deep but relatable, and even in darkness she would sing of hope.

8. Is there a running theme or are there running themes throughout your songs? Something specific you want to express to listeners? Who are you writing songs for specifically?

I couldn't help but write a lot of lyrics to do with stepping out and overcoming - overcoming fear, overcoming anxiety and overcoming myself. So often fear holds me back from living life to the fullest, and this EP is centered on fighting fear and not letting it rob me of my own life. I've been through some harder seasons, and even struggled with panic attacks at some points of my life, and these moments have left me defeated and made me want to give up. I remember working towards the side project and having one especially low season and thinking "If you're broken and if you struggle like this - what on earth are you thinking stepping out into a solo career?"

That's the beauty of life though. None of us are perfect and none of us have everything together. Fear wants to take you out and stop you from ever really living or having the courage to try. It tells you when you're at your lowest points that this is who you are and this is why you shouldn't get up and try again. It robs you of peace and courage. I hope that this EP can really empower people to overcome any fear or anxiety that's stopping them from wanting to try for things. For anyone who is facing a stretching or overwhelming season or feeling like there's something in their heart that they want to go for but wonder if it's too big or too scary it's an anthem, and a theme song that we will choose to live life courageously. We will step out. We will be brave. We will take hits, but we will get back up again. While there's breath in our lungs, our lives are worth fighting for wholeheartedly.

9. What will your live show look like? How do you expect that will stretch you as a performer?

I got to launch my project in April on the joy.UNLEASHED tour with for KING & COUNTRY and Skillet. It was not only when the EP was released but my first ever live performances fronting the band with LEDGER. All I can say is, it was a lot more stretching than I thought it would be!

I think that because I have toured with Skillet for so long now, I thought it wouldn't be too different stepping out from behind the drums and performing my own music. I was wrong. All of a sudden, standing before the audience without John Cooper in front of me (who is quite possibly one of the best front men in the world) made me feel incredibly self-aware! Like "what on earth do I do with my arms and legs" aware! Also, the fact that these songs were my own songs and my own moments, and that the highs and lows from my own journey were out there for people to hear created a whole new level of vulnerability. If people were to accept or reject this music it would feel more like they were accepting or rejecting me, if that makes any sense at all!

Luckily, I am able to have some of my closest friends in the band with me. Korey Cooper, my best friend, hero, producer, secret weapon, and role model to my right, my friend and pretty-much-brother Chris Marvin to my left, and last but not least, the awesome Jalon Richard killing it on the drums behind me. I loved being able to perform with people with the same heart, that I know and trust and who make me feel safe. It felt like we were really all in it together and after the first couple of shows I started to love performing out front and feeling the crowd connect with my songs. It's been so many years in the making that though it felt stretching, it felt special and surreal too.

10. What do you look forward to most over the next 12 months?

1. Continuing to tour with LEDGER and Skillet. It's only just begun and I've only had a taste of getting to pursue both outlets for music, but it was so thrilling. I feel so overwhelmingly grateful to be in a position where I can give myself to both projects and be so supported by my bandmates in both. I know there's not many bands in the world that would have such an awesome set up. Because I have signed to Atlantic records through John and Korey (and Zach Kelm's) label it's like we're all in this together as a team. That is priceless.
2. New full-length albums from Skillet and LEDGER. The new Skillet album is pretty much done, and we have so much killer material that I can't wait for it to be released. It's going to be epic! We're hoping the release the LEDGER full-length shortly after the new Skillet music comes out. I am so excited because we've had so many LEDGER songs sitting in our back pocket that it was really hard to pick just six for the EP. And so, getting to choose and write even more is such an exciting feeling. I just can't wait.
3. The "Not Dead Yet" music video. I just shot a music video with the talented director Roland Bingaman and we went all out! I don't want to give anything away, but it was exciting because I wrote my own treatment for the video and asked him to team up with me to make the vision a reality. The song is so personal to me, I wanted the video to feel as personal too. It's going to be really cool to see it finished.