{"id":2185602,"date":"2025-12-03T17:24:35","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T17:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2185602"},"modified":"2025-12-03T17:24:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T17:24:35","slug":"cold-leather-seats-set-for-new-music-speakez-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/cold-leather-seats-set-for-new-music-speakez-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Cold Leather Seats set for new music, SpeakEZ show"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Mid-Week Musical Magic: Cold Leather Seats brings its unique approach to SpeakEZ. (Courtesy Photo)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: Local Spins 2026 Calendars<\/a> will be available for in-person sales before tonight\u2019s show at SpeakEZ Lounge, 600 Monroe Ave. NW. Save on shipping for these calendars that make terrific Michigan-centric Christmas gifts. Scroll down for Cold Leather Seats music video.<\/em><\/p>\n

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West Michigan’s music scene<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When Local Spins last checked in with West Michigan\u2019s Cold Leather Seats<\/a>, the Americana-driven band was preparing for a robust summer and fall of concerts and touring. <\/p>\n

Now, with the band\u2019s final show of 2026 taking place at 7:30 tonight at SpeakEZ Lounge in Grand Rapids \u2014 part of the Local Spins Wednesday series \u2014 the group is getting ready to turn its attention to the recording studio and finally lay down tracks after writing \u201ca ton of music\u201d over the past few years. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent the entire year on the road. It was an incredible experience and we learned so much together. The last couple months have been spent regrouping,\u201d said guitarist and singer Alex Svoboda of Grand Haven.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a couple projects in the works, most notably our long-awaited debut EP. We are still working on a timeline for releasing in 2026 as we balance careers, families and busy lives. \u2026 Over the last few years, we really dedicated our time to playing shows and performing. That didn\u2019t leave a lot of time to get into the studio to record, however. Over the next year, our goal is to spend a lot of time in the studio and getting our music \u2014 that we have been performing extensively \u2014 out into the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fans can expect to hear some of that new music during the SpeakEZ show, part of the \u201cgospel-Americana\u201d repertoire that defines the group that combines \u201cAmericana, country, folk and rock \u2026 through the lens of Christian storytelling,\u201d according to Svoboda.<\/p>\n

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\u2018Perfect Scenario\u2019: Recording new music, playing more shows. (Photo\/Local Spins)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThis is something we have worked hard to flesh out over the last few years and it has been where we now feel most at home, musically. Our music relies heavily on acoustic rhythm, three-part harmonies and strong fiddle melodies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band \u2013 which has released several singles since 2020 and hopes to release an EP and full-length album over the next year or so \u2013 kicks off this holiday weekend\u2019s Buses by the Beach Bus Benefit festival<\/a> in Trufant at 7 p.m. Friday (May 23) with a jam-packed summer performance schedule beyond that.<\/p>\n

The band \u2013 which began when Svoboda wrote a song with a Northern Michigan University classmate and eventually released, \u201cRoots,\u201d via White Elephant Records \u2013 has performed as a duo, a trio and eventually solidified as a five-piece, expanding to a seven-piece ensemble for some shows. (Scroll down to watch the music video for \u201cRoots.\u201d)<\/p>\n

The group features Svoboda, bassist Isaac Frisbie, singer Elizabeth Patterson and drummer Drew Poehl, with John Robey on fiddle for the Local Spins Wednesdays show.<\/p>\n

WHY \u2018COLD LEATHER SEATS\u2019?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Svoboda noted that he \u201cgrew up in church as did all of my other bandmates really\u201d and first started singing with Patterson at Ferris State University where they performed in a church choir together. Consequently, band members \u201cfeel at home\u201d with their gospel-hued Americana music that also draws inspiration from the likes of John Prine and The Head & The Heart. <\/p>\n

As for the band name, Svoboda provides this explanatory anecdote.<\/p>\n

When I first got to college at Northern Michigan University, only one of our small group of friends had a car. It had cheap, beat-up leather seats,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst the AC went out, followed by the heater during that first long, cold, snowy winter. There became a running debate of which was worse \u2014 hot leather seats or cold leather seats. Someone remarked that Cold Leather Seats would be a great band name. Four years later, we started a band and needed a name (and) somehow we remembered that old car, and the name stuck.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Heading into the studio in 2026: Cold Leather Seats (Courtesy Photo)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

With \u201cpersonal journey\u201d songs such as \u201cTraveler,\u201d the band has connected with its audiences. \u201cWe have so many people come up and tell us how it\u2019s communicated to them in some way, how it\u2019s touched them, how it\u2019s resonated,\u201d Svoboda said.
\u201cIt was unexpected. \u2026 It really has touched some folks and it\u2019s really awesome to hear that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Audiences can expect more of that in coming months and years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a perfect scenario, we will be able to record and release both an EP and an album in the coming one to two years,\u201d Svoboda said. \u201cWe also would love to continue performing and are always eager to get on stage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

VIDEO: Cold Leather Seats, \u201cHey Pretty Mama\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n