First Spin

Leisure Hour’s Raegan Gordon on DIY roots, safe spaces, and shooting your shot

• First Spin • Season 1 • Episode 9

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This week I sat down with Raegan Gordon—drummer, vocalist, and songwriter for Leisure Hour, a band that grew out of Muncie’s DIY basements and is now grinding through a coast-to-coast run.

We talked about growing up in a 50k college town, how that community shaped their ear, and what it took to turn a one-night fill-in into a permanent spot and a voice on “Ode to Muncie.” Raegan walked me through the Richmond breakdown that ate a week, the night they refused to play when a venue wouldn’t protect fans, and the small habits—journaling, space, honesty—that make 27 shows in 30 days possible.

Leisure Hour’s headed out with Arcadia Grey toward Fest. If you haven’t pressed play yet, start here.

This episode is about more than music—it’s about claiming where you’re from, protecting your people, and betting on yourself.

—Hayden

Songs (in order): “Validation,” “Ode to Muncie,” “If I Could Kill You I Would,” “Jenny” — all by Leisure Hour.
Reagan’s recs: Cinema Stair, Moose Creek Park, Pretty Bitter, Clipboards, Summerbrews, Later Gator, Juice Falls, Final Boss Fight, No Problemo.
Tour note: Leisure Hour is out with Arcadia Grey Aug 28–Sep 28. I’m planning on Long Beach, Sep 3—say hi if you’re there.

—Hayden

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Thanks for listening—see you next week.


Hayden (00:01)
Hello and welcome to First Spin, a podcast for people who are tired of explaining why their Spotify rap is just steely Dan and whale sounds. Each week I'm going to introduce you to an artist who isn't yet getting the recognition that I think they deserve. Now there are only two rules. Number one, I dig it. And number two, the artist has less than a hundred thousand monthly listeners on Spotify. Now the goal here at First Spin is to help the artists we like continue to grow their fan bases. And honestly, just by being here, you're helping to make that happen. So thanks for joining.

you

Hey, hi, hello, and welcome to another episode of the First Spin Podcast. I'm your host Hayden, and I hope you've got your athleisure on for this one because my guest today is Reagan, drummer and vocalist and songwriter from the band Leisure Hour. Reagan is quite possibly the single coolest person I have ever met in my entire life. We talked about dealing with bad days on the road.

what it's like being a non-binary person of color in a cis white male dominated environment, and shooting your shot with one of your heroes and it paying off. Here's a snippet of the song validation, and then we'll get into my conversation with Reagan of Leisure Out.

Raegan (01:21)
I'm analyzing every single conversation ⁓

Hayden (02:38)
Hey, Reagan, how's it going? Thanks so much for joining us today on First Spin.

Raegan (02:43)
Yeah, thank you so much for having me. Thank you.

Hayden (02:45)
So I stumbled across Leisure Hour probably, I don't know, maybe six months ago or so. When did you guys put out Ode to Muncie?

Raegan (02:57)
We put out Demonsi in February.

Hayden (02:59)
Okay, so because that was the first one I heard and I was I was I was all in already at that point How did it come together? I know you guys been you've been making music since you were 16. How did but how did the band all come together?

Raegan (03:11)
Yeah, so the band started with Isaiah and Grace. They were in the band for a year before I had ended up joining the band. And it was like right after COVID, so a post-COVID band. And they were kind of gigging around and I was in other projects. And so we actually like played in our early stages. We played shows together in separate, like I played shows with Leisure Hour without me being in Leisure Hour.

And then the opportunity ended up coming about itself. They had needed a fill-in drummer for their first out of town gig. And I was like, I'd already texted Isaiah because we had become friends throughout the whole process of being in same music scene. And I told him, I was like, hey, if you ever need a fill-in drummer, because I always loved their music. I always saw, was like, wow, this is great. Like, I would love to be in this van. And so we played that show together and it was like magic. Like, it's just like.

that feeling when you just like finally complete a task or like you aced the test that you just want like you just winged it and you don't know what you're expecting. And so it was just kind of like, my God, this was electric. I had never felt that way with playing with a group of people. And then two weeks later, yeah, they were at my door. They texted me, it was like, you want to hang out? And they were like, yes, so you want to be in the band and the rest has been history.

Hayden (04:35)
That's amazing. That's amazing. So this was, this was what, like you said, like three-ish years ago at this

Raegan (04:41)
Yes, about three to four years ago, like 2021. Yep, yep, 2021, because it was my senior year of college. So 2021 going into 2022. And then once I had graduated college, that was when we kind of hit the ball running really hard.

Hayden (04:57)
Yeah, I Pound on the Pavement, lots of shows. I feel like y'all are playing a lot of shows, which is awesome. You've got a massive tour coming up. You're coming out here, you're coming to California, which I'm stoked about. You're playing Long Beach and Pomona, so I'm gonna try to hit at least one of those shows with a band called Arcadia Gray. How do you know Arcadia Gray? How did that come together?

Raegan (05:18)
Yeah, I've actually, my personal story with Arcadia Grey, I've been following their band around since I was younger, before I was even in the emo scene. And then without me being in Leisure Hour, Arcadia Grey actually played the first ever Leisure Hour show in Indiana. So it's just been kind of a full 360 kind of moment for us, because it's like, I have my own personal thing with them. They also played the first show ever that this band ever played.

We were able to tour together down to Fest in Florida. then we ended up being able, we loved it so much, we ended up being able to do this tour again. We were like, let's try to tour together. Let's try to make it happen again. And so it's been a beautiful like 360 kind of moment for us to be able to do it.

Hayden (06:07)
That's great. And y'all are doing y'all are doing fest again.

Raegan (06:11)
Yes, we're doing best again. And we are going to be announcing that tour somewhere along the lines of that upcoming tour.

Hayden (06:23)
So you're gonna play like shows on the way too fast? that what you mean? Yeah,

Raegan (06:26)
Yes.

We're going to be playing some shows that isn't announced yet, but we'll end up announcing that during this next iteration of this upcoming tour with our Katie O'Gray.

Hayden (06:39)
Tell me about growing up in Muncie, Indiana and like, why does everybody know Muncie? Like, why, like, is it just cause it's like a fun word to say or I feel like everybody knows, but it's not that big of a town, right?

Raegan (06:50)
No, it's not. It's like 50,000 people, give or take. It's a college town. If you're familiar with like Ball Mason jars, like Ball Brothers, that is like where that started at. Garfield Davis, the creator of Garfield is from here. So I claim Garfield. I know a lot of people from Muncie claim Garfield. Yes, Bob Ross shot a show here.

Hayden (07:13)
kidding how cool

Raegan (07:16)
And then David Letterman went to Ball State University, which is where the band ended up. We all met at Ball State in college. but yeah, growing up in Muncie, I mean, it's a small town in Indiana, lot different than most places. I mean, you kind of, everybody kind of knows everybody. ⁓ and you're in those communities and it kind of like, you're just, there's like little kinds of communities within Muncie that are really special. ⁓

especially growing up in like a predominantly, for me, I grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood. So, you know, those communities and those community ties were really special growing up. there, I love that there is still diversity here, even though, you know, you wouldn't really think that with Indiana in general, I wouldn't say in general it is, but I still feel pretty fortunate enough to.

have been able to like grow up in kind of a diverse environment, at least within my own community and you know, who I was able to surround myself with. And I think it helped better prepare me for college and growing up as an adult and even now as a touring musician, because I've just kind of been able to meet a lot more people. Whereas like Grace and Isaiah, they came from a much smaller town called Hagerstown. It's like Amish, Amish country. Yeah, so they have a

a really different vibe. So I'm more of the like quote unquote city kid and they're more of the country kids for sure. Definitely. I didn't live near no farms or anything like that.

Hayden (08:48)
Cause I mean, that's, yeah, that's what you think. You know, when you think Indiana, you think, you know, the Midwest, think, you think farms and crops and all that kind of stuff. How did, how did growing up there influence the music? know, cause like, you know, Midwest emo is such like a, such a sound and such like a special place. there, was there always a community around this as you were growing up? Or is this something that you've only found within the last few years?

Raegan (09:13)
Yeah, I mean, it's only really been a thing I found since high school. And it was just because a friend of mine that also played drums who was going into college has started like throwing DIY shows in our community. And so that was how I even kind of heard of emo music. And then that kind of branched out and I started following bands from Indy and just kind of even bigger cities in Indiana. So that is kind of what introduced me.

to as far as like DIY culture and Midwest emo music in any adjacent genres. Before that though, I definitely got a lot of my stuff from Guitar Hero. Honestly, I played a lot of Guitar Hero growing up. And I love Travis Barker. Who didn't? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I love Travis Barker. So a lot of that stuff really came, that was kind of what I had known as far as the closer genres to Midwest emo is more.

It was more rock adjacent, but it kind of got me into that kind of music, which then progressed on to wanting to find those DIY communities. And again, if it wasn't for my friend just being like, hey, I saw this cool thing and people were throwing shows in their basement and I rent a basement, I have a house with a basement in it. So if it wasn't for him starting to do that, I would have never even gotten into that kind of culture.

I wouldn't have been invested in that culture and I've, you know, since then I've had my own house venues and have done stuff in my community, just kind of carrying the torch a little bit. kind of took that on. So it's been really fun and awesome.

Hayden (10:48)
That's so cool. So I've watched the videos of some of these basement shows that you all post on social media and like, they look like so much fun. mean, like everybody's jumping around and like screaming along to the songs and it just looks like such a blast.

Raegan (11:04)
It is a blast. It is like so cool too, because I just remember like doing a lot of shows and a lot of touring and really committing to the band and really committing to the vision and goal that we had with the message we wanted to send with our music and who we are as people and kind of how we wanted that to be portrayed. And I remember just like doing it and just throwing, felt like you're just throwing paint at the wall. You're just running, you're just running, you know, running as fast as you can and hoping that you're going to make it to the end.

site and you can't even see it. And it's been so cool. ⁓ Now, you know, having, you know, feeling like we're in an era where we're making the best music possible and we're really making music that is more authentic to us as people and where we are versus where we were. It's been really cool to see so many people connect to that because I feel like that was always a thing that I, I even personally struggle with like, Tamanci is the first song I wrote for the band. And it was

very scary for me to be like, hey, I want to start writing songs and singing and doing this kind of thing. And so ⁓ I took a leap of faith, but we've always been a band that kind of thrives on that kind of, like, just kind of believing in yourself and taking those risks, going for it and, you know, embracing everything as it is and knowing that at the end day, it all ended up working out for you. And it's been cool to see people again, be able to connect.

with that where I feel like we're presenting our most and truest authentic selves in our music that more than we ever have, I think so.

Hayden (12:40)
And so I take it the rest of the band when you said, guys, I wrote a song, what do you think about me singing this? Everybody, they were open to it, they were down, they were like, cool, great, let's hear it.

Raegan (12:52)
Yeah, yeah, it was like, have this song, I kind of want to start writing songs. I've always been passionate about writing songs and Logan, our lead guitarist, had recently taught me how to play guitar in a sense of like, taught me how to play guitar well enough to where I felt like I could write a whole song and bring it to the band. Right. And I just worked my little butt off and I just practiced and I finally, I wrote that main, I like came up with that lead line.

I was like, man, this is cool. And Logan and I were living together at the time. And I was like, dude, look at this. I was like, and he's like, you should take it to the band. And I'm like, yeah, I should. So once I took it, it was pretty much an easy like, yeah, this is awesome. I really liked this song. And I'm really happy with how it turned out. I mean, it is about what we've been talking about, just me growing up in Muncie and freaking like trying to make the best out of coming out of a small town in Indiana.

just being, not really liking it necessarily, but you end up loving it because of the people and the things that it's giving you throughout the time that you're there.

Hayden (13:59)
I think we all have complicated relationships with our hometown, right? I think that's such a universal experience that, you know, I grew up in ⁓ a suburban town, you know, in Southern California with about a hundred thousand people in it. And man, when I was in like high school and left for college, like I hated it. I absolutely fucking hated that place. And now that I've gotten a little bit older and like my parents still live there and I go back, you know, semi-frequently, I appreciate.

I appreciate it for what it is. And I think, you know, a lot of people.

Raegan (14:32)
Yeah, there's a lot of beauty in that, in the nostalgic feeling and there's a lot of beauty, like, and that's kind of where it was coming from. I ended up using, in the intro, those of you who see me, Stephen King, I ended up using a sound bite from Stand By Me. It's one of my favorite films. Yeah, yeah. And at the end, it's the part after they've discovered the body, they're back home, it's Gordo.

Hayden (14:51)
That's a great movie.

Raegan (15:00)
and Chris and they're sitting there and he's like, we're never gonna make it out of this town, am I, Gordy? He's like, you can be anything you, and that's just like how I feel. And it's been cool to be in this band and like feel that, because it's like, nobody really, it makes me feel, especially being like a Muncie native, it makes me feel proud to like, I do carry some of that dignity of like putting my city's name on and like representing where I'm from and like having pride in that.

There is a sense of being prideful about where I've come from because I wouldn't be where I, even if I hate it, I wouldn't be who I am or where I am without it. So there's that sense of pride of like, we could just be like, we're an Indiana emo band or we're an Indianapolis emo band. Like we could just do that. But I love that we just stuck to our roots and just been like, no, we're from this small town that is known for Garfield and glass jars.

We're going to.

Hayden (15:59)
David Letterman and and now Leisure Hour like that's it. It's glass jars Letterman and Leisure Hour. That's what Muncie Indiana is all about. Yeah ⁓ Here's ode to Muncie by Leisure Hour

Spiga, where did the name come from? ⁓ How did you all come up with Leisure Hour?

Raegan (17:03)
So Grace actually came up with it. I'm pretty sure it was from a derivative of athleisure. And so it was like leisure hour. That was a story that was told to me. So if I'm spreading fake news, I'm, y'all had to take that up with Grace.

Hayden (17:19)
I

feel like a lot of bands like, you know, have no idea really where their band names are. Years afterwards, it's just like, I don't know, it's just what we started calling it.

Raegan (17:28)
Yeah, I'm like, hey, it sounds cool. It passed the sounds cool test in my head.

Hayden (17:33)
So the most recent song you released is called If I Could Kill You I Would, which is so dark but so like fun at the same time, like it's crazy. I feel like you guys should option it for like a true crime documentary or something. Like I could see it playing at the beginning of a true crime documentary on Netflix. How did that song come together?

Raegan (17:53)
Yeah. So that was, that was a song that Isaiah had worked on. I remember he had like posted kind of a snippet on it while we were just on our breaks, just home from tour and in between recordings. He had posted a snippet of it on TikTok. And I was like, oh man, that is, that is crazy. I thought I was like, oh, this is an insane song. Like, are you okay? Is everything fine? But I think that's what's awesome about it is that like,

I think there's some beauty in being able to write songs that are just real. think people are really looking for authentic songs and sometimes people just feel like, if I could kill you, I would, I'm not going to actually do it. But you know, it's a real emotion that I think a lot of people can relate to, which is why the song is, I think, doing as well as it has been. It's just because like, it's an emotion that a lot of people can relate to and it doesn't really matter.

who you are or where you come from. Like everybody's been mad at something or someone that much that they have felt that way, whether or not they want to admit it.

Hayden (18:58)
Right, no I think that's absolutely true. The key is to write songs about it or like you mentioned Stephen King, write books about it and not actually do it. Here's If I Could Kill You.

Raegan (19:07)
you

Hayden (19:10)
by Leisure Hour. ⁓

do it out of spite on your birthday engine I do it in the night, hear nobody say God to save me, God to save me I know it isn't right, but it's what I wanna do I put you out of sight, put you out of mind too I do it in the night, hear nobody say God to save me, God to save me If I could tell you

So you've got this, like we were talking about earlier, you've got this big tour coming up with Arcadia Grey that starts August 28th in Tulsa, Oklahoma and runs through September 28th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I was looking at those dates, there's like 27 shows and 30 days or something. Like there's no days off.

Raegan (20:32)
Yeah,

barely any days off, but that's kind of how we like to go. Because days off just means like, I personally don't like them because I just like to play as many shows as we possibly can. I like playing shows. It's like my favorite. It's one of my favorite parts of the whole thing. And if we can play as many shows as we can, especially just, you want to make the most of your time while you're out. And so it's like if we're going to be taking time away from our families and.

and anything like that, we really want to make the most out of it. And also every day we're just meeting more and more amazing people through the internet and just through the power of social media. And so it's like, we want to be able to hit as many places and make sure we can actually form those real life connections and friendships. Because I think that's what actually builds a strong community of people who like the same music and genres and all kinds of stuff.

Hayden (21:24)
Do have

to do any physical or mental prep for that? Being on the road, playing a show, just day after day after day for an entire month? It sounds exhausting. It sounds like lot of fun, but it also sounds completely exhausting.

Raegan (21:39)
Definitely, I mean, one thing that I've been doing that helps me is I do a lot of journaling on tour. So I do a lot of journaling and just really just like taking time to yourself when you can, just like cleaning up your mental, making sure that's, and just allowing yourself to have a bad day. Like if you're gonna have a bad day, you're not gonna go on months straight and be happy. It's just bound to happen. You're gonna get mad at your bandmates, your crew, whoever. And it's just gonna be what it is. But as long as you

Buckle up and just be like, all right, that was a bad day. I can feel that. I can feel those emotions and get on with it. You know, it makes everything better. Yeah, because the best day chasing your dreams is better than the worst day. You know, the best day not. So.

Hayden (22:21)
Yeah, no, I got you. Exactly. It's like that bumper sticker, like the worst day of fishing is better than the best day at work or something. I see that bumper sticker all the time. So, but we were talking about kind of being on the road and having bad days. I saw the van broke down like earlier this month. Talk about a real fucking bad day.

Raegan (22:30)
Yeah!

Yeah, talk about the shittiest day of your life. Yeah, it was real shitty. ⁓ It was so crazy because that has happened to us like four times. We own that van. So, you know, we've put the miles in it. Obviously, everybody knows we're always on the road. So we went into it knowing that was going to be a huge responsibility. And also we were like, this is inevitably going to break down when, where.

Hopefully it's not gonna be anything too crazy.

Hayden (23:11)
Hopefully

somewhere close to, you know, civilization.

Raegan (23:15)
Yes, exactly. And so it was so funny because the first couple of times it happened, we were close enough to be able, it was still a bad situation because nobody wants to have to deal with that and it's expensive. And so, I mean, it was still rough, but we were able to figure something out. This time we had to leave it in Virginia, drive, have a friend come out with a trailer and Isaiah's parents' car and then drive us back to Indiana. Then Isaiah and Grace.

drove back to Richmond, grabbed the van, and then we continued the rest of the tour. So it was...

Hayden (23:51)
How long of a time span, because I know you had to cancel a couple shows, but like how long of a time span was that, that all that transpired?

Raegan (23:59)
It was like a week and Isaiah and I were, I mean, the next day we were up at 630 in the morning, calling mechanics, calling everybody just like, what are we going to do? You know, can you fix? Because it's what a lot of people don't realize is we have a 15 passenger van. So a lot of mechanics just simply can't work on vehicles that size. So we are also battling the availability of mechanics in a place that we don't even know really. And we're having to find.

You know, we know our mechanic back at home, shout out Knuckle Busters, who...

Hayden (24:33)
Knuckle

Busters, that's a great name for a mechanic shop, Knuckle Busters, I love it.

Raegan (24:37)
Yeah, shout out Knuckle Busters that they hook us up back at home, but it's like we don't have Knuckle Busters in Richmond, Virginia. So we got to find our Knuckle Busters anywhere we go because it's just the name of the game. And that's what I love about this band. It's like any hardships or any setbacks that we have had, we've just really taken it with our heads held high and just always having faith that as long as we have each other, all and we have our community, we'll always get through any situation.

Hayden (25:07)
Yeah, well, that's great. That's great. But yeah, was just thinking about that when you said, you know, sometimes you have bad days on the road. was like, it's hard to imagine a worse day than the van breaking down and having to cancel a couple of shows. was another thing I saw where I thought this was so, so bad ass. so like, truly like punk rock, when there was a venue that you were alerted that there was somebody in the venue that was harassing people or a woman in particular.

and you wanted him gone and the venue didn't kick it out so you said fuck you we're not playing? that mostly right?

Raegan (25:38)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you pretty much have that mostly right. It was a really, mean, I think it's super important for, especially for a band like we have in our touring party and our crew and our little like even intermediate family behind the scenes who are really helping us ⁓ get and chase our dreams. It's full of diversity and it's super important I think for.

bands to really not only speak about things when they have the platforms, but actually put action behind those things. And we want to be a band that is about action. And that's why that doing that was a very powerful thing for us too. And a validating thing for us as well, because we wanted to send that message out very clear to any venue and any bands and any people that like, that's just nothing we're ever going to play with. ⁓ I think it's important and it makes

you know, the bigger our family grows. I think it's super important for us to continue to be an actions-based band when it comes down to that. Also to speak about it, speak about it too, but at the end of the day, what are, I don't want just to be another voice in the, in the wind. I want to be a band that people know that is not going to slide and they do not stand for that kind of behavior because there's action put behind it.

And I'm not sitting behind the screen just saying that, you know, we're not sitting there just saying we would do it. We actually do it. I we actually want to make sure that the people who come to our shows and who want to come out and see live music are safe and they have every right to feel safe in those spaces. And if venues and if people or bands can't, if they can't give us the confidence for us to give everybody the confidence that this is the same space.

then we just can't play there and that's not worth the risking the safety of people there.

Hayden (27:28)
Right, well kudos. I I just, think that's so great. I saw that and I was like, hell yeah. That's that's so great. And I feel like more bands are starting to do that. More artists are starting to do that.

Raegan (27:39)
think people are really starting to, yeah, think people are really starting to like, it's kind of like, fuck all the talking, like what you really about. Like I think people are really starting get on that.

Hayden (27:49)
Yeah, put

your money where your mouth is.

Raegan (27:52)
It's like, ain't no talking about that. Like the talk was over, the talk time is over. Like what are you actually going to do? And so, and I love that kind of energy because I think that is really what cultivates change is the people who are willing to really get up on the defense line and be like, absolutely the fuck not.

Hayden (28:11)
And that's one of the things that I think a lot of people don't, who are not part of the punk community or haven't spent a whole lot of time with real punk artists, don't appreciate that the number above everything else, punk rock is about being against fascism and Nazism and racism and transphobia and hobophobia. it is a place for all.

people to come and celebrate music and each other and life and sometimes sometimes the songs can be a little aggressive sometimes we talk about people we want to fucking kill but you know

Raegan (28:46)
Exactly. Yeah, I was just like kind of just thinking about that too, just talking about the experience because like I'm always at least on my personal pages too sometimes, you know, I'm always talking about the experience I have as a person of color, non-binary, you know, member who is trying to be a part of a steam where that representation is not really, it's not really represented, you know, I that's word.

And it's hard for me and it's hard for Grace. It's hard for any person in our party who is not a cis white man. ⁓ And I think what a lot of people also don't get is like, yeah, and this is kind of going back to the wear and tear of tour and also this kind of situation that we just had to deal with. But a lot of people don't even understand the outer contributing factors of that. Like they don't get that I'll have to go into these uncomfortable situations and

you know, see signs on bathrooms that are like real women only and we have multiple people in our touring. You know, or, or dealing with racism, getting, I literally on this last tour with Cinema Stair got called the N word for no reason in front of everybody. so it's just like, yeah. And it's like, you just have to, but it's like, you're just expected when you're on, when you're a touring musician. It's just like, I had to go, I had, that was also a terrible day because the van broke down and it was just,

Hayden (30:12)
same day the van broke down?

Raegan (30:14)
That was a rough day. Yeah, that was a terrible day. it's like, but under any other given circumstance, let's say the band didn't break down, we still would have had our band. I would have just had to wake up the next day, take it to the chin and go play a show and continue to perform with that. Even though I dealt with something very traumatic in a place that I'm not familiar with, I'm scared, I'm away from my family and I'm away from my friends back at home too.

And it's like, you just have to deal with that stuff. And a of people don't really understand that there's so many other things that we have to, the wear and tear of the road itself and the factors of society and how that actually impacts you, where you go. There are places where it's just like in and out, like I'm in and out. Don't talk to nobody, head down, use the bathroom, come out, go back in the van, lock the door. And it's just like, cause I don't feel safe. that's just, that is just like the natural progression of, of what

It is like when you aren't a man touring, honestly. And it's really kind of, it's scary, but it also, and that's why it's so important for us to keep those, like you were saying, to keep those spaces safe, our community, our DIY spaces, because when we get out of those spaces, especially on tour, a lot of those places we're at aren't safe. And that isn't even to do with anything about the community, it's just the world and everything that we live in right now.

You know, it's not even safe for us to be out there. So sometimes being at that venue, at that show, even from a band's perspective is the safest space for us. So when people come in and infiltrate that like that and aren't trying to respect that, that really is like, it's really disrespectful and honestly just kind of disgusting to me, which is why we really had to stand on that because those places on tour are safe spots besides with each other, you know.

And that is sad when people just try to destroy that, not only for you, but for the people who come to support those seeds and be a part of that community.

Hayden (32:12)
I really appreciate you sharing all that. I'm so sorry that those things happened to you on tour and I think it's anywhere, but I think it's, you know, there's something so powerful, I think, about being present in those spaces and being, you know, performing those shows as, like you said, as a person of color, as a non-binary person.

If somebody in the audience, maybe they're there to see another band or maybe they're tagging along with a friend and they walk in and they see you and they can talk to you and stuff like that's just gotta be such a, such a beautiful, wonderful thing for them to be able to experience and, to be able to feel accepted in, ⁓ in the community. So I think, I think that's, I think that's wonderful that, that you're out there and that you're doing it. I'm terribly sorry that that, that shit is happening.

Raegan (32:57)
Yeah, yeah, mean the world fucking is crazy right now, but

Hayden (33:02)
Is it? Yeah. Crazy is an understatement.

Raegan (33:05)
Yeah, it's a shit storm. It's a shit storm. But I think, I think too, it's like, that's why I love, you know, any chance we get to talk and any chance I do get to speak about that. do want to use my voice to speak on those experiences because I think there's a lot of pressure and I never want people to, the wrong idea. like, regardless, you know, I really do feel like if you're doing things with your heart and...

with the best intentions. Like you really don't have to prove anything to anybody but yourself. But also it's just like, it is hard out here. You know, it is, it does look fun and it is so much fun as the most fulfilling thing. I think I could speak for everybody. The most fulfilling thing we've all ever done and been a part of, but they're definitely as hard factors. And that's why it's just important to keep advocating in your local governments and your state and regional, because what is happening in the world is affecting

all aspects of all different industries, including this one that we love and it affects musicians daily. And I'm sure I, and I know I'm not the only one who deals with that. Just even talking to my other friends in tour, like I know there's just similar situations and it's like, you know, yes, like that happened to me. got called that, but not only that, my bandmates have to deal with the trauma of having, hearing somebody call me that. like, you know, there's so, the trauma just kind of.

trickled down into multiple avenues. So that's why it's just super important to like stay informed. And I just try to tell people that stay informed about what's going on and be involved in your stuff because it is affecting other things even when you don't think it is. And even when you don't sit there and think about it, cause it's like people feel bold now to do stuff like that. And why do they feel bold to do and say stuff like that? We'll look at what's happening in our, in our world, you know.

Exactly. Because that wasn't happening two years ago when we were touring.

Hayden (34:58)
Yeah, no, I'm sure there's been a market change. mean, I think, you know, from 2016 to 2020, people, you know, like that would, we're starting to poke their heads out of the holes that they've been living in and, you know, then they had to go back down under for the next four years. And now they're popping out with even more vengeance. And, you know, I think we've got to figure out how to get these people back into their fucking hole. Just go back into your fucking hole.

Raegan (35:18)
they're in holes, yeah.

Hey, we dropped a new song they can listen to.

Hayden (35:27)
I love it. I love it. There's another band that I feel like doesn't put up with anybody's bullshit either that I know you've toured with in the past and the Cliff Diver, who I was lucky enough to see. I had never heard of Cliff Diver. I went with a friend to see Sincere Engineer probably, I don't know, a year, year and a half ago. And Cliff Diver was the opener and whoa. was going to wear my Cliff Diver shirt today for this interview, but I couldn't find it.

What was that like? That's so cool.

Raegan (35:55)
That was the best and greatest experience we've ever had as a band. It was so cool because I've always just, that's a perfect segue. Just being a person of color and Brie being in that band, who is now one of my best friends. I love you, Brie, whenever you see this. She was always someone I looked up to in the scene as like...

a role model for me, just seeing a woman of color really go out there, play alternative music, kill it, and just 100 % unapologetically be themselves. And I remember months before we had even poured with them, I had just reached out and I, cause I think I saw her hop on stage and do a feature with either a soup. I think it was bowling for soup. I was just like, yeah. And I was like, that is so cool. Not only that they gave a black woman that platform,

but you also sounded amazing and like, I just look up to you so much. And that was kind of the end of that conversation. Then fast forward, I'm at home and I, and sitting there drinking some beer, I'm drinking some Bushlight and I went Logan and I'm like, man, I really just want to tweet like, I think a tour with us and Cliff Diver would be crazy because I was like, I feel like I should shoot my shot. And I guess I was like, I think.

it would be awesome. And he's like, go for it. And I'm like, all right, bro. I'm like, I'm doing it. I had a couple beers, got confident. Then they responded back and was like, shoot us a DM. then I'm like, at this point, I'm like, okay, I didn't think it was gonna get this far. So what do I need?

Hayden (37:36)
Time to sober up and draft this mess.

Raegan (37:38)
I

was like, time to sober the hell up and draft this message. I immediately was like, yeah, you know, and we started talking and it kind of went from there. But it was just so funny having that kind of manifest from being, and Bree is still like, that is my big sister. Like that is my best friend. I go to them and I go to all of them, me and her in particular. Like I go to her for so much advice and she just, it was so amazing to watch a band that size take.

a band where we were at the time that we went on tour, that was truly a life-changing moment. And having Jennie drop also around the same time and people really connecting with that song, those two things felt like super divine energy for us, honestly. It felt like one of those moments that we'll really look back and be like, that was a big part of elevating our community and our...

Baddie family.

Hayden (38:37)
Yeah, that what I mean, talk about Kismet having those two things happen simultaneously. wife can attest to the fact that like almost every day I'm walking around just going Jenny crash your car and it's on purpose. like over and over and over. It's so so for those people listening that haven't listened to Jenny by Leisure Hour yet, put it on. But fair warning, you're going to be singing it the rest of the day and probably the rest of the week too.

Raegan (39:03)
Yeah, it gets like, oh man, it gets stuck in my head all the time. And I'm like, I'm home from tour and my partner's stunned. They love that song too. And I'm like, I get home from tour. like, I just need, I just need time. I just need to chill. And they're like, Jenny crashed around. I'm like, oh, I can't ever escape it. I can't ever escape it. they're like, getting dressed in their room and I'm here and they're like, not done begging yet. And I'm like, oh man, I can't. it's just, I'm like, y'all singing the whole.

You're taking the whole set list, and then...

Hayden (39:35)
mean, it's great to have a supportive partner. That's gonna be huge.

Raegan (39:38)
Yeah,

yeah, it's absolutely amazing.

Hayden (39:43)
Here's Jenny by Leisure Hour. ⁓

You're 16 and Indiana is it your scene? But Janney, ⁓ my god, I've had enough.

Well, Reagan, thank you so much again for doing this. The last segment is called Final Spin, and I just have some rapid fire questions I'm gonna throw at you. First thing that comes to your mind, answer. So the first question is, if you could open for any artist living or dead in history, who would it be?

Raegan (41:00)
Living or dead. Okay, this is like, this is gonna be a personal, non-emo related answer, but honestly, the Temptations. Yeah, if I could meet like the class, if I could meet them and open up for them, yeah, I totally wanna do that.

Hayden (41:12)
Hell yeah.

I love that. They're making a biopic about leisure hour. Who's playing you?

Raegan (41:26)
⁓

She's been in All American. It was a TV show called All American. But her name was Coop and I really wish I knew what her name was. Like her actor name, or actress name.

Hayden (41:38)
Coop in, what's name of the show? All American, Tamiya Coop Cooper.

Raegan (41:41)
American.

Yeah, okay, well, yeah.

Hayden (41:46)
Bre- Bre- Bre- Bre- Breezy, sorry that was the character's name. Breezy is her name. cool.

Raegan (41:52)
I Breezy's vibe. think she can kill that for sure.

Hayden (41:56)
Who's an artist or band that you love that people would be surprised by?

Raegan (41:59)
I'm really into 70s music, so anything like Boosty Collins, I like jazz, I like snarky puppy, I'm really into, I like girly pop, I have a really extensive music taste. ⁓ But yeah, I'd probably say my older, oldies kinds of stuff would probably be shocking to most people, because I've only played in like...

pop punk emo metal bands, hardcore bands. some people will be like, you like Slide Thone? I'll like, what? Yeah. So it's like, yeah, that would be crazy. But yeah, that would be.

Just recently, know, it's sad.

Hayden (42:39)
There's a new documentary out about him. haven't seen it yet, but I've heard it's good.

Raegan (42:44)
Yeah, and one of the, I heard that it was really good. I'm also one of the members of the Whispers, which is one of my favorite groups. I passed away too, so I was like, dang, just losing the goat. Losing the greats, but I love that psychedelic soul funk. My NN Jazz, Miles David, like Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole. I love all that kind of stuff.

Hayden (43:05)
The classics, great stuff. My final question is who is an artist with less than 100,000 monthly listeners on Spotify that you think people should be listening to right now?

Raegan (43:16)
⁓

Right now, I have a couple.

Hayden (43:19)
Yeah, give as many as you have.

Raegan (43:21)
Okay.

Okay. Yes. This is my favorite. Listen to Cinema Stair. We were just on tour with them. They're a pop punk band out of Connecticut. They're going to be dropping some awesome music this year. We've been able to hear some of the songs on tour. They're awesome. I love them so much. Moose Creek Park, Long Island, Long Island Emo, Pretty Bitter. They're from DC, DC Emo.

All these are emo bands. Clipboards, I'm trying to think. Summerbrews, our Indiana homies. Summerbrews, Later Gator, Juice Falls, we love y'all. Michigan homies, we've got, yeah, I Clipboards, Final Boss Fight, No Problemo. So many Michigan bands. I'm forgetting a lot of

Hayden (44:09)
That's great. I knew you have a bunch.

Raegan (44:11)
Yeah,

I'm forgetting so many. There's so many, but seriously, the emo scene is actually awesome just for anybody listening. There's so many bands to dive into. So if you're ever looking for any bands, for anybody who is listening, please feel free to reach out to me or us on Instagram or Twitter or any social media, because we're always down to share ⁓ bands, especially a part of the scene, and help them make the scene grow. That's what it's all about.

Hayden (44:40)
love it. Well, hey, Reagan, thank you again so, so much for joining me today. Have a great time on tour. I will see you in either Long Beach or Pomona. don't know yet, but one of the two, if not both, which I'm pumped about. I'm going to bring some friends and I'm very excited to see you.

Raegan (44:55)
Heck yeah, I'm so excited to see you too. Thank you so much for having me on here. This was so fun.

Hayden (45:02)
Isn't Reagan the best? Literally the coolest person I've ever met in my entire life. And this is now normally the part where I list all the upcoming tour dates for the band, but there are so many Leisure Hour shows coming up, I would quite literally run out of time. I will almost certainly be at the Long Beach show on September 3rd, so let me know if you'll be there too, but check Leisure Hour socials to see if they're coming near you because there is a good chance that they are.

That's all I've got for today. Thanks to Brian for making this sound good. Thanks to you for listening. you know what? Send this to your mom. I think she's gonna like it. Okay, bye-bye.