Leo
At first I wasn´t sure whether I should write something about Leo here. Because it is not so clear whether she is a band member at all. She doesn't play an instrument - at least she hasn't learned one. Nevertheless, she is almost always present at our rehearsals. Occasionally she plays something tiny, a shaker, a glockenspiel, a few single piano notes. But first and foremost, she's just there - and that alone does something good. It´s hard to explain, but when Leo is in the room, we suddenly come up with the most unlikely ideas. Things that we would otherwise never dare to do suddenly happen as a matter of course.
Personally, I'm not that surprised by the amazing effect Leo has on our creativity. I've known her for a while and over the years we've become something like 'soul siblings'. And it's not because we are so similar. In fact, Leo is in many ways the exact opposite of me. She is loud and extroverted, impulsive and explosive, always somewhere between euphoria and deepest depression. She likes to dance, and she does it pretty well, too. And there's something about her that immediately captivates other people. Leo only has to enter a room and she's immediately the center of attention. On top of that, she's outrageously good looking. (I tried to capture that in my drawing as best as I could. But you have to imagine the feline grace in her movements and an aura like.... gold dust and cigarette smoke? Vermouth and patchouli? Oh... even with words it´s hard to describe).
As you can imagine, Leo is attracting quite a bit of attention. If you're around her a lot, you'll get used to the sound of cracking hearts. Yet Leo also has her dark, even destructive side. Her life is a wild roller coaster ride and actually not a day goes by without a new dramatic twist. And as exhausting and nerve-wracking as that can be at times, I am extremely thankful to have her by my side. As a friend and never-ending source of inspiration.