Leeland Dayton Mooring

Infobox musical artist

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Img_capt = Leeland Mooring in February 2007
Name = Leeland Dayton Mooring
Born = birth date and age|1988|6|16, Baytown, Texas
Instrument = Guitar, Piano
Occupation = Singer, songwriter, guitarist
Years_active = 2000-present

Leeland Dayton Mooring (born June 16, 1988) from Baytown, Texas, is the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter of the band Leeland. [ [http://www.myspace.com/leelandmusic MySpace.com - Leeland - BAYTOWN, Texas - Christian / Indie / Rock - www.myspace.com/leelandmusic ] ]

Leeland became a Christian at the age of five. He has two siblings, older brother Jack Mooring and younger sister Shelly Mooring. Jack Mooring is married to Michael W. Smith's Daughter, Whitney Katherine Smith-Mooring. Leeland co-wrote six songs on "Stand", Michael W. Smith's 2007 release, and wrote a seventh entirely. [ [http://www.ccmmagazine.com/features/3611.aspx?Page=1 Christian Music | Christ Community Music | CCM | CCMMagazine.com ] ]

Inspiration

When asked what inspires his songwriting he stated, "A lot of my songs are birthed out of prayer. The ones that we've received the best response from have been the ones God just kind of dropped in my lap while I was spending time in His presence. That's my main inspiration." [cite news|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/interviews/2006/leeland-mini-0806.html|title=Leeland|author=Russ Breimeier|date=2006-08-21|work=ChristianityToday|publisher=Christian Music Today]

On describing a scene reflecting God's glory through nature as said in "Yes You Have" said, "We were driving through Washington. I had my headphones on, listening to some Irish Celtic music. A choir was in the background, and while I was listening, I looked outside the van, and we were driving through beautiful mountains. The culmination of the music and the mountains was just incredible. It shows you how small you are and how much of a human you still are and need God." [http://www.briomag.com/briomagazine/entertainment/a0007027.html The Sound of Leeland] , Brio Magazine (retrieved February 29, 2008)]

When pressed about having hard times in his own life, and if there've ever been times when things were overwhelming, like that of which one of the more serious songs from Sound of Melodies, "Too Much", says, he stated, "I’ve always grown up in a strong Christian family, so I’ve never gone through a lot like a lot of kids have. I’m very blessed with that. But that two-year stint [on the road] was some of the best times and some of the most striving times. I was only 11, 12 and 13 during those years. We constantly had to trust God week to week for finances so we could live. The last week we traveled [as a family] , my mom was put in the hospital and almost had a heart attack. She physically couldn’t take it, because we weren’t getting a lot of sleep. It was hard on us. I look at the pictures now, and it was by God’s grace that she got out and that nothing serious happened. I don’t know what I’d do with myself if my mom ever passed away, because she’s the pillar in our lives. I couldn’t picture myself without her wisdom, guidance and love."

When asked about the story behind "Carried to the Table", said, "One of the evangelists [my family] traveled with for two years had a message that spoke about that story of Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel. His message moved me so much that I fell in love with that story and couldn’t get it out of my head. He related [the story] in the message to how God carries us to the table. Things I can’t get out of my head, I make songs out of them. I sat in my room and prayed to God about it. I worked on [the song] two days and finally finished it."

References

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/leelandmusic Leeland Band Myspace]
* [http://www.myspace.com/leelandtheder Leeland's Personal Myspace]
* [http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/interviews/2006/leeland-mini-0806.html Leeland Interview with ChristianMusicToday.com]
* [http://www.leelandonline.com/ leelandonline.com]