Donovan Plant and his fellow musicians in the Leafs all work day jobs, but they play as many gigs as possible. “It’s a little tricky making sure we’ll all be available for gigs and rehearsals,” Plant said, “but we love playing music and that’s what’s important.”
Despite the challenges, Plant has managed to release several singles and two EPs over the years, including Night Feel Good, the band’s most recent offering.
“The song, ‘Night Feel Good,’ addresses the idea that darkness, or night, is often viewed as being bad or dangerous,” Plant said. “I’m saying there is a lot of goodness at night as well. Sometimes you never know the light exists until you experience darkness. Every song is a snapshot of my evolving outlook on life in San Francisco. After living in the heart of the Tenderloin during the pandemic, I had a new understanding of what it meant to live in this city.”
The songs on the EP were cut with producer Trent Berry at Dreamrack Studios. The Leafs—drummer Lliam Hart, bassist Mike Henry, lead guitarist Jason Rojek, and Plant on vocals and acoustic guitar—let the arrangements evolve as they went along.
The band jumps in and delivers a groove for “Grow,” a mid-tempo rocker with a positive lyric. Plant belts out a message that encourages people to find the best in themselves and others. It has a catchy chorus and closes with a jam that lets Rojek lay down a freeform solo. “Night Feel Good,” a ballad, opens with Plant strumming his acoustic, singing to a prospective lover while Berry adds sustained Mellotron chords in the background.
“‘White Wolf’ was written after a hypnosis/shamanic session,” Plant said. He sings it in his higher register, praising the universal connection that holds all life in its hands. Rojek’s psychedelic solo brings the track to an uplifting close.
“Working with Trent Berry on these tunes was a dream,” Plant said. “He’s a force of positivity, really good at bringing out what you don’t even know you had.”
Plant grew up in Fremont and began playing music when he was in grammar school. “My best friend, Tony, was a drummer,” Plant said. “His father, Wayne Siligo, was a blind musician who taught me some chords on guitar in exchange for mowing their lawn. I remember Wayne telling me I should get an acoustic guitar. I was like, ‘No, I want an electric guitar.’ He said, ‘You don’t wanna play music. You just wanna get the girls.’
“I can’t read music and I’m largely self-taught,” Plant continued. “Wayne taught me a few chords and I remember him telling me that I should not try to be a virtuoso musician, but to play my music for everyday people.”
Growing up, Plant played in a number of bands, including Dr. Shock and Dismal Faith. “I liked playing music, but with all the ego trips I had to cope with from other band members, I said the hell with music,” he said.
Around that time, Plant worked a day job with a construction company. “I fell off a roof and that capped it,” he said. “My mother introduced me to David Smothers, a friend of hers that was a private investigator. He taught me a trade that helped me learn a lot about people. Eventually, I felt like I was just a tool, being used by the insurance industry to target my fellow humans. I moved to San Francisco, started playing open mics and went back to music.”
Plant connected with a German producer, Fabian Gorg, via an online songwriting forum. They collaborated long distance on several tunes that went up online, but Plant didn’t like the results. “They were produced as glossy pop, with a lot of autotuning, aimed at young people. It was an artistic miss, so I went back to the singer/songwriter format and started Donovan Plant and the Leafs,” he said.
“My grandfather was in an orphanage in San Francisco in 1908, run by the Ladies Protection and Relief Society,” Plant added. “I’d like to think that if my grandfather could see me being an artist in San Francisco, he’d be proud of me.”
Donovan Plant and the Leafs will play at 2pm Sunday, March 23, at the Kilowatt Bar, 3160 16th St., San Francisco. 415.861.2595. kilowattbar.com. They’ll also play a free concert at 6pm Saturday, March 29, at the Hobnob, 1313 Park St., Alameda. 510.769.1011. hobnobalameda.com. For more info, visit: donovanplantmusic.com and donovanplant.bandcamp.com.
