Just before hitting the road with Aerosmith and Mötley Crüe on this year's "Route of All Evil" tour, singer, songwriter and pianist Lennon brings her confessional lyrics with a hard-rock edge to Jaxx in Springfield Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m. She recently released "Damaged Goods," which follows up her debut album "5:30 Saturday Morning." Lennon, who credits Nine Inch Nails and her mother as her musical inspiration, has toured with acts from Alice Cooper to Mushroomhead to Heart. Recently, Lennon sat down and answered a few questions about her upcoming show.
Introduce yourself: Hi, I'm Lennon.
How did you begin performing? My mother was tired of me hanging out and watching TV all the time, with all these songs written. So she basically forced me to start a band. I fell in love with playing live. This all happened when I was 15 years old.
Describe your sound: Hard rock, but I sing, I don't scream, and all the songs are more story line-based.
Biggest musical influences: I grew up on Barry Manilow and Frank Sinatra, but NIN (Nine Inch Nails) was what really helped me figure out exactly what I wanted to do.
Other influences: Beer and cigarettes.
Where have you toured? All across America, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Portugal.
Anything special about the upcoming show? It will definitely be a great show. Completely full of energy.
Future plans: To continue doing this for the next 10 years.
— Lea Mae Rice