Leah Jee rocks the BBC

Talking to Leah Jee is a cheerful experience; you get the impression she spends a great deal of time happily rocking out. She has carried this attitude with her from her home in sunny California, moving here in 2000 with a scholarship to Marquette.

Jee plays an infectious, energetic, pop-punky Orange county-y sound, a ray of South Cali supersonic sunlight that blinds the frozen no-fun-niks of the local scene. Leah Jee and The Boys (her back up band: Jim Sinicki, bass, Lior Dar, drums, Bryan Burch, guitar) have played it all, from the sweat-soaked, beer-swilling masses at Summerfest to intimate serenades on a stormy night at the Riverwest Commons. The band toured in November, playing dozens of gigs in home, sweet home, California, from San Francisco to San Diego.

“The California music scene was absolutely receptive to us, and we had a great fan response every show we played.” Jee told me.

The band will hit the road again in May for a mid-Atlantic and East Coast tour. On March 8, Jee will rock the BBC, celebrating the release of her new EP, All The Things I Forgot To Mention, recorded at Studio Z in Milwaukee over several months.

Leah Jee and the boys always give an ebullient live performance, and if the audience is lucky, they’ll hear a rockin’ cover of Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up” which wowed the crowd so much at one performance that they demanded the band play it a second time.

Speaking of Paula Abdul, Miss Jee will be one of three guest judges for the Alverno College Idol contest, a replica of American Idol.

Jee will certainly bring a healthy dose of Vitamin C to the contest.

Leah Jee’s CD release is March 8 at 8PM at BBC, with Evenstar, The Identity Theft, and Now You Have Audio. The CD is available online.