Leslie Krafka
Houston - Texas - United States

I’m a singer/songwriter from Houston with an addiction to the twang of the pedal steel, and a soft spot for writing about men of dubious character and the women who need them. The songs on my second record on•ward, were all born from life's experience, from ordinary and mundane to profound and apocalyptic. Like any artist I believe in my creations, and I want the music can endure the test of time. With the help of my producers Lloyd Maines and Terri Hendrix, who know how to build a record, I think the songs on on•ward have a shot. 

The album consists of 11 songs, of which 10 are original and one is a cover. Why a cover you ask? Well, for me, the decision to cover Ray Wylie Hubbard and Hayes Carll’s Drunken Poet’s Dream was born from envy. I thought it was unfair a song that cool could be sung only by a man. So, I decided to give it a gender bender and make it my own. Of the 10 songs that I penned, several are what folks consider relationship songs….mostly about bad relationships. Some are slow and bittersweet like "South Texas Fall and others like "Whiskey High" have some ass-kicking Lloyd Maines pedal steel to back up their point. The closest thing I wrote to a love song is “Stay With Me”, and it’s on the needy side. There's also a couple songs born from momentary flashes of enlightenment, those are “Beauty” and “Jewel”. 

During a so-called moment of enlightenment, I realized I had been calling myself a folk singer, yet lacked any true folk songs in my catalog. I immediately tapped into that wealth of information (accurate or not) known as the internet. It wasn’t long before I was reading firsthand accounts of African American’s during the decades of The Great Migration. I began to sense the spirit of a man telling me his story. A story of suffering and hardship, but most importantly of hope. The hope of Manifest Destiny, and the phrase “Go west, young man” which was embraced by old and young, black and white, man and woman. And so, I saved my song “Freedom Train” for the final cut, to leave the listener with a message of hope.

And I will leave you with tidings of hope….hope that you will enjoy what you hear.

onward---Leslie Krafka

On.ward

Label: Smallz Records

Genres: Folk

Styles: Folk

Songs on the Album

Track # Song Title Style Genre
1 Magdalena Folk Folk
2 Beauty Americana Country Country
3 Drunken Poet's Dream Folk Folk
4 Wine Women and Song Folk Folk
5 Stay with Me Americana Country Country
6 Whiskey High Americana Country Country
7 I Want Love Americana Country Country
8 South Texas Fall Americana Country Country
9 Jewel Folk Folk
10 The Pain of Losing You Americana Country Country
11 Freedom Train Folk Folk

The White Cat Sessioins

Label: Self

Songs on the Album

Track # Song Title Style Genre
1 Black Cadillac Americana Country Country
2 Mary Americana Country Country
3 Does Your Heart Long for Me Americana Country Country
4 All the Luck Americana Country Country
5 Wandering Troubadour Americana Country Country
6 A Little White Lie Americana Country Country
7 The Best for Me Americana Country Country
8 Were We Ever Together Americana Country Country
9 Our Defining Time Americana Country Country
10 You'll Never See Me Cry Americana Country Country
11 Be Your Comfort Americana Country Country
12 I Don't Cry Anymore Americana Country Country
13 I Miss Your Company Americana Country Country