Rare is the case that such pure emotion and raw technical ability become so perfectly intertwined in the tonal landscape of modern alternative rock...There is no instrument he won't master and apply to his ever expanding arsenal of deeply moving compositions." i am echo is the solo project of Pat Leishman. Pat spent many of his formative years in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he wrote his first songs using an Ensoniq sampler. He first began piano lessons at the age of four, before his family relocated to Utah. Here he continued his piano education, studying with such piano greats as David Glenn Hatch, Dustin Gledhill, and Desirae Brown. At the age of twelve, Pat began expressing an interest in the guitar and drums, taking a percussion class throughout middle school. This eventually led to him playing piano and drum set in the high school jaz z band. Eager to hone his guitar skills as well, Pat was awarded a scholarship to attend a summer guitar program at the Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA). Pat began recording his first album during the spring of his junior year of high school. This debut album, 'i am echo', was released the next year, following his graduation. Pat is currently in the final mastering stages of a second album, and the recording of a third. He resides in Salt Lake City, Utah."As much as I'd like to think I'm in control of a song, I'm not. I can only make a song what it wants to be. I give it a jump start with a feeling or experience, but after that, any attempt at changing it's direction will only make it worse. It's like every song is the sentient embodiment of an emotion or thought, complete with a will of it's own."