"You have to write your songs from your own experience," says Leslie Claussen, songwriter/performer. "That's what communicates with people who've never heard you before, who come into a place wanting to hear something new and real."

Leslie is true to her word. A songwriter who has written for movies and theatre, who has played for thousands of high school students as part of "Grammy In The Schools," and who has attracted major label interest, Leslie doesn't shy away from real life subjects. She writes about experiences as diverse as love and loneliness ("Take Me Home"), caring for an elderly relative ("Faces") and her coming of age when she realized that it was time to forgive an absent parent ("Absolution").

Yet Leslie is able to write with grace, wit and charm about subjects that, in the hands of lesser writers, would be a bit frightening.

For instance, in "At Least We Can Dance," an uptempo song which sneaks in Leslie's philosophy of personal courage in a confusing world, she writes of her absent mother:

"Life can be rough on a woman alone,
But she'd be good to her kids
If she had another chance to do it."

Leslie, who is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, toured Southern California schools for two years as part of the songwriters' program for "Grammy in the Schools" .

"Singing for High School students was a blast," Leslie says. "They'll let you know right away if something you've written doesn't ring true." Leslie commanded rapt silence from an often unruly crowd, eventually playing for more than 10,000 students.

As one student said to a newspaper reporter after hearing Leslie sing "Neighbors," "She really nailed what happens in big cities."

A large part of Leslie's ability to command an audience's attention comes from her remarkable voice and musicianship on the guitar. She has performed as a guest artist on the record projects of other artists, and taught guitar earlier in her career. She also won best written song and best performance of a song awards from the Northern California Songwriters Association during her stay in the Bay Area.

Leslie admits that she once had some tough moments talking between songs, but she overcame that difficulty during her year-long stint hosting and performing at the Campfire Conspiracy's Sunday Night Songwriter's Showcase at Genghis Cohen's in Hollywood. Her work with an experienced record producer to hone her performing and songwriting skills also carried with it, as a side bonus, the ability to set up each song with insightful comments.

"It's great to see how the audience gets it, and feels like they're a part of you and your life, even if it's just for a while. There's not enough of that feeling of belonging anymore."

Or, as Leslie sings in "Neighbors,"

"Strange the way this city holds so many people
So far apart."

To contact Leslie Claussen