The Cabin was packed Saturday night with audience members coming to see former UW-Eau Claire students Shane Leonard and John Sunde preform.

Leonard said he felt the evening went very well. One of the most surprising things for him was seeing how things have developed after he left.

Leonard said he spent a lot of his time during college playing shows.

“The musical community here is so strong,” Leonard said.  “It is nice to feel the support is still alive.”

Currently, Leonard has two albums and an EP.

“It is kind of like a small thing you put together when you are getting ready to record a longer album,” Leonard said. “You can explore some territory without committing to a full album.”

Leonard said there are several factors that go into making an album and everyone makes them their own way.

“The time you spent making them, the physical space and the people you make it with all change the sound of it,” Leonard said.

He said his first album took a couple years to make because he recorded it in his apartment himself.  He said he learned a lot about using microphones and different effects.

The making of his second album went quicker because he recorded it in a professional studio. It only took nine days of work.

Sunde, the second performer of the night, said he was trying some new techniques because he was suffering from a cold.

“It’s been challenging, but it’s been cool because it kind of forces you to change your set,” Sunde said.  “There is a level of vulnerability that I think can be helpful. It makes you adjust things and adjust tunes that you are going to do.”

He said it forced him to do some new material he had not been ready to try yet and got him out of his comfort zone.