Faithful readers of Breadness Buzz might remember the article I wrote about Leonid & Friends back in April 2024 when they played the iconic Capitol Theatre in Clearwater, Florida. I had surprised Cyndie by flying her to Clearwater where I happened to be at the time so we could catch this concert together. (If you missed it, click/tap here for the whole story.) Shortly thereafter, I nabbed tickets for the band's return to the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills on November 16th; 6 months in advance and the concert was already selling out!

What's all the buzz about Leonid & Friends?

Leonid Vorobyev was a musician and engineer at a recording studio in Moscow. When he decided to retire from that gig after 25 years, and to celebrate his 60th birthday, he did a take-down (listening to an original song and writing out every instrument's part in music notation; a incredibly difficult feat) and created music charts for his favorite Chicago song, Brand New Love Affair (part I & II). Then he invited his musician friends to perform it with him in the studio. Leonid recorded the performance on audio multitrack and multiple video cameras, then he mixed the audio and edited the video and posted it on YouTube.

To Leonid's surprise, the video took off (due to the amazing performance that sounded just like the original) and attracted the attention of Chicago fans around the world. So, Leonid chose another Chicago song, Make Me Smile, and did the same thing. That video blew up big time (currently at over 5 million views!).

Leonid was having so much fun that he kept picking Chicago songs and making these exciting videos.

After 3 years and 30 more videos, Leonid chose September by Earth Wind & Fire as his next challenge. The result was a screaming success: that video currently has over 11 million views!

Suddenly, people all over the world were clamoring to hear Leonid & Friends in concert! The only problem was, the band members all lived in Russia and the Ukraine. But the demand was so great that an American named Chris arranged to bring the band to the United States for their first tour. It was a rousing success! Chris has been touring with the band ever since and handles all their merch sales.

This year's Fall Tour concludes with 2 sold-out shows in Hawaii at the end of the month. That's 47 concerts from September 13th to November 29th! Their Spring and Summer Tour contributed to the band playing over 150 shows this year alone!

So why all the excitement about a band that plays classic songs live? You only have to watch a few of their videos to understand the phenomenon. They are amazing musicians who play these songs with as much or more heart than the original bands did. That passion shows in the videos and at the live shows. Their fan base is so loyal that many of them travel to see Leonid & Friends shows in different cities, even on cruises!

Perhaps the biggest news to emerge during this year's tours is the appearance of many music celebrities who have caught the Leonid & Friends wave. Just last week during shows in Oxnard, Beverly Hills and Agoura, Richard Carpenter (Carpenters; L&F now do a beautiful rendition of Superstar), Nigel Olsson (Elton John's original drummer), Don Randi (keyboard player, original Wrecking Crew studio musician, bandleader for the Baked Potato Jazz Club house band) and Gregg Bissonette (currently on tour with Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band) were videoed hanging with the Leonid & Friends backstage.

Cyndie, myself and longtime friend, Randy Levin, are in the audience in the above photo which was taken after the final encore. See if you can find us (hint, we're in the center section about 8 rows from the stage).

Before the show, I brought a bag of 4 loaves of Breadness and 1/2 pound of Raw Farm Cultured Butter to give to Leonid & Friends. (Sorry no photo available of the handoff nor consumption of said bag; I did find out later that it was enjoyed by all...)

After the concert, those who opted for the band Meet & Greet portion gathered in the Saban lobby to have photos taken with the band and to talk with individual band members. Cyndie is next to Ksenia, the band's phenomenal lone female lead singer; I'm to the left of Leonid. 

The next day, I contacted Roman, Leonid's son, band manager and emcee for all the shows, and invited the band to my recording studio on their day off. Though the other band members were not available, Leonid and Roman accepted the invite to Theta Sound Studio and we hooked up on Monday afternoon. It was time well spent talking about music, recording, production, life and spirituality.

I got to play a couple of my original songs for them (including Vocalessence) and Leonid introduced me to Speck of Dust, L&F's masterpiece dedicated to its composer and co-arranger, Alexey Ashtaev. (Click/tap the Speck of Dust link and prepare to be transported to another universe!)

It's an honor to be part of the Leonid & Friends universe which is bringing much-needed joy and aesthetics to audiences around the world. Visit LeonidAndFriends.band for photos, videos and future tour information.

A friend sent me a link to this $130 Panettone, a beautiful presentation, for sure!

According to the web page for this item: "Panettone is the traditional panettone. Our panettone is made only with natural sourdough and the dough passes through a triple fermentation. We fill it with crowns raisins and candied oranges. You can find little black dots of Bourbon vanilla inside. Panettone is a rich but highly digestible cake, thanks to the usage both of first quality raw materials and of long fermentation techniques. It’s completely free from preservatives, semi-finished products, flavorings and vegetable fats. 100% prepared by hand with passion since 1882, in keeping with tradition."

It's nice to know that there are other companies that take their passion for creating the best, seriously!

At Random Acts of Breadness, you can have our Organic Cinnamon Raisin Maple Pecan Sourdough Loaf for $101 less. Which means you can get 3 more and a couple of artisan jams to give as gifts! True, we don't have a fancy tin for our bread, but once you make French Toast with this bread, you won't miss the tin!

Next week we will be open on Wednesday the 27th to serve you "Hot Loaves" and Rolls for your Thanksgiving feast. Because Hot Loaves are fresh out of the oven, we will not be able to slice them for you; they can be sliced on Thanksgiving Day (we carry bread knives if you need). We will also have Sourdough Stuffing Loaves, presliced and frozen. And we may have some frozen, presliced Country Loaves which will thaw/rehydrate perfectly on Thursday.

We will be closed on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, but so you can make amazing sandwiches and such with leftovers, we'll be open Friday, Saturday 12 to 6 pm, and Sunday 11 am to 4 pm.

Thanksgiving is next Thursday so now's the time to place your order for Artisan Sourdough Stuffing Loaves, Rolls, Traditional Country Loaves, Sourdough Crisps (flatbreads), and sugar-free-gluten-free Blueberry Muffins and Choco-Chip Chookies. (Stuffing recipe above...)

If rolls are on your menu, our organic Artisan Sourdough Rolls are quite different from the ones you can get at the supermarket. Our rolls are substantial, hearty and nourishing. In fact, one-half of one of our rolls, sliced horizontally (like an English Muffin) might be all the bread each guest needs (with some Raw Farm Butter, of course to go with)!

We can only make so many of these rolls per week so getting your order in early will help us meet the demand. Our rolls can be frozen and thawed the day of the feast. After they have come to room temperature, pop them in a 350 degree oven for 6 minutes and they'll be ready to roll (pun intended!). You can also slice them horizontally like English Muffins, lightly toast them and serve immediately. Be sure to have plenty of our Raw Farm butter on the table for these rolls, and for your sides.

This Week's Fresh & Frozen Breadness...

Here's what's available from our organic/non-GMO hand-crafted kitchen this week:

> Artisan Sourdough Country Loaves (full-size boule, batard, petite)
> Cinnamon Raisin Maple Pecan Sourdough Loaves (full-size boule, petite)
> Artisan Sourdough Crisps (Naked, Herb, Smoked, Cinnamon Raisin Maple Pecan)
> Artisan Sourdough Country Loaf Rolls! (4 per bag) 
> Artisan Sourdough Stuffing Loaves (full-size boule, sliced thick)
> Blueberry Muffins - Gluten-free, Sugar-free, Keto/Plant Paradox-friendly
> Choco Chip Chookies! - Gluten-free, Sugar-free, Keto/Plant Paradox-friendly (4 per bag)
> Beverages - Chocolate Chill, Balsamic Breeze

Order the above (and any of our other artisan products) at breadness.com/#shop. If a product is visible in the online shop, it's in stock. If you don't see a product in the online shop, it's sold out (but we might be making more, in which case the counter will be set to the available quantity).

Also, we can slice your bread(s) different thicknesses. Our most popular are Medium (about 1/2") and Thin (about 3/8") but we can do in between as well. Just ask! If ordering on line, enter your slicing preference(s) in the Special Instructions box during Checkout.

And Remember... we also carry the finest and freshest Organic Olive Oils from Ojai, Aged Balsamics from Modena, Keto-friendly Nut Butters from Yemetz Family Farms and NuttZo, Jamazing Jams from Laura Ann in Eagle Rock, Solar Grown Honey Spreads from Clif Family in Napa, Tasty Tapenades from Lisa Grabow in Pasadena, and the Best Butters from Raw Farm in Fresno.

Do we ship? Absolutely! 
If you (or someone you wish to gift) live within 120 miles of Los Angeles, we can ship on Wednesday or Thursday (via UPS Ground) and in most cases your Breadness Box will arrive on Thursday or Friday. Place your order before Wednesday morning here. If you live outside of So Cal, we can now ship 2-Day Air* (or Ground service) on Wednesday (unsliced bread) for Friday delivery (orders that require 2-Day Air shipping must be in by Wednesday morning!). Join our growing list of nationwide customers who look forward to receiving their Breadness deliveries on a regular basis! *Note: 2-Day Air shipments not available Thanksgiving week.

Let's Connect!
Random Acts of Breadness is located at 2214 West Magnolia Blvd. in Burbank (2-1/2 blocks east of Buena Vista on the south side of the street). Come to the bakery and sample our artisan wares, or order on line for bakery pickup, or have Breadness delivered or shipped to your door. You may also order by phone at 818-562-7303 and pay when you come pick it up. We're open this week Thursday, Friday & Saturday 12 to 6 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.