Tonight at the High Dive in Fremont, local band Ms. Led will play their final show after nearly a decade of kicking out the riot grrl jams for a dedicated fanbase that stretched proudly from Seattle to South Carolina. Band leader Lesli Wood is formidable front woman with an angel’s pipes, a salt miner’s work ethic, and an utterly inextinguishable feminist spirit. I caught up with her early this week for a little exit interview action.How did you come to the point where you were ready to disband?Choosing to retire ms. led was an EXTREMELY difficult decision. This band has been a huge part of my life and identity for 9 years. However, doing everything ourselves became really exhausting and looking over everything we accomplished, we felt like there wasn’t a lot left for us to do. we’ve had an amazing run of tours all over the country, played in Europe, played all the festivals like Bumbershoot and Capitol Hill Party, charted with all 3 albums on KEXP, etc. We didn’t want to just fade away and have those accomplishments forgotten. I wanted us to end on a high note and now seemed to be the time. Better for us to end as close friends with a huge celebration than to just burn each other out.2) as a musician, i have to say that i really learned that having great energy is not enough to have a great show. practicing on tightening up the band, the sound, the arrangements, were things that were all worth the patience it took for me, a very impatient person. at first, i was so excited to be out of the gate, that i just ran out there with a huge smile on my face and paid less attention to how we actually sounded. frank nieto gave me some good advice about tightening up our sound and i took it to heart and made sure that for our 2nd album and for the shows that have followed since, we made sure to tighten up the sound, from our volumes to just playing the best we could. while still keeping the high energy, of course…as a bandleader, i learned that actually talking to your bandmates and getting their input is a really good idea. regardless of whether you run the band with everyone having a voice or with one person as the leader, it’s important to realize that there is more than one person you have to consult before making decisions on the direction of the band. communication is just as important in a band relationship as it is in any other relationship. unfortunately, it took me about 4 years into the band to figure that out, but, hey, i got it.also, i learned that not everyone likes to drive 40 hours back from one show. and i learned what deep vein thrombosis is.3) on march 7, my new band, The Redwood Plan, is debuting live on KEXP’s Audioasis at the Sunset Tavern. The Redwood Plan features me on keyboards and lead vocals, Jamie Hellgate (H is for Hellgate) on bass, Sydney Stolfuss (The Kept) on guitar, and Betty ST on drums. We’re a much dancier project and I am super excited about what we’re doing. Then we’re hitting the road for SXSW and another tour in April. We’ll have an ep for sale at the show in March and people can check out the tunes, etc, at www.myspace.com/theredwoodplan4) At the last Ms. Led show, people can expect to hear some songs we haven’t played in years. I took requests from our myspace and mailing list fans and tallied them up to figure out what our set list would be. We’re playing one song that’s never actually been performed live. The night is going to be really emotional, but it will definitely be a celebration. I have loved being a part of Ms. Led more than any other endeavor I’ve been involved in and I’m excited to have one last night playing music with these 3 people who have been my family for 9 years.