Chuck Leah is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. His seven studio albums[1] span genres that include folk-rock, folk, Americana,[2] and depression-era blues.[3] His main instruments include electric, acoustic, and bass guitar,[4] mandolin, organ, and keyboard.[5]
Chuck Leah | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | October 18, 1972 Weslaco, Texas, US |
| Genres | Folk-rock · Folk · Americana · Blues |
| Occupation(s) | Musician · Singer · Songwriter · Record producer |
| Instrument(s) | Bass guitar · Vocals · Guitar · Mandolin |
| Labels | Dos Pistolas Records · Blue Hour Music |
| Website | chuckleah |
Leah was born in the small town of Weslaco, Texas[6] on October 18, 1972. He began playing music by the time he was three or four years old. Leah recorded for the first time around the age of 10,[3] getting his start playing bass for various Texas bands.
Beginning in the 1980s, Leah toured with and played bass for a number of bands and artists.[2] In the 1990s, Leah played in the American country-rock band Tumbleweed. Later in the 2000s, Leah began to work with the Minnesotan group Traveled Ground as producer and musician.[6] Leah has lived and worked in Italy, Los Angeles, Nashville, Austin, Puerto Rico, Minneapolis, and Houston.[3][7]
Leah recorded his album, High Stakes, in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2015. High Stakes was produced by Leah, musician and composer Jeff Victor, and sound engineer Evan Bakke,[2][8] whose credits include Prince, Hippo Campus, Daru Jones, and Sam Nitsch.[9]
In 2019, Leah composed and performed an original, live score for the Houston Museum of Natural Science’s presentation of the 1922 silent film Nosferatu.[10]
In 2020, Leah recorded and released his seventh album, Band of Ghosts, at the Power Station New England in Waterford, Connecticut.[2] The album's name is, in part, a reference to its recording process: due to COVID-19, recording sessions were socially distanced, with each musician recording alone in the studio.[3][7] Leah's ensemble for Band of Ghosts included Jeff Victor, Soul Asylum’s Jeremy Tappero, singer Jenn Bostic, Sam Nitsch and bassist Michael Visceglia.[4] The album was also produced by Chuck Leah and Evan Bakke, through their record label Dos Pistolas.[4][7]
Through the Blue Hour Music/Dos Pistolas record labels, Leah and Bakke co-produced Wangden Sherpa's 2022 debut album, Tangled in You. Leah also arranged, co-wrote, and played acoustic, 12-string, and bass guitar for the album.
Discography
edit| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Drive | |
| 2015 | The Gypsy Kind | Sugarbush Music |
| 2016 | High Stakes | Revolution Baby Records |
| 2020 | Band of Ghosts | Blue Hour Music/Dos Pistolas |
References
edit- ^ "Chuck Leah". Archived from the original on August 27, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Chuck Leah CD Release + Dustin Lee". Icehouse MPLS. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Renaissance Ramblin' Man: An Interview with Musician and HMNS Employee Chuck Leah | BEYONDbones". blog.hmns.org. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ a b c Leah, Chuck. Band of Ghosts. Dos Pistolas Records, 2020. CD.
- ^ Traveled Ground. The Gypsy Kind. Sugarbush Music, 2016. CD.
- ^ a b Rogers, Paul (October 2020). "Band of Ghosts." LA Times.
- ^ a b c Benitez-Eves, Tina (January 8, 2021). "Chuck Leah Reveals Fictional and Real-Life Tales of a Musical Road Trip on 'Band of Ghosts'". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
- ^ Leah, Chuck. High Stakes. Revolution Baby Records, 2015. CD.
- ^ "Evan Bakke". www.evanbakke.com. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ "Nosferatu: The Classic Horror Film with Live Score". houmuse.org. Retrieved October 31, 2021.