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No Longer Hidden In The Dark: An Exclusive Conversation With LEATHER LEONE By Jay Roberts, Massachusetts Contributor Thursday, June 7, 2018 @ 7:10 AM
After nearly three decades, Leather has released her follow up solo album. Simply entitled II, the album is chock full of one powerful anthem after another. I reviewed the album for KNAC.COM (see the review HERE), saying it was not only a worthy successor to Shock Waves, but that it should rightly be considered a candidate for Album Of The Year.
I recently had the opportunity to interview Leather Leone about the new album, her work with CHASTAIN, her absence from and return to the music world and the upcoming North American tour this fall. You can check out the interview below!
KNAC.COM: In order to officially start this interview, I just wanted to say congratulations on the new album.
LEONE: Thank you.
KNAC.COM: Since it got released back on April 13th, I've been seeing tons of reviews online, just one incredible rave after another about it.
LEONE: Yeah. Yeah, people are really accepting it. Which is I wouldn't say a surprise, but you know, I've never really thrown anything out there that was as accepted besides CHASTAIN as this, so it's been wonderful.
KNAC.COM: My first question would perhaps be what made you decide to finally record a follow up to Shock Waves?
LEONE: Well you know, it happened like this. When I had the opportunity to go, and the whole Brazilian thing happened for me, because my promoter, who's now my management, Rodrigo Scelza wanted CHASTAIN to go and tour in Brazil after Surrender To No One.
Of course, CHASTAIN is done. So Chastain put me in touch with him and I immediately started a musical relationship with him. So I went down to Brazil in 2016 and did a co-headlining tour with Rob Rock. So we were using the same band with the exception of an additional guitar player, he was using Vinnie Tex. So I would open the show every night and then I would watch these guys. And I would...one day I just turned to Rodrigo and I said, "This is the band that I've been looking for since I was fucking 21! You realize that this is my band, right?" He just kind of agreed with me and we all got along. I mean, you know, personally and musically it just really, really fit.
KNAC.COM: Well it certainly paid off!
LEONE: Yeah! I'm so excited. It did pay off!
KNAC.COM: That answer there kind of answered one of the next questions that I had. The band was so explosive throughout the album and I was going to ask how you came to assemble that particular lineup?
LEONE: Yeah, you know they're incredible down there. And I don't want to sound unappreciative but the musicians in this country, at least in my family, they all really have a different attitude. We're all kind of jaded and bitter and oh, they're always concerned about money. And you know what, I'm not like that. If I have the opportunity to keep going, I'll stay in 3-star hotels, I'll eat crappy food, I'll be in a crappy bus, I just want to play. And they're the same way. Their only concern is playing music and being onstage and recording. That's all they care about.
KNAC.COM: Well it's certainly a good attitude to have.
LEONE: Yeah, they're young and they're talented and they're so much fun. I miss them so much. I'm going to see them again in approximately 100 days, I'm going crazy.
KNAC.COM: Speaking of seeing them soon, will that full lineup, the one that recorded the album be the one that will be going on tour with you for the North American tour this fall?
LEONE: Yes, I think. Yeah definitely, with the exception of Daemon Ross. I don't know if he's gonna come along with us. But basically, me, Vinnie, Thiago and Braulio. Yeah, it's gonna be the core of the band for sure.
KNAC.COM: Going back to the Shock Waves album, that album particularly for me anyway, that's really stuck with me through all this time.
LEONE: Thank you for that!
KNAC.COM: Oh, I mean I still had it on cassette and was playing it all the time.
LEONE: Oh my god. (laughing)
KNAC.COM: Was Divebomb Records releasing/doing the reissue back in 2010 a primary factor in why you chose to go with them for the release of II?
LEONE: No, it was not. I shopped this record like you shop every record and it was just the most viable thing for us to do to get a bunch of distribution deals. It's just what worked out best for us and I've obviously continued my relationship with Divebomb. They've been nothing but wonderful to me. So it just kind of fell into place that way but it really had nothing to do with the Shock Waves release, no.
KNAC.COM: I had read online, I don't remember exactly where, but I had read online that the album had actually been done for a while. Is that true and if so, what was the delay behind the release?
LEONE: Ahh, it was done for a while. The way it was, we finished it and then we went on tour. So we were on tour for six weeks basically after we finished it. And when we...during that time Vinnie Tex and I started having conversations and he wanted to...we decided to re-do the vocals.
So when we were on the road we had, oh my god, the immense pleasure...I say this with every inch of me because I just can't get over it! We went to Hertz Studios in Poland where Vinnie had had a relationship with them because he had recorded there before with another band he was in. And that's like the core studio. That's where all the death metal people go...
KNAC.COM: It certainly did. Yeah it did actually pay off because the vocals, I mean not that it was much of a surprise, but the vocals, as always, were extremely strong and powerful.
LEONE: Yeah, thank you. I really wanted to get away from the whole...you know I don't like production. I don't like harmonies, I don't like layering, I don't like all that overdub crap. So I said to them, we'll see what happens on the next one, but I said to the guys, "Let me just go in and I just want to pop it off like I'm singing right in front of you, you know. It's just an acoustic and however I sound that day, I'm not into perfect keys and perfect", so they allowed me to just let it go this time. (laughing).
LEONE: Yeah, you know every day I kind of have a different opinion about that. But you know, I'm definitely a child of the '80's. I still love melodramatic ballads, so I just love "Annabelle". I love the whole dynamic thing of it. I really like this record. So you know, today "Annabelle", maybe tomorrow something else. And "Give Me A Reason" really stands out because that was a piece of music that Vinnie approached me with and I don't normally do those kind of bluesy, party kind of things. But when I came up with the melody and such, it just seemed to really work. So that one's kind of special to me too, because it's a surprise.
KNAC.COM: Speaking of that, I had actually done the review for KNAC.COM of the album. I had noted that "Give Me A Reason", it sounds like it was kind of like an old time rock and roll song but amped up.
LEONE: Yeah, that's a really good way to put it. We kind of have a conversation about it all the time because I was a little hesitant about that song. But again, it worked out. It's party, just the amount of people...like David Lee Roth should've been doing it with me, you know?
(Mutual laughing)
KNAC.COM: For me personally, I was a particular fan of the song "Hidden In The Dark". I liked the musical soundtrack of the album, excuse me, of the song and there was a number of what I thought were really potent lyrical lines. They really grabbed ahold, I would say of everyone that heard / would hear the song but I mean in general speaking for myself, I thought there were some really great lines there. Can you tell me more about the inspiration behind that particular song?
LEONE: Yeah, that's interesting because I was listening to that last night and it kind of came back to me. That song, as all the songs on this record, are just about the experiences that I had with the different people in the process of me getting back into the musical ring. And that's just simply about a relationship that I had with somebody that had this big secret and you know, you watch it destroying their life and they wouldn't open up to me so it's just kind of a pissed off song of "get it together or move on" kind of thing.
And I know people ask me that a lot, so yes again the record, I'm repeating myself, but it's just about the different experiences I had meeting the guys, making this record, touring with the guys up to now. I got away from the...you know I kind of usually write more like CHASTAIN...but this was just, this was a reality record for me and I had so much pent up aggression and stuff that I just...I just let it rip. I went into the studio and let it rip.
KNAC.COM: What about the song "American Woman"?
LEONE: (laughing) Again, that's about a situation that happened to me after a show. I don't remember what country I was in but just about an attitude of men towards women. I mean it's pretty basic what it's saying, you know like "get the fuck away from me!" kind of thing.
KNAC.COM: Okay. That's kind of the feeling I got from the song but I just wanted to see if there was any...
LEONE: (laughing) Yeah, it was an observation. Again, of a conversation that I had with someone of the opposite sex. It came to me so quickly because I was just laughing at this person. That came out very fast.
KNAC.COM: I'd like to do a little look back at some of the past. You're obviously best known for fronting CHASTAIN. You did five albums with him in the first fronting of the band, but around 1991 after, I think it was the For Those Who Dare tour...
LEONE: Uh-huh
KNAC.COM: You kind of disappeared for about 20 years.
LEONE: I did.
LEONE: Yeah. The CHASTAIN thing was very amicable. We just kind of reached a point, David and I, after so many years together realized that we had a different idea of what we wanted to do. So my plan was to just come home to California, just you know, kick back for six months and then get into another band. I actually tried to get into some more aggressive bands. And I really, I don't know how to say it because it's certainly not a pity party and I don't feel sorry for myself.
There were just no avenues open to me at that time that were of any interest to me. Labels didn't have anything to offer me that was of anything worthwhile. Other bands were not really respectful of what I had going on. So I just moved on, you know? I was extremely proud of what I had done and I still am and I was okay. I'm not one of those people that "Oh my god, music is the only thing I can do." So I walked away with lots of alcohol and therapy. It was okay for me to walk away. It was time for me to walk away, you know? Like I said, nobody was banging my door down so...
KNAC.COM: Was there one key thing that happened that prompted you to return?
LEONE: Yes. Unfortunately, I wish I didn't have the opportunity to do it but when we lost Dio, like the rest of the world, it just crushed me. And I had been out of touch with all that, so I found out very late and he was gone very quickly. So I went to Los Angeles to pay my respects and I just kind of started talking to musicians and was presented with opportunities again and I actually felt kind of ashamed of myself that the powers-that-be had given me somewhat of a talent to do this and I had been sitting on it. So it was through the loss of Ronnie that I kind of got a kick in the ass and, you know, he threw me some inspiration so I just went with it.
KNAC.COM: I know what you mean about feeling crushed by his loss. Obviously you would be more in tune with him on a personal level at least sharing being in the music world. But I know that when I had read that he had died, I was like "Oh my god!"
LEONE: Yeah, it was a big...it was just a change for everyone and I was so frustrated and I didn't know how to express it so I started going in the studio again. So that's how I got back into it.
KNAC.COM: One of the first things that you did was the SLEDGE/LEATHER album Imagine Me Alive.
LEONE: Yes!
KNAC.COM: Were you satisfied with how that project came out?
LEONE: Yeah I was. We wanted it to be...Sledge and I wanted it to be really dramatic and kind of like a story. And she kind of has this theatrical background so we put it all together that way. You know, I really like it. I was really pleased with the vocals, because again, I was just stepping back into it so I was kind of really careful about it. But I still like that. I love the mood of it. It wasn't accepted very well, but yeah I still love that record. And of course, Bain was on it, the late Jimmy Bain. I mean I was on stage with Scott Warren. I was, like, rehearsing where they used to rehearse with Ronnie. It was just this euphoric fucking thing! It was great, so yeah I do like that record still very much.
KNAC.COM: I know that when it came out I really enjoyed it myself. It was one of my 10 best the year it came out, so I'm right there with you.
LEONE: Yeah, it was fun. It was just fun to do it again and I actually, as I did with this record, I was actually in a real studio recording so that's something I really missed from the 80's so it was a great experience.
KNAC.COM: Is there any unfinished business there?
LEONE: No, it's finished business for sure. Yeah, it's all good but it's finished, yeah.
KNAC.COM: You've done two albums with CHASTAIN since coming back into music but the last one, We Bleed Metal, was in 2015.
LEONE: You know better than me. '15 and then he did another re-amping in '16, right?
KNAC.COM: Ummm, yeah.
LEONE: Yeah, thank you. (laughing)
KNAC.COM: Research pays off! Are there plans for any more work with CHASTAIN or are you focusing strictly on your solo project from here on out?
LEONE: I am totally focused on, as I call it, LLB. The leather leone band, these are my guys, this is my family, this is what my main focus is. But also as far as CHASTAIN goes, there are never any plans. You know, he's worse than I am. (laughs)
I would talk to him a lot, to help me through business and everything with SLEDGE/LEATHER. He just said to me one day, he was actually talking to me about doing another solo record. And I said, "You know what? No. Because the last solo record really wasn't a solo record, I didn't get away from you. I think if it's going to be solo, it's going to be not involved with you." So he says, "Well you know, I have some material sitting around." So again, we decided. We started doing demos because, you know, if it wasn't going to be any good we weren't going to do it. So that's how that came about. And then the same thing with We Bleed Metal, so there are never any plans with CHASTAIN. (laughs) So no, there's no plans.
KNAC.COM: Well I guess....ahhhh.
LEONE: (laughing) He's so happy for me. I really believe deeply in my heart that he did these records to help me get back out there because that's how people know me and doing a CHASTAIN record will never hurt me. So I really know that he did it to help me get out there and to help me get to where I am now. So I think he's very pleased that I no longer bother him to tour because I kind of never gave up on letting him know I wanted to be on the road. So he's extremely happy for me and my focus is the solo project.
LEONE: Oh my god yes! Yes absolutely! Especially somebody at our level, you know? You had to be out there grinding it all the time like we used to do. And then, and again I don't know a lot of truth because Chastain's kind of a jokester, but I hear about these great tours that he turned down. And I can tell you that I know that after Surrender To No One, that he turned down a couple big festivals that I had been chomping at the bit to go play but they won't let me play them without him. So yeah, it definitely hurt us. Of course it hurt us, especially now. You gotta be out there man. You gotta be in everybody's face and after '90 or '91, we just weren't. And we should've done it after Surrender To No One but there's no interest to do it so you know, I found another door and I walked through it.
KNAC.COM: You ran through it!
LEONE: (laughing) Yeah, yeah I did.
KNAC.COM: I wanna move on to more of the touring questions for the present. You're going to be doing a North American tour starting in late September this year.
LEONE: YES! I'm counting the days, Jay!
KNAC.COM: You're not the only one. I'm literally looking at my ticket right now.
LEONE: Are you really?
KNAC.COM: Yes!
LEONE: Where am I going to see you?
KNAC.COM: You are going to be in New Bedford, Mass.
LEONE: Yes!
KNAC.COM: The funny thing is that, and I'm not kidding you, it's literally 20 minutes from my doorstep.
LEONE: Oh my god! I love it! Great, great, great. I'm so excited. Yeah, they only have six dates right now. And my team is really cool. They don't tease me with little things. Because Rodrigo is on the road right now with GRIM REAPER. They're doing South America to prime everybody up and Grimmett is just killing it down there.
So I think they're going to be home probably within a month and then they'll post more. But I know we have the gramercy, we have the show by you. We have a couple more, I know we got one in Toronto and one in Ontario I think, but yeah we're just gonna slam it! Oh god I can't wait! The 25th is our first show, right? September 25th?
KNAC.COM: Yes, I believe that is the first date. Before we go on, you had mentioned your manager Rodrigo. Unfortunately, I didn't get...I want to make sure I get his name spelled correctly, so what was his last name?
LEONE: And I pronounce it incorrect too. I say it the American way, it's Scelza (spells name for me). And he's Brazilian and he works with so many big bands down there. You can check out his production page. He's one of those people like when you know, Geoff Tate comes to town he takes care of him. He takes care of Ripper, he takes care of Tony Martin so that's just his area down there. Again, I was so blessed. He was a fan back in the day and then we got to meet. I mean, he is like one of the only people that would stick his head out for me. I mean the sacrifices he has made for me, and it's really paying off, so man I really struck gold when I found him.
KNAC.COM: Definitely. Can you tell me how this particular touring package with STEVE GRIMMETT'S GRIM REAPER came about? Have you known or worked with Steve in the past?
LEONE: I have known Steve and you know what? I don't even remember actually when I met him. But he was...when we were in Europe last year, he was kind of hanging around Germany with us. God I don't know, and I love his wife Millie. I don't know why he was there. I don't remember. I don't think he was playing, but anyway he came to Keep It True and he was hanging out with us for a little bit and we loved them. And you know he had just lost his leg and he was getting back into it. Oh my god, what a rock star he is!
And at that time we were really just hanging out. There were no plans about anything. We were just talking and Millie...at the time his wife was managing him and I was just saying "Oh my god, I wanna get out, I wanna get out, I wanna tour." So that was kind of the end of that and I think about six or seven months ago, she had given Rodrigo the opportunity to take over his management. You know, their lives had just changed and she was busy, blah-blah-blah. So he took over and of course you know, anything he does he just thinks about me and as I always say, I know my place in metal. I'm not a huge draw anymore. I've gotta work up to this, so I'm like "Put me on the road with a draw, please get me with a draw". So Steve Grimmett is that draw, especially now. I think it's been 35 years since See You In Hell, there's been some health issues, everyone's really interested in him so you know...and the guys have never been to the States so they really wanted to come so he said to me "Hey everybody at..." I think it's the Paramount Group... the Paramour Group, excuse me if I'm saying it wrong. But whoever his promoters are in the States, they were like "Yeah man, let's do Leather and Steve". So it just again, it fell into place so nicely. I just can't wait to do this.
KNAC.COM: Do you know if its co-headlining timeslots or...
LEONE: Yeah, yeah it's going to be co-headlining. And again, I'm like "Look, can I play like a half hour every night?" But no, it going to be definitely co-headliner. We're gonna share the same time and yeah."
KNAC.COM: Have you given any thoughts what the set list might look like yet?
LEONE: Oh God yeah, yes! The set list is complete. The majority of it is Leather II. I'm doing...for some reason people really like "All Your Neon". I can't tell you how that song works live, people just love it. I'm gonna do that and "Shock Waves" and then of course I'll lobby to, you know, throw a couple CHASTAIN classics in there but again the new priority of my life is doing new music. So the majority of the set is Leather II.
KNAC.COM: Well, if I can make my own little plea for a song in the set list, I'd love to hear "The Battlefield of Life".
KNAC.COM: Whenever I listen to that song...goosebumps is probably the easiest way to phrase it.
LEONE: Wow! That's...I'm so glad you enjoy it. That doesn't really move me too much, that song. But the production on that song, again overdone in my opinion, but it fits beautiful. It's a really cool song, yeah.
KNAC.COM: Knowing how the fans like to make contact with the performers these days, are there plans to do any meet and greets on the tour?
LEONE: Oh god, yeah yeah yeah! All the time, all the time yeah. Rodrigo always sets those up. I love them. There's nothing I love more, especially people like you, that you've known me since 1927 and to finally put a face with it. I love it, I love it!
It's incredible to me the range of ages. I was just having that conversation with Chastain yesterday. He would've never thought when we were writing "Voice Of The Cult" or "Angel of Mercy" that 30 years later, I mean I play these songs and there are kids in their 20s that are singing it back to me. It is just phenomenal. We had no idea, you know? We're very blessed.
KNAC.COM: For the younger crowd that sings it back to you, it's just proof that how powerful the songs and material is.
LEONE: Yeah, yeah. Chastain, you know, I say this to him everyday, "Thank you for these songs that you wrote for me" because you know I mean, I have a cult following because of that. I certainly do not take it for granted at all.
KNAC.COM: We had mentioned at the beginning about social media. Obviously I've noticed that you're very interactive on your own personal page as well as the page for the band itself.
LEONE: Yes.
KNAC.COM: Well, first of all is that all you or do you have someone helping you out with any of that?
LEONE: Umm, no. My page is all me. The LEATHER LEONE BAND is basically me and Rodrigo. He runs everything through me so no, it's all me. It's all me, it's all me, it's all me. I can't imagine being that big, and I know a lot of big famous people that it's all taken care of. For me no, we do Twitter, we do Instagram. It's all me and Rodrigo, it's definitely me, yeah.
KNAC.COM: Is that kind of presence the cost of doing business in music these days something that you HAVE to do or is it even that momentarily reaching out something you actually really enjoy?
LEONE: Well, it's both. I mean, I really enjoy it. I dig talking to people. I love even when people dog me. I love having conversations with people. People say things and they don't think you're going to respond. You know like people like to make these really crappy comments to me about DORO and how she blows me away and I love to answer them, you know? But umm, I do really, really enjoy it and I think it's really important especially if you aren't a big touring band. You know, I'm not out there all the time, yet. So you have to keep people...you have to be interactive. And I enjoy it. I'm a ham, man. I love talking about the music that I do. I'm so inspired by my "Boys From Brazil" as I call them. I love it and yes I think that it's very important that you have to do it. METALLICA probably doesn't have to do it but I have to do it.
KNAC.COM: You had mentioned DORO and I think it was on your Facebook page that you had just recently just posted a photo, I don't know exactly how long...
LEONE: Yeah, yeah. I did the Gramercy, which oh my god I can't believe I finally got the Gramercy myself. That was '14 when she, remember when she did her 30th anniversary tour?
KNAC.COM: Uhhh, yes.
LEONE: Yeah, well she knows Rodrigo. She knows my management and we had been talking about doing some stuff which never worked out. But she invited me to do that and I love Doro. We say we're friends but it's not like we talk all the time but we always go in and out of each other's lives. I love her. I adore her. So it was really a lot of fun and everyone was making jokes about how short we were. You know, we were like the two little midgets up on stage, the brunette and the blonde. Yeah, I had so much fun that day. Like I said, I love her. She's a powerhouse and I'm so proud of her, I support her 100%.
KNAC.COM: I thought it was kind of interesting that there's a little bit of symmetry. It took me 30 years to finally see DORO in concert last year.
LEONE: Oh really? (laughing)
LEONE: Wow, that's really great. That's unusual cause Doro's out there all the time. So that's interesting.
KNAC.COM: Well unfortunately, not near me usually.
LEONE: Yeah, yeah. You know, I have a lot of conversations, we've had conversations about that. I know that she's a huge touring act, but the States are not easy for anybody so they have a hard time sometimes. Everybody does. I think it's probably improving economically, but the States are really, really hard to tour in.
KNAC.COM: Yes, that is something that I've been seeing a lot whenever I read interviews for anyone that doesn't necessarily tour here a lot. They're always like, "well the economics don't necessarily work."
LEONE: Yeah, and again we just don't care, you know? Let me tell you, we are not making a lot of money. We seem to break even somehow by the powers-that-be, I don't know how it happens. But like I said, we don't care. We're all able to tour. I don't care if I need to live in my car. This is an opportunity. I mean, how much longer are the opportunities going to come for me? So as you said I ran through that door and I left the doorstop on it. I'm going dude, I'm running with the wind.
KNAC.COM: We're coming up on the end of our scheduled time so I wanted to, before we ended the interview to take the time and thank you for talking today and did you have any final thoughts your fans who will be reading the interview once it goes live?
LEONE: Yes. As always, I appreciate all of you so much for staying with me. All the new members of the family, you will not be disappointed. Stay tuned to the LEATHER LEONE BAND and my personal page. Love and Dio always! You guys are the best, the best, the best. We do it for you, that's the only reason we do it!
KNAC.COM: Thank you very much!
For more on Leather Leone and her band, check out:
https://www.facebook.com/LeatherLeone
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Another beauty of it was that they knew nothing about me, so I kinda turned them on to Shock Waves to kind of see what they would think. So we just said, "Hey yeah, let's go! Let's try to write some stuff". And this is what became of it.
KNAC.COM: You go straight for the throat from the first notes when "Juggernaut" starts right through the end of "Give Me A Reason", but what I wanted to know is are there any tracks on the album that resonate a little more with you than the others or are they pretty much all special in their own individual ways?
KNAC.COM: I was wondering, can you share what the reason was for you leaving the music behind?
KNAC.COM: Do you think the lack of extended or extensive touring from CHASTAIN hurt in the long run?
LEONE: Oh my god, everybody says that! Even the guys are telling me they want to do that song. That would be...of course I would just do it ripe and raw. But that's one of the songs CHASTAIN, like would never do. He'd be like, "Oh that's too hard to reproduce" because of all the overdubs and stuff but a lot of people have said that. That's interesting.
KNAC.COM: And now basically 30 years after, you know, discovering you with CHASTAIN. It's now like I'm finally going to be able to see you as well.