Howard Leese

Howard M. Leese (born June 13, 1951 in Hollywood, California) is an American guitarist, record producer, and musical director who played with Heart for 22 years (1975 through 1997). He continues to record and tour as a solo artist, and as guitarist with The Paul Rodgers Band and Bad Company.

Career

Howard received his inspiration to pick up the guitar during the 1960s after seeing Dick Dale, the guitarist in the surf band "the Del-Tones", and feeling the excitement from his playing. He studied violin and music theory at the City College, Los Angeles, and also played in a band called The Zoo.

Leese had his first recording contract with Ed Cobb's Sunburst label at the age of 15, as the band The Zoo with friend and drummer Mike Flicker. Later, when Flicker went to work for Jack Herschorn at Mushroom Studios in Vancouver, Leese went with him as a production manager. While there, he and Shelly Siegel started Mushroom Records.

It was at Mushroom Studios in 1974 that Leese helped produce a demo for Heart. The next year, Mushroom Records signed Heart and released the group's first album Dreamboat Annie which Flicker produced. Leese was assistant producer on the album, and was asked to join the band later that year. He stayed with the band until 1997, when the Wilson sisters put the band on hiatus for several years in order to pursue other projects and devote more time to their personal lives. Leese was Heart's guitarist, backing vocalist, keyboard player and song arranger. Aside from the Wilson sisters, Leese is the longest serving member of Heart. Even though he left on good terms with the Wilsons, Leese has been vocal about his dislike of more recent versions of Heart indicating in a 2007 interview that the then-current lineup "stinks".

In 1998 he joined the The Paul Rodgers Band. He continues to tour with The Paul Rodgers Band and Bad Company.

As of May, 2013, when not touring, Howard is performing in "Raiding the Rock Vault" which originated at the LVH Hotel but is now in residency at The Tropicana in Las Vegas, Nevada.

He splits his time between homes in Malibu, California and Kent, Washington

Solo career

2009 saw the release of Leese's first solo effort, Secret Weapon, through Frontiers Records. The disc includes special guest appearances by Joe Lynn Turner, Paul Rodgers, Jimi Jamison and Keith Emerson.

Instruments

Howard is a longtime player and endorser of Paul Reed Smith Guitars. In 2009, Paul Reed Smith announced and launched the "Howard Leese Limited Edition Golden Eagle" in tribute to the #1 guitar that he played on stage for over 15 years. In the late 1970s, he performed live with the rare Sardonyx guitar.

Howard has used and endorsed Toadworks guitar effects since 2004. In January 2009, ToadWorks USA released the Howard Leese Signature Model analog flanger named Barracuda, after the Heart song of the same name).

HML Guitars

HML Guitars was founded in 1994 by Howard Leese. As a woodworker and luthier, he participated in all aspects of construction as well as quality control. HML guitars were totally hand-built in Seattle by luthier Jack Pimentel. Pimentel has continued to build hand-crafted custom guitars under his own brand JP Guitars.

Albums

All Heart albums 1975-1997, and contributions to many others:

• The Zoo Presents Chocolate Moose (1968) -- by The Zoo
• Dawn of the Seventh Sun (1969) -- by Mad Dog
• Dreamboat Annie (1976) -- by Heart
• Little Queen (1977) -- by Heart
• Magazine (1978) -- by Heart
• Dog and Butterfly (1978) -- by Heart
• Fighting Alone (1979) -- by Dixon House Band
• Bebe Le Strange (1980) -- by Heart
• Masked Madness (1981) -- by Dixon House
• Private Audition (1982) -- by Heart
• Randy Meisner (1982) -- by Randy Meisner
• Passionworks (1983) -- by Heart
• The Thirteenth Dream (aka Spirit of '84) (1984) -- by Spirit
• Heart (1985) -- by Heart
• Bad Animals (1987) -- by Heart
• Brigade (1990) -- by Heart
• Dangerous Curves (1991) -- by Lita Ford
• There Must Be A Place (1993) -- by Bananafish
• Desire Walks On (1993) -- by Heart
• The Road Home (1995) -- by Heart
• Paul Rodgers: Live in Glasgow (2007) -- by Paul Rodgers
• Secret Weapon (2009) -- by Howard Leese
• Hard Rock Live (2010) -- by Bad Company
• Live at Wembley (2011) -- by Bad Company

• Howard Leese discography, www.howardleese.com
• The Zoo Presents Chocolate Moose (1968), Lost-In-Tyme, July 2007.
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• Bananafish: Energetic Sound, Hopeful Music, 6 January 1995, The Seattle Times.