Thomas Leeb
Thomas Leeb | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | 14 September 1977 |
Origin | Klagenfurt, Austria |
Genres | Fingerstyle guitar |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Years active | 1992–present |
Website | www.thomasleeb.com |
Thomas Leeb (born 14 September 1977 in Klagenfurt, Austria) is an Austrian fingerstyle guitarist.
Biography
Thomas Leeb grew up in the small Austrian mountain village
In 1999 Leeb published his third CD, Riddle, on the
Leeb tours incessantly, mainly in the US, in Europe (Austria, England, Germany, Ireland and Croatia) and in Asia (Taiwan, Korea and Japan); he has managed to build a worldwide fan community. He irregularly teaches as freelancer at two music schools in
Thomas Leeb is married and lives in Val Verde, California.
Influences and technique
Thomas Leeb calls his music "the bastard child of acoustic guitar", combining unusual techniques, ideas and harmonies with a frank tongue-in-cheek attitude. His friend, Irish guitarist Eric Roche, called him "my brother in strings"[10] and was a major support for his development. Roche held Leeb in high regard: "I was his teacher for about five minutes and then I heard him play."[11] One of Leeb's main musical influences is Michael Hedges.
Leeb follows his own path as guitarist and composer, displaying a very idiosyncratic and particular guitar style. Characteristic for this style are percussive elements generated by hitting the guitar body with the heel of his hand or single fingers while playing intricate fingerstyle patterns. On his Desert Pirate CD he uses a scratch-board, glued to the surface of his guitar. With it he adds rhythmic scratch sounds to some of his pieces which are similar to typical DJ scratching sounds, despite their acoustic origin. Some of his pieces possess odd-meter measures and recall Eastern and Balkan music; much of his work is rhythmically complex and meticulously worked out.
Leeb is an endorsee of
Discography
- Reveller (1994)
- Hope (1997)
- riddle(1999)
- Spark (2004)
- Upside Down (2006)
- Desert Pirate (2007)
- No Alibis (2011)
- Trickster (2015)
References
- ^ Der Turracher Gitarrenakrobat. Austrian "Tiebel-Kurier", October 2004 (in German) Archived 2007-01-02 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed on December 15, 2007
- ^ Der 20-Finger-Gitarrist (in German). Archived 2008-05-12 at the Wayback Machine Accessed on December 15, 2007
- ^ Winners of the Open-Strings-Competitions. Accessed on December 15, 2007
- ^ a b Leeb's vita as workshop tutor Archived 2008-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed on January 4, 2008.
- ^ Gitarren - Zauberer. Austrian "Kronen-Zeitung", Oktober 20, 2004 (in German) Archived 2007-01-02 at the Wayback Machine Accessed December 15, 2007
- ^ "Thomas Leeb", by Jude Gold. Guitar Player, April, 2006. Accessed on December 16, 2007
- ^ "Thomas Leeb, Upside Down", by Teja Gerken. Acoustic Guitar, Issue #165. Archived 2011-05-20 at the Wayback Machine Accessed on December 16, 2007
- ^ Korean Guitar Music magazine, June 2007 (in Korean). Accessed on December 16, 2007.
- ^ Mike Joyce: Happily Living the Surreal Life; How Did Guitarist Newton Faulkner Top the U.K. Charts? Beats Him. The Washington Post, 2. Mai 2008 Accessed on August 4, 2008
- ^ Hello from LA, Eric Roche's Diary, Wednesday 19 January, 2005 entry Archived 2008-02-07 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed on December 17, 2007
- ^ Reviews and Comments on Leeb's website
- ^ Interview with Thomas Leeb in November 2007 Archived 2008-05-27 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed on January 5, 2008.
External links
- Thomas Leeb official website
- "Desert Pirate" video at YouTube