Greg Leon
Encyclopedia
Gregory Jay Leon is a Los Angeles hard rock
guitarist notable for his stints in Quiet Riot
and Dokken
. He was also in a band with Tommy Lee
called Suite 19.
Leon is considered an influential and important musical personality in the Hollywood Hard Rock
/Heavy Metal
scene of the late 70s and early 80s, playing an integral part in the successive fortunes of the acts he was associated with.
, California
, a foothills community of Los Angeles, and immediately made an impact on the blossoming live hard rock
scene of Hollywood's Sunset Strip in the late 70s. Primarily playing guitar and handling vocals, the acts that he fronted were Suite 19, with future Crüe drummer Tommy Lee
, and the Greg Leon Invasion, with bassist Joey Vera
(later of Armored Saint
, Fate's Warning and Anthrax
) and drummer Carl Elizondo(later of Jag Wire, and playing under the stage name Carl James). Elizondo and Vera's replacement, Chuck Stevens, played with Leon on the Greg Leon Invasion picture disc released by Azra/R2R in 1983. He took the place of Randy Rhoads
in Quiet Riot
, and as the pre-George Lynch
guitarist in Dokken
(Don Dokken
has since made his first album, which graces Leon on the cover, available for download to the public). During this period Leon also had a considerable local reputation as a guitar teacher, working at Rhoads' mother's guitar studio in Burbank.
In the late 90s, Leon fronted a band called Wishing Well which also featured Survivor
drummer Marc Droubay and English-born bassist Stuart Brooks (ex-Black Cat Bones
, Leaf Hound
, The Pretty Things
). The trio released their eponymous debut album in 1997. However, by 2003 Leon was once again playing the LA club scene under the name The Greg Leon Invasion, featuring Boston-born bassist George Roelke and Ohio-born drummer Greg Stevens, taking the group for a European festival tour in 2005 on the strength of new recordings, coupled with the myth related to his name. The line-up also performed July 13, 2007 at the annual 1980s-era hard rock music festival Rocklahoma
. In 2008 former White Lion
drummer Greg D'Angelo
replaced Stevens in the band.
Leon is married with Canadian singer Suza Wood and in 2005 he produced her first album titled Sweet Freedom.
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
guitarist notable for his stints in Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot is an American Heavy Metal band. They are best known for their hit singles "Metal Health" and "Cum On Feel the Noize". They were founded in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni, under the original name Mach 1, before changing the name to Little Women and finally Quiet...
and Dokken
Dokken
Dokken is an American heavy metal and hard rock band formed in 1978. They split up in 1989 but reformed four years later. The group accumulated numerous charting singles and has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide...
. He was also in a band with Tommy Lee
Tommy Lee
Thomas Lee Bass , best known as Tommy Lee, is an American musician and founding member of glam metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap-metal band Methods of Mayhem, and has pursued solo musical projects...
called Suite 19.
Leon is considered an influential and important musical personality in the Hollywood Hard Rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
/Heavy Metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
scene of the late 70s and early 80s, playing an integral part in the successive fortunes of the acts he was associated with.
Background
Greg Leon was born in 1958 and grew up in GlendaleGlendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, a foothills community of Los Angeles, and immediately made an impact on the blossoming live hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
scene of Hollywood's Sunset Strip in the late 70s. Primarily playing guitar and handling vocals, the acts that he fronted were Suite 19, with future Crüe drummer Tommy Lee
Tommy Lee
Thomas Lee Bass , best known as Tommy Lee, is an American musician and founding member of glam metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap-metal band Methods of Mayhem, and has pursued solo musical projects...
, and the Greg Leon Invasion, with bassist Joey Vera
Joey Vera
Joey Vera is an American heavy metal bassist for heavy metal band Armored Saint. He is also a member of the progressive metal band Fates Warning. In 2004-05 he replaced Frank Bello in Anthrax as the band's bassist. He appears as part of the project Engine, as well as on the OSI album Free. His...
(later of Armored Saint
Armored Saint
-Early career:Armored Saint was formed in 1982 by brothers Phil Sandoval and Gonzo Sandoval , and guitarist David Prichard, while attending South Pasadena High School. Next to join were singer John Bush also a South Pasadena High School Alumni and bassist Joey Vera...
, Fate's Warning and Anthrax
Anthrax (band)
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
) and drummer Carl Elizondo(later of Jag Wire, and playing under the stage name Carl James). Elizondo and Vera's replacement, Chuck Stevens, played with Leon on the Greg Leon Invasion picture disc released by Azra/R2R in 1983. He took the place of Randy Rhoads
Randy Rhoads
Randall William "Randy" Rhoads was an American heavy metal guitarist who played with Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot. A devoted student of classical guitar, Rhoads often combined his classical music influences with his own heavy metal style. While on tour with Ozzy Osbourne, he would seek out...
in Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot is an American Heavy Metal band. They are best known for their hit singles "Metal Health" and "Cum On Feel the Noize". They were founded in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni, under the original name Mach 1, before changing the name to Little Women and finally Quiet...
, and as the pre-George Lynch
George Lynch (musician)
George Lynch is a hard rock/heavy metal guitarist best known as a member of the band Dokken, his own bands Lynch Mob and Souls of We.-Pre Dokken:...
guitarist in Dokken
Dokken
Dokken is an American heavy metal and hard rock band formed in 1978. They split up in 1989 but reformed four years later. The group accumulated numerous charting singles and has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide...
(Don Dokken
Don Dokken
Donald Maynard Dokken is best known for being the lead singer and founder of the band Dokken. He is known for his vibrato-laden, melodic vocal style which has made him an influential figure in American heavy metal. After enjoying mainstream success with Dokken, he parted ways with the band in 1988...
has since made his first album, which graces Leon on the cover, available for download to the public). During this period Leon also had a considerable local reputation as a guitar teacher, working at Rhoads' mother's guitar studio in Burbank.
Subsequent career
Leon had several incarnations of the Invasion and played with various LA acts after his exciting early days. Leon also had a brief time with Greenworld Records' Midwestern act Vyper, while at the same time gathering a name for himself as a guitar amp modifying specialist.In the late 90s, Leon fronted a band called Wishing Well which also featured Survivor
Survivor (band)
Survivor is an American rock band formed in Chicago in 1978. The band achieved its greatest success in the 1980s with its AOR sound, which garnered many charting singles, especially in the United States. The band is best known for its double platinum-certified 1982 hit "Eye of the Tiger", the theme...
drummer Marc Droubay and English-born bassist Stuart Brooks (ex-Black Cat Bones
Black Cat Bones
Black Cat Bones was a British heavy blues rock group from London.The band is perhaps best known for having had Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke in its lineup, both of whom later joined Free in 1968...
, Leaf Hound
Leaf Hound
Leaf Hound is an English 1960s/1970s hard rock band. The group have been cited as a major influence on the stoner rock movement.-Biography:Leaf Hound formed in 1969 under their original name, Black Cat Bones. Early incarnations of the Black Cat Bones featured guitarist Paul Kossoff and drummer...
, The Pretty Things
The Pretty Things
The Pretty Things are an English rock and roll band from London, who originally formed in 1963. They took their name from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "Pretty Thing" and, in their early days, were dubbed by the British press the "uglier cousins of the Rolling Stones". Their most commercially successful...
). The trio released their eponymous debut album in 1997. However, by 2003 Leon was once again playing the LA club scene under the name The Greg Leon Invasion, featuring Boston-born bassist George Roelke and Ohio-born drummer Greg Stevens, taking the group for a European festival tour in 2005 on the strength of new recordings, coupled with the myth related to his name. The line-up also performed July 13, 2007 at the annual 1980s-era hard rock music festival Rocklahoma
Rocklahoma
Rocklahoma is an annual hard rock music festival held in Pryor, Oklahoma...
. In 2008 former White Lion
White Lion
White Lion is an American/Danish hard rock/heavy metal band that was formed in New York City in 1983 by Danish vocalist Mike Tramp and American guitarist Vito Bratta. Mainly active in the 1980s and early 1990s, the band achieved double platinum status with their #8 hit "Wait" and #3 hit "When the...
drummer Greg D'Angelo
Greg D'Angelo
Greg D’Angelo, is a drummer most famous for his work in the American band White Lion.-Early career :...
replaced Stevens in the band.
Leon is married with Canadian singer Suza Wood and in 2005 he produced her first album titled Sweet Freedom.
The Greg Leon Invasion
- Greg Leon Invasion (1983)
- Born to Die (1984)
- Unfinished Business (2005)
- Guitars, Cars and Women (2010)