guitar by leon rodriguez

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Leon Rodriguez - Guitar

Gig poster - The Bleu Rapteurs

Uploaded 7 years ago

Music 19
Photos 55
Interview 9

How long have you been playing?

I've been either playing or trying to play for about 60-some years. (I played "Rancho Grande" for about 6 years) LOL. My Uncle Ricardo gave me a little Mexican guitar when I was three and was my first guitar teacher. He gave me 1st position. I've never stopped trying to learn.

What was the first concert you ever went to?

I must have been too young to remember but it would have been Ranchero music in the early 50's. It was Mexican Conjunto music in a Gazebo in the plaza in Cotulla, Texas. My eyes never left the guitar and the hands that played them. They were wrinkled vaquero hands. Somehow the accordian never caught my ear, just the guitars.

What gear do you use?

I have all kinds of guitars. My main axe is a 1966 Gibson ES-340 through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe II that Jim Webb tweaked out for me at Austin Vintage Guitars. Assorted pedals as needed. I've been playing my Strat lately. It's one of the Fender prototypes of the American Special. Jumbo Frets and a Humbucker in the bridge position. I use a Les Paul and a '65 blackface Super Reverb for a crunchier sound when I need that.

What are you looking for from Fandalism?

I'm a Chicano in Texas. No expectations. LOL

Who was your biggest musical influence growing up?

That's easy. B.B. King, Wes Montgomery, Michael Bloomfield, and of course the entire hierarchy of Texas Blues guitarist a player HAS to know to hang out in Austin. The hierarchy goes kinda like this. Blind Lemon Jefferson and Texas Alexander begat, Mance Libsomb and Lightnin' Hopkins who begat, Johnny Winter and Freddie King and Albert Collins, who begat Stevie and Jimmie Vaughan, Bugs Henderson, Van Wilks, Alan Haynes, Derek O'Brian, Matthew Robinson and Denny Freeman who begat Doyle Bramhall II, Charlie Sextant, David Grissom, David Holt and a few others. On the country side, Red Vogart is as good as they get. That's enough to keep any Texan busy for a lifetime. I never have to leave Austin, let alone Texas for guitar heroes. And that's what I like.

Are you in a band? Have you been in bands?

Yeah, I'm always in some kind of band; kinda/sorta. I'm trying to put a more structured thing together now. A "Texas Guitar" duo. It's coming along pretty good. My Band with is called "The Bleu Rapteurs". I hope to record with both these bands because there are so many great musicians in Austin, nobody seems to makes any money playing live. LOL Club owners are spoiled by the overwhelming abundance. Bands seem to come together for the the sheer love of genre'. Artistically, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

If you could jam with anyone, who would it be?

Wow! That leaves it wide open: I'd put a rythm section together. Terry Bozzio on drums, Roscoe Beck on bass, Gregg Allman on B3, Lyle Mayes on Keys, Alex Acuna on Latin percussion, Ed Mann on vibes, And my badass Duo partner and pal, Leland Isley on rhythm guitar. For Horns...Doc Adams on baritone Sax, Wayne Shorter and my pals Henry Rivas, Joe Sublett on tenors, David Sanborn on alto, Wynton Marcellis, and local pals Ephraim Owens and Al Gomez on Trumpet. And of course my pal, Dave Mcnair to produce and engineer it. Might as well record it if you get a band like that together! I think we could make some music with those guys LOL

What's the biggest audience you ever performed to? What's the smallest?

College Auditoriums I guess would be the largest, what is that? ... about 2-3 thousand. The smallest would be like a coffee house with 4 or 5 tables not including sitting on my deck with a flatop with my dog Hillary. That's a bit smaller.

You're stuck on a desert island and only get to bring one album with you. What do you pick?

Michael Bloomfield and Al Kooper; the first Super Session at the Fillmore. I heard it when it first came out in late 60's I've never been without a copy. Albert's Shuffle is the best blues jam ever waxed IMHO. Michael's tone and facility on that '58 Gibson Les Paul through that '65 blackface Fender Super- Reverb is now and has always been a benchmark tone for me in my heart of hearts. It is that unachievable goal an artist follows through life that pushes him beyond his own ability to perceive the tangible. It's the light at the end of the tunnel of life. Gotta follow the tone.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"Leon Rodriguez is a very dedicated musician and educator who has assembled a very compl.... read more.. read moreete and logical approach to teaching music theory and improvisational skills for the serious guitar student. Somehow, he has found a way to explain some very complex ideas so that the student can comprehend and apply these ideas in their playing in an efficient and expedient way. A lovely series of books to be sure...."Jody Fisherhttp://www.jodyfisher.comGHS StringsProfessor of Jazz and Studio Guitar at the University of Redlands, in Redlands, CAAlfred PublishingMel Bay PublicationsWorkshop Arts PublicationsSmithsonian Institute's Folkways Exhibition in Washington, DCAuthorJazz Guitar Performance and Jazz EducationConcert SoloistRecording ArtistFreelance Jazz ProjectsComposition for GuitarGHS Strings Alfred Music Mel Bay Publications Inc.Harryconnickjr George Benson Tal Farlow Joe Abercrombie John B. Williams (musician) Julie London - Singer Marshall Hawkins Jody Fisher Mike Stern Phyllis Diller Rich Little Band The Rosemary Clooney House Shirley Bassey Admiration Page Helen O'Connell Don Rickles Connie Francis Brandon Fields Saxophone Brandon Fields Alphonso Johnson Bobby Pickett Betty White Robben Ford Music John Barrymore Actor Joe Diorio Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture NAMM Show NammRadio Hollywood Bowl Sixstring Studio La Philharmonic At The Hollywood Bowl

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