Bill Leen
Encyclopedia
Bill Leen is a bass
player from Tempe, Arizona
. He is a member of the band Gin Blossoms
, which he co-founded in 1987 with his longtime friend Doug Hopkins
.
Leen studied English and philosophy at Arizona State University
, before leaving during his junior year to devote his energies to music. Leen's friends know him for his sardonic wit, and his extensive knowledge of American music.
He and Doug Hopkins played in a variety of local Tempe bands during the early 1980s, including The Moral Majority and The Psalms before moving to Portland, OR and forming The 10 o'Clock Scholars. His first taste of musical notoriety occurred while playing with the Psalms. The Psalms were asked to fill in for an up-and-coming band that had cancelled a show, opening for Billy Idol, at the Devil House nightclub in Tempe. That band's name was R.E.M.
.
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player from Tempe, Arizona
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
. He is a member of the band Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms is an American pop rock band formed in 1987, in Tempe, Arizona. They took their name from a photo of W.C. Fields which bore the caption "W.C. Fields with gin blossoms", referring to what appeared to be the actor's gin-ravaged nose, but was actually a skin condition known as rosacea...
, which he co-founded in 1987 with his longtime friend Doug Hopkins
Doug Hopkins
Douglas "Doug" Hopkins was an American musician and songwriter from Tempe, Arizona. He co-founded the Gin Blossoms, a popular modern rock band of the early 1990s, with Richard Taylor...
.
Leen studied English and philosophy at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
, before leaving during his junior year to devote his energies to music. Leen's friends know him for his sardonic wit, and his extensive knowledge of American music.
He and Doug Hopkins played in a variety of local Tempe bands during the early 1980s, including The Moral Majority and The Psalms before moving to Portland, OR and forming The 10 o'Clock Scholars. His first taste of musical notoriety occurred while playing with the Psalms. The Psalms were asked to fill in for an up-and-coming band that had cancelled a show, opening for Billy Idol, at the Devil House nightclub in Tempe. That band's name was R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
.