Leroy Bach
Encyclopedia
LeRoy Bach is an American musician, composer, and music producer. Bach is perhaps best known for his work as a multi-instrumentalist in the band Wilco from 1997 through 2004. He has also worked as a touring and/or studio musician for such notable acts as Liz Phair
, Beth Orton
, Iron & Wine
, Andrew Bird
and Bonnie "Prince" Billy.
in 1964. He attended high school in Rockford, Ill, and spent two years at Berklee College of Music
. From 1986 until 1989 he lived in Champaign, Illinois
.
, hosted by the FMLN. Since 1994 Bach has been a regular collaborator with Chicago poet and songwriter Marvin Tate. He produced Tate's album, The Family Swim. In 1995 Bach also became a long-standing employee of the Rainbo Club in Chicago.
in 1997, replacing touring steel guitarist Bob Egan. Bach's work with the band began on tours for Mermaid Avenue
; the first album he played on was Summerteeth
. He contributed extensively to the albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
and A Ghost is Born
, playing keys, guitar, bass, and saxophone. The group received one Grammy award and two nominations during Bach's tenure with the band.
In January 2004, Wilco announced via their official website that Bach was no longer a member of the group. The statement continued, "We'll all miss working with him and, of course, wish him the best in what comes next." A source close to the band told Billboard that it was Bach's decision to leave the group. He was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Nels Cline
.
, Beth Orton
, Diane Izzo, Dwain Story, and Vern Tonge. At the turn of the century, Bach maintained a 18-month residency at the Hideout in Chicago, with singing partner Edward Burch
.
In 2001 he played electric piano on Andrew Bird
's album, The Swimming Hour. In 2007-2008 Bach toured with Iron and Wine on the Shepherd's Dog tour.
He played guitar extensively on the 2008 Joan Of Arc album, Boo! Human. He plays Hammond
organ on the 2009 Bonnie Prince Billy album, Beware.
In 2004 Bach played guitar for Lookingglass Theatre Company
's production of The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World. With Sonny Smith, he co-produced and co-arranged Smith's 2006 album, Fruitvale. In 2006 he was also Artist-In-Residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts.
Since 2008 Bach has collaborated with artist, musician, and urban planner, Theaster Gates. In 2009, Bach and Gates set to music the poems of slave potter, Dave Drake, which were performed at the Milwaukee Art Museum
. Bach is a regular performer with Gates' ensemble, The Black Monks of Mississippi, who have performed at the 2010 Whitney Biennial
, the Rubin Museum of Art
, the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Van Abbemuseum
in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
Bach is a founding member of Chicago rock band, Slick Conditions. He performs regularly in Chicago, playing original compositions for solo acoustic guitar. In May 2011 Bach played guitar at the Playwrights Horizons
, New York
, in The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World.
Through the various bands that he's worked with, Bach has appeared on Late Night with David Letterman
, The Conan O'Brien Show
, and The Tonight Show
.
Liz Phair
Phair's entry into the music industry began when she met guitarist Chris Brokaw, a member of the band Come. Brokaw and Phair moved to San Francisco together, and Phair tried to become an artist there...
, Beth Orton
Beth Orton
Beth Orton is a BRIT Award–winning English singer-songwriter, known for her 'folktronica' sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit and the Chemical Brothers in the mid 1990s. However, these were not Orton's first...
, Iron & Wine
Iron & Wine
Samuel Beam , better known by his stage and recording name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released four studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live album...
, Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.- Early life and the Bowl of Fire :...
and Bonnie "Prince" Billy.
Personal life
He was born in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1964. He attended high school in Rockford, Ill, and spent two years at Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
. From 1986 until 1989 he lived in Champaign, Illinois
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, in the United States. The city is located south of Chicago, west of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 178 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Though surrounded by farm communities, Champaign is notable for sharing the campus of the University of...
.
Early career
He was a founding member of Five Style, circa 1993. In 1995 he led a contingent of Chicago-based musicians on a ten-day tour of El SalvadorEl Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, hosted by the FMLN. Since 1994 Bach has been a regular collaborator with Chicago poet and songwriter Marvin Tate. He produced Tate's album, The Family Swim. In 1995 Bach also became a long-standing employee of the Rainbo Club in Chicago.
Wilco: 1997 - 2004
Bach began playing with WilcoWilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
in 1997, replacing touring steel guitarist Bob Egan. Bach's work with the band began on tours for Mermaid Avenue
Mermaid Avenue
Mermaid Avenue is a 1998 album of previously unheard lyrics written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie, put to music written and performed by British singer Billy Bragg and the American band Wilco. The project was organized by Guthrie's daughter, Nora Guthrie. Mermaid Avenue was released on the...
; the first album he played on was Summerteeth
Summerteeth
Summerteeth is the third studio album by Chicago alternative rock band Wilco. Released through Reprise Records on March 9, 1999, the album was heavily influenced lyrically by twentieth century literature, as well as singer Jeff Tweedy's marital problems. Unlike previous albums, Summerteeth was...
. He contributed extensively to the albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is the fourth album by Chicago-based rock band Wilco. The album was completed in 2001, but Reprise Records, a Warner Music Group label, refused to release it. Wilco acquired the rights to the album when they left the label. In September 2001, Wilco streamed the entire album...
and A Ghost is Born
A Ghost Is Born
A Ghost Is Born is the fifth studio album by Chicago-based alternative rock band Wilco. Released on June 22, 2004, it features singer Jeff Tweedy on lead guitar more than any previous Wilco album...
, playing keys, guitar, bass, and saxophone. The group received one Grammy award and two nominations during Bach's tenure with the band.
In January 2004, Wilco announced via their official website that Bach was no longer a member of the group. The statement continued, "We'll all miss working with him and, of course, wish him the best in what comes next." A source close to the band told Billboard that it was Bach's decision to leave the group. He was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Nels Cline
Nels Cline
Nels Cline is an American guitarist and composer, currently the lead guitarist of alternative rock band Wilco. David Carr of the New York Times describes Cline as "one of the best guitarists in any genre."-Career:...
.
Other musical work
He has played bass with the Autumn Defense, Liz PhairLiz Phair
Phair's entry into the music industry began when she met guitarist Chris Brokaw, a member of the band Come. Brokaw and Phair moved to San Francisco together, and Phair tried to become an artist there...
, Beth Orton
Beth Orton
Beth Orton is a BRIT Award–winning English singer-songwriter, known for her 'folktronica' sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit and the Chemical Brothers in the mid 1990s. However, these were not Orton's first...
, Diane Izzo, Dwain Story, and Vern Tonge. At the turn of the century, Bach maintained a 18-month residency at the Hideout in Chicago, with singing partner Edward Burch
Edward Burch
Edward Burch is a Chicago and Champaign, Illinois-based musician and journalist. As a guitarist, he is a founding member of alternative country band The Kennett Brothers and, as a suitcase player, of the quasi-skiffle combo The Viper and His Famous Orchestra...
.
In 2001 he played electric piano on Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.- Early life and the Bowl of Fire :...
's album, The Swimming Hour. In 2007-2008 Bach toured with Iron and Wine on the Shepherd's Dog tour.
He played guitar extensively on the 2008 Joan Of Arc album, Boo! Human. He plays Hammond
Hammond
-Canada:*Hammond River, a small river in New Brunswick*Upper Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia*Hammond, Ontario, Canada, now Clarence-Rockland, Ontario.*Port Hammond, British Columbia, also known as Hammond or Hammond's Landing-United States of America:...
organ on the 2009 Bonnie Prince Billy album, Beware.
In 2004 Bach played guitar for Lookingglass Theatre Company
Lookingglass Theatre Company
Lookingglass Theatre Company is a non-profit, ensemble-based theater company located in Chicago, Illinois. Their pieces tend to focus on the spectacular and the physical.As of June 2011, Lookingglass has won 42 Joseph Jefferson Awards.-Background:...
's production of The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World. With Sonny Smith, he co-produced and co-arranged Smith's 2006 album, Fruitvale. In 2006 he was also Artist-In-Residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts.
Since 2008 Bach has collaborated with artist, musician, and urban planner, Theaster Gates. In 2009, Bach and Gates set to music the poems of slave potter, Dave Drake, which were performed at the Milwaukee Art Museum
Milwaukee Art Museum
The Milwaukee Art Museum is located on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Beginning around 1872, multiple organizations were founded in order to bring an art gallery to Milwaukee, as the city was still a growing port town with little or no facilities to hold major art exhibitions...
. Bach is a regular performer with Gates' ensemble, The Black Monks of Mississippi, who have performed at the 2010 Whitney Biennial
Whitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennale exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973...
, the Rubin Museum of Art
Rubin Museum of Art
__notoc__The Rubin Museum of Art is a museum dedicated to the collection, display, and preservation of the art of the Himalayas and surrounding regions, especially that of Tibet...
, the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Van Abbemuseum
Van Abbemuseum
Van Abbemuseum is a museum of modern and contemporary art located in central Eindhoven, Netherlands, on the east bank of the Dommel river. Established in 1936, the Abbe Museum is named after its founder, Abbe Henri. Abbe was a lover of modern art and wanted to enjoy it there from Eindhoven...
in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
Bach is a founding member of Chicago rock band, Slick Conditions. He performs regularly in Chicago, playing original compositions for solo acoustic guitar. In May 2011 Bach played guitar at the Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, in The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World.
Through the various bands that he's worked with, Bach has appeared on Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
, The Conan O'Brien Show
The Conan O'Brien Show
Conan is an American late-night talk show airing each Monday through Thursday on TBS in the United States. The hour-long show premiered on November 8, 2010, and is hosted by writer, comedian and performer Conan O'Brien...
, and The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
.