After working as a professional musician for decades, Gerry is still in…
Here, Gerry Leonard talks about his unique approach to taking command of the guitar and serving as a reliable counterbalance to well-known musicians. Gerry Leonard’s career as a pioneer in both the live and sound domains is still developing.
“Ignorance—simply ignorance—is a quote by Orson Welles. No confidence exists to match it. You are only cautious or afraid when you have considerable knowledge about a particular job. and I often consider the quote, particularly in relation to creating music. As one might expect from someone who backed David Bowie on guitar at some of his most esoteric times, Gerry Leonard has a distinctive perspective on music.
Acclaimed as a master harnesser of textured guitar sonics in his guise as Spooky Ghost, Leonard also has set-in-stone industry respect as one of David Bowie’s most integral musical accomplices during his late-era career, working across the early-2000s gems Heathen and Reality as well as his seismic 2013 comeback, The Next Day. In addition to David Bowie, Leonard has collaborated with Avril Lavigne, Rufus Wainright, Cyndi Lauper, and New York folk-rocker Suzanne Vega, with whom he currently tours.
Gerry is always enthralled with the possibilities the guitar offers, even after working for decades as a professional guitarist. “I absolutely adore the guitar and I am always looking for those new chords or chord combinations that are not as well trammelled,” he says. That’s not to argue there’s anything wrong with those typical approaches. Sometimes A minor, G and F is all you need. However, I have a tendency to gravitate toward unusual harmonic material.
