Former HEART Guitarist Howard Leese - "I Think Ann Wilson Is The Best Female Rock Singer Ever"
June 26, 2011, 13 years ago
Former HEART guitarist Howard Leese is featured in an in-depth interview with Jeb Wright at Classic Rock Revisited. An excerpt is available below:
Jeb: Was the band all involved with each other by that time? You know, the relationships between the guys and the girls in the band…
Howard: "It was very complicated. I was the one who was not dating anybody in the band. I was Howard the Professional. I was classically trained and I tried to stay out of it and just focus on the music. I was the guy who tried to see the big picture. I wanted to put a big frame around Ann Wilson’s vocals. For twenty-two years I was the guy who wanted to make a big showcase for Ann’s vocals, as she was the big talent. I have been really, really blessed as I think she is the best female rock singer ever. Now I work with Paul Rodgers, who I think is the best male rock singer ever. Some people ask me how I did that, like I planned it all along.
Jeb: Heart had always been an electric and acoustic band but on Dog and Butterfly you really separated the two with the Dog side and the Butterfly side.
Howard: "We recorded that album in Seattle in this hole in the wall studio. We had really long guitar chords and headphone chords so we all sat out in the parking lot in the back in the sun. The poor drummer, Michael DeRosier, had to stay in the studio while the rest of us were in the sun, in the parking lot. We had five ’56 T-birds in the parking lot. We would drive to work everyday and sit in the sun. I have great memories of us sitting in chairs in the sun making that record. When the sun comes out in Seattle you really have to take advantage of it.
When we put that record out, all four of our albums came back on the charts. Actually, I think Dreamboat Annie was still on the charts. We had four albums in the Top 200. I think that Dog & Butterfly was the peak of the ‘70’s era’s creative efforts."
Go to this location for the complete interview.
As previously reported, Heart hit the road with DEF LEPPARD in June. Remaining dates on the tour are as follows:
June
26 - Philadelphia, PA - Susquehanna Bank Center29 - Scranton, PA - Toyota Pavilion
30 - Boston, MA - Comcast Center
July
2 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena3 - Hershey, PA - Hersheypark Stadium
5 - Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest
7 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
12 - Wantagh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
13 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
15 - Chicago, IL - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
17 - Cadott, WI - Rockfest
19 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center
20 - Dallas, TX - Gexa Energy Pavilion
22 - Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
23 - New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Arena
24 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T; Center
August
8 - Sturgis, SD - Buffalo Chip10 - St. Louis, MO - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
13 - Des Moines,IA - Iowa State Fair
16 - Toronto, ON - Molson Amphitheatre
17 - Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
20 - Pittsburgh, PA - First Niagara Pavilion
21 - Buffalo, NY - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
24 - Cleveland, OH - Blossom Music Center
26 - St Paul, MN - Minnesota State Fair
27 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
31 - Salt Lake City, UT - USANA Amphitheatre
September
2 - Albuquerque, NM - The Pavilion7 - Universal City, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre
9 - San Francisco, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
11 - Sacramento, CA - Sleep Train Amphitheatre
14 - Portland, OR - Sleep Country Amphitheater
15 - Seattle, WA - White River Amphitheatre
