j-leone-drums + Musician in Upper Kintore, NB

SEEKING

ABOUT

I am a drummer from Portland, Maine. My music career began around age 10 - when I started taking vocal lessons for a theatre production - and hasn't ever really stopped. After having been in numerous bands - one with some success - I am now setting my sights on performing with theatre troupes and in-studio recordings.

I bought my first drum set around age fourteen and was directly thereafter in the requisite 90's garage band. We experienced local success, won some contests, and got to open for some larger acts.  Also while in high school I was in a select choir that took a gold medal at a competition in Quebec, then was invited to perform at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC where we won the adjudicators medal for "Most Musical Group".  In my final year we toured Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia for two weeks (crammed in a tour bus!) and sang to and with some amazing folks all over the Northeast.

In college I mostly practiced and practiced and practiced and majored in organic chemistry and practiced.  Lots.  After that I joined a metal band in Portland called audioblacK and gained some notoriety there and around New England.  We played the Boston Hard Rock Cafe, The Middle East, a sold out State Theater with Mudvayne, welcomed a (then) brand new band from South Africa called "Seether" for their first show in the U.S., and basically ran amok from Northern Maine to New York for about eight years. 

In 2003 I was asked to play auxiliary percussion for a burlesque production of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite.  I ended up co-writing and arranging most of the show and was promoted to lead drummer the next year - a position I retained until I moved to Canada in 2015. The show was a smash hit; we sold out every show, every year - usually in 24 hours!

I have been incredibly fortunate to perform in many different locations and venues and in different styles of music from pop to metal, gospel, hip-hop, country, jazz to classical, bluegrass, funk and folk, even steel drum orchestral accompaniment! I am currently biding my time scoring and tabbing drums for cool tunes, learning lots of new riffs, doing much metronome work, looking forward to broadening my horizons through singing and drumming in the local community and beyond.

Past Projects:
FeelGood Machine Gun - Alternative Rock - '94 ~ '96
Squelch! - Alternative/Math/Covers - '98
audioblacK - "Psychoactive" Metal - '00 ~ '08
The Hollow Glow - Alt. Experiment (with Ben Carroll of Ra) -- '11

Accompanist:
Wayne Maine Steel Drummers - '02
The Nutcracker Burlesque - '03 ~ '14
Rocky Horror Show - '04
Perth-Andover Community choir - '17
I have also played live backup for several solo artist/singer/songwriter types in and around Portland, ME.

Screen name:

j-leone-drums

Member since:

Aug 18 2017

Active over 1 month ago

Level of commitment:

Committed

Years playing music:

30

Gigs played:

Over 100

Tend to practice:

More than 3 times per week

Available to gig:

2-3 nights a week

Influences

Tim Alexander, Kenny Aronoff, John Bonham, Mike Bordin, Danny Carey, John Dolmayan, Leor Dimant, Steve Gadd, Dave Grohl, Tomas Haake, Tony McNaboe, Jose Pasillas, Vinnie Paul, Jeff Porcaro, Bernard Purdie, Chad Sexton, David Silvera, Matt Sorum, John Tempesta, Jeff Townes, Alex Van Halen, Brooks Wackerman, Dave Weckl

Instrument experience:

Drums:

Expert

Vocalist - Bass:

Advanced

Other Percussion:

Moderate

Background Singer:

Moderate

EQUIPMENT

Taye 5-piece Rock Pro
Various Brass - mostly Sabian and Paiste with maybe a Stagg or Wuhan here or there...
Pearl Eliminator Double Pedal

MUSIC