In Praise of Leroy Bach

[nalafej]

Didn't want to start a new thread so I'll post in this ancient one.

 

Leroy Bach is the producer on the new album by Ryley Walker titled Golden Sings that Have been Sung. I wasn't aware he was in the producer game. Good for him. Greg Kott mentioned his production and seemed to give the album a positive review in the Chicago Trib today.

 

A little more I found on Ryley's bandcamp site:

 

Ryley had been a long-time admirer of sometime Wilco multi-instrumentalist LeRoy Bach. Back in 2009, still in his teens, he had frequented the improv nights hosted by Bach at a restaurant/gallery space called Whistler. “For me, it was an incredible opportunity,” recalls Ryley, “…because you would sometimes also have Dan Bitney, the drummer with Tortoise, and I’d get to play with these people. I mean, they were twice my age. I’m sure they thought I was annoying at first, maybe some of them still do, but I kind of looked at them like gurus – and to have these old school Chicago heads taking me in was just amazing.”

For Ryley then, the prospect of having Bach produce his album was something of a no-brainer. “It was everything I wanted it to be,” he enthuses. “I would go to LeRoy’s house every other day with a riff, and we would take it from there.” Perhaps more than any other song on the record, the somnambulant sun-dappled intimacies of opening track “The Halfwit In Me” most audibly bear the imprint of those Whistler sessions. “Absolutely,” concurs Ryley, “I have to give LeRoy a hand for that. He helped shape that song, especially the clarinet parts. We went into the studio over the Christmas vacation – in fact, I think we actually recorded that song on Christmas Day.” 

[tomsmith]

Saw many shows while Leroy Bach was in the band but one stands out. The Blue Note, summer of 2000. They opened the show with 6 or so Mermaid Avenue songs. I remember wondering if they were going to play anything other than Mermaid Avenue songs. Leroy and Jay each played organ/keys the majority of the show, with Jeff handling guitar. I kept thinking, this is what a modern day version of The Band would sound. The interplay between Leroy and Jay was beautiful. 

[jff]

Did any of y'all ever get to see Five Style?  Leroy was the bassist in that band. Super talented group.

 

EDIT:  Just realized I made almost this exact post on this thread five years ago.