The Tone Mob Podcast

• From CKY Superfan to CKY Bassist: The Wild Road of Mike Leon

  This time I am hanging out with Mike Leon, current bassist for CKY, and Igorrr. (Former member of Soulfly, Havok and The Absence.) We dig into how a kid who was obsessed with CKY movies and weird heavy bands ended up actually joining his favorite band, and how that path wound through DIY world tours, insane lineups and a whole lot of van miles. Mike walks through his whole journey: discovering heavy music in the pre-internet days, cutting his teeth in The Absence, jumping into Havok, then getting the call from Soulfly, and finally landing in CKY literally days after leaving Soulfly. We get into the “law of attraction” side of all this, but with the real-world piece too, the boring but crucial part, consistency and doing the work for years when no one is watching. Of course we nerd out on bass gear and tone. Mike talks about his first Fender PJ that felt like opening a treasure chest, his love affair with ESP basses, how his ESP MLB4 signature came to be, why longer scale lengths and heavier strings matter for low tunings, and how the humble Boss ODB-3 and a chorus pedal get you straight into Peter Steele territory. We also get into NAMM show chaos, what good artist relations actually looks like, and how his day job at Enki has him helping other artists solve real on-the-road problems. We round it out with kids discovering heavy music, whether a new “Warped Tour era” is coming, and a spicy pizza take involving pineapple. If you are into CKY, Soulfly, metal bass tone, ESP gear, NAMM stories or just want to hear how sticking with it can literally change your life, this one is for you. Give Mike a follow HERE https://www.instagram.com/mikeleonshreds Support The Show And Connect! The Text Chat is back! Hit me up at (503) 751-8577 You can also help out with your gear buying habits by purchasing stuff from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/reverb⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/sweetwater⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or grabbing your guitar/bass strings from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/stringjoy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Arielle On Brian May, And Why “No Deal” Is Better Than A Bad Deal

  Guitarist, songwriter, studio owner, guitar designer, Brian May collaborator, and professional bad record deal survivor Arielle stops by the show this week. We get into how a shy, Queen-obsessed kid with doctor parents ended up moving to Hollywood at sixteen, landing at MI, meeting Brian May at a tiny bookstore, and eventually working with him on the West End production of We Will Rock You. From there we talk about touring with Eric Johnson, turning a Frankenstein “one guitar to rule them all” project into the Two-Tone model with Brian May Guitars, and why she keeps coming back to that original weird orangish color scheme. Arielle also tells one of the gnarliest label stories ever heard on this podcast. We dig into the contract that owned her name and guitars, the lawyers who were not on her side, hiring a litigator she could not afford, being followed by a private investigator, going bankrupt just to get her art back, and how she rebuilt by slowly carving out her own path. On the practical side, Arielle shares hard-earned advice for anyone trying to make a living in music right now: focusing on what you are actually extraordinary at, treating your art like a business, knowing when to say no, not chasing managers and labels before there is anything to manage, and remembering that in 2025 you often do not need a label to reach people. We also talk about fame being weirder than glamorous, Brian May and Eric Johnson as actual humans, a Metal Zone myth involving “Cliffs Of Dover,” Check out all her stuff on her website HERE https://imarielle.com/ Support The Show And Connect! The Text Chat is back! Hit me up at (503) 751-8577 You can also help out with your gear buying habits by purchasing stuff from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/reverb⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/sweetwater⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or grabbing your guitar/bass strings from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/stringjoy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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  1:13:41
• How Zach Cooper Unexpectedly Ended Up in Coheed and Cambria

  Coheed and Cambria’s low-end wizard, Zach Cooper, jumps on the pod to talk about how “sure, I’ll come play bass on that” somehow turned into 14 years inside one of rock’s most intense bands. We get into the strange chain of events that took him from a random studio call to full-time member status, plus what it really feels like when your life is buses, stages, foreign cities and a rotating cast of exhausted humans trying not to lose their minds together. From there we talk survival: how to stay sane in the touring pressure cooker, why the gym can save your brain, giving people grace when everyone’s fried, and the moment you realize you’ve quietly become a grumpy dad yelling at traffic. There is dad energy, pineapple discourse, kid stories, and a lot of “okay, this is ridiculous but also kind of awesome” honesty about life on the road. And yes, we absolutely nerd out on gear. Zach walks through his evolution from a sketchy catalog bass to the rig he drags around the world now, with enough fuzz, octave and delay options to rattle a starship. If you like Coheed, loud rigs, road stories, or just want to feel better about the state of your own messy music room, you’re gonna be into this one. Follow Zach on Instagram HERE https://www.instagram.com/zacharyacooper Check out all things Coheed HERE https://www.coheedandcambria.com/ Support The Show And Connect! The Text Chat is back! Hit me up at (503) 751-8577 You can also help out with your gear buying habits by purchasing stuff from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/reverb⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/sweetwater⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or grabbing your guitar/bass strings from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/stringjoy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Chad Jennings on Guitars, Growth & Staying Creative in a Weird Industry

  Chad Jennings of Jennings Guitars returns to the pod after nearly seven years, and a lot has changed — finishes, neck shapes, and maybe even a few philosophical outlooks on life (and trucks). Blake and Chad catch up on what it means to keep building through hard seasons, why gloss finishes and roasted woods are calling his name, and how guitar design can be as much about patience as it is about precision. They get into nerdy territory: un-potted pickups vs. potted, why baritones with single coils just hit different, and how slowing down production sometimes means getting more guitars done. There’s talk of Tone Shepherd amps, Lambertones pickups, flatwound string nightmares, old F-150s, and the sweet balance between staying inspired and staying in business. It’s a wide-open chat about creativity, craftsmanship, and rediscovering the joy that got you into this world in the first place. Check out Chad's work on his website HERE https://jenningsguitars.com/ Support The Show And Connect! The Text Chat is back! Hit me up at (503) 751-8577 You can also help out with your gear buying habits by purchasing stuff from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/reverb⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/sweetwater⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or grabbing your guitar/bass strings from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/stringjoy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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  1:11:52

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  1:11:52
• Dave Hause on Long Games, Short Egos, and Good Songs

  Dave Hause returns to teach a masterclass in “being an artist without losing your shirt, or your soul”. We rewind to our last chat in February 2020, the night the NBA shut down while he was onstage, and how that chaos pushed him to build a label with his brother Tim. We get into career math that actually works: why an email list beats the algorithm, the “bullseye” model for fans, and how to release music on your schedule without waiting for a mystery committee. There are field notes on touring without wrecking your life, saying yes to the right weird opportunities (Springsteen on Broadway with a fan), and saying no to the ones that make you a wedding singer forever. Dave’s advice for younger bands is simple: take care of yourself, your people, and your ego. Keep enough ego to step onstage. Not enough to ruin the van vibe. Also discussed: Les Paul Juniors, Jubilee amps, tiny Whammy pedals, and how dad life keeps you honest. Fun, useful, slightly dangerous. Perfect. Check out all things Dave on his website HERE https://www.davehause.com/ Support The Show And Connect! The Text Chat is back! Hit me up at (503) 751-8577 You can also help out with your gear buying habits by purchasing stuff from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/reverb⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/sweetwater⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or grabbing your guitar/bass strings from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/stringjoy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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