Leonard Haze

Leonard Haze (born September 7, 1955) is an American born rock drummer, songwriter and producer. He is world renown for his single bass drum foot speed and was founding member and responsible for writing many of the songs for Bay Area hard rock band Yesterday & Today, later known as “Y&T“.

Early Life

Haze grew up in San Leandro, CA an avid sports and music fan. A diehard fan of the early Oakland Athletics and Oakland Raiders, by 11 he owned his first drum kit and later pursued the study and performance of Jazz music at San Leandro High School, where he eventually became President of the student body. Once Haze attended performances by bands such as Led Zeppelin and Cream at The Fillmore in S.F., he pursued music more fervently, forming a handful of performing bands in his high school years, playing venues throughout the Bay Area. Haze was torn between his pursuit of music and his desire to attend college and further pursue his studies. The relative success of his band Yesterday and Today (Y&T) and a legendary performance by Y&T at Winterland helped seal his fate.

Career with Y&T

Y&T recorded their first record when Haze was 20, with Haze writing a majority of the lyrics and a good share of the music, as would be the case for many of the bands following releases. Haze’s playing was deeply influenced by drummers such as John Bonham, Ian Paice, Ginger Baker, Mitch Mitchell, Nigel Olsson, Cozy Powell, and Denny Carmassi, while his songwriting was heavily influenced by his love of the songs of the Beatles -- whose LP “Yesterday and Today”, ironically was referenced by Haze and unintentionally became the group moniker. It was Haze’s bass drum prowess that made his powerful drum style legendary and, thanks to it, Y&T quickly developed the reputation as a live band and musical powerhouse, headlining shows over opening bands such as Van Halen, Motley Crue, Stevie Ray Vaughn, etc… As with many legendary acts, the bands chemistry was undeniable and the power of the music was “Facemelting” as one fan later labeled it. Y&T’s hard driving style helped land them worldwide tours alongside such acts as AC/DC, Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne and Rush, which helped them develop a strong following throughout Europe (where they still continue to tour) and were widely heralded by an ever growing and loyal fan base in Japan -- along with their home base in the United States.

After Y&T

With Haze in tow, his next project, Lemans, was almost immediately signed to CBS recording deal(which never materialized), followed by a reunited "Rock Justice" production (for which Haze had recorded the original album/production years earlier while with Y&T). Through his work with Chris Tsangarides on Y&T‘s “Meanstreak”, Leonard was contacted by Ian Gillan, original singer of the legendary Deep Purple, to join as a permanent member of Gillan’s band. Haze recorded the critically reviewed “Toolbox” and then toured the world with Gillan, visiting 71 countries. During these stadium filling tours, Haze was part of the first rock band to ever perform behind the “Iron Curtain” (outside of Moscow), in various communist states of what was then the Soviet Union. When Gillan was finally persuaded to reunite with the original members of Deep Purple, Haze chose, after two years of years of extensive international touring, to stick close to home and use much of his time producing bands in the studio, drawing upon his experiences with top producers, including Max Norman (Ozzy Osbourne), Chris Tsangarides (Black Sabbath, Concrete Blonde, Thin Lizzy) and Tom Allom (Def Leppard, Pat Travers, Judas Priest) among others. In addition, he also continued performing and recording with various local projects and performing drum clinics. In 2001, Haze was reunited with Y&T and performed through much of the U.S. and Europe with the band up through 2006.

Current

Haze continues to live in the East Bay Area of California with his wife Kelly and is still involved with various performers, including recent projects with Ronnie Montrose, Brad Gillis and Eddie Money, among other local acts. He continues to write music and is currently recording and performing original material with East Bay rockers, the John Tilton Band.

Discography

With Y&T

*Yesterday & Today (1976)
*Struck Down (1978)
*Earthshaker (1981)
*Black Tiger (1982)
*Mean Streak (1983)
*In Rock We Trust (1984)
*Open Fire (1985)
*Down For The Count (1985)
* Best of '81–'85 (1990)
*Yesterday & Today Live (1991)
*Anthology (1992)
*BBC in Concert: Live on the Friday Rock Show (2000)
*Ultimate Collection (2001)
*Unearthed Vol 1 (2004)
*Unearthed Vol 2 (2005)
*Earthshaker (re-release) (2006)
*In Rock We Trust (re-release) (2006)

With Rock Justice

*Rock Justice (1979)

With Ian Gillan

*Toolbox (1991)