Leo Matthew Chamberlain

Guitarist/multi-instrumentalist, Songwriter, recording engineer Leo Matthew Chamberlain was born in Lexington, Ky on October 20, 1966 to John Sr. (1928-2002) and Goldie (1929-2002) Chamberlain. The family moved to Fort Myers, Fl when Leo was 3. Leo's dad, John Sr. was a piano prodigy who was playing at age 5. John Sr. had his own radio show at 16 in Louisville, Ky. He also performed for then General Eisenhower while in the Army and later at the Ryman in 1952. It is only natural that Leo wanted to be a musician, there was always music in the house and his Dad was his hero. Leo was playing a little piano at age 8. His progress on the instrument was interrupted: Leo was diagnosed at the age of 10 with GBS Guillain-Barre' Syndrome: (http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/gbs/detail_gbs.htm). Leo's symptoms increased in intensity until certain muscles couldn't be used at all and this left him totally paralyzed and took over a year to recover from. To aid in his recovery, his brother Mike bought Leo his first guitar/amp. After a lot of determination and the grace of GOD, Leo made a miraculous recovery! This truely was a miracle because some people were confined to wheelchairs or dying from this disorder. Leo went on to excell in Karate and football. Leo is a self-taught guitarist/pianist that studied all the blues masters and by age 12 could already play some of the licks of BB King, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan and Albert King. Not bad for a kid who a few years earlier couldn't even button his shirt, turn on a television - or even walk! At about this time, Leo discovered Alligator Records, Koko Taylor and the blues was all he wanted to study...Leo also discovered Santana, Hendrix, Rare Earth and the Allman Brothers among others. You can hear all of these influences in his melodic, very bluesy, musical style. Leo started playing in public at the age of 16. At 19, he was playing country and southern rock to large crowds with Dixie River Band featuring John Sr. and brother Mike. This band had a great following in Ft. Myers, Fl. and played for estimated 100,000 people at the Edison Pagent of Light. For the last several years Leo was playing in a band with his brothers, Flashback. Paul Combs took Leo's place in the group after Leo decided to return to his roots and love - THE BLUES. Leo is also a Master Electrician and Recording engineer that utilizes the industry standard Pro Tools recording software. Leo is working on solo material in his private recording studio, J&G Recording Studio that will be released in 2010. Gear: Fender Stratocaster/Showmaster Gibson Les Paul/Gibson SG Custom Telecasters, Epiphone SG, Mesa Boogie Mark IIB Amplifier, Various effects