History
 

In the crazy days of the mid '60s, guitar became the most effective
weapon to deliver the potentially awesome power of electric music.
The black sheep of the instrument world, neither it nor the sounds it
would unleash, much like the visionaries that wielded it, were taken
seriously by the mainstream. Sure, Chuck Berry had done his thing,
but you ask any classical pianist or concert violinist what they thought
about it, and they'd tell you where you could stick the entire genre.

The 60s changed that for two reasons; one, the potential sounds had
become so far out and loud they could not be ignored. Second, the
entire generation became so far out and loud they could not be ignored!
The counterculture BECAME the mainstream. And one of, if not the,
most far out and un-ignorable wielder of the six stringed weapon
was Leigh Stephens.

Leigh was a founding member and the premier guitarist in Blue Cheer,
a power trio that exploded onto the San Francisco scene in 1967.
Their 1968 debut album Vincebus Eruptum with its fuzzed-out rendering
of "Summertime Blues" set a high water mark for electric guitar assault
that some say has never been equaled. To put it in perspective, Hendrix
was far out, doing the feedback thing and providing some of the heaviest
sounds of the time. But Jimi also dug deep into and rarely let go of his
blues roots. Amped-up and screaming, sure; but he played it pretty
mellow too. Blue Cheer, however, was pure hard psychedelia, about
as subtle as a flying mallet, with no obvious influences except the
electronic devices of Jim Marshall and the medicinal products of
Owsley Stanley. Not to diminish in any way the contributions and
innovations of others of the time... but NOBODY cleared
the sonic landscape like Leigh Stephens.



Tales abound of the first guitar strum sending the mellow, seated
crowds scurrying to back away from the edge of the stage... the
band bragged of being the loudest in the world.

From the speakers and hands of Leigh flowed the purest batch of
primordial soup which would evolve into Heavy Metal, Grunge, and
what is known today as "Stoner Rock". That album, with its wailing,
atonal feedback and sledgehammer riffs, was the big bang of all unholy
to come out of an electric guitar. Nothing before and nothing since,
except perhaps the scream emanating in the burning stomach of the
late Kurt Cobain, can raise so much hair on an arm or turn the air
into so much cottage cheese.

This web site is devoted to the work and legacy of Leigh Stephens.
As this is not Leigh Stephens' site, the opinions expressed within are
not, outside of the interviews and quotes, necessarily those of Him.
My involvement with Leigh began when I was 13, in the dawning of
the MTV era. Had to be about 1982. They actually played music videos
in those early days, and I witnessed something that changed my life.
Sandwiched between a Thomas Dolby video and INXS was an MTV
Closet Classic, a swirling bit of footage of Blue Cheer lip-synching
"Summertime Blues". That truly bracing solo left me gape-mouthed.
Captured on tape, even through a crappy TV speaker, Leigh's tone
was the voice of God. Boston rock station WCOZ soon grew weary
of that kid who kept requesting stuff by this band half the DJs had
never heard of. I was like a Born-Again at a Bar-Mitzvah;
I wanted to convert everybody.

But all my friends wanted to listen to Iron Maiden and Quiet Riot;
and as the 80s evolved (though the term is debatable), weedly-weedly
wanker guitarists became the norm. Sure, I still think Yngwie Malmsteen
is a great player, but for me, I am not as much into virtuosity as the sheer
power of electric music. And it gets no purer or more brutal than Leigh's
early work with Blue Cheer. "Musicians" and critics scoff when there
aren't any fluid arpeggios or lightning fast blues licks deftly executed on
that stuff, but they're missing the point entirely. Nobody expects to unearth
a Roget's Thesaurus with the bones of a Cro-Magnon.

It was a starting point, the biggest bang, where heaviness overtook its
blues origins and became far too intense for even psychedelia to hold.
It is where it began; and where I began my musical journey.

You don't drink moonshine and complain it's not Cabernet.

Over the years, piece by piece I collected the works of Leigh. The
second Blue Cheer album, Outsideinside, then His solo projects,
then rare bootlegs and demos. I became greatly influenced by His
sense of rhythm, the way He pieces song parts together, and the
range of guitar textures He would use in these eclectic recordings.
Like a painter He painted in tone and texture. Sure, some of it is
rather abstract and it has its rather impressionistic moments,
but you can't fault a guy for pushing boundaries and coloring
outside the lines. In Jazz, it's considered genius.

Years later, 1998 to be exact, I stumbled by chance into the knowledge
that Leigh was alive and well. I contacted Him, at first to just in thanks.
Then I built a guitar for Him in return for His influence on my path.
He is guarded and a man of few words, but it has been a thrill to be
in contact. Leigh is a good guy. And after many months of offers, in
2000 Leigh graciously gave me the vote of confidence to assemble
a site in His name. Personally, I feel Leigh has never gotten His
due as a player or artist and this is my way of doing what I can to
rectify this. (The capitals H's are all my doing as well.)

I was also perplexed by the lack of information around about such an
important and influential player. The Blue Cheer name has resurfaced
here and there, but Leigh was becoming The Dude That Time Forgot,
mentioned only in interviews of those who carry the flag... FuManchu,
Monster Magnet, Kyuss, etc. In 1998, Leigh worked with a band called
Chronic With a K and released a CD (See "Legacy"). It was good, well
crafted female-fronted pop, with Leigh playing more of a "Rock Texture"
role. It's not fair to expect him to be the same kid in front of 6 Marshall
stacks unleashing torrents of speaker-shredding howls at this point, but
there still burns a fire in the hands of Leigh Stephens, and this site is my
humble tribute to the man & His work.

~ Scott the Webmaster

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