LEATHER LEONE: 'I'm Gonna Step Back From Music' And 'Figure Out What My Next Chapter Is'

In a new interview with Ada of Poisoned Rock, Leather Leone, the powerhouse heavy metal singer who first gained fame in the 1980s as frontwoman for guitarist David T. Chastain's band CHASTAIN, revealed that she is taking a break from playing shows and working on new music-related projects. She said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm gonna step back from music. When [my latest solo album] '[We Are The] Chosen' came out in 2022, my whole vision at that time was to get on the festival circuit. I mean, I've been clawing and scratching for four years. And I'm just tired of being the pursuer as opposed to being pursued. So it's just crazy… I'm really grateful, but I'm just gonna step back and figure out what my next chapter is."

Elaborating on her reasons for "stepping back", Leather said: "The music world is so fickle. I've never really been grabbed with open arms. I've always been the underdog. But, yeah, I just don't wanna try to pound on doors anymore. So we'll see what happens. But [I'm] obviously available for festivals, but I'm just not gonna pursue the music thing much anymore… I'm done. I'm done… But, yeah, it's all good. It's all good. I kind of knew it when I was in Brazil last time and playing the clubs. It just wasn't the same for me. That's the way I am. That's the way it was in the '90s. I will just turn off sometimes, and I think I've just done that before. So I'm not sure what I'm gonna do next, but I'm excited to see what pops up… We're kind of in an area right now where it's all extreme, all the music is really extreme. I've been passed up on a lot of tours because I'm not as extreme as they are, but it's all good. Like I said, I'm grateful. I've done some great stuff, made some great music, so it's all good."

Speaking about the business side of being a recording and touring artist, Leather said: "I'm just not into all this — it's, again, so different now — all this self-promotion. I think about it a lot because I think I'm only at the stage that I'm in musically because of the work that I put into it. I was never one of those people that sat around as a young person going, 'Oh my God, I wanna be a rock star. I wanna do music. I wanna be on stage.' I never really dreamt it. It was just something that I did. I always liked to sing, but I was never this, 'Ah.' Like I was reading a thing the other day about POISON and Bret Michaels, and they were just... I mean, he was seven years old, going, 'I'm gonna be a rock star,' blah, blah, blah. I've never been like that. It's just something that I have done. So I think the music stands for itself.

"It's funny, when I first moved here, I met Grace Slick [the lead singer for JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, JEFFERSON STARSHIP and STARSHIP]," Leone continued. "She was one of the first people, and I was, like, 'Ah.' And she said to me, she goes, 'You should've been born in the '60s and done your music in the '60... Because it was different then.' She goes, 'Somebody would've looked at you and just taken you and done it all for you.' But it's just different. And I'm not that into the whole business side of it, and I've never really had a team. It's interesting to me how far I've gotten, because I've never had a manager. I've never really had a booking agent… And I'm just done. I'm so done."

Regarding the evolution of her singing voice, Leather said: "It's funny. I listen to those old CHASTAIN records, and I sound like a 12-year-old girl. I wanted to sing the keys that I'm singing now, but I never could. So I like it down and dirty. I like it down here. Everybody's voice has changed, but I can remember Mike Varney [president of Shrapnel Records] told me, when I did the SLEDGE LEATHER record [in 2011], he said that my balls had finally dropped. Yeah, my voice really changed in my 40s… I don't know if it happens with the average person, but definitely singers, your voice changes.

"It's funny, people have always said to me, 'Oh, Leather, it's a shame that you have to lower the CHASTAIN songs. You can't sing them anymore,'" she continued. "And I'm, like, 'I can. I don't wanna sound...' That was called standard tuning. In the '80s everybody did standard tuning. And then extreme metal came, so then we drop it all. And a lot of people do that anyway. And I always say to people, I didn't play for 25 years. I've preserved my voice. So when they get on people that tour all the time, fuck — you try doing 60 dates, man. It's not easy. I mean, even right now for me to do four dates in a row, it's a big deal because I'm not, like, [singing softly]. Yeah, it's hard work. It's hard work. And, of course, the three things, hardest things in the world for me: sleep, which I never do; water, which I hate to drink; and to shut up. I mean, I can remember when I would do Brazil, having so many shows, and I would be so tired that I would just have [Leather's promoter/manager] Rodrigo [Scelza] go out and do my soundchecks. If I could just go in a hotel room and crash for 20 minutes, I was good. Your vocal cords just wake up."

"We Are The Chosen" came out in November 2022 via Steamhammer/SPV. It marked Leather's first solo material since her 2018 effort "Leather II".

Leone has long been considered one of the originators of the female power metal vocal style, having appeared on the classic CHASTAIN albums "Mystery Of Illusion", "Ruler Of The Wasteland", "The 7th Of Never", "The Voice Of The Cult" and "For Those Who Dare".

The Leather-fronted version of CHASTAIN recorded five CDs in the mid-to-late 1980s: 1985's "Mystery Of Illusion", 1986's "Ruler Of The Wasteland", 1987's "The 7th Of Never", 1988's "The Voice Of The Cult" and 1990's "For Those Who Dare". After the "For Those Who Dare" tour, David Chastain and Leather amicably went their separate ways but kept in touch over the years before reuniting in 2013.

Leather released one solo album, "Shock Waves", in 1989, before taking a two-decade break from the music scene. In a 2015 interview with MusicLifeMagazine.net, she said: "For 20 years I got into animal medicine and animal rescue I got into pitbull rescue which totally blew my mind and took my breath away. But I went away from music because it was so frustrating for me. Some people have said that I just gave up and that those sorts of comments really dug into me but maybe it seems to outsiders that I did."

Leather in 2012 released the debut album from her SLEDGE LEATHER project, "Imagine Me Alive". The CD was inspired in 2010 when Leather called Sandy Sledge to collaborate on the Ronnie James Dio track "Egypt" for a demo tribute recording. Due to the overwhelming response for more material, SLEDGE LEATHER was born and performed at Germany's Keep It True festival in April 2011.

Photo courtesy of Freeman Promotions / Steamhammer