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

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