Troy Van Leeuwen

Infobox musical artist
Name = Troy Van Leeuwen
Background = solo_singer
Img_capt =
Birth_name = Troy Van Leeuwen
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1970|1|5
Height =
Origin = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Death =
Genre = Alternative rock Rock Space Rock Stoner metal
Occupation =
Years_active = 1990 - present
Instrument = Vocals Guitar Keyboards Lap Steel Guitar Bass Guitar
Label = Warner Bros. Records EMI Virgin Records Interscope Records The Control Group
Associated_acts = Queens of the Stone Age Failure Jester A Perfect Circle The Gutter Twins Sweethead Little Boots 60 Cycle
URL =

Troy Van Leeuwen (born January 5, 1970 in Los Angeles, California) [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1324544/ Troy Van Leeuwen's IMDb profile] ] is an American guitarist who currently plays lap steel guitar, electric guitar, keyboards and sometimes bass in Queens of the Stone Age, as well as guitarist and vocalist for "big dumb rockband" Enemy.

Early career and session work

Van Leeuwen was born January 5th 1970 outside Los Angeles, California. He first instrument was the drums but after realizing that he could not sound like his idol John Bonham of Led Zepplin [http://margo.student.utwente.nl/cees/misterenemy/interviews.html] he switched to playing guitar at age 13. In the late 1980's Van Leuwen played in a small band called Little Boots with which he recorded a number of demos and played a few shows before the band broke up. His next band was 60 Cycle which released their debut release "Pretender" in 1995 and their self titled album the year after. It was during his time in 60 Cycle were Van Leuwen meet Kellii Scott, the two started working on a project which would later be known as Enemy. Van Leuwen went on to play in Failure, the band released three records, but didn't enjoy any commercial success but was praised from critics as a talented and almost revolutionary group. [http://margo.student.utwente.nl/cees/misterenemy/story.html] It was during a tour with Failure were Troy meet Queens of the Stone Age front man Josh Homme for the first time. After the break up of Failure Troy went on to be a session musician and worked with groups like Orgy, Depeche Mode, and KoRn. It was during this time that Maynard James Keenan invited Troy to check out his band A Perfect Circle, Troy felt that the band had a lineup of talented musicians and good chemistry. Troy contributed with work for two albums.

Joining Queens of the Stone Age

In 2001 Van Leuwen auditioned for a spot in the Queens of the Stone Age for their Songs for the Deaf tour, where he beat out Jeordie White and was welcomed by tha band as their second guitarist. Besides playing guitar Troy also contributed with lap steel guitar, keyboards, backing vocals and occassionlly bass guitar work. Due to the bands schedule Troy only had one week to learn 30 songs before heading out on tour. Troy's first recording with the Queens was Lullabies to Paralyze were Troy aimed to fill up some of the gaps in the music were he felt the sound could be expanded with atmospheric and ambient textures with guitar, lap steel and piano. [http://margo.student.utwente.nl/cees/misterenemy/interviews.html] After touring to support the album the band headed back into the studio to record the follow up in July of 2006. Era Vulgaris was released after almost ten months of recording and was commercially successful as well as appriciated by music critics. After the release of the record the band set out on an extensive tour through out the U.S, Europe and Australia. In July 2007, Troy reported that the band had written new material that were, "still in its infancy" [cite web |url=http://www.nme.com/news/queens-of-the-stone-age/29795 |title=Queens Of The Stone Age discuss Duluth tour |accessdate=2007-07-21 |format=article |work=NME ] which Homme later suggested might be released as an EP.cite web
last =Coburn
first =Bob
authorlink =
coauthors =Josh Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen
title =Queens new material
work =
publisher =Rockline radio
date= 2007-07-30
url =http://www.rocklineradio.com/modules/mod_mp3player_files/mp3/QOTSA.mp3
format =radio interview
doi =
accessdate =2007-08-01 ]

Musical equipment

According to Troy the Queens of the Stoneage has a "veil of secrecy" regarding their exact setup, in order to keep their unique guitar sound. But certain things have been revealed. [http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/interviews/interviews/qotsas_troy_van_leeuwen_it_is_not_healthy_to_do_one_thing_to_excess.html] Troy favors semi-hollow guitars due to their natural resonance. To prohibit "bad feedback" he stuffs pieces of foam into the F-holes in some of his guitars. All of his guitars are fitted with Seymour Duncan pickups. His guitars are tuned in standard 440, D tuning and C tuning and he uses Ernie Ball 10 to 52 for standard tuning, heavy jazz gauge 12 to 58 for lower tunings. [http://www.f-p-e.com/interviews/interview.php?id=3] Troy has also said that his live rig is considerably different then what he uses during recording, since he considers most of his vintage equipment too unreliable for touring. [http://www.seymourduncan.com/artists/interviews/troy_van_leeuwe/]

Guitars

Quote_box
width=33%
align=right
quote="A lot of guitarists only use solos to define who they are. I can shred when I need to, but, ultimately, I'm interested in playing what the song needs—even if that means not playing at all."
source=Troy Van Leeuwen .
* Yamaha SA503 TVL - Troy van Leeuwen signature guitar.
* Yamaha AES1500
* Gibson Les Paul Classic 1960
* Gibson ES-135
* Fender Telecaster Deluxe 1972 Reissue
* Fender Telecaster Custom
* Fender Jaguar 1952
* Burns Double Six
* Maton
* Chandler lap steel guitar
* Silver Hercos .075mm picks

Effects

* D*A*M The Rooster
* D*A*M The Meathead
* Digitech Whammy
* Dunlop Carbon Copy
* Dunlop Crybaby Wah
* Ernie Ball 6180
* Ernie Ball Volume Pedal
* Fulltone Mini-Deja Vibe
* Ground Control GCS
* Guyatone Spring Reverb
* Jacques MS-2 MeisterSinger Analog Chorus Pedal
* Lexicon Vortex
* Line 6 Mod Modeler
* Maxon FL-9 Flanger
* Maxon Overdrive
* MXR Dyna-Comp Compressor
* MXR Q-Zone
* Lexicon Vortex
* T.C. Electronics G-Force
* Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro
* Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2

Amplifiers

* VOX AC-50 with a newer head - Used for lapsteel.
* Undisclosed Ampeg Combo
* Bad Cat Amplifiers
* Bad Cat Amplifier

Bands

* SWEETHEAD
* Jester
* Little Boots - No known studio recordings.
* 60 Cycle - Van Leeuwen appears on "Pretender" (1995) and their eponymous 1996 release.
* Failure - An influential American alternative and space rock band active in the 1990s.
* A Perfect Circle - Van Leeuwen appeared on guitar on the albums "Mer de Noms" and "Thirteenth Step".
* Enemy - His "big, dumb rock trio" [http://www.last.fm/music/Enemy/+wiki Last.fm Enemy wiki] ]
* Queens of the Stone Age - Guitar / Lap Steel / Keyboards / Bass / Vocals (2002 – Present).

ession Guitarist

* Depeche Mode (studio recordings only)Fact|date=July 2007
* Orgy (studio recordings only)
* Deadsy
* KoRn (studio recordings only)
* Limp Bizkit (studio recordings only)

Production Credits

* Slaves on Dope - Metafour

References

External links

* [http://margo.student.utwente.nl/cees/misterenemy/ Mister Enemy] - Troy Van Leeuwen fansite.

Persondata
NAME= Leeuwen, Troy Van
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Leeuwen, Troy Van
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Musician
DATE OF BIRTH= 1970-1-5
PLACE OF BIRTH= Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=