I was born and raised in Hawaii in a very musical and artistic family. With my dad being my main influence, I picked up the ukulele at the age of 4, and later the guitar and drums. I never had a music lesson in my life. In highschool I formed a metal/prog/grunge/rock band with my buddies, playing mostly drums and some bass.
In 1995 I relocated to Eugene, Oregon where I played drums in decidedly mellower bands (r&b/funk, celtic/folk/pop), but gained the skills of subtlety, articulation, and intuitive playing. In 1997 I made my debut as a songwriter. Armed with a handful of catchy proggy pop songs, I caught the ear of Chris Funk who introduced me to alt/pop/country/folkster Ashleigh Flynn. I was soon recruited to play bass in her band Honda 70 (with Chris Funk on lapsteel/guitar, and Brian West on drums), and had the opportunity to take turns fronting the group to showcase my own tunes. Did some regional touring and eventually relocated to Portland, Oregon in 2000.
In 2001, I formed the Leila Chieko Trio with keyboard extraordinaire Asher Fulero, and drummer/producer David Lauder. I loved playing guitar and using my voice as an instrument, but I missed being behind the drum kit. So I put it out there and soon became a sought-after drummer in the songwriter community. The next few years were busy with session work, but I finally chose to focus on one group, Vivian's Keeper. My best studio work appears on Vivian's Keeper's 2004 eco/folk/pop release, "Solid Ground".
My latest musical endeavor has been drumming for Myshkin's Ruby Warblers' brilliant gypsy/jazz/pop.
On the songs featured here, I am playing all the drums, bass, acoustic and electric guitars, and of course singing. Other peeps who helped me out:
"Trampoline" - Asher Fulero on keyboards, Andres Gaoiran (my dad!) on congas
"Still It's Too Soon" - Dayna Gabriel sings high harmonies before bridge
"Have A Wish" - Steven Marrocco on bass
LEILA'S DISCOGRAPHY:
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Myshkin's Ruby Warblers - "Sigh Semaphore EP" - 2006 - (drum set)
Dave Rummans - "Love Is Strongest in Our Weakest Moments" - 2004- (djembe on "Rising")
Vivian's Keeper - "Solid Ground" - 2004 - (drum set, djembe, doumbek, goat toes, tambourine, vocal harmonies)
Suzanne Benorden - "One Night Only" - 2003 - (drum set)
Vivian's Keeper - "Syzygy EP" - 2002 - (drum set, tambourine, vocal harmonies)
Ross Beach - "You Make It Look So Easy" - 2002 - (vocal harmonies)
Orangestick - "Phoenix" - 2002 - (drum set)
Ashleigh Flynn - "Chokecherry" - 2002 - (bass, drum set, djembe, goat toes, vocal harmonies)
Thais Perkins - "Tactile" - 2001 - (drum set, djembe, goat toes, tambourine, vocal harmonies)
Leila Chieko Trio - "GARAGEpro EP" - 2001 - (vocals, electric and acoustic guitars)
Lara Michell - "Somniloquy" - 2001 - (drum set, bongos on "Corner")
Leila Chieko - "Limited Edition EP" - 2000 - (vocals, drum set, bass, electric and acoustic guitars)
Leila Chieko - "Leila Chieko" - 1998 (cassette!) - (vocals, drum set, bass, electric and acoustic guitars)
Sol Mochacha - "Sol Mochacha" - 1997 (cassette!) - (drum set, vocal harmonies)
Mamalovdus - "Mamalovdus" - 1996 (cassette!) - (drum set, vocals, acoustic guitar)