Leeno Dee is an Australian-born bassist, singer and songwriter, best known for his major label acts Jerk,

Candy Harlots Candy Harlots were an Australian band from Sydney, active between 1987 and 1995. They also released material as Helter Skelter and The Harlots. According to rock music historian Ian McFarlane they were, "an unashamedly macho, decadent lot, wi ...

and his current band Dept. of Gloom.

Early life

Dee was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and was bitten by the music bug at the age of 8, when he heard British bands

Slade Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...

and

The Sweet The Sweet (often shortened to just Sweet), are a British glam rock band that rose to prominence in the 1970s. Their best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mic ...

. At 12, he began playing guitar and at 16 switched to bass, which became his main instrument.

Career

Dept. of Gloom

Dee formed Dept. of Gloom in June 2016 with longtime cohort guitarist Phil Bowley and drummer AJ. In August 2016, the lineup was completed with former

Genitorturers The Genitorturers are an American industrial metal band with influences extending into the 1990s hardcore punk and electronic music. They proclaim themselves to be "The World's Sexiest Rock Band". History Originating in Orlando, Florida, the ...

guitarist

Bizz Bizz (born Bryce Bernius) is an American rock guitarist, best known for his work with industrial/shock rock band Genitorturers, horror punk band The Undead (also featuring ex members of The Misfits; Bobby Steele and Joey Image), and Sydney metal ...

Tronix. Following a string of shows, the band entered the studio in March/April 2018 to record their debut EP set for release in the second half of 2018. That EP was postponed, and following COVID-19 the band began recording a full-length debut album, set for a mid/late 2022 release. Dept. of Gloom also opened for American hard rockers

Skid Row A skid row or skid road is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to poor or homeless, considered disreputable, downtrodden or fo ...

Hardcore Superstar Hardcore Superstar is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was formed in 1997 and have released eleven studio albums. History The first ten years (1997–2007) 1997–2004 Hardcore Superstar was formed in Gothenburg, ...

and others, and also headlined their own shows.

Melody Black

In 2010, Dee formed Melody Black who released an album - ''Love Your Demons'' - on the RIOT label through

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

. The album featured nine songs all composed by Dee. In 2012, their cover of

's classic glam anthem

Ballroom Blitz "The Ballroom Blitz" (often called "Ballroom Blitz") is a song by British glam rock band The Sweet, written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. The song reached number one in Canada, number two in the UK Singles Chart and the Australian Chart, and ...

reached the number 1 position on iTunes Chart in Australia. Melody Black also toured with various acts, including

Rose Tattoo Rose Tattoo are an Australian rock and roll band, now led by Angry Anderson, which formed in Sydney in 1976. Their sound is hard rock mixed with blues rock influences, with songs including "Bad Boy for Love", "Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw", "Nice ...

and

Misfits Misfits or The Misfits may refer to: Film and television * ''The Misfits'' (1961 film), a film starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Montgomery Clift * ''The Misfits'' (2011 film), a Mexican film * ''The Misfits'' (2021 film), an American ...

INK

In 2006, Dee became part of INK along with former Jerk members Charles Cilia and Jonathan Devoy. They released two CDs: ''Lead...Or Follow'' and ''Black Water Reign'', and toured extensively, including runs with

Deathstars Deathstars is a Swedish industrial metal band from Strömstad. Formed in 2000, the group are noted for their dark horror-themed lyrics, pessimistic and misanthropic social commentary, distinctive trademark face paint, dark stage uniforms and ph ...

69 Eyes The 69 Eyes are a Finnish rock band. It was founded in 1989 in Helsinki by vocalist Jyrki 69 (who also writes the band's lyrics), guitarists Bazie, Timo-Timo and bassist Archzie, joined in 1992 by drummer Jussi 69; the lineup never changed sinc ...

and

Jerk

In 2000, Dee was asked to join

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine In ...

band Jerk, recording and releasing their debut self-titled EP in 2001. This led to the band being signed to a worldwide deal with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

. In June, Dee visited Los Angeles where in addition to meeting with several music industry types he attended the Summer Party at

Playboy Mansion The Playboy Mansion, also known as the Playboy Mansion West, is the former home of ''Playboy'' magazine founder Hugh Hefner who lived there from 1974 until his death in 2017. Barbi Benton convinced Hefner to buy the home located in Holmby Hills ...

Holmby Hills Holmby Hills is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. The neighborhood was developed in the early twentieth century by the Janss Investment Company, which developed the rest of Westwood as well as other Los Ang ...

. Jerk then recorded their debut major label album ''When Pure Is Defiled'', which reached No. 31 on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

and spawned two number 1

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

singles, ''I Hate People Like That'' and ''Just What You Need''. The album was produced in Sydney and Los Angeles with both

Mark Opitz Mark Opitz (born 1952) is an Australian record producer and audio engineer. He started his career with Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in 1971. He has produced AC/DC, the Angels, Australian Crawl, Cold Chisel, Divinyls and INXS. H ...

(

INXS INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

Steelheart Steelheart is an American glam metal band from Norwalk, Connecticut, that formed in 1989. At the time that their debut was recorded, the band's members consisted of vocalist Miljenko Matijevic, lead guitarist Chris Risola, rhythm guitarist Fran ...

) and

Sean Beavan Sean Beavan is a musician, record producer, and audio engineer best known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Guns N' Roses, God Lives Underwater, and Slayer. His production style is typically heavy, with heavily saturated guitar ...

(

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

) at Beavan's Blue Room Studios in L.A. Jerk toured with

Disturbed Disturbed may refer to: Books * ''Disturbed'', a 2011 novel by Kevin O'Brien (author) Film and TV * ''Disturbed'' (film), a 1990 film starring Malcolm McDowell * "Disturbed" (''Numb3rs''), a 2009 episode of ''Numb3rs'' * "The Disturbed", a 20 ...

Insane Clown Posse Insane Clown Posse, often abbreviated as ICP, is an American hip hop duo. Formed in Detroit in 1989 as a gangsta rap group, ICP's best known lineup consists of rappers Violent J (Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (originally 2 Dope; Joseph Utsler ...

P.O.D. P.O.D., an initialism for Payable on Death, is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992 and based in San Diego, California. The band's line-up consists of drummer and rhythm guitarist Wuv Bernardo, vocalist Sonny Sandoval, bassist Traa ...

and

Killing Joke Killing Joke are an English rock music, rock band from Notting Hill, London, England, formed in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Ki ...

, amongst others. The band also made many TV appearances including

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

Rage Rage may refer to: * Rage (emotion), an intense form of anger Games * Rage (collectible card game), a collectible card game * Rage (trick-taking card game), a commercial variant of the card game Oh Hell * ''Rage'' (video game), a 2011 first-per ...

Channel V Channel '' ("V" standing for the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Disney ...

and others, in addition to a crowd stopping appearance at the

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

in 2003.

Candy Harlots

Dee's first professional band saw him become the third and final bassist in

. Following a string of shows including tours with

Divinyls Divinyls () were an Australian rock band that were formed in Sydney in 1980. The band primarily consisted of vocalist Chrissy Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee. Amphlett garnered widespread attention for performing on stage in a school unifo ...

, The Angels and

, and releasing two No. 1 and No. 2 alternative chart singles ''Red Hot Rocket'' and ''Danger'', the band signed a deal with

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

. Their album ''Five Wicked Ways'' was produced by Peter Blyton (

Choirboys Choirboy is a boy member of a choir, also known as a treble Choirboy and variants may also refer to: * ''Choir Boy'', a Broadway play *Choir Boy (band), an alternative rock / dream-pop band from Salt Lake City *The Choirboys (book), ''The Choirboys ...

). Dee then flew to L.A. for three weeks to oversee the mix sessions with Jeff Hendrickson (

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

Vain Vain may refer to: * Vain (horse) (1966–1991), a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse * Vain Stakes, an Australian Thoroughbred horse race * Vain (band), a glam metal band formed in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1986 * Vaginal intraepithe ...

). The album spawned two charting singles: ''The Lady Shakes'' (No. 17 ARIA) and ''Sister's Crazy'' (No. 20 ARIA).

Equipment/Endorsement

Dee currently plays

Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a range ...

4003S/4000 basses,

Tech 21 Tech 21 is a New York based manufacturer of guitar and bass effect pedals, amps, and DI boxes which allow the user to emulate the tone of many popular guitar amps and record those sounds directly into a mixer. Products Tech 21's core produc ...

VTB 1969 amplifiers, Markbass CL410 CABS,

Korg , founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, they ...

Pitch-black Rack Tuner Pro,

Line 6 (company) Line 6 is a musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer. Their product lines include electric and acoustic guitars, basses, guitar and bass amplifiers, effects units, USB audio interfaces and guitar/bass wireless systems. The company w ...

Relay G50 Wireless System,

GHS (strings) GHS Strings is an American string manufacturer based Battle Creek, Michigan, specializing in electric and acoustic guitar and bass guitar strings. The company was founded on August 1, 1964, and in 1975 was bought by Robert McFee, who is the Ch ...

. Previous endorsements include Ashdown amps UK, Markbass amps Italy and RotoSound strings UK.

References

External links

*Official Dept. of Gloom Website (http://gloom.band) *Official Dept. of Gloom Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/deptofgloom/) *Leeno Dee SoundCloud Page (https://soundcloud.com/leeno-dee-164438296) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dee, Leeno Living people Australian singer-songwriters Australian bass guitarists Gothic rock musicians Musicians from Sydney Australian rock bass guitarists Year of birth missing (living people)