Leo King
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Leo King | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Leonard Robert Kingsley II | |
| Origin | July 31st, 1973 (age 36) Adel, Iowa, United States |
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| Years active | 1995 - Present | |
| Genre(s) | Alternative metal, alternative rock, grunge, heavy metal, hard rock | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, musician, vocalist | |
| Voice Type(s) | Low tenor | |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, piano, drums, bass, mandolin, banjo | |
Leonard Robert Kingsley II (born July 31st, 1973) better known by his stage name Leo King, is an American musician and the front man for the alternative metal, post-grunge band Per diem.
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[edit] Biography
Early Life and Family
King was born in Adel, Iowa, as the first son and middle child of Leonard Robert Kingsley Sr. and Cynthia Kingsley. King has two elder sisters, a younger brother and younger sister. King has said in several interviews that his home life was, "...turbulent. I didn't want to be a farmer growing corn in Iowa. I didn't want to be my dad, therefore, we had issues. It got to a point where I had to bail or I was going to claw my eyes out." King has also said that he refuses to speak to any member of his family for obvious reasons.
Beginnings and Music Career
Rock music was a filter for King growing up, and he used it to his own advantage when it came to living in the rural town of Adel. "I hated the shit out of that town. I used to escape to Chicago whenever I had the chance." Picking up guitar at 15, King established two bands with a few high school classmates, but they never hit it off musically or successfully. It wasn't until King was given an ultimatum by his family did he ever think to take music seriously.
King was kicked out of his home at age 17, and immediately packed up to move to Los Angeles, selling drugs at a method of income for three years while he tried to put a band together. In 1994, King and the current members of Per diem, then under the name Glimmer Days, met at a club and began to jam. Within the next year, they had changed their name and released their first album, 666. 666 was given no mainstream success, but became an underground sensation in the Seattle grunge scene.
Two years later, in 1997, Per Diem released one other underground record, Big Dumb Sex, with notable songs such as "Ugly Truth" and "Loud Love". It wasn't until mid-2000 did Per diem receive any airplay on national radio. They dropped their third album, Dirt & Oil, in April, 2000. The single, "Jesus Christ Pose" stirred major controversy within the religious community, and the song was subsequently removed from several radio stations around the United States. However, the band's two other singles, "Rusty Cage" and "Mind Riot" would send the band to new heights in the rock world.
In 2002, the band reached the peak of their stardom when their fourth studio recording, Fell On Black Days landed on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart. It received a Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 2003 and was ranked number 43 on Guitar World's October 2003 list of the top 100 greatest guitar albums of all time. From then on, Per diem was an internationally recognized band, and received critical acclaim in the United States, UK, Sweden, Netherlands, and Canada.
Apple Bite would be the last album Per diem would release before the temporary disbandment of the group in 2005. It received moderate success with singles such as "Pretty Noose" and "Burden In My Hand" in spite of the band's less heavy sound and experimentation. However, the tensions between King and the rest of the band led to more scandal involving the sales of the album. By December 2005, Per diem announced an indefinite hiatus due to internal conflict with the members and King's drug-use.
Substance Abuse, Arrest and Conviction
From 1995 to 2007, King had been arrested on several drug-related charges. His drug-use was not something he hid from the public, nor did he make any attempt to seek treatment. "I don't need to go to treatment. It won't help anything, I've been like this for too long," He was quoted saying in August of 2004 in Rolling Stone magazine.
King is known exclusively for his antics involving violence as well, and in 2003 he was arrested for intentionally starting a brawl with a group of fans after a show in Tallahassee, Florida. No charges were filed and King was released after a night in jail, but it projected huge publicity and attention to King's on-going drug issues. His unruly behavior hit its lowest point after the death of his wife of five years, Abernathy Gold. While King refused to comment on the situation, his increasing drug addiction and arrest count was enough for the public to make a connection between the two. Per diem suffered as well, to the point where his own band members staged an intervention that King allegedly stormed out of, breaking chairs and glasses on his way. King spent the next two years being part of even more scandals involving drugs and violence, until late 2007 when King was arrested on possession of heroin, cocaine, and an unregistered .45 ACP handgun while driving his red Ferrari near his home in Las Vegas, Nevada.
King was taken to court in January of 2008 and sentenced to four years in High Desert State Prison in Nevada. However, making a deal with the court, King's sentence was shortened to nine months of jail time with three months of probation following his release.
Comeback
In April, 2009, King gave his first interview in over two years to Spin Magazine. In the interview, he stated that he had indeed written an entire album while in prison, and Per diem had plans to release their sixth album in May. King is one year sober and states that he has no intention of falling back on substance abuse, but would rather concentrate on his music career. Since his release from prison, the album, In The Last Remaining Light sold 172,000 copies on it's first week, sending it to Billboard's 200 chart position at number six.
August, 2009 Disappearance
On the night of August 13th, 2009, Per diem's manager, Chris Gallafonte made a public statement on the band's website, stating that Leo King had been missing for approximately four days. Without any word from the musician, Per diem cancelled the rest of their summer tour, returning money generated from ticket sales back to their respective buyers. With FBI involvement leading to a nationwide search for King, the musician was eventually arrested in Coaldale, Nevada in the residence of a few friends. Initially arrested for suspicious drug paraphernalia found at his Los Angeles home, charges were dropped due to lack of concrete evidence. On September 24th, 2009, Leo King made a public statement concerning his three week disappearance, "I'm only going to apologize to my fans. I'm only sorry that you couldn't see our fucking show, but I'm not that sorry because you got your money back...[I] needed some time to bail out. It's not important what I did while I was gone, the point is you found me. Best game of hide and seek ever." King also went on to say that the tour will be renewed in October, 2009.Personal Life
In June 2000, King wed longtime musician girlfriend, Abernathy Gold. The couple were a tumultuous pair, especially concerning drug-abuse, and were often arrested side-by-side. Gold and King were given the title of "Power Couple of Heavy Metal" in 2004 by Entertainment Weekly. However, not shortly after their exclusive interview for the magazine, Gold was found dead in their Nevada home. King had been on an international tour with Per diem for several weeks, but flew in that same day to discover his wife's body. King immediately called 911, but an autopsy would later confirm that Gold had been dead for nearly 24 hours before King arrived back from tour. A three-month pregnant Gold had overdosed on a combination of heroin, cocaine, and painkillers. It would later be discovered that King had not yet been informed about the pregnancy.Since Gold's death, King has been linked to several female celebrities, often in scandalous conditions.
On July 28th, 2009, Lavinia "Vinnie" Grace King was born prematurely to King and _______. King was unaware of the pregnancy and denied the child's paternity until August of 2009 when King agreed to be given an official test.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Per diem
- 1995: 666
- 1997: Big Dumb Sex
- 2000: Dirt & Oil US 2x Platinum US #39
- 2002: Fell On Black Days US 5x Platinum US #1
- 2005: Applebite US Platinum US #2
- 2009: The Last Remaining Light US Platinum US #6
