…putting the ‘camp’ back in ‘boot camp’…

June 1st – 3rd @ Thomas’ home in Val Verde, CA

Join us for the very first guitar workshop at Thomas’ home in Val Verde, California and learn Leeb grooves during a week-end in June, camping out at the Leeb ranch. This is a very personal workshop, with only eight places available and is aimed at newcomers to the style and hardened veterans alike.

Cost

Two hundred and fifty dollars include all tuition and materials, breakfast and dinner. A surprise guest will also make an appearance. Movie nights with Thomas, campfires, cuddle units from the two dogs and howling coyotes at night are included at no extra charge. A hundred dollar non-refundable deposit will save your space at this event. Please e-mail us to make your reservation.

Camping and alternate accommodation

We can arrange new tents and air mattresses and set them up for you for a $ 30.00 fee. Wireless internet, water, showers and electricity are available for free. You are welcome to park your own or rented RV or camper anywhere on the property (well, maybe don’t drive down the creek or roll off the hill…).

Camping might not be everybody’s idea of a great time. We won’t think any less of you if you decide to get a room at one of the nearby hotels, about ten minute’s drive away. Please e-mail us with any questions you might have.

…and should you be crazy enough to make a long journey from farther afield, you are welcome to stay with us for a day earlier and later.

Residential Acoustic Guitar Workshop

“The Boot Camp”

Turracher Höhe, Austria, July 10th – 16th 2012

A week-long intensive guitar experience on the top of the world – probably the closest that musicians will ever come to high-altitude training! Instruction by Thomas Leeb with special guest Jacques Stotzem and more to be announced!

This will be our eighth annual residential guitar workshop in Austria, lovingly nick-named the Boot Camp. The week is always a personal high-point during my year as it’s incredibly inspiring to see people grow as musicians and turn into friends. Every year we welcome people from all over the world with every skill level who come together in a good-natured atmosphere. With a world-class line-up of tutors, 2012 will be a summer camp to remember!

We’re (almost) all-inclusive:

- Accommodation, breakfast, a lunchtime snack, dinner

- A whole week of tuition, sessions and workshops

(Choose from ear training, basic harmony and theory, contemporary fingerstyle, standard fingerpicking, performance, live sound, arranging and writing, guitar amplification as well as guitar set-up and maintenance)

- The Grand Finale concert and afterparty at the end of the week.

Thomas Leeb

Thomas has played more than a thousand concerts since his first stage appearance at the age of fifteen, taught master classes at the universities and colleges all over the world and is a constant performer at  guitar festivals and concert halls all over the world. He holds a BFA from the California Institute of the Arts where he studied Ghanaian dance/drumming with the Ladzekpo brothers. Thomas’ album ‘Desert Pirate’ was voted one of the essential albums of the last 20 years by Acoustic Guitar Magazine and they also say he’s “The most percussive and rock-and-roll oriented guitar you’ll ever hear”

special guest: Jacques Stotzem

One of the hardest working pickers out there and we’re happy to finally get him to join us! Jacques is one of the most precise and melodic fingerpicking guitarists we know and to top it all off he does it all in standard tuning. Jacques has faithful fans all over the world and his very own Martin Signature model to boot.
stotzem.com

more special guests to be announced

Registration

Please e-mail us early to book a spot and avoid disappointment. A EUR 200 deposit will reserve your space.

Pricing

Shared room EUR 700 – (two persons per room, shared bathroom)
Single room EUR 850 – (private room, shared bathroom)
What is included in the price?
Room and board at the scenic ‘Meizeit Chalets in the spectacular Turracher Höhe (and no, that is not a typo) in the Austrian mountains right at the edge of the Nockberge National Park.

F.A.Q.

Do I have to be able speak German?
- No, the principal language is English.

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Can I bring a nylon-string guitar?
- No problem.

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But I can’t read music!!
- You don’t have to know how to read music. We will teach you to read basic tablature but generally, if you can count up to twelve and can hear, that will do nicely.

And I am really bad at playing the guitar!
- That is exactly why people go to workshops. Everybody comes at their level and leaves a bit better.
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- I’ve never played in open tunings or fingerstyle before. Can I still come?
Yes. You’ll have the time of your life.

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How do I get there?
- The best way to get there from the UK and Ireland is with Ryanair from/via Stansted to Klagenfurt airport. Some mad people have driven to previous workshops from the UK and from Holland. Unless you have a serious fear of flying or enjoy racing your Audi down the Autobahn we wouldn’t suggest that. With Ryanair you’ll end up staying an extra night because they only fly out on the 17th. We will be happy to arrange the additional night’s stay for you at the same venue.

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How do I take my guitar on the airplane?
- We haven’t had any problems with checked guitars in the last eight years. However, if you book your flights early enough to get the cheap tickets just buy a seat for your guitar (follow the instructions on the airline website).

another NAMM show has come and gone. As far as I can remember, this is now my tenth time attending this show. I thought that was pretty remarkable until I met somebody who’s been going to it since the year I was born! This annual event is for two reasons: on one side you get to see and test the newest gear out there which can be a lot of fun and on the other side you get to see friends from all over the world which you usually just bump into once or twice a year.

So let the name dropping begin: George Lowden and family were my hosts – I performed at the booth for Lowden Guitars on my signature model three to five times a day. Those performances were usually fun but sometimes playing at these trade shows can be a bit like busking for jaded industry professionals. The new Lowden fan fret models are really really intriguing… Then Teja Gerken from Acoustic Guitar magazine who is a wonderful man and guitar player and always a sight for sore eyes, the folks from G7 capos, LR Baggs, Mi-Si. Ran into the incredible Kruger Brothers, met Andy Wood for the first time (wow!) and got to catch up with old friend Steve Lawson for a bit as well. I’m guaranteed to have left out a few people – NAMM overload!

One of the highlights was playing the Marriott main stage on Friday night with friend and colleague Andy McKee playing after me. It was great to get to catch up with him even for a little bit.

What’s on the menu for the next few weeks is finishing the workshop details for the Austria and California Boot Camps, a house concert here at the Leeb’s in Val Verde and setting up the dates for the spring tour late as usual… And I should have some more videos for you soon. As you can see, it unfortunately doesn’t look like I’ll be playing video games again any time soon…

The first episode of the Leeb video tutorial series is now online. My old friend “Äkäskero” takes the plunge and Asha will follow after in a week or so.

I am excited about being able to offer these videos for instant download – have a look!

Hello all!

I’ve been enjoying my time at home with wife and child, the old mutt and a new one! Enough time has passed since we have finished construction of the house that we actually get to enjoy it and I feel I’m back in the groove. There’s a really really fun bouncy tune I just finished writing today…

My office/studio space has also taken shape and I’m in the process of filming a bunch of things. It’s the first time in years that I’ve recorded myself and it’s not as painful as I had feared!

…and I also managed to finish Tablature Collection #3, which is now available here!

The two new videos – one for good old Äkäskero and the other for new Asha will also be on the video page as soon as I’ve figured out how to post them there. Äkäskero had eleven thousand views in only two days. Not viral territory but I can live with that

Am also spending my free days working on the new tablature book. It’s not going as fast as I’d like but I’m making headway.

…and this is just in from friend and colleague Newton Faulkner:

“There are many fantastic technical guitarists around these days but none with Leeb’s grasp of melody and composition. It is for this reason that he is one of, if not my favourite guitarist in the world.”

Come on, who doesn’t like praise

…aaalmost done packing – it’s interesting that a process that took hours when I started touring is now compressed into a half hour of madness. Travelling gets easier the more you do it. And more tedious in some ways, but that’s another story. LAX-MUC, then picking up the rental car, a two-hour to stay with friends and then some guitar tech action at Musikhaus Hofer on Thursday morning. Curious about this new pickup prototype I’m toying around with. So far so good….

All good things take time / better late than never!

The new album is finally out, boasting fifteen new tracks of Leeb on his signature and baritone Lowdens and wonderful artwork by Patricia Hardmeier-Leeb. It has already received a wonderful quote by my colleague/friend/guitar hero Alex DeGrassi:

“Thomas Leeb harnesses his trademark raw energy and innovative percussive technique with finesse and restraint. The result is a fresh collection of solo guitar music with an introspective spirit and deep grooves.”

After ten years of faithful service, my old do-it-yourself thomasleeb.com has been laid to rest and I’m proud to present thomasleeb.com in a professional new look and with a bunch of new features. The Pixel Flow have been wonderful in getting this page on it’s feet. You can now comment, ‘like’, buy and download music directly from me and everything looks a bit more contemporary. About time! Now let’s see if I’ll actually start posting like a responsible self-promoting musician, i.e. more than once a year!

All good things take time / better late than never!

The new album is finally out, boasting fifteen new tracks of Leeb on his signature and baritone Lowdens and wonderful artwork by Patricia Hardmeier-Leeb. It has already received a wonderful quote by my colleague/friend/guitar hero Alex DeGrassi:

“Thomas Leeb harnesses his trademark raw energy and innovative percussive technique with finesse and restraint. The result is a fresh collection of solo guitar music with an introspective spirit and deep grooves.”