Paul (Paulo) Leeder
Bass Player

Paulo first took up the electric bass in 1966 at the suggestion of a high school classmate who needed a bass player for his band. Paulo's first bass was a homemade instrument which he subsequently traded-in on some "real" gear.

In the late 1960's Paulo began gigging around Melbourne with rock outfit Muffpot (with Ron Teuma, Danny Pasto and Sam Righi) and pop band The Union (with Paul Swann, Phillip Howe and Trevor Misselbrook).

Some of the bands Paulo worked with in the 1970's included Mr Muse (pop 'n' roll with Remy Aromain, Phil Bowen and Trevor Missellbrook), Atlas (latin-rock with John Annas, Sam Caserta and Joe Maker), Gypsy (prog-rock with John Annas, Tony Lee, Joe Maker, David Graham and John Brown) and Thin Ice (funk 'n' roll with Peter Velasco, Glen Bayliss, Shane Dorrington, Sam Caserta, Sig Anderson, John Santos, Tim Fettes, Ross Guenther and John McCulloch), amongst others. He also worked with artists such as Jeff St John, Wendy Saddington and Angry Anderson.

In 1978 Paulo moved from Melbourne, Victoria to Candelo, New South Wales and began playing with such talents as Tony Haid and Dave Hannagan (Haid, Hannagan & Leeder), Pol O'Shea, Mike Crowe, Donny Ryan, Louise Harnett, Dennis Richards and others, before returning to Melbourne. After a short stint with the Sinclair Brothers band Paulo semi-retired from playing to concentrate on a career in the computer industry.

In 1990, Paulo returned to the NSW Far South Coast.

The "itch he couldn't scratch" persisted through the ensuing years until Paulo returned to "active duty" in 1996. He then began working with the finest of the NSW Far South Coast music fraternity, including the Sleepwalkers (rhythm 'n' groove with Jim Lay, Al Leake and Kerrin Dow), Pace (power blues-rock with Nick Lister and Rod Motbey), Leeder & The Pack (rhythm 'n' groove with various artists), The Tomcats (rhythm 'n' groove with Ken Vatcher, Kym Beare and Pete Wild), Jay McMahon, Heath Cullen, Cathy Middleton, Heather Black, Damon Davies, Deb Weeden, Terry Heffernan, Mike Crowe, Pol O'Shea, Franz Peters, Lee Grando, Bob Porter and others.

In 2006, Paulo moved to Canberra and began forging connections within the ACT blues scene. He regularly performs with the Chris Harland Blues Band, the Dorothy-Jane Band (blues 'n' groove with Dorothy-Jane Gosper, Michael-John Stratford and Baz Cooper/Mike Dooley/Ali Penney/Dave Blanken/Richard Steele/and others). Paulo also performs occasionally with other notable musicians such as Dave Blanken, Illya Szwec (Wollongong), Adam Hole, Marji Curran, Rick Millband, Chris Tominich, Christo Carlsen, John Stockdill, Jonno Zilber, Shane Dorrington (Melbourne), Gary Jones (Melbourne), Bruce Smyth, Ken Vatcher, Wayne Ryder, Johnny Reynolds, Kerry Mather, Mike Dooley, Pearlnoire and Ali Penney.

In 2013, Paulo moved back to Candelo in the Bega Valley after seven years in Canberra. He still performs with the Chris Harland Blues Band and the Dorothy-Jane Band, and intends to forge closer ties with the Bega Valley musical community.

In 2016, Paulo started the Candelo Blues Club to further the blues music cause on the NSW Far South Coast. The CBC holds regular monthly jams at the Candelo Hotel and the jammers and punters come from near and far. Paulo put together house band, Blues On Tap, comprising Don Ryan (guitar/vox), Lucy Fisher (vox), John Fraser (drums), John Drews (keys) and Paulo (bass), to underpin the jam.

In 2019, the Candelo Blues Club is going strong and attracts punters and jammers from far and wide. New musical alliances have been forged too. Personnel in Blues On Tap saw a change early in the year and it continues as house band, alternating with feature acts for the jam hosting role.

Paulo, whose playing is exemplified as "powerful, driving and funky", intends to continue playing "forever"!