Theodore Francis Leo (born September 11, 1970) is an American singer and musician. He is the frontman and lead guitarist of the rock group Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and in 2013, he and Aimee Mann formed the indie rock duo The Both.[1]
Ted Leo performing in December 2015, wearing Scott Miller button
Leo was a founding member of the New York punk band Citizens Arrest in 1989. In the 1990s, Leo played in bands that included Chisel, Puzzlehead, and the Sin-Eaters.
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists was formed in 1999 in Washington, D.C. The group recorded six studio albums between 1999 and 2010. Leo has also maintained a consistent presence as a solo performer since the 1990s.[5]
In 2011, Leo joined TV Casualty, a Misfits tribute band. They released a self-titled 7" with proceeds going to the Attic Youth Center in Philadelphia.[6]
In early 2013, Leo and Aimee Mann formed a duo called The Both, after Leo had toured with Mann for several months as her supporting act. He and Mann began writing songs together, and in March 2013, the duo performed their first show together as the Both (originally formatted as #BOTH). Their self-titled debut album, The Both, was released in April 2014.
Leo released his debut solo album The Hanged Man on September 8, 2017.[1][7] The album was inspired by several years of career and personal hardships, including the loss of a daughter in 2011 due to a late-term miscarriage in which Leo's wife was forced to go into premature labor.[1][8]
Leo grew up in New Jersey before moving to South Bend to attend Notre Dame, where he formed Chisel.[10] He then moved to D.C., and briefly moved to Boston thereafter.[10] Leo has lived in Rhode Island since 2005,[11] and he also maintained an apartment in New York City until 2016.[10][1]
Leo met his wife, musician, and visual artist Jodi Buonanno, in the late 1990s when both were touring in bands.[1][11] She is credited with clapping, whistle, and background vocals on the Hearts of Oak album, as well as bass on The Tyranny of Distance.
His brothers, Chris and Danny Leo, are also musicians and have been members of bands such as Native Nod, The Lapse, The Van Pelt, The Vague Angels, and The Holy Childhood.
^Almond, Steve (March 29, 2007). "Ted Leo". New Times Broward-Palm Beach. Retrieved March 10, 2011. It's virtually impossible to figure out how Ted Leo became, you know, Ted Leo. Born in Bloomfield, New Jersey, Leo graduated from Seton Hall Prep and received a degree in English from Notre Dame. He is now a strict vegan and plays socially conscious punk music.
