I'm Leo Milner, AKA: Mojo Zap.
The guitar did not come to me easy. I learned how to play the organ at church and was good at it, it seemed easy to me. I was also born with a voice, could sing well and had a lyrical mind, so I learned to write songs. The guitar was hard for me to learn. I was not a natural. I'm a lefty and decided to just play the guitar totally backwards and not change the strings around, like Albert king the great Bluesman did. I played day and night for about two years reading every guitar book I could get my hands on.
It was the 60's and even as a kid I was outspoken and in tune with social issues. I quickly evolved into a folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. I wrote songs about social injustice and started playing in coffee houses and at festivals. I never thought about it, it just all just happened naturally and I developed a folowing without even trying or knowing. I had switched over to playing mostly the acoustic guitar and my music was simple, but had a good sound and my song's were about real life so people related to my music and I became very popular.
I stayed on that path for almost ten years. I had finished a stay in the service and a degree by now and new door's opened up so I moved to Maryland. I started to meet a whole new class of musicians now. Jazz guitarists, fussion guitarists, metal guitarists and on and on. I was taken back by all these hot shot, fast playing, guitar slinger types who were all out in battle to be the king of the hill. It reminded me a lot of the shoot out at an old west movie.
This new mentality and exposure to all these new hot shot guitar slingers threw me into a real reclusive life for a while. I decided to study every guitar style of every famous guitar player I could find. I spent almost three years, day and night, learning the styles of all the famous fast and flashy guitar players. After all that study and pratice I found that I was not well equiped for the guitar slinger club. I was by no means the best or the fastest guy on the block. I decided to try and infuse as much of what I had learned into my playing and create a new sound that was a bridge between all the styles at my speed, and with my own unique feel and texture and style. What I ended up with was a style that brought rock, blues and folk together in a way that I feel is true to myself.
Over the years I've developed a line of my own guitars I build from time to time for myself as well as others. If you want to talk about music or guitars write me anytime. Some people who I feel have had a great influence on my music and playing are: Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, Albert King, Robin Trower, Paul Clark, just to name a few. I want to thank them for giving me and the world their own gift of music.
Peace
Leo
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