Leroy Bach Leaves Wilco

Leroy Bach has left Wilco after five years of holding down dual duty on keyboards and guitar.

According to a post on the band's site, the decision was Bach's, though no further information was available. "We'll all miss working with him and, of course, wish him the best in what comes next," a band statement read.

Departures are nothing new for the band. Multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett, who joined shortly after recording wrapped on Wilco's 1995 debut, was ousted from the group in the summer of 2001, just a few months after original drummer Ken Coomer (who had played with frontman Jeff Tweedy in Uncle Tupelo) was issued a pink slip.

Bach, well known on the Chicago music scene. He played with Liz Phair and his own band 5ive Style, and joined Wilco in the late Nineties, filling in after steel guitarist Bob Egan left its touring lineup. He first appeared on record in 1999's Summer Teeth.

Wilco initially toured its 2002 relese, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot as a four-piece -- just Tweedy, bassist John Stirratt, drummer Glenn Kotche (who joined during Foxtrot's sessions) and Bach. Keyboardist/laptop guy Mikael Jorgensen began to take the stage with the group during promotion for Foxtrot. Though he hasn't been formally introduced as a new member of the band, Jorgensen has been involved in the sessions for the new album, which as of late last year, had been tipped for a spring release.

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Song Stories

“Satisfied”

Tom Waits | 2011

Only the genius of Tom Waits could combine the subject of mortality, a reoccurring theme in his work, with wordplay that name checks both Mick and Keith, whom he calls "Mr. Jagger" and "Mr. Richards," and the title of their magnum opus, "Satisfaction." And to show just how cool Waits really is, he even got Mr. Richards to play along, one of nine guest appearances the guitarist has made on three Waits albums. "This growling roadhouse stomp is a late-breaking response to the Stones' greatest hit," Rolling Stone said of the track.

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