Born in
Brandon,
Manitoba and raised in Shilo, Leskiw grew up with a father who was a jazz guitarist and who had toured Manitoba in the 1930s and 1940s. Leskiw began playing the guitar at the age of 12, initially learning jazz standards and jazz chords from his father. Through Leskiw's high school years he played in Winnipeg rock bands The Shags, Logan Avenue, and Wild Rice. By 1969, Wild Rice dissolved, and in mid-1970 he joined
The Guess Who, as he and guitarist
Kurt Winter both replaced the departed
Randy Bachman. Leskiw wrote "One Divided" which appeared on the 1971 Guess Who album
So Long, Bannatyne. After a few albums with The Guess Who, Leskiw left the band in March 1972, and then formed the band Mood jga jga. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was a member of Crowcuss and Kilowatt, both with another Guess Who alumnus, bassist Bill Wallace. From 1986 to 1997, Leskiw operated Vox Pop Studios in Fort Garry, a popular recording studio for local Winnipeg groups such as
Crash Test Dummies,
New Meanies, and Mood jga jga. ==Discography==