Born in Pueblo, Colorado, Al Leffler spent the formative years of his life known as "The Rubber Boy" in a traveling circus freak show. At age eleven, Al was abducted by the government and taken to Area 51 where he was forced to participate in a series of top secret experiments. Al is unable to remember the next several years, but around the age of 23 he was found lying in a Wisconsin field by a group of local residents. Soon after, Al found employment as a Junior Elevator Operator at a local hotel. Al's boss and mentor, Senior Elevator Operator Boris Conway, recalls Al seemed to have a natural gift. "The very first day on the job, he just knew what button to press for each floor. I never saw nothing like it! That's when I realized he was going places. Sometimes you just know things, you know?"

When a bitter labor dispute erupted between the Elevator Operator's Union and management, Al decided it was time to move on and pursue his lifelong dream of starting a catfish farm. In 1994, Al moved to Cincinnati along the banks of the mighty Ohio River, an exquisite location for breeding world-class catfish. "I've always been fascinated by catfish," says Al. "Ever since I was little, I wondered how cats, who don't like water, and fish, who do like water, could be combined."

Al's catfish farm, Good Eatin's, enjoyed several years of prosperity until over saturation in the catfish market forced the business to go under. Over the next few years, Al held a variety of odd jobs while continuing to hone his skills as a musician. One late afternoon while selling blenders door-to-door, Al stumbled upon a Patsys deCline rehearsal session at drummer Roger Harbert's house. Guitarist Jim Doyle remembers that day vividly. "We didn't really need a blender, but the guy just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. It was a pretty tense situation. Finally, after minutes of negotiation, we agreed to buy a blender if Al would join Patsys deCline. That's when everything just fell into place."

In addition to keyboards and guitar, Al has also been known to play the xylophone (intermediate level), vibraphone (advanced level), and cellphone (expert level). Off stage, Al spends countless hours helping others through his work with organizations such as The Human Fund, PETOP (People for the Ethical Treatment of Other People) and PWHMJ (People Who Hate Michael Jackson).