Jeff Kollman: bombastic meatbats

Ian Gillan

'MEET THE MEATBATS'

BOMBASTIC, FUNKY, SEXY AND LOUD...
CHAD SMITH IS BREAKING OUT ON HIS OWN!

click for hi res

UK ALBUM RELEASE: 12 OCTOBER 2009

From the powerhouse drummer behind the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the recently formed supergroup 'Chickenfoot', comes Chad Smith's new instrumental band Bombastic Meatbats, and their debut album 'Meet the Meatbats'. The album will be released in the UK on Monday 12th October by new international rock music label earMUSIC.

Along with guitar star Jeff Kollman, multi-faceted keyboardist Ed Roth, and Motor City bass ace Kevin Chown, they have created one of the most interesting and unpredictable instrumental bands in years; Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats. Their sound creates a cutting edge sonic experience fusing together Classic Rock, Old School Funk, Punk, and seventies R&B.

click for his res
Photo Credit: ©Tina Korhonen c/o www.tina-k.com

The Meatbats' sound is as uncalculated and spontaneous as their accidental beginnings, forged as an outgrowth of Jeff, Ed, and Chad's recording and touring with rock legend, Glenn Hughes. Kollman recalls, "Whenever I would jam with Ed and Chad at Glenn Hughes' rehearsals, we would warm up with some impromptu Jeff Beck-esque grooves. One day Chad said, 'Hey, we should record something like this!' Next thing you know we were in the studio making an album!"

Needing a bass player to round out the group, Kollman contacted long time friend, bassist Kevin Chown. "I called him on the day of the first recording session," continued Kollman. "He came over and saved the day - we got five tunes down in no time and the rest is history!"

Stretching the envelope with their exhilarating live performances, often deviating from the original arrangements to keep things fresh, no one quite knows (even the band it seems at times) just where the Meatbats will go next. Each performance becomes a unique experience enjoyed by the listener.

"My influences, through my brother, were so many of the groups that came out of England in the late 60's and early 70's," reflects Chad, "Led Zeppelin's John Bonham, Ginger Baker from Cream, Deep Purple with Ian Paice, Queen's Roger Taylor, Keith Moon with the Who; those groups were the ones that I really loved. I wanted to play like those guys. When I started learning to read music in school during fourth grade, initially I held the sticks in the traditional grip. But, I remember practicing and thinking if I turned my left stick around I could get a lot more power and hit a lot harder. I like to hit hard. Hitting hard is very important for me - that's the way I play and the way I feel it. Playing guitar, that's all great and everything, but hittin' stuff... AWESOME!"

the band
Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats (from left to right): Jeff Kollman (guitar), Ed Roth (keyboards), Kevin Chown (bass) and Chad Smith (drums). Photo Credit: © Scott Mitchell

Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats debut album, "Meet The Meatbats," speaks for itself. Consisting of 10 songs written over a few days in Chad's pool house in Malibu (known as "The Tiki Room"), songs including "Need Strange," "Oops! I Spilled My Beer," "Battle For Ventura Blvd.," and the hauntingly beautiful "Night Sweats," exude a live wire feel, sarcasm, and excitement rarely found in the current world of digitally induced "perfection." It is instrumental music with a soul and a sense of humour.

TRACK LISTING
1) NEED STRANGE
2) THE BATTLE FOR VENTURA BLVD
3) OH! I SPILLED MY BEER
4) TOPS OFF
5) DEATH MATCH
6) NIGHT SWEATS
7) PIG FEET
8) LOLA
9) BREAD BALLS
10) INTO THE FLOYD

BONUS TRACK
11) STATUS / SPECTRUM

"This was the least amount of time each of us has spent agonizing over a record," notes Kollman. "It's funky, musical, and compositional. The melody is king."

These recordings are very much live in the studio... it's totally old school that way," adds Ed Roth. "Nothing feels as good as a record cut with four guys recording live together, listening, and playing off of each other. Even without a vocal, you can sing almost everything that everyone played on this record. That's real soul."

Since their first live performance in 2007, the Meatbats has sold out a Japanese tour, have thrilled American audiences and regularly perform at L.A.'s famed Jazz venue, the Baked Potato.

"This band has a thing!" insists Kollman. "You can tell Chown and Chad both did their time in Detroit. They come from the same place musically and geographically. They are the funky heartbeat of this group. Chown's a mix of Detroit Rock and Motown, while Chad brings that sick rock/funk groove that has helped sustain the Chili Peppers for all these years. Ed's got the gritty funk and 70's R&B thing going on. His clavinet playing is genius and he's so great with leaving space in the arrangements. He has taste, knows just what to play, and his life goal is always 'keeping it sexy.' As for myself, I protect and defend the rock guitar!"

click here for hi res
Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats (from left to right): Ed Roth (keyboards), Kevin Chown (bass), Jeff Kollman (guitar) and Chad Smith (drums) Photo Credit: © Autumn Lee

OFFICIAL WEB LINKS

Official Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/bombasticmeatbats

Official Facebook:
www.facebook.com/bombasticmeatbats

Label Website:
www.ear-music.net

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_Smith%27s_Bombastic_Meatbats

Comments

  1. the official facebook is www.facebook.com/bombasticmeatbats. Please fix in the links.....

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for your feedback