The Guitar Channel

Videos: Chad Smith and the Bombastic Meatbats - Live on The Drum Channel

Several performance and interview videos from the Bombastic Meatbats' August 11th broadcast on the Drum Channel. With Chad Smith - drums, Jeff Kollman - guitar, Ed Roth - keys, and Kevin Chown - bass.

Video: The Bombastic Meatbats - Live at the Iridium 4/22/11 "Mountain of Meat"

More of the Bombastic Meatbats featuring Chad Smith at the Iridium in NY on 4/22/11. This is the appropriately titled "Mountain of Meat." With Chad Smith on drums, Jeff Kollman on guitar, Ed Roth on keys, and Kevin Chown on bass.

Video: The Bombastic Meatbats - Live at the Iridium 4/22/11

Here's the Bombastic Meatbats featuring Chad Smith playing "Oh! I Spilled My Beer" at the Iridium in NY on 4/22/11. With Chad Smith on drums, Jeff Kollman on guitar, Ed Roth on keys, and Kevin Chown on bass.

Videos: The Bombastic Meatbats - Live at the Baked Potato

Three Bombastic Meatbats videos from their 3/29/11 gig at the Baked Potato. Some slight audio-sync issues but cool nonetheless.

Shilo's Forbidden City Blues

Greasy Louise / The Battle for Ventura Blvd.

Mountain of Meat

NAMM Videos: Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats

Three videos of the Bombastic Meatbats during this year's winter NAMM show. With Chad Smith on drums, Jeff Kollman on guitar, Ed Roth on keys and Kevin Chown on bass. The last clip is a cool soundcheck video featuring bassist Tim Lefebvre sitting in.

Sabian Live 2011 NAMM Party - "Passing The Ace"

QSC NAMM 2011 Party soundcheck - "Tops Off"

Sabian Live 2011 NAMM Party soundcheck with Tim Lefebvre on bass

Favorite Albums of 2010

Looking back over this past year, I really believe 2010 has been the most incredible year in music I've ever experienced. It's certainly been the best year I've seen since I started The Guitar Channel in 2004. On one hand, I've never witnessed as much amazing live music as I have this year. There were the great Winter NAMM gigs (such as OHM w/ Mike Kenneally, Alex Machacek w/ Ric Fierabracci, the Bombastic Meatbats, and more), awesome Chicago gigs by Mike Stern, Allan Holdsworth, and others, and of course the festivals - starting with the incredible Baked Potato 40th Anniversary Jazz Festival in May, the legend-packed Crossroads Guitar Festival in June, and the capper: the amazing New Universe Music Festival last month.

Then of course, there were the great albums of 2010. And there were a lot of them. Here are my favorite albums that were released this year, in no particular order.

Alex Machacek featuring Marco Minnemann - 24 Tales (Review)

A remarkable disc featuring music Machacek composed over a 52-minute Minnemann drum solo.

Michael Landau, Robben Ford, Jimmy Haslip, Gary Novak - Renegade Creation (Review)

Awesome blues rock super group that brings together guitar legends Landau and Ford. Killer playing; amazing guitar tones.

Ray Riendeau - Atmospheres

This one came out of nowhere and really grabbed me. Great collection of fusion tunes with a killer guest list that includes Alex Machacek, Jeff Kollman, Greg Koch, Nat Janoff, and many others.

Lenny White - Anomaly

Fantastic old-school jazz rock album from the legendary drummer. Includes guests Jimmy Herring and David Gilmore.

Prashant Aswani - Sonically Speaking (Review)

Tasty, melodic instrumental rock disc with killer playing and writing. Includes guests Brett Garsed and Rob Caggiano.

Bombastic Meatbats featuring Chad Smith - More Meat

Awesome throwback fusion with great grooves. Features Jeff Kollman on guitar.

Charlie Hunter - Public Domain

This may seem like an out-of-left-field choice, but I can't get enough of this album. Features Hunter playing solo versions of old public domain classics chosen by his grandfather.

Other favorites from 2010:

Kirk Fletcher - My Turn
John McLaughlin - To The One (Review)
John Czajkowski and Marco Minnemann - West ZooOpolis
Steve Lukather - All's Well That Ends Well
Tetsuo Sakurai - Vital World (Review)
Ranjit Barot - Bada Boom
Michael Dolce - Everything Til Now
Jeff Richman - Like That (Interview)

See Also:

Favorite Albums of 2009
Favorite Albums of 2008
Favorite Albums of 2007
Favorite Albums of 2006

Video: Chad Smith and the Bombastic Meatbats - Live at the Iriduim

Chad Smith and the Bombastic Meatbats live at the Iridium in New York last weekend. With Jeff Kollman on guitar, Ed Roth on keys, Kevin Chown on bass, and Smith on drums.

Current Listening (and Reading... and Viewing)

Here's what I've been listening to, and reading, and watching lately...

Bombastic Meatbats featuring Chad Smith - More Meat

Awesome funky throwback fusion. Killer version of "Moby Dick." With Jeff Kollman on guitar.

 

Gary Husband - Dirty & Beautiful Volume 1

Great writing and playing with an incredible guest list. Includes Allan Holdsworth, John McLaughlin, Jan Hammer, Jerry Goodman, Steve Topping, Steve Hackett, and many others.

Ranjit Barot - Bada Boom

Excellent fusion of Indian music and western jazz harmony. Guests include Wayne Krantz, John McLaughlin, Mattias IA Eklund, Matt Garrison, and others.

 

Prashant Aswani - Sonically Speaking (Review)

Highly melodic instrumental rock album with great playing from all involved. Includes guests Brett Garsed and Rob Caggiano.

 

Anil Prasad - Innerviews: Music Without Borders (Book)

Excellent collection of musician interviews from Innerviews founder Anil Prasad. The diverse list of featured artists includes John McLaughlin, Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges, Chuck D, McCoy Tyner, Bela Fleck, and many others. A great read.

 

Eric Clapton - Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010 (Blu-ray)

DVD release of this year's Crossroads Guitar Festival. Loaded with great performances and backstage footage.

New Jeff Kollman Band

Spotted this on Blabbermouth and Truth In Shredding. Guitarist Jeff Kollman is debuting a new band called called Pervadelic. See below for details.

"Acclaimed guitarist Jeff Kollman (COSMOSQUAD, CHAD SMITH'S BOMBASTIC MEATBATS, GLENN HUGHES) will debut his new band, PERVADELIC, on Tuesday, October 5 at the Baked Potato in Studio City, California. The group — which features Kollman on vocals and guitar, along with co-guitarist Michael "Fish" Herring, bassist Jesse Stern, and drummer Jono Brown — will be playing "all-original would-be hits" from its upcoming release, "Songs For Pervs". Showtime is 9:30 p.m.

In other news, Kollman and Brown have put the finishing touches on the 10-song JKB sophomore album, "Empower Devour", due out this fall. The follow-up to 2006's "Bleeding The Soul" features appearances by JKB alumni Kevin Chown (CHAD SMITH'S BOMBASTIC MEATBATS, TARJA TURUNEN) on bass and Charlie Waymire (SPEAK NO EVIL) on drums. Special guests include drummers Shane Gaalaas (B'Z, COSMOSQUAD) and Joel Taylor (ALLAN HOLDSWORTH, OHM) on one track each.

"Empower Devour" track listing:

01. Tight Like A Fist
02. Shinedown
03. Midnight Sun (Tribute to Jimi)
04. Swim In The Madness
05. Captivity
06. Time To Die
07. Circle Of Doom
08. I Wonder
09. Devastate
10. The Day Of Reckoning

Also on the Kollman-related front, the BOMBASTIC MEATBATS — which features in its ranks Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, GLENN HUGHES), Kevin Chown, Ed Roth (MONTROSE, GLENN HUGHES), and Jeff Kollman — will issue its sophomore disc, "More Meat", on October 19 via Warrior Records/Universal. The band will make a live appearance on the "Mark & Brian Show" on KLOS 95.5 in Los Angeles on October 26 and play the Baked Potato that same night. Another L.A.-area MEATBATS show is scheduled for October 29 at Harper's in Tarzana, California. The group is also set to play its first-ever East Coast dates in November.

Finally, Kollman will return to Japan from November 29 to December 2 for a string of concerts teaming up with rising young guitar star Yuya Komobuchi; Japanese session great Koji Hasegawa will feature on drums."

Confirmed JEFF KOLLMAN dates are:

Oct. 05 - Baked Potato, Universal City, CA (w/ Pervadelic)
Oct. 26 - Mark & Brian Show, Los Angeles, CA (w/ Bombastic Meatbats)
Oct. 26 - Baked Potato, Universal City, CA (w/ Bombastic Meatbats)
Oct. 29 - Harper's, Tarzana, CA (w/ Bombastic Meatbats)
Nov. 05 - Baked Potato, Universal City, CA (w/ Cosmosquad)
Nov. 17 - Ottobar - Baltimore, MD (w/ Bombastic Meatbats)
Nov. 18 - Havana Club - New Hope, PA (w/ Bombastic Meatbats)
Nov. 19 - Iridium - New York, NY (w/ Bombastic Meatbats)
Nov. 20 - Iridium - New York, NY (w/ Bombastic Meatbats)
Nov. 30 - Goodman - Tokyo, Japan
Dec. 01 - Janus - Osaka, Japan
Dec. 03 - Enn - Sendai, Japan
Dec. 04 - Alva's - San Pedro, CA (w/ Cosmosquad)


For more information, visit www.jeffkollman.com.

Grammy Winner Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) And The Bombastic Meatbats Cook Up "More Meat" On Their Highly Anticipated Sophomore Album Release

PRESS RELEASE

Los Angeles, CA (September 14, 2010) - "Remember the good old days, when jazz-fusion wasn't all about showing off your chops, and was more about creating sweeping moods, and the importance of songwriting? Well, the Bombastic Meatbats certainly remember those days. Having obviously studied the classic early-to-mid '70s recordings of such fusion greats as Return to Forever and Jeff Beck, the group (which includes such members as Grammy winning Red Hot Chili Peppers/Chickenfoot drummer Chad Smith, guitarist Jeff Kollman, keyboardist Ed Roth, and bassist Kevin Chown), is back with their sophomore full-length album. Aptly titled, "More Meat," the album is jam packed follow-up to last year's critically acclaimed "Meet the Meatbats," and once more, is released by Warrior Records via Universal Music Distribution.

"'More Meat' is just that...it has much more music on the bone," quips Smith. "We stretched out more, the playing is more tighter, and there's a more improved recorded sound, haha!" "There is a new depth to the songs and the band has it's own vibe," adds Roth. "We have all played live together so much that the band has really found it's sound. Since so much of this group is interplay and listening, it was important that this time around when recording we were set up so that we could really hear ourselves and each other well. This contributed to some very strong performances."

As with their debut, "More Meat" is an incredibly consistent listen from front to back, shifting gears from smooth jazz, funk, and rock - a recipe for some truly tasty modern fusion. As Kollman recalls, "We basically moved in to a small Venice studio and recorded over a three day weekend. DONE! Writing-wise, it was par for the course. I planted the seed on a few of the tunes at home and presented them to the Meatbats. Ed would throw in that brilliant bridge or a melody that I couldn't find. The Bats then performed quick surgery and turned it into magic...but much of the record was written by all as we jammed in the infamous Malibu Tiki room at Chad's house in Malibu. The origin of the songs are all a bit different. It could start with a drum groove, or a bass line, or a genius Ed 'the Wrench' Roth progression."

With provoked smiles, the band points out some specific standout tunes from the album's twelve-song track list: Roth: "'Greasy Louise' - it's so funky, you need to look in your shoe. 'Shilo's Forbidden City Blues' - who doesn't love a trip to the forbidden city, as long as it's sanitary. 'Shag' - the title says it all, go make some babies. 'Dr. Blotter & Miss Purple (Ride In The Echoplex) - take a trip, without the chemistry." Kollman: "There's a great vibe on 'Dr. Blotter.' The track sounds a bit like Wes Montgomery jamming an instrumental with the Doors (low rent 'Wes' that is...). It was a vibe we hadn't touched on before...Ed has some genius soundscape moments with the old Echoplex. That one is probably a good trip with some smoke and the phones. 'Shag,' our first Smooth AC single, is another one that I'm stoked about. This was one I presented to the band that got lost in the pile. Chad found it on his computer and we reworked it with Ed contributing a nice bridge. Chad swung the feel, which was originally straight and Kevin added a nice haunting bass line in the A section (good job, Kevin 'Bubbles' Chown!). That one has really got a thing."

With a release date of October 19th, and "Shag" being added to Smooth AC radio on September 27th, the Meatbats will celebrate the week of release with a live on-air performance on the syndicated KLOS Mark & Brian Show in Los Angeles. And despite all four of its member's schedules jam-packed with other projects for the foreseeable future, the Meatbats do have various tour dates forthcoming, including a pair of special shows not to be missed on November 19 (Friday) and November 20 (Saturday), where the lads will be doing their funky thing at New York City's famed venue, the Iridium Jazz Club. Only two albums into their career, the Meatbats are already leaving their mark on musicians around the world, as Kollman recently witnessed the proof. "There's already a Meatbat tribute band in Japan! They kindly mentioned to us that they were starting one...I haven't had a chance to check them out yet, but I think there's a female 'Wrench' in there. They asked me for a name...in an instant moment of inspiration, it came to me - King Tamas & the Spam Javelin. 'King Tamas,' as Chad has been referred to, is a bit crude and offensive when translated in Japanese, so the band abbreviated it to become, 'KT & the Spam Javelin'!"

With an overabundance of funk, rock, and fusion at their disposal, the Bombastic Meatbats will soon be offering another healthy helping of 'More Meat.' Or, as Mr. Roth summed up the group in exactly five words. "Sexy. Funky. Heavy. Forbidden Fun." We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats Touring:

10/26/10 Los Angeles, CA-The Mark & Brian Morning Show / KLOS
10/26/10 Los Angeles, CA-The Baked Potato
10/30/10 Los Angeles, CA-The Mint
11/17/10 Baltimore, MD-Ottobar
11/18/10 Philadelphia, PA-Havana New Hope Club
11/19/10 New York, NY-Iridium Jazz Club
11/20/10 New York, NY-Iridium Jazz Club
11/21/10 Syracuse, NY-Monirae's
Additional Dates Being Added Weekly

New Bombastic Meatbats Album Coming Oct 19th

Spotted this on Mark McGuigan's site: The Bombastic Meatbats featuring Chad Smith will release their long-awaited new album More Meat on October 19th. The Meatbats feature Jeff Kollman on guitar, Ed Roth on keys, Kevin Chown on bass, and (of course) Chad Smith on drums. I'm super stoked for this release - I've seen the Meatbats twice, and really dug their debut Meet The Meatbats. If you're into funky throwback jazz fusion, this is the band for you. Follow the link below for samples and pre-ordering info.

The Bombastic Meatbats featuring Chad Smith - More Meat

Sneak Peek: Photos from Day One of the Baked Potato Jazz Festival

 

Here is a sampling of my pics from day one of the Baked Potato 40th Anniversary Jazz Festival. Mouse over the thumbnails to see the captions. I'll post a full photo gallery of the whole fest in a couple of days.