Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats

Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer, Chad Smith, doesn’t take vacations, he makes records. With the funk-rockers on hiatus, Smith has not only recorded and released a record with supergroup, Chickenfoot (with Montrose vocalist, Sammy Hagar, Van Halen’s Michael Anthony and guitar maestro Joe Satriani) but is releasing an instrumental record this month with CHAD SMITH’S BOMBASTIC MEATBATS called appropriately Meet The Meatbats. While in Boston on tour with Chickenfoot, Chad took a few minutes to talk about the new release and their upcoming Japanese tour.

First of all, part of the reason Smith used his name as the title of the band wasn’t his idea. “It’s not in any way my band”, he laughs, “that’s in name only. We were doing a tour of Japan and only the promoter thought it would help sell tickets. I said I was okay with it if it helps out. If you’re a Chili Peppers fan or a Chickenfoot fan, I hope you like it.” The band started when Smith, Ed Roth and Jeff Kolman were playing as the backing musicians for Glenn Hughes, former vocalist of Deep Purple. Smith says, “We would just jam if Glenn was late for practice. One day I thought we should record some of the tracks and have fun.” That was in January of 2008 and they were joined by Kevin Chown on bass in the recording studio. The sessions went well, as Smith recalls, “We made this record and were really proud of it and we’ve already finished recording another record!”

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Chaos Revolution Theory

Being from a town like Madison, Wisconsin, it’s hard to stick out from the crowd, considering Madison just so happens to be one of the best cities in the nation for local, undiscovered music. The city is so diverse in the type of music that comes out is all over the map, and you’re bound to find mixtures of music blended into one. So when I came across the band Chaos Revolution Theory, I thought to myself, “This is definitely Madison music!” Chaos Revolution Theory is the perfect mix of groove, funk and progressive rock all concocted together to make music that seems like it could fit on the iPod playlist or record shelf of anyone who simply enjoys music. Maximum Ink’s Aaron Manogue sat down with the Madison natives to talk about their music and where it all started.

Maximum Ink: How long have you guys been a band and how did you guys come about being a band?
Nick “Shaggy” Stanecki (Vocalist and Guitar): Two years on September 9th. Ryan and I met through our respective bands that played with each other in the Madison scene here a few years ago. When our bands ended around the same time, we joined forces, intent on starting a new sound all together. Ryan and I truly started from the bottom. Acoustic radio performances were some of our first shows because we had no songs and couldn’t even consider playing a full set at a club. We pretty much hid out in the studio, and did a lot of experimentation. We really wanted to make a unique, but very real -to us- sound. We had been using reggae and ska type parts for years, mashed with surfy west coast riffing.

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The Chariot

Raw, gritty, and sheer underground attitude. THE CHARIOT brings their unique brand of heavy music to Madison in January. Dubbed metalcore, these guys are quite distant from their genre brethren. Their placement in the heavy metal scene give reminiscence of bands like the Misfits, as singer Josh Scogin explains, “it’s all part of the expression derived more from punk rock.” His abrasive brand of vocals is sure to unite the punk and metal crowds and he is happy just to have audiences to play for. Scogin continues, “as an artist, you always want to push boarders, that’s why we hate classifications.” A seasoned listener can hear the southern roots that litter their riffs, but it is the sudden and impulsive feeling of their music that give THE CHARIOT so much character.  “There really- there’s no road we didn’t travel down, or at least try to.  We push ourselves to places we’ve never been before.”

There is a definitive difference between what Scogin refers to as metal and THE CHARIOT’s style of music.  “We aren’t metal, in my opinion.  We get thrown in with metal bands, but I don’t think we are metal.”  Following punk rock ideologies, this quartet takes on a self-proclaimed genre, soaked in the back-yard concert experience. “So many metal bands now are copy and paste,” Scogin continues, “There is too much composing; there are no mistakes.” THE CHARIOT, in fact, recorded an entire album using a single live take to maintain the raw feeling that their music produces. All the mistakes and tiny nuances that occur in a live performance shine in their first album. The experience of the album will never happen exactly that way again, and Scogin is happy to keep the performance changing from album to album, and night to night.

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Charlie Cheney

As a solo Americana singer/songwriter, CHARLIE CHENEY has been traversing the country and delivering a brand of intelligent, moving and fun songs. This last winter, Charlie embarked on a 25 city tour where he played his solo acoustic show, gave music business seminars, and participated in the February Album Writing Month challenge (an internet songwriter community where people encourage each other to accomplish writing fourteen songs in twenty-eight days.) All the while also hosting a radio show every day of the tour which focused on other FAWM participants. Now, he’s back on the road and has several house and coffeeshop concerts in the Midwest in April.

“FAWM is such a cool event.”, Charlie says. “It’s just an interesting challenge, and at first it was sort of a lark… like a dare… But now that I’ve done it four years in a row its become a much different thing, a chance to really work the craft of songwriting in new and inventive ways each year, honing the craft, learning why songs make you feel a certain way, or why you write songs at all. And the community is just so incredibly positive and thoughtful and supportive… it inspires me to write songs that really mean something to me.”

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Chimaira

Welcome to the monster that is CHIMAIRA. With a name that means: grotesque monster having disparate and disagreeing parts, it can be expected that these guys bring a lot to the heavy metal table. Much like their name, the band is a constantly disagreeing group of musicians that strive to persistently improve their intense and precise sound. A sound defined easily with one word, heavy, seems to continuously attract more and more metalheads to their broadening fan base. Being known for their fast guitars and shotgun drums this sextet never ceases to impress.

Their upcoming release, “The Infection,” is due out on April 21, and as promised by lead guitarist, Rob Arnold, it will be “gut wrenching and in your face, like CHIMAIRA has always been.” The new album provides a new side to the group, Arnold explains, it has a “sledgehammer type groove,” that is a bit slower than previous albums, but just as heavy. With the standard metal influences, like Slayer and Metallica, CHIMAIRA strives to get heavier and expand their repertoire. As with any group of musicians, these ten-year veterans of the genre find themselves consistently maturing and creating a higher standard for themselves. They are always striving to improve what they are what they represent.

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Chiodos

It has been said of ever-evolving reality that you never step in the same river twice.

An American band named Chiodos appeared in the music-time continuum at the outset of the twenty first century with a series of three EPs: “The Chiodos Bros.” (2001), “The Best Way to Ruin Your Life” (2002), and “The Heartless Control Everything” (2003). Their powerful live show manufactured a local following. A full-length studio album ensued:  “All’s Well That Ends Well.” It was issued by (Equal Vision Records). 

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Lucky Chucky

Lucky Chucky is best known as the drummer for Bret Michaels Band. He is also a long time member of the band Evick. Hailing from Woodbridge, Virginia, Lucky Chucky proves they know how to rock in the small towns too. I recently set down with him to catch up on what it is like to work with two of the hardest working bands in the business.

Maximum Ink:There isn’t much about you out there. Care to catch us up? Where are you from and who are some of your earliest influences? When did you first learn to play the drums?
Lucky Chucky: I was born in Manassas, Virginia, just outside of Washington DC. My earliest influences would be Peter Criss and Keith Moon from KISS and The Who respectively. I started playing drums in the 6th grade at school. But I never actually started learning to play a drum set until midway through high school.

MI: When did you first know you wanted to be a professional musician? Why do you think you love music as much as you do?
LC: Probably knew this is what I wanted to do the first time I heard KISS “Alive”. So about age 6 or so.I was a fan of music in general and grew up listening to all sorts of music. But when I heard my first LIVE album and got to hear the crowd, I could almost feel the energy coming through my speakers. That did it! I wanted to feel that energy in person and a lot! I think my love for music comes from my childhood.I was raised listening to music. From Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers, Elvis, Ricky Nelson, to Tanya Tucker, Anne Murray, you name it, I listened to it. I was fortunate enough to see Elvis in concert before he passed, which was a huge moment in my young life. Although I have very little recollection of it, the ones I have are great! 

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