Groove – Episode #22: Bryan Beller

He could have one of the most fascinating careers as a bass player. It’s not that he’s played in classic bands during the sixties. He hasn’t. It’s not that he was around to see (and played) during the formative years, as the electric bass took hold. He has not.

Bryan Beller is a bass player who happens to find himself in interesting situations. Always. Beller was Steve Vai’s choice for his Where The Wild Things Are CD/DVD. He toured with the “band” Dethklok, which is the awesomely hilarious metal band from the Cartoon Network Adult Swim show, “Metalocalypse”. That gig has been no joke. Two album releases and three nationwide tours (playing alongside Mastodon, Machine Head and many others).

Beller has been a musical partner of guitarist Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa) for over 17 years and 10 albums. He’s a solo artist, but still super-active in his own band, The Aristocrats (with Guthrie Govan on guitar and Marco Zinnemann on drums). The Aristocrats have done several albums, including their most recent studio effort, Tres Caballeros.

With that, Beller has also gigged with the like of Joe Satriani, James LaBrie of Dream Theater and Dweezil Zappa. He’s still going strong.

Enjoy the conversation…