Description
Bryan Beller has maintained a frenetic, multi-faceted career as a bassist, composer, writer, and clinician for nearly twenty years. On his own, Beller released his debut solo album, the jazz/rock-flavored View, in late 2003 to widespread critical acclaim, earning the monthly feature review in Bass Player Magazine (…it’s a thrill to witness an artist like Beller find his voice with such a self-assured debut…). His second album Thanks In Advance, a deeply personal narrative set to advanced jazz/rock compositional confidence, was released in late 2008, again to rave reviews (…a bonafide entry for bass album of the year; – Chris Jisi, Bass Player Magazine.) As a sideman, he’s earned a reputation as a uniquely talented yet supremely tasteful hired gun bassist for adventurous rock guitarists and singer/songwriters alike. He was Steve Vai’s choice on bass for the live CD/DVD Sound Theories – a collaboration with Holland’s renowned Metropol Orchestra – and toured worldwide with Vai throughout 2007, resulting in the 2009 live CD/DVD Where The Wild Things Are. Showing his range, Beller’s also in the live band, Dethklok, a tongue-in-cheek extreme metal band borne of the hit Cartoon Network Adult Swim show Metalocalypse; work with Detkhlok includes a track on The Dethalbum II and three nationwide tours (one co-headlining with Mastodon). He’s also been a musical partner of freak/genius guitarist/composer Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa) for fifteen years, with eleven albums, countless tours, and millions of notes. Other sideman experiences include tours with Wayne Kramer (MC5) and Dweezil Zappa, as well as more intimate duo performances with Keneally and, more recently, his wife, Nashville-based R&B/soul singer/songwriter Kira Small. Beller’s work as a freelance writer includes cover stories on bass luminaries such as Justin Chancellor (Tool), Christian McBride, and Chris Wolstenholme (Muse), as well as interviews with Jonas Hellborg, Victor Wooten, John Patitucci, Lee Sklar, Neil Stubenhaus, Jay DeMarcus (Rascal Flatts), Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck, Nine Inch Nails), Bill Laswell, Jimmy Haslip, Stefan Lessard (Dave Matthews Band), Matt Garrison, Adam Nitti, Oteil Burbridge, Dave LaRue, Miroslav Vitous, Billy Sheehan, Emmy-award winning television scorer W.G. Snuffy Walden (The West Wing), and myriad others. As a pure player, a masterclass clinician (sponsored by Mike Lull Custom Guitars, SWR Amplification, and D’addario Strings), a Contributing Editor for Bass Player Magazine, and a former Vice-President of SWR Sound Corporation, Beller brings a global perspective to the world of bass and sits at the intersection of many of its current pathways. After thirteen years in Los Angeles, he now lives in Nashville, TN with his wife Kira (and their cat Lucian), and continues to travel often.
