06/03/2019
Bryan Beller (born May 6, 1971) is an American bass guitarist known for his work with Joe Satriani, The Aristocrats, Dethklok, Mike Keneally, Steve Vai, James LaBrie of Dream Theater and Dweezil Zappa. He has been Joe Satriani's tour bassist for both the Unstoppable Momentum (2013–14) and Shockwave (2015–16) world tours in addition to featuring on the Shockwave Supernova record. Beller is also the bassist/manager of the rock/fusion super-trio The Aristocrats (with Guthrie Govan on guitar and Marco Minnemann on drums). The Aristocrats have released three studio albums, along with two live releases documenting the band's world tours in support of their debut album The Aristocrats and sophomore album Culture Clash. Their most recent studio album Tres Caballeros is the focus of their current world tour, which began in the summer of 2015 and will extend through to late 2016
Beller's earliest days on bass were as a Westfield, New Jersey pre-teen on the upright in the school orchestra. It was short-lived, as he switched to electric at 13 to better play Rush, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Metallica tunes. Concurrently, a couple of years of classical piano lessons morphed into his own self-taught ear training regimen, as he learned to play those same classic rock and metal songs on the piano completely by ear. Once he landed at Berklee College Of Music, Beller focused solely on bass, and eventually joined a blues-rock band called 100 Proof, which played originals mixed with blues and Allman Brothers cover in Boston's dirtiest bars.
Beller was Steve Vai's choice for the 2009 live CD/DVD Where The Wild Things Are, a document of the six-piece Vai band Beller anchored on bass in 2007. He has also toured with the "band" Dethklok, a tongue-in-cheek extreme metal band born of the Cartoon Network "Adult Swim" show Metalocalypse; Beller tracked on the last two Dethklok releases (Dethalbum III; The Doomstar Requiem) and anchored the band for three nationwide tours, alongside Mastodon and Machine Head, among others. He has been a musical partner of guitarist Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa) for over 17 years and 10 albums.
Beller released his debut rock/jazz fusion solo album View in late 2003. His second album Thanks In Advance (2008), a compositional statement about breaking through anger and finding gratitude. Beller's first live album Wednesday Night Live – a document of his 2010 touring lineup playing the Baked Potato in Los Angeles – was released in 2011 on both CD and DVD. His first instructional DVD, Mastering Tone, And Versatility was released by Alfred Publishing in early 2012, and he's a featured artist on the instructional website Jamplay.com
Do not miss seeing Bryan Beller this August 30 in Mexicali with his band The Aristocrats at Bol-bol Lob Bar & Live Music