THANKS IN ADVANCE (2008)

 


Five years after his acclaimed debut album View, renowned bassist Bryan Beller (Steve Vai, Mike Keneally, Dethklok) creates an emotionally charged, personally definitive jazz/rock compositional statement about breaking through anger and finding gratitude. Drawing on disparate influences from jazzer John Scofield to Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, and even Rage Against The Machine, Beller cranks up the instrumental intensity with fellow heavyweights Mike Keneally (solo artist, Frank Zappa); drummers Marco Minnemann (world-famous clinician), Toss Panos (Larry Carlton, Robben Ford), Joe Travers (Zappa Plays Zappa), and Nick D’Virgilio (Spock’s Beard, Tears For Fears); and special guests violinist Ann Marie Calhoun (Jethro Tull; 2008 YouTube “My Grammy Moment” winner) and saxophonist Scheila Gonzalez (Zappa Plays Zappa).

“Beller engaged in some sonic soul-searching for his sophomore effort ‘Thanks In Advance’, and the welcome result is a bona fide entry for bass album of the year.” – Chris Jisi, Bass Player Magazine 

“I love Bryan’s playing! He’s solid, supportive and creative with tone for days. ‘Thanks in Advance’ is full of cool ideas, inspired performances and deep grooves. I definitely recommend it.” – Michael Manring

“Every tune sounds unique and compelling.” – Walter Kolosky, Jazz.com 

“As well-written as it is well-played.” – Nick Zaino, Skope 

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The Story Behind Thanks In Advance

Bassist Bryan Beller seemed to have it all: a storied sideman career (Mike Keneally, Steve Vai), regularly published articles in Bass Player Magazine, an acclaimed debut solo album (“View”, 2003 Onion Boy), and an executive corporate position running SWR bass amplification for Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. But the untimely death of a close friend in early 2005 exposed deep fissures in his own identity, and instigated a period of intense and sometimes painful self-examination. One year later, Beller had quit his day job, returned to life as a freelance musician, moved from L.A. to Nashville, found love, and experienced an epiphany that forever shifted his view of life, and his role in it.

Thanks In Advance is the musical manifestation of that journey. Set to Beller’s highly detailed, rock-infused, jazz/fusion compositional voice, it’s an intense trip through the heart of personal darkness – from the lushly dissonant orchestral arrangement of “Casual Lie Day,” to the searing, grinding dirge of “Cave Dweller,” and culminating with the frenzied “Love Terror Adrenaline/Break Through” featuring renowned virtuoso guitarist/composer Mike Keneally (solo artist/Frank Zappa) and recent Modern Drummer cover subject Marco Minnemann – before finally reaching a state of personal and musical peace in the title track and the album’s unexpected close.

“I was constantly unhappy, even angry, about my everyday life, wondering why this or that was all ‘happening to me,'” says Beller. “Only after a shock to my system did I get that, ultimately, I was the source of it all. Where I am now is infinitely more satisfying. So Thanks In Advance really completes View, which I now realize was a well-crafted complaint about things, and tries to convey how I got to being grateful for life’s everyday content, whatever it brings, as opposed to being angry with it. It sure wasn’t a painless process, but it’s been deeply, profoundly rewarding, and it’s a message I’d like to share with others. That’s what I’m up to with this record.”

More comfortable than ever in his own playing skin, Beller worked fretless, fretted, acoustic/electric, boutique and vintage basses into the mix, and contributed piano and guitar tracks as well. But he left plenty of spotlight for a stylistically diverse all-star cast: the aforementioned Keneally and Minnemann; drummer Joe Travers and saxophonist Scheila Gonzalez (Zappa Plays Zappa); violinist Ann Marie Calhoun (Steve Vai); View veteran guitarists Rick Musallam (Mike Keneally, Ben Taylor) and Griff Peters; keyboardist Jeff Babko (James Taylor, Robben Ford); and drummers Nick D’Virgilio (Spock’s Beard, Tears For Fears) and Toss Panos (Michael Landau, Larry Carlton). And that’s just the L.A. contingent; Beller tracked a whole separate group of Nashville musicians, including some veteran R&B grease in guitarist Bruce Dees (James Brown, Ronnie Milsap) and keyboardist Clayton Ivey (Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin) to complement the virtuosic firepower. There was also a personal touch, as Dees and Ivey previously recorded with the woman Beller moved to Nashville for: R&B singer/songwriter/keyboardist Kira Small, who also played Rhodes on the album’s title track.

While recording occurred in eleven different studios (primarily in Nashville, Los Angeles and San Diego), Beller bucked the remote-album file-swapping trend and personally attended nearly every session, bringing cohesion to the production and personally preserving the album’s narrative. “After a year of seclusion writing the material, I was more than ready to get out of the house and interact with the people I trusted to bring this music to life. Driving back and forth from Nashville to SoCal, with a van full of gear and basses and hard drives, going from studio to studio…it was really exhilarating to feel it all come together. That’s an easy one to be grateful for.”

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Thanks In Advance features performances by:

Guitarists

Mike Keneally (solo artist, Frank Zappa)
Rick Musallam (Mike Keneally Band, Ben Taylor)
Griff Peters (featured guitarist on Beller’s first album “View”)
Chris Cottros (Nashville session cat)
Bruce Dees (James Brown, Ronnie Milsap)

Keyboardists

Jeff Babko (James Taylor, Robben Ford, Jimmy Kimmel Live)
Jody Nardone (Crimson Jazz Trio)
Kira Small (solo artist, Martina McBride, Wynonna Judd)
Clayton Ivey (Wilson Pickett, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin)

Drummers

Joe Travers (Zappa Plays Zappa, Lisa Loeb)
Toss Panos (Michael Landau, Larry Carlton)
Marco Minnemann (solo artist/clinician)
Nick D\’Virgilio (Tears For Fears, Spock\’s Beard)
Marcus Finnie (Diana Ross)

Special Guests

Saxphonist Scheila Gonzalez (Zappa Plays Zappa)
Violinist Ann Marie Calhoun (Steve Vai)

released September 30, 2008 

Produced by Bryan Beller

Mixed by Mark Niemiec at Muggytone Studio, Nashville, TN
Key editing by Mark Niemiec on all tracks except “Cave Dweller” key editing by Erich Gobel
Mastered by John and J.J. Golden at John Golden Mastering, Ventura, CA

All songs written by Bryan Beller © 2008 Panorama Ataraxia Music BMI
*except “Thanks In Advance” by Bryan Beller © 2008 Panorama Ataraxia Music BMI/Mike Keneally © 2008 Spen Music BMI/Griff Peters © 2008 Pointy Peak Music BMI/Joe Travers © 2008 Travers Tunes ASCAP.

CD booklet design and layout by Mike Mesker

Photography by Griff Peters (all except noted), Wes Wehmiller (tray card) and Leigh Ann Villanueva (booklet back page)

Infinite and profound thanks to Wes Wehmiller, to whom this record is dedicated.

(c) 2008 Onion Boy Records, All Rights Reserved.

all rights reserved

8 hours ago

Bryan Beller
KENEALLY KOMEBACK: It has been way too long since I did a gig with my dear friend and genius artist Mike Keneally, and I'm a-fixin' to fix that on June 22 in San Diego. It will be especially exciting as a new drummer (Nathan Raney) is taking on the Keneally challenge (and it is a challenge!). Ticket link in details. You know what to do, Keneally faithful! ... See MoreSee Less
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1 day ago

Bryan Beller
ANDOR. Maybe it's because I'm so firmly Gen X, maybe not, but either way, just, wow. ... See MoreSee Less
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3 days ago

Bryan Beller
BLUE VINYL: As I re-enter the home orbit, I thought I would be a good little capitalist and re-mention that my progressive solo concept album “Scenes From The Flood” is available in **blue vinyl** in general release (code word for Amazon). It’s also up at my webstore at *my name dot com then click SHOP*. (Take that, algorithm!) Direct web stores are a great way to support independent artists, but people love Amazon and that’s fine too! (See below for a list of guest artists. There's a lot.)A lot of folks picked this up on the recent Aristocrats tour, and others simply wanted to let me know what a big impact this album has had on them. I’m really grateful to everyone for their support of this work. And I *may* have some new solo material in my head, which I *may* start working on soon. 😉 ********Scenes From The Flood was performed by:GUITARJoe Satriani (Joe Satriani!)John Petrucci (Dream Theater)Guthrie Govan (The Aristocrats, Hans Zimmer, Steven Wilson)Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, solo artist)Mike Dawes (solo artist)Janet Feder (solo artist, Fred Frith)Nili Brosh (Michael Jackson ONE, Danny Elfman, solo artist)Darran Charles (Godsticks, The Pineapple Thief)Jamie Kime (Zappa Plays Zappa, Jewel, Dr. John)Teddy Kumpel (Joe Jackson, solo artist)Jake Howsam Lowe (Plini, The Helix Nebula)Rick Musallam (Mike Keneally, Ben Taylor)Mike Olekshy (Max Morgan, Alison Ray)Griff Peters (Mike Keneally, Billie Myers)DRUMSRay Hearne (Haken)Gene Hoglan (Dethklok, Strapping Young Lad, Testament, Death)Nate Morton (Cher, The Voice, American Idol house band)Joe Travers (Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Zappa Plays Zappa)KEYS, STRINGS, ACCORDION, SITAR, PERCUSSION, AND MOREChristopher Allis (Deana Carter, Denny Laine)Paul Cartwright (Portugal The Man, Cee Lo Green, Mary J. Blige)Julian Coryell (Alanis Morrissette, Jewel, Aimee Mann)Fred Kron (Colin Hay, Donna Summer, Anchorman 2)Evan Mazunik (Carla Bley, Anthony Braxton, solo artist)Matt Rohde (Christina Aguilera, Jane’s Addiction)Rishabh Seen (Arijit Singh, Mute The Saint, solo artist)Leah Zeger (Stevie Wonder, Annie Lennox, Hans Zimmer)and Bryan Beller on bass, keyboards, guitars and lead vocals. ... See MoreSee Less
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5 days ago

Bryan Beller
Very unexpected and important Star Wars canon update just dropped ... See MoreSee Less
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1 week ago

Bryan Beller
BREAKING THE TAPE (crossposted from The Aristocrats: It’s difficult to put into words what it feels like after a marathon tour like the one we just completed. So much happens, every day, one day after the other. It all blurs together. But one thing’s for sure - we couldn’t have done it without the folks you see in this picture, who worked much harder than we did. So here’s a huge thank you to, in the bottom row left to right: Eduardo “Disco” Baldo (drum tech), Andres Zuniga (guitar tech), Kevin Zingale (merch manager) and Dimitris “Happy Watermelon” Karpouzas (FOH/monitor sound engineer)…and at top left, the one and only Kris Claerhout, our tour manager for the entire 11 week run, including the Asia and Australia shows before we got back to the States. We’re grateful to them all.Eduardo Baldo Dimitris Karpouzas Kevin Zingale (those who are taggable)And we’re incredibly grateful to you, for supporting us and coming to see us play this wacky music. Whether you were in Asia, on the Cruise To The Edge, or in the USA, we’re honored you came out. Thanks again for making it such an epic run around the world.Now, we’ll rest up before returning to South America in August. We haven’t been there in nine years. It’s about time.Cheers to all,The Aristocrats ... See MoreSee Less
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