Bryan Beller

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.

Career

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’s also toured with the "band" Dethklok, a tongue-in-cheek extreme metal band born of the Cartoon Network "Adult Swim" show Metalocalypse; Beller’s tracked on the last two Dethklok releases (Dethalbum III; The Doomstar Requiem) and has anchored the band for three nationwide tours to date, alongside Mastodon and Machine Head, among others. He’s 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.

Early Years

Beller’s earliest days on bass were as a Westfield, New Jersey pre-teen on 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 covers in Boston’s dirtiest bars.

Discography

Solo:

• 2003: View
• 2008: Thanks In Advance
• 2011: Wednesday Night Live

Video and DVDs:

• 2008: To Nothing
• 2011: Wednesday Night Live DVD
• 2012: Mastering Tone And Versatility (Instructional DVD, Alfred Music Publishing)

With The Aristocrats:

• 2011: The Aristocrats
• 2012: Boing, We'll Do It Live!
• 2013: Culture Clash
• 2015: Culture Clash Live!
• 2015: Secret Show: Live in Osaka
• 2015: Tres Caballeros

With Dethklok:

• 2009: Dethalbum II
• 2012: Dethalbum III
• 2013: The Doomstar Requiem

With Brendon Small:

• 2012: Brendon Small's Galaktikon
• 2017: Brendon Small's Galaktikon II

With Steve Vai:

• 1999: The Ultra Zone
• 2000: The 7th Song: Enchanting Guitar Melodies
• 2002: The Elusive Light and Sound, Vol. 1
• 2003: The Infinite Steve Vai: An Anthology
• 2005: Real Illusions: Reflections
• 2007: Sound Theories, Vols. 1–2
• 2007: Visual Sound Theories (DVD)
• 2009: Where the Wild Things Are (CD/DVD)
• 2010: Where The Other Wild Things Are

With Dweezil Zappa:

• 1994: Z – Shampoohorn
• 1995: Z – Music For Pets (French Version)
• 1996: Z – Music For Pets (U.S. Version)
• 2000: Dweezil Zappa – Automatic

With Beer For Dolphins:

• 1996: Soap Scum Remover (VHS)
• 1997: Half Alive In Hollywood
• 1998: Sluggo!
• 2000: Dancing
• 2000: Dancing With Myself ... and others (CD/DVD)

With Mike Keneally:

• 1995: Boil That Dust Speck
• 2002: Wooden Smoke
• 2002: Wooden Smoke Asleep
• 2003: Pup
• 2004: Dog (CD/DVD)
• 2006: Guitar Therapy Live (CD/DVD)
• 2007: Boil That Dust Speck (Reissue – CD/DVD)
• 2008: Wine and Pickles
• 2009: Scambot 1
• 2011: bakin' @ the potato!
• 2012: Wing Beat Fantastic
• 2013: Wing Beat Elastic
• 2013: You Must Be This Tall
• 2016: Scambot 2

With James LaBrie:

• 1999: MullMuzzler – Keep It to Yourself
• 2001: Mullmuzzler 2
• 2005: Elements of Persuasion
• 2008: Prime Cuts

With Yogi:

• 2001: Any Raw Flesh?
• 2003: Salve
• 2006: Half-Print Demigod

With Colin Keenan:

• 2008: Nothing Clever
• 2009: So Far Gone
• 2011: Nothing Clever

With Razl:

• 2008: Rotonova
• 2011: Microscopic

With Joe Satriani:

• 2015: Shockwave Supernova
• 2016: Supernova Remix

Other guest appearances:

• 1995: Various Artists – Tales From Yesterday: Yes Tribute
• 1997: Various Artists – Merry Axemas: A Guitar Christmas
• 1998: Various Artists – The SWR Sound
• 1998: Janet Robin – Open The Door
• 1999: Various Artists – Six Pack: Multi-Artist Radio Sampler
• 1999: Various Artists – Tribute To The Titans
• 1999: Neil Sadler – Theory Of Forms
• 2001: Space Surfers – Bikini
• 2001: Janet Robin – Out From Under
• 2001: Nick D'Virgilio – Karma
• 2003: Various Artists – A Fair Forgery of Pink Floyd
• 2004: Various Artists – XL Bass Lines: A D'addario Music Sampler
• 2006: Tom Langford – Here Comes Memory
• 2006: Various Artists – After The Storm
• 2006: Various Artists – WesFest (DVD)
• 2007: Eros Ramazzotti – E²
• 2007: Various Artists – WesFest 2 (DVD)
• 2007: Marco Minnemann – The Marco Show (DVD)
• 2007: Touched – Onward And Downward
• 2008: Gary Schutt – Loss 4 Words
• 2008: Chris G. – Reflections – An Act of Glass
• 2008: Mother Eff – Are We Famous Yet?
• 2009: Andra Moran – In Small Things
• 2009: Triangle Exception – H-Town
• 2010: Various Artists – NPS Maakt Jazz, Volume 7
• 2010: Timesword – Chains Of Sin
• 2010: Various Artists – Wicked: Music From The WesFest Community
• 2010: Dave Weiner – On Revolute
• 2010: Godsticks – Spiral Vendetta
• 2010: Anders Helmerson – Tripple Ripple
• 2011: Kira Small – Live at The White House
• 2011: Sunny Taylor – Sunny Taylor (EP)
• 2012: Phi-Yaan Zek – Deeper With The Anima
• 2012: Jason Sadites – Broken
• 2013: Dr. Mumbai – The Adventures Of Dr. Mumbai
• 2013: Ephel Duath – Hemmed by Light, Shaped By Darkness
• 2014: Brian Maillard – Reincarnation
• 2014: Dane Runyon – Under Grand Suggestion
• 2014: Ivano Icardi – Burning Wires
• 2014: Nili Brosh – A Matter Of Perception
• 2014: Nick Johnston – Atomic Mind
• 2015: Jane Getter Premonition – ON
• 2015: Paperclip Scientists – The Quest For The 100th Monkey
• 2016: Prog Rock Orchestra – The Star You Are
• 2016: Nick Johnston – Remarkably Human

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