Thaddeus Arwood "Tad" Kinchla (born February 21, 1973) is an American

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

, who is the

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

for the

jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational "jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often cr ...

Blues Traveler Blues Traveler (formerly known as "The Establishment" or "The Black Cat Jam" or "The Establishment Blues Band") is an American rock band that formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. They are known for extensive use of segues in live performance ...

Early life

He was born in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

, Kinchla is the younger brother to long-time Blues Traveler

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

Chan Kinchla Chandler Kinchla, better known as Chan Kinchla, (born May 29, 1969) is a Canadian-American musician best known as the guitarist for the jam band Blues Traveler. Early life Kinchla was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Kinchla is the older br ...

. He began playing the

upright bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

as a child after his brother had settled with the guitar. He graduated from Princeton High School in 1991, the same high school that the rest of the band attended (with the exception of keyboardist Ben Wilson). Following high school, he attended and graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. During his time there, he studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, played

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

and formed a band called Dowdy Smack with future internet personality Ze Frank.

Career

In 1999, Blues Traveler's original bassist Bobby Sheehan died. This left an opening in the band for a new bassist. Kinchla was one of five bassists to try out for the spot. He was the first to audition, with auditions being held live in concert. His audition was the first band performance after the death of Sheehan and came with no rehearsal. Kinchla contributed three songs to the band's 2001 album

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

, including the single. In 2006, Kinchla also joined Blues Traveler frontman John Popper in a side project called the

John Popper Project The John Popper Project (formal name The John Popper Project Featuring DJ Logic) is an American jam band. The band's style is a combination of rock, hip hop, and improvisational jazz. The group formed out of a jam session in San Francisco in D ...

. In 2006, they released an eponymous album with DJ Logic.

Personal life

On January 18, 2009, Kinchla married his girlfriend, entertainment journalist Carrie Hill. On February 9, 2013, John Popper announced the birth of the couple's twin boys.

References

External links

Kinchla's bio on BluesTraveler.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinchla, Tad Blues Traveler members American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists People from Princeton, New Jersey Guitarists from New Jersey 1973 births Living people Brown University alumni 21st-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American male musicians