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 b ...
. 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
A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...
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
Hosea Jan "Ze" Frank (; born March 31, 1972) is an American online performance artist, composer, humorist and public speaker based in Los Angeles.
Personal life
Frank was born to German-American parents (his father is Chemistry Nobel Laureate J ...
.
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
John Popper (born March 29, 1967) is an American musician and songwriter, known as the co-founder, lead vocalist, and frontman of the rock band Blues Traveler.
Early life
John Popper was born in Chardon, Ohio. His father was a Hungarian immig ...
in a
side project
In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style.
Usually these projects emphasize a ...
called the
John Popper Project. In 2006, they released an eponymous album with
DJ Logic
DJ Logic (born 1972 as Jason Kibler) is an American turntablist active primarily in nu-jazz/ acid jazz and with jam bands.
Kibler was born and raised in The Bronx, NY. Because of an early interest in hip hop, Kibler started using the turntabl ...
.
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