JEFF KOLLMAN Issues 'Jeff & Tommy Kollman - Teen Metal Years'; Annouces New COSMOSQUAD Studio Album

Acclaimed L.A.-based guitarist Jeff Kollman (BOMBASTIC MEATBATS, COSMOSQUAD, GLENN HUGHES) has issued 'Jeff & Tommy Kollman - Teen Metal Years', a collection of 18 songs written and recorded in 1983 and 1984 as the rock'n'roll crazed Toledo, Ohio based brothers honed their chops in their parents' basement prior to the formation of their first band, VXN, and its successor, EDWIN DARE, a popular progressive metal Midwest touring act throughout the 1990s, with 3 album releases to their credit.

States Kollman: "I was a bit hesitant at first to put this out but now I'm happy these recordings are finally available for the fans to hear. The early to mid 80's was a magical time for me and my brother Tommy as we pretended to be the VAN HALEN brothers and just jammed away and learned how to play our instruments and put together songs, all instrumental stuff since we didn't have a singer yet.  I was 15, 16 years old then and heavily into all the guitar heroes of the day -  Randy Rhoads was my guy, but I was also into Michael Schenker, Gary Moore, Akira Takasaki from LOUDNESS and Yngwie, of course.  Eventually, we purchased a Fostex X-15 4-track recorder so we could record ourselves in our parents' basement.  We probably wrote something like 150 songs altogether.  When I began to transfer the old tapes to digital last year, I was amazed how good the quality was and decided to pick out the best stuff for release.  The album is also a nod to my brother Tommy who passed away a few years ago and a way to remember all the good times we had back then."

In other news, Kollman and musical partner-in-crime/drummer, Shane Gaalaas, have just finished tracking the long awaited forth COSMOSQUAD studio album, the follow-up to 2008's 'Acid Test', which features Kevin Chown (BOMBASTIC MEATBATS, TARJA, PAUL GILBERT) on bass.  "We wrote the whole thing over the course of like 6 weeks, with a one-week break when Kevin wasn't available, and Shane is now in charge of mixing it while I'm out of town.  I'm really stoked how everything turned out and I think we've taken things to another level on this album.  Stylistically, it's pretty much a continuation of 'Acid Test' but there's also a couple of jazzier and more etherial things.  We're not sure about all the song titles yet but 'Morbid Tango' will be the opener; there's also 'Rick James' (which will make sense when you hear it), 'Anatomy Of A Beatdown', 'Amnesia', a ballad called 'Carol Butterfly', which is dedicated to Shane's mom, and a re-worked version of 'Recollection' off my 2015 acoustic release, 'Hills of Granada.'  We're looking at a possible September release right now but we'll have to see."

Jeff Kollman is currently on a 10-day tour of shows and clinics in Japan where he has cultivated a strong fanbase going back to the EDWIN DARE days. 

Roman P-V - 2016-06-22 14:15:10