Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats

In 2009, drummer <a href="spotify:artist:4DW34vji6G9GgGY0k2mic7">Chad Smith</a> was certainly one busy gentleman. It was during this year that <a href="spotify:artist:4DW34vji6G9GgGY0k2mic7">Smith</a> manned the drums for supergroup <a href="spotify:artist:416gMRzj1LnFJvSBF5PO2R">Chickenfoot</a> and closed out the year with work on <a href="spotify:artist:0L8ExT028jH3ddEcZwqJJ5">the Red Hot Chili Peppers</a>' tenth studio album overall. And between the two, he somehow also found the time to launch another project, the all-instrumental Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats. The genesis of the band can be traced back to <a href="spotify:artist:4DW34vji6G9GgGY0k2mic7">Smith</a>'s friendship with former <a href="spotify:artist:7b2jbuy6iMUbuvWrvoxnJW">Trapeze</a>/<a href="spotify:artist:568ZhdwyaiCyOGJRtNYhWf">Deep Purple</a> bassist/singer <a href="spotify:artist:50FDiYHYqGJkaCuK4JhAYw">Glenn Hughes</a>. Through jamming with <a href="spotify:artist:50FDiYHYqGJkaCuK4JhAYw">Hughes</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4DW34vji6G9GgGY0k2mic7">Smith</a> befriended several musicians who often played in <a href="spotify:artist:50FDiYHYqGJkaCuK4JhAYw">Hughes</a>' solo band -- guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:4OxvBviJsBXS6lUo2LfbZ9">Jeff Kollman</a> and keyboardist <a href="spotify:artist:7EBeeH2oJR0OXd0mPSv6PD">Ed Roth</a>. After they played together, they soon decided to record their efforts -- with bassist <a href="spotify:artist:3xh3A72wy32rzY2ULTAkfE">Kevin Chown</a> assuming the spot of <a href="spotify:artist:50FDiYHYqGJkaCuK4JhAYw">Hughes</a>. The debut Meatbats recording, Meet the Meatbats, was issued in September 2009 via <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Warrior+Records%22">Warrior Records</a>, and suggested a meeting between vintage-sounding <a href="spotify:artist:0IecGJbdBeYSOVtSPRehh5">Billy Preston</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1txWOvvuItlRlkB4rM0cUK">Return to Forever</a> funk-jazz-fusion. In late October 2009, the quartet launched a multi-date Japanese tour, but further dates seemed few and far between due to <a href="spotify:artist:4DW34vji6G9GgGY0k2mic7">Smith</a>'s commitments to <a href="spotify:artist:0L8ExT028jH3ddEcZwqJJ5">the Chili Peppers</a>. However, <a href="spotify:artist:4DW34vji6G9GgGY0k2mic7">Smith</a> reassembled the Meatbats for 2010's More Meat and offered up a 2009 live performance, Live Meat and Potatoes, in 2012. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi