Matt Bissonette (born July 25, 1961) is an American bass player and vocalist. According to ''Guitar 9'', an online musicianship magazine, he has played bass and other stringed instruments on at least 22 albums, with music styles ranging from

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...

and

instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes instrumental performance and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental music in rock can be found in practically every subgenre of the style. Instrumental rock was most popular f ...

. Bissonette has played bass with performers such as

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...

(1987–1992),

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder and, latterly, sole member of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) which was formed in 1970. He has written all of ...

and ELO (2001),

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

(2003–2005),

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

(2012–2023).Christe, Ian (2008) ''Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga'', John Wiley & Sons, He is the brother of drummer

Gregg Bissonette Gregg Bissonette (born June 9, 1959) is an American jazz and rock drummer and vocalist. He is the brother of bassist Matt Bissonette, with whom he frequently collaborates. Bissonette is known for playing and recording many different styles of m ...

Career

Bissonette attended the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

music program. In the early- to mid-1980s, he toured and recorded with jazz trumpeter

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...

. For part of his time in the Ferguson band, he played alongside his brother Gregg, which the brothers have done several times in their careers. Bissonette toured and played with Caspar McCloud for Caspar's ''Self Portrait'' album produced by

Ahmet Ertegun Ahmet Ertegun ( ; , ; July 31, 1923 – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist. Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and championed many lead ...

for

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

1982–83. In late 1987, he replaced Billy Sheehan in the David Lee Roth band. Along with guitar innovator

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai ( ; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a Transcription (music), transc ...

, Matt's brother Gregg (on drums) and keyboardist Brett Tuggle, Matt toured the world behind the former

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

vocalist's ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' #6 album ''

Skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

''. While on tour with Roth, Bissonette sang the difficult high harmonies made famous in VH classics, such as "

Runnin' with the Devil "Runnin' with the Devil" is a song by the American hard rock band Van Halen, released as the second single from their eponymous debut album on May 6, 1978. The lyrics were inspired by Ohio Players 1974 song "Runnin' from the Devil". In 2009, " ...

". In 1989, Bissonette relocated to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

with Roth, his brother Gregg, guitar prodigy Jason Becker and guitarist Steve Hunter, to record the ''

'' top 20 album '' A Little Ain't Enough''. Following another world tour in 1991, the Bissonette brothers left the David Lee Roth band. That year, Matt joined

Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American rock music, rock guitarist, composer, and songwriter. Early in hi ...

's band. Following Bissonette's five-year stint with Roth, he played with several other major songwriters, including

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

(of

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician who is a founding member of the rock band the Eagles, for whom he is the drummer and co-lead vocalist, as well as its sole continuous member. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles ...

(of

The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in ...

); Bissonette also played with

Julian Lennon Julian Charles John Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon; 8 April 1963) is an English musician, photographer, author, and philanthropist. He is the son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife Cynthia; Julian is named after his pate ...

Steve Perry Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and frontman of the rock band Journey during their most successful years from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He wrote/co-wrote ...

(of Journey),

Ty Tabor Ty Tabor ( ; born September 17, 1961) is an American musician. He is the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-lead vocalist for the hard rock band King's X. Tabor has a wide-ranging guitar style, from big guitar riffs to middling melodic passages ...

(of

King's X King's X is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Springfield, Missouri, in 1979. They were first called the Edge and later became Sneak Preview before settling on its current name in 1985. The band's current lineup has remained intact fo ...

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English-American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who rose to prominence as a member of the rock bands the Herd and Humble Pie. Later in his career, Frampton found significant success as a s ...

, and on Gregg Bissonette's solo album.''Modern Drummer'', Volume 24, Issues 7-12, p. 116 Bissonette played with

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

tribute supergroup Yellow Matter Custard, which performed a handful of shows in 2003 and 2011. In 2003, Bissonette reunited with his brother to back

on a US tour. In 2004, Matt played with vocalist

Boz Scaggs William Royce "Boz" Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was a bandmate of Steve Miller (musician), Steve Miller in the Ardells in the early 1960s and a member of the Steve Miller Band from 1967 to 196 ...

on Scaggs' '' Greatest Hits Live'' CD and DVD. In June 2005, the Bissonette brothers once again backed Starr at live shows at

Irving Plaza Irving Plaza (known through sponsorship as Irving Plaza, powered by Verizon 5G and formerly known as the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza) is a ballroom-style music venue located within the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York ...

in New York City in June 2005; the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, IL for the PBS show '' SoundStage''; and the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, as well as on several US TV appearances (''

CBS This Morning ''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987 to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012 to September 6, 2021. On November 1, 1999, the original incarnation was repla ...

'', etc.) Following his stint with Starr, in 2006, Bissonette became the bass player for

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

, while singing in his own band the Squirts. Springfield and Bissonette collaborated on Springfield's '' Venus in Overdrive'', which Bissonette co-produced.Nagy, Evie (2008)
The Billboard Reviews: Albums: Rick Springfield ''Venus in Overdrive''
, ''

'', August 2, 2008, p. 33, retrieved 2011-07-23Springfield, Rick (2010) ''Late, Late at Night: A Memoir'', Simon & Schuster, , p. 310 That same year, he is notable for playing bass with trailer rock musical band Globus on their album '' Epicon''. Bissonette is currently the bass player for

, replacing Bob Birch. Bissonette also played on the theme songs to the television shows ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'', ''

Just Shoot Me! ''Just Shoot Me!'' is an American sitcom television series originally aired on NBC from March 4, 1997, to November 26, 2003, with a total of 145 half-hour episodes spanning seven seasons, including 3 episodes aired on syndication. The show, cre ...

'' and ''

The Tracey Ullman Show ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' is an American television sketch comedy variety show starring Tracey Ullman. It debuted on Fox on April 5, 1987, as the network's second original primetime series, following '' Married... with Children'', and ran fo ...

''.

Discography

With DarWin

* Five Steps on the Sun (2024)

With the Mustard Seeds

* s/t (1996) * ''Red'' (1998) * ''III'' (2008)

With the Squirts

* s/t (2003) * ''Resquirted'' (2006)

With Jeff Lynne

* '' Zoom Tour Live'' (2001)

With Jughead

* s/t (2002)

With David Lee Roth

* '' A Little Ain't Enough'' (1991)

With Joe Satriani

* '' The Extremist'' (1993) * '' Strange Beautiful Music'' (2002) * '' Is There Love in Space?'' (2004) * '' G3: Live in Tokyo'' (2005) * '' Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock'' (2008)

With Ringo Starr

* '' Ringo Starr: Live at Soundstage'' (2007) Koch Entertainment * '' Give More Love'' (2017)

With Rick Springfield

* '' Venus in Overdrive'' (2008) * '' Songs for the End of the World'' (2012) * '' Rocket Science'' (2016) * '' The Red Locusts'' (2021)

With Robbie Angelucci

* ''A Guy with an Accent'' (2002)

With Maynard Ferguson

* ''Storm'' (1982) * ''Live from San Francisco'' (1985)

With Leon Russel

* ''Mid Summer Blossoms 2'' (1991)

With Boz Scaggs

* ''Greatest Hits Live'' (2004)

With Globus

* '' Epicon'' (2006)

With Elton John

* '' Wonderful Crazy Night'' (2016)

Other solo projects

* ''Spot'' (1998) * ''Spot 2'' (2000) * ''Raising Lazarus'' (2004) * ''Oh No! Bass Solo!'' (2004) * ''Life of the Party'' (2009) * ''Disposable Planet'' (2011)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bissonette, Matt American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Electric Light Orchestra members University of North Texas College of Music alumni Living people 1961 births Globus (music) 20th-century American guitarists Elton John Band members The Red Locusts members Yellow Matter Custard members The David Lee Roth Band members