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

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

, who is the

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

for the

jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts and live albums substantially feature improvisational "jam session, jamming". Typically, jam bands will play variations of pre-existing songs, extending them to musical improvisation, improvise ove ...

Blues Traveler Blues Traveler is an American rock band that formed in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1987. They are known for their extensive use of segues in live performances, and could be considered a key part of the re-emerging jam band scene of the 1990s, sp ...

Early life

He was born in

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

, 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 themselve ...

Chan Kinchla. He began playing the

upright bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

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 instru ...

Ben Wilson). Following high school, he attended and graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. 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 (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

, played

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact 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 w ...

and formed a band called

Dowdy Smack Thaddeus Arwood "Tad" Kinchla (born February 21, 1973) is an American musician, who is the bassist for the jam band Blues Traveler. Early life He was born in Princeton, New Jersey, Kinchla is the younger brother to long-time Blues Traveler gu ...

with future internet personality

Ze Frank Hosea Jan "Ze" Frank (; born March 31, 1971) 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 (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

'', 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 Popper was born on March 29, 1967, in Cleveland, Ohio. His father was a ...

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 ...

called the

John Popper Project The John Popper Project (formally The John Popper Project Featuring DJ Logic) is an American jam band that plays a combination of rock, hip hop, and improvisational jazz. The group formed out of a jam session in San Francisco in December 2003 ...

. In 2006, they released an eponymous album with

DJ Logic DJ Logic (born Lee Jason Kibler, 1972) is an American DJ primarily known for his work in nu-jazz, acid-jazz, and with jam bands. Life and career Born and raised in The Bronx, New York, Kibler displayed an early interest in hip hop, funk, an ...

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 twins.

References

External links

Kinchla's bio on BluesTraveler.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinchla, Tad Blues Traveler members American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Musicians 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