MySpace a place for friends

It was in 1997 when three hotshot upstarts with something to prove accidentally crossed paths at a Phoenix, Arizona rehearsal studio and had an instant musical connection. And thus COSMOSQUAD was born. Two acclaimed studio albums and one live disc later, Toledo, Ohio-born guitarist Jeff Kollman and Canadian drummer Shane Gaalaas remain as the trio’s driving dual force and are celebrating their 10-year band anniversary with their latest creation, ‘Acid Test’. The album marks the group’s first studio effort since 2001‘s highly regarded ‘Squadrophenia’, which firmly established COSMOSQUAD as one of the premier progressive instrumental acts on the scene.

‘Acid Test’, recorded between February and April of 2007 at Gaalaas’ Crumb West Studios in Simi Valley, CA, sees COSMOSQUAD up the ante with some of their heaviest, most intense material to date while retaining a dynamic edge throughout the album’s nine-song journey. Setting the tone, opener ‘NuMena’ and the cinematic ‘The Spy Who Ate Her’ recall jagged, dissonant Tool-esque territory where jarring, monolithic riffs and dark undertones give way to unexpected melodic cloud bursts. “It’s interesting because a song becomes more rhythm based when you’re playing as a two-piece during the writing process so it does change the way you write as opposed to being a trio. I actually kind of preferred it that way”, reflects Kollman on the creative process without input from long-time bassist and founding member, Barry Sparks. “Also, the sound I had in the studio – I was just getting a really meaty rhythm sound and enjoying playing rhythm guitar. It’s like when you heard Eddie Van Halen for the first time. Yeah, he had all these great solos but, “man, check out those great grooves!” I was in that zone for this record.”

Possibly the album’s boldest statements is the oddball ‘Bedbucket’, “the most unique tune on the record” according to Kollman, “because it breaks down the walls of stylistic limitations within a composition. It appears as quirky circus music morphing into a New York modern jazz vibe, then getting instantly crushed by a freight train of the heaviest knuckle dragging, Cro-Magnon metal, and finally ending in a no-holds-barred assault of Shane Gaalaas drumming madness.”

Yet there is plenty to be found on ‘Acid Test’ that embodies what Gaalaas calls “the classic ‘Squad vibe.” Such as the euphoric, instantly catchy ‘Hindenburg’; ‘Lubitorium’, which runs a gamut from jazzy Fender Rhodes-induced coolness to frantic syncopated runs; the percussive ‘Goathead’, a playful, chunky groove fest; or the album’s funkiest cut, ‘Swink’, ladden with enough loose, post-Hendrix-ian wha-cha-wha-cha to do even The Mothership proud. ‘Acid Test’ also features a stunning ballad, a companion piece of sorts to ‘Squadrophenia’s haunting ‘In Loving Memory….’, where Kollman’s out-of-this-world melodic sense shines as brightly as ever. “’The Long Walk Goodbye’ is actually the only song on the album I wrote by myself and then presented to Shane”, states the guitarist. “It is dedicated to our manager’s mom who passed way last Christmas from cancer. I could totally relate because I’ve lost both my parents to the same disease. It just puts you in a melancholy mood and these songs almost write themselves in a way. I think I composed ‘Long Walk…’ in five minutes. It’s another side of us that compliments the heavy, crazy stuff really well. I’m not afraid to convey vulnerability and put a piece like that on a record.”

Even though primarily known for their work outside COSMOSQUAD – Gaalaas and Kollman’s combined resume reads like a Who’s Who of international rock royalty, ranging from UK legends Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath) and Phil Mogg (UFO) to guitar gods Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, and Yngwie Malmsteen as well as Japanese mega-stars B’z – the guitarist/producer sees the ‘SQUAD as his primary vehicle of expression and ultimate focal point. ”I believe that we can take COSMOSQUAD as far as we want to if we are willing to put in the work. The potential is there. You really don’t have to be a musician to enjoy and relate to what we are doing. Because we are not like all these other bands that just kill you with a barrage of notes. What we get all the time from people is comments like, “you know, I don’t normally like this type of stuff, prog, instrumental music, but I love what you guys are doing!” So that tells me that we’re onto something. Not that we clamor for approval because we’re gonna do what we’re gonna do regardless.”

Kollman promises there won’t be another six-year gap between COSMOSQUAD albums now that the dam has been broken: “Shane is sending me e-mails from Japan and he’s like, “man, let’s start working on a new one when I get home next week!” - We definitely want to let this album sink in with everybody and let it do its thing but I think we could have another one ready by next spring.”

As the guitarist sees it, ‘Acid Test’ is merely the result of a band in transition and the best is yet to come. “Truth be told, one of the main reasons why we put off making this album for so long is because, you know, we were such a unit with Barry that it’s like a marriage where your partner leaves but you never talk about it and you don’t want to believe it. You want to be faithful to them until you get to the point where you realize that the other party has moved on and you have to as well. - Shane and I were born two days apart and both of our first concerts were Kiss. We practically look like brothers, we have all the same influences - we’re very much kindred spirits and musical soul brothers. It is certainly that way when we write together. So with this record, when we got it done we were like, “wow, listen to all this music we did! I just remember having a couple of jam sessions!””

COSMOSQUAD are planning to hit the road in support of ‘Acid Test’ come this fall, with Sparks‘ successor Christopher Maloney (Dweezil Zappa, Hardline) in tow, who is featured on the new disc alongside fellow bassists Paul Shihadeh and Kevin Chown, as well as keyboardists Ed Roth and Jono Brown. “I have started to work around the country as a clinician for Fender Guitars who have been really supportive of me”, states Kollman. “The idea is to take COSMOSQUAD along with me and hit the markets doing performance clinics with the group along with some concerts. I’m getting tons of e-mails from fans all over the place that want to see us live and this is the way to make it happen. We are all dedicated to continue working together and taking our live shows to a whole new level.”