Guesting on Final Resonance TV, veteran drummer Gregg Bissonette discussed his new band, The Reddcoats, and reflected on working with former Van Halen vocalist David Lee Roth from 1985 - 1992.
On working with Roth as part of the Eat 'Em And Smile touring band in 1986 - also featuring Steve Vai (guitar) and Billy Sheehan (bass) - Bissonette said "Dave gave me a great chance to play anything I wanted. He said, 'Why don't you do a crazy thing here? Why don't you play a solo? Instead of the normal drum solo that only appeals to dudes with Zildjian shirts, why don't you play a solo on top of your drums, standing on your drums? Make your bass drums twice as long, get up, put a little 'Shyboy' beat in a drum machine, and stand on your drums.'"
The Reddcoats, featuring Matt Bissonette, Gregg Bisonette, Andy Timmons, Mike Medina, Wally Minko, and Ron Pedley, have returned with a new studio album, titled The Reddcoats 2, released today. Watch a lyric video for “All For Me” below.
Matt Bissonette shares, “The Reddcoats has been a labor of love for the last five years, and we are so happy to be done with our second album with the extra thought out title The Reddcoats 2. What a blast to be playing challenging, fun music with our friends. They are like family, and the good thing is they don’t live with us! I love this band…”
Ron Pedley offers, “Matt and I met right after high school in college at North Texas. We became fast friends and had a mutual love of both jazz and rock music. This music is genre busting, super creative and extra original. I’m proud to have played my small part.”
Mike Medina adds, “Ron Pedley and I went to school back in the late 70s at the University Of North Texas. I remember him being a part of a select pop group called The Zebras. He was into the synthesizer thing very early on.”
Drummer Gregg Bissonette states, “Andy Timmons is an incredible musician, singer-songwriter, friend and human! I first heard about Andy years ago when he was playing with Danger Danger. I then heard about his phenomenal playing from every great guitarist I knew.”
Guitarist Timmons shares, “Wally Minko is an incredibly gifted keyboard player that brings a lot to the table with his wealth of music knowledge. And he’s a snappy dresser!”
Matt Bissonette adds, “Mike Medina is a ten trick gift shop! He does it all, not only is he mixing and co-producing The Reddcoats, he plays bass, drums, guitar and the flambazoid. And, most importantly he is a great humanoid!!!”
Lastly, Wally Minko offers, “Gregg’s a very nice fellow, and he’s starting to sound pretty good on the drums. But the really cool thing about him is that every time he opens his mouth, he sounds EXACTLY like Winnie the Pooh. It’s shocking, actually.”
Boasting one of the most powerful collective pedigrees in rock ‘n’ roll, the have individually logged thousands of shows alongside history’s biggest icons, millions of records sold, and dozens of awards between them. After circling each other for years, these five musicians came together in 2020 releasing a self-titled independent EP. This new album continues to build on the vision these five players set in to motion over the pandemic. While they individually navigate multiple on-going commitments creatively apart from one another, the spark that started to burn has only become more intense versus fading. This lead track “All For Me” exhibits a musical collaboration that is just beginning to build and broaden the potential of prolific setting that has no boundaries. Representing a confluence of influence and experience, they manage to surprise on each and every track.
“When I go see a concert, I typically want to hear something different after a half-an-hour,” explains Matt. “I always thought it would be interesting to have a band where everyone gets the spotlight and does his own thing. I love funk, heavy metal, jazz, bebop, and Latin, and you’ll hear all of that. It can be really earthy and greasy one minute and heavy the next. Since everyone is so proficient, it’s like we’re always switching the radio and reaching for the next level. The instinct is to do something that will stick in your head.”
As the story goes, the Bissonette brothers began playing together as kids and simply never stopped. They initially met Mike at North Texas State University and “promised to do a project someday.” In the middle of a three-night stand in Dallas with Elton John during 2018, Mike urged Matt to join him at a club for a gig. Taking over the spotlight, guitarist Andy Timmons immediately caught Matt’s attention as the perfect axe-slinger for what would become The Reddcoats. Putting the final puzzle piece in place, Matt welcomed Wally on keys after intermittently performing together throughout the years. They immediately locked into an undeniable chemistry, drawing on a seemingly endless myriad of genres. “We’re throwing all of these styles in a big bag, whipping it around, and tossing it out to the people to see if they like it,” smiles Matt.
As if meant to be, The Reddcoats might just give music what it needs most right now.
“When you hear us, I want you to feel good,” Matt leaves off. “This is optimistic music. To me, that’s the most important thing. At the same time, we’re giving fellow musicians something challenging to listen to. We’re not afraid to play different styles. This group of guys can do it all, and I love that.”
Tracklisting:
"Reddcoat Stew"
"All for Me"
"Tilt a Whirl"
"Mask on Mask Off"
"All I Wanna Do"
"Still Waiting"
"Another World Another Time"
"Pump the Brakes"
Photo by Neil Zlozower / Atlas Icons
