Cosmosquad

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. Guitarist Jeff Kollman Drummer Shane Gaalaas And Bassist Barry Sparks Combined Their Musical Prowess With Their Love For All Things Rock Into A Three-Piece Instrumental Juggernaut That They Decided To Call COSMOSQUAD. The Rest As They Say Is History. Well Not Exactly. History Apparently Is Still Being Written… After Their Initial Jams Cosmosquad Reconvened In A Downtown Los Angeles Studio To Record The Songs They Had Worked On Back In Phoenix. They Decided To Have No Limits On What They Played. If They Wanted To Throw A Latin Groove In After A Bluesy Verse Then So Be It. Whatever Served The Music And The Song Was Their Mantra. After Only A Week The Boys Had Completed Most Of What Would Be Coming Their First CD. The Self-Titled Cosmosquad Was Released In The US On Kollman’s Own Marmaduke Records In The Waning Moments Of ’97 And In Japan On Big M.F. In Early 1998. The Band Found That They Had A Built-In Fan Base Of Both People Who Loved Sophisticated Instrumental Rock Music And Fans Of The Various “famous” Artists Each Member Had Previously Toured With Which Reads Like A ‘who’s Who” Of Classic Rock . Alas The Members Of Cosmosquad Spent The Rest Of 98 Touring With The Aforementioned Various “famous” Artists. Cosmosquad Reconnected In 1999 To Record Jeff Kollman’s Solo CD Shedding Skin. Shane Played Drums On The Entire Effort And Barry Split Bass Duties With Other Bassists In Jeff’s Now Growing Circle Of LA Session Cats. The Music On Shedding Skin Was A Continuation Of The Kind Of Music Released On Cosmosquad So Much So That Cosmosquad Would Continue To Play Songs From This CD As Part Of Their Live Set For Years To Come. Jeff Took The Music From Cosmosquad And Shedding Skin On The Road As He Did Solo Performances And Clinics Throughout Europe And Southeast Asia. By The Beginning Of 2000 Jeff And Shane Were Excited To Finally Go Out And Do Gigs As Cosmosquad. Unfortunately Barry Was Committed To Be Touring With Other Artists For Most Of The Year. It Was At This Point That Bassist Christopher Maloney Was Brought In To Fill In For Barry On Live Cosmosquad Gigs. Christopher Had Attended Musicians Institute With Shane Nearly Seven Years Early And Jeff Shane And Christopher Had Been Playing In A Few Different LA Bands Since 1997. Reinvigorated Cosmosquad Played Throughout Los Angeles For The Rest Of The Year Experimenting With Songs Choices And Arrangements Of Material That Had Never Been Performed In Public Before. In Early 2001 Christopher Handed The Bass Chair Back To Barry As The Group Hit The Studio To Work On Their Next CD. The Band Wanted To Continue With The Musical Direction Set Forth With Their First Recording But They Also Wanted To Develop New Elements As Well. They Invited Guest Artists To Record With Them Experimented With Different Sound Textures And Incorporated Drum Loops In Order To Expand The Music They Were Writing. The Result Was Squadrophenia Which Was Greeted With Public And Critical Acclaim. Largely Unknown To The Band Their First CD Created A Cult Following Of Music Lovers And The Fans Were Chomping At The Bit To Get Any New Material The Band Would Release. Cosmosquad’s Stature Also Grew From Squadrophenia Being Released Not Only In The US And Japan But Throughout Europe As Well. They Celebrated The Release Of The New CD With Several Shows Throughout Southern California And Various Dates On The East Coast. One LA Date In Particular Was Recorded For An Upcoming Live CD That They Band Would Release After They Were Done Touring To Support Squadrophenia. After The Live Shows Were Concluded Barry Surprised Many Fans By Releasing A Solo CD Glimmer Of Hope Which Showcased Not His Tremendous Bass Skills But His Incredible Acoustic Guitar Playing. 2002 Saw The Release Of Live At The Baked Potato The Result Of The Recording The Band Had Done The Previous Year At Their Favorite Los Angeles Live Venue. The CD Contained Live Tracks From The Previous Two Cosmosquad Albums As Well As Jeff’s CD Shedding Skin. For The First Time Fans From Around The World Most Of Who Had Never Actually Seen A Cosmosquad Concert Could Finally At Least Hear The Boys Playing This Music Live. Meanwhile Christopher Borrowed Shane To Record Drum Tracks On His First Solo CD Control. With Barry Back Out On The Road With Other Artists Christopher Eagerly Took Over The Bass Chair Once Again To Join Cosmosquad On Many Live Dates. In June The Group Made Its First Jaunt Overseas To Perform A One-Off Concert In Rome Italy. Jeff Shane And Christopher Finished The Year Touring The UK With Their Friend UFO Singer Phil Mogg In A Group They Put Together Called Sign Of 4. In 2003 Shane Was Finally Bitten By The Solo Bug And Released His Own Effort Primer. Known Solely As A Powerhouse Drummer Shane Surprised Fans And Friends Alike By Not Only Singing On The Recordings But Also By Playing Nearly Every Instrument. Cosmosquad Would Continue To Play Sporadically Throughout The Year With Christopher On Bass. In Japan The Band’s Label Big M.F. Put Out The Best Of Cosmosquad A Collection Of Songs From The Band’s Two CDs And The Shedding Skin CD. The Group Also Performed Several Blistering Sets At The Annual NAMM Show In Anaheim California. 2004 Saw The Release Of Barry’s Second Solo CD Can’t Look Back. Some Could Guess That This Title Is Quite Prophetic In The Case Of His Relationship With Cosmosquad. Not Only Was Barry Busy Continuing To Tour With Other Artists But He Was Also Now Very Focused On His Solo Career. With New Live Cosmosquad Dates On The Horizon Jeff And Shane Were Shocked When Their “fourth Member” Christopher Informed Them That He Would Be Unavailable To Play Bass Due To His Own Solo Commitments. Again Without Officially Replacing Barry Cosmosquad Brought On Canadian Bassist Paul Shihadeh To Perform The Live Shows. Fans Used To Hearing Barry’s Rock Sensibilities On The Recordings And Christopher’s Fusion-Esque Take On The Material Live Were Now Treated To A More Improvisational Cosmosquad With Paul’s Funky-Jazz Background. In 2005 Cosmosquad “unofficially” Took A Break With The Release Of Several Solo CDs And Collaborative Groups. Christopher Started The Year Off With The Release Of His Second Solo CD The Terrors Of Intimacy In Which Both Jeff And Shane Lent Their Talents To. Christopher Put Down The Bass To Do A Short Acoustic Tour On The West Coast. Shane Also Released His Second Solo CD Hinge Which He Promoted By Touring Japan. Jeff Shocked The Guitar World By Putting Together A CD Of Vocal Music Under The Band Title JKB. He Supported His Release Bleeding The Soul By Touring Throughout Europe. Jeff And Shane Also Got Together With Their Friend Mark Renk To Record Under The Band Name Crumb Bros. Their Self-Produced CD The State Of Your Mind Was Supported By Shows In Los Angeles. 2006 Would Be A Defining Year For Cosmosquad. The Band Continued To Promote Their Solo Efforts With Barry Putting Together The Barry Sparks Band With Barry On Guitar And Vocals And Touring The West Coast Of The US In January. Shane’s Recording Of His Japanese Solo Tour Resulted In The Live CD Live In Osaka Which Was Regrettably Only Released In Japan. Cosmosquad Continued To Play Live In Los Angeles But Once Again Had To Find A New Bassist To Perform With. Barry Was On Tour Christopher Was Committed To Promoting His Solo CD And Paul Shihadeh Was In Las Vegas Performing For Le Reve. Jeff And Shane Recruited JKB And Crumb Bros. Bassist Kevin Chown For The Live Shows Yet Once Again Stopped Short Of Naming Him Or Anyone As A Replacement For Barry. Jeff Excited To Once Again Release An Instrumental CD Called In Shane And All Three Of The ‘replacement’ C-Squad Bassists For Two Live Shows At The Baked Potato In Los Angeles. Not A Cosmosquad CD In Name Only The Recordings Would Foreshadow The Change And Practically The Line-Up For A Future Cosmosquad Recording. In The Meantime However Fans Would Be Treated With Jeff Kollman’s Guitar Screams Live A Culmination Of Nearly Ten Years Of Songs Jeff Had Written And Recorded With Various Projects. Although Cosmosquad Had Been Playing Steady For Nearly Six Years There Hadn’t Been Any New Squad Material Since 2001’s Squadrophenia. Barry Having Totally Committed Himself To His Roadwork And His Solo Project Decided To Officially Leave The Band At The Beginning Of 2007. With Barry’s Blessing Jeff And Shane Were Free To Continue To Write And Record Under The Cosmosquad Banner Once Again. The Two Wasted No Time Getting Into The Studio To Begin Writing The Next CD This Time As A Duo With Jeff Taking Over Most Of The Bass Duties. For Several Of The Songs Jeff And Shane Decided To Call Upon Their Three ‘unofficial’ Squad Bass Players Christopher Paul And Kevin To Come In And Contribute. Although There Was No Preconceived Idea Of What The New CD Would Sound Like This Cosmosquad CD Was Going To Be Different In One Essential Way Both Jeff And Shane Has Five More Years Of Playing And Writing Under Their Belts. They Were Writing Better Material And Were Playing Better Than Ever. The Resulting CD Acid Test Was For Most Fans Completely Worth The Wait. The Compositions Were Stronger The Overall Sound Of The Band Was More Defined And The Playing Was Even More Impressive Than Ever. Jeff And Shane Didn’t Just Want The Fans To Get A New Cosmosquad Album But They Wanted To Truly Move Forward As A Band. This Meant Getting A Permanent Replacement For Barry. Christopher Having Worked Steady With Shane And Jeff In Various Bands For Years And Logging In More Hours In The C-Squad Bass Chair Than Anyone Even Barry Was The Obvious Choice. With Cosmosquad A Trio Again The Band Threw All Their Collective Weight Behind Acid Test With Scores Of Interviews Reviews And Live Shows. The Band Did A Series Of Concerts And Performance Clinics With Fender Throughout The Midwest In September Of 2007. In October Cosmosquad Performed A Concert For The Students Of Musicians Institute Which Was Captured On Film For A Future Live DVD Concert Film. After Another Scorching Performance At NAMM In Early 2008 Cosmosquad Headed Out To Japan For A Short Club Tour. With Their CDs Always Constant Sellers In Japan Many Of The Fans Had Waited A Decade For The Band To Perform There. Upon Returning From Asia Cosmosquad Put The Finishing Touches On Their First Live DVD Entitled Lights Camera Squad! The DVD Was Released In The Early Summer Of 2008 In Japan On Zain Records And In The Rest Of The World On Marmaduke And Sunset Records. Cosmosquad Returned To Japan For More Shows In September Of '08. As 2009 Is In Full Swing Cosmosquad Is Committed To Getting Back In The Studio To Release A CD Of New Material. It Looks As If The History Of Cosmosquad Continues On…. read less