Pin this one on rock legend and former Deep Purple bassist Glenn Hughes. 5 years after first working together on Hughes 2003 release, 'Songs In the Key of Rock', long-time Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, guitar star Jeff Kollman, multi-faceted keyboardist Ed Roth, along with Motor City bass ace Kevin Chown, are now striking out on their own, together as one, in what is easily one of the most accomplished and exciting instrumental outfits to emerge some time: Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats.

Four master musicians joining forces, each bringing to the table a unique background and a plethora of influences, creating a new sonic experience that fuses everything from classic rock, old school funk and 70's R&B, to vintage fusion and even oriental flavors.

The group's forthcoming debut album sounds as uncalculated and spontaneous as are the MEATBATS' accidental beginnings: "Whenever I would jam with Ed and Chad at Glenn Hughes rehearsals, we would mess around and warm up with some Jeff Beck kind of stuff", recalls Kollman. "One day Chad said, "hey, we should do something like this!" Next thing you know we're in the studio making a record! I called my buddy (Kevin) Chown on the day of the recording session. Kevin came in and saved the day - we got five tunes down that first day! And the rest is history!"

Read more on the band's MySpace page.

Current schedule for upcoming shows:

April 21 2008, 19:00 07:00 PM - Live House enn, Sendai, Japan -

April 22 2008, 18:30 06:30 PM - STB139, Tokyo, Japan -

April 24 2008, 18:30 06:30 PM - The Bottom Line, Nagoya, Japan -

April 25 2008, 18:30 06:30 PM - Bigkat Osaka, Japan -

April 26 2008, 18:00 06:00 PM - Crazymama Kingdom, Okayama, Japan-

April 27 2008, 17:00 05:00 PM - Gate's 7, Fukuoka, Japan -

May 31 2008, 22:00 10:00 PM - Club Bijou, 135 South Byrne Road, Toledo, Ohio 43615 - 15