Jeff Kollman
Fender’s newest guitar clinician seems to be everywhere at once …

“Bona fide guitar hero”: Kollman onstage. Photo by Bob Burchess

To say that the musical résumé of Fender’s newest guitar clinician, Jeff Kollman, is, shall we say eclectic is to put it, shall we say, somewhat mildly.

One minute, the guy’s shredding with Glenn Hughes or Michael Schenker. And then there he was not too long ago with towering jazz/R&B bassist Wayman Tisdale. And, say, weren’t those Jeff Kollman guitar parts we heard in animated Fox yuk-fest Ice Age: The Meltdown and that sappy Failure to Launch picture from last year? And a bunch of other stuff, too?

Yeah, that was him. The guy is all over the place. You have heard him.

His website says he comes from “humble Midwestern beginnings as a punk rock kid.” True, he may have started out as a humble punk, but hard work and astute vision have made Kollman a bona fide guitar hero, first-call session ace and in-demand clinician whose formidable Fender-fueled player/producer chops seem to be, like Kollman himself, everywhere at once. That’s where we come in—lucky for us, Kollman will start doing Fender guitar clinics in June 2007.

Also lucky for us, Fender News just happened to be in the same room when Kollman briefly came up for air on March 20, 2007, so we just had to ask him a few questions …


FN: Your history, please, Jeff Kollman …
JK: My guitar playing started at age 12. My brother, Tommy, had just started playing drums as well. I went to my first Kiss concert at 12, and it was over! I was focused on music and was not willing to do anything else but play music! My first record and studio experience was at age 16 with a hardcore punk band called the Stain.

Kollman: "I studied everything ..." Photo by Bob Burchess

I was focused early on writing and recording my own music. Starting with a four-track recorder, to eight-track half-inch, to ADAT and now Pro Tools HD and producing in the studio. After getting some songs written and recorded in my late teens, I formed Edwin Dare, which was my early ’90s progressive metal band, along with Tommy. We did three records and quite a bit of touring up to 1995. I then moved to Los Angeles and got into producing, co-writing and guitar session work.

Other artists that I have worked with include Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple, UFO, Mogg /Way, Jill Scott, Sign of 4, Joe Lynn Turner, HTP and Cosmosquad. Film credits include Fantastic 4, Beerfest, Ice Age: The Meltdown, Poseidon, Failure to Launch, Clerks 2, Eight Below, Slither, Sahara, and Showtime’s Masters of Horror, to name a few.

I sort of do my own thing, musically. I’m not as much of a hired-gun kind of guy in the past for tours. In 1989 I formed my own record label, Marmaduke Records, and have released 13 or so CDs. I’ve got a fusion band called Cosmosquad that is just releasing its fourth record. Other bands that I’m part of and release records with are Crumb Bros. and my power trio, JKB, in which I sing and play guitar. I’ve released four solo instrumental CDs under my name. Also, I’ve been busy writing, producing and playing with contemporary jazz pianist Lao Tizer.


FN: Wow, so you’re a tad busy. What Fender gear are you playing now?
JK: I am currently playing the Fender Super-Sonic® amps, the new VG Stratocaster® guitar, a relic Strat®, a vintage ’61 Strat, a ’90s ’52 reissue Tele®, my trusty old ’61 Strat and my Fender ’65 Twin®. For the Glenn Hughes tour that I’m currently on, I’m using my ’71 hard-tail Strat. For many gigs, I’ll ask for a Twin and use pedals with it to get the palette of tones I need. With the new Super-Sonic amp, I can play all the styles and get all the tones I need with that amp alone. I just bring along a wah, a tuner and a volume pedal, and I’m good to go.


FN: How does the VG Stratocaster fit into your setup?
JK: I started using the VG Strat in December ’06, and I’ve been using it in the studio for the new Cosmosquad record. We do a lot of tuning variations; therefore, the guitar is a great tool for tuning changes without needing to retune. For instance, there’s a baritone setting on the guitar that sonically transposes all the string down a fourth, but you’re not actually changing the tension of the strings—brilliant! There’s also a D modal tuning I used on a new track. The VG Strat gave me the inspiration to write a song with that tuning, which is DGDGBD from low to high. Now, live, I can go out and play a set of material and never change guitars.


FN: How do you like the Fender Super-Sonic® amp?
JK: The new Super-Sonic amp is life changing for me because of the extreme versatility of tones that one can get from one Fender amp. I play musical styles that are all over the spectrum; therefore, I need an amp that can be pretty and then pretty mean. That’s the one! The dirty channel has such a singing musical kind of distortion that still retains the clarity I need for the more colorful chords. Some amps only sound good with power chords because the distortion is too saturated. Not this amp. The Vibrolux® and Bassman® tone options, combined with the dirty channel, make the amp as versatile as I will ever need.


FN: You play many styles in your bands. How would you describe your playing?
JK: I am a rock player who incorporates jazz, bebop, blues and funk into my heavy-rock style to keep it sounding fresh and different. I’m certainly not a jazz player, but I’ve studied the styles of Pat Martino and Wes Montgomery, and I have a handle on the harmony of this music. Same with classical music—I’ve studied baroque, renaissance and Spanish guitar playing to get an idea of where this music comes from harmonically and rhythmically. But I don’t go out and play solo classical performances. Leave that up to greats like Julian Bream. I do it to keep my playing and style sounding fresh and hopefully more diverse.

With Fender guitar, strap and shirt. Photo by Bob Burchess

FN: What’s new?
JK: We’re just putting together the final mixes this week for the new Cosmosquad record. It’s dark, moody, heavy and progressive. There are a lot of chops at times, and some good heavy rhythms. It should be available in late April.

On the live front, I’ve been out with Glenn Hughes touring in Russia for the past month. I go back to the U.K. tomorrow and then play some European dates. It’s really great musically because Glenn comes from Deep Purple; therefore, there’s a ton of guitar playing going on in the style of Ritchie Blackmore. But Glenn as an artist is so beyond the legacy of Deep Purple. He’s got soul like Stevie Wonder. Glenn really digs the soul singers of the ’60s and ’70s, which makes the music so multidimensional. It’s for the ages, not just the old Deep Purple fans. The fans are getting younger, which is really great to see. It’s great. It rocks, and it’s funk. It’s sexy and moody.


FN: Where can your music be found?
JK: There’s the Marmaduke store at www.jeffkollman.com, where you can purchase most of my stuff. Itunes.com search for JKB, Crumb Bros., Cosmosquad, Edwin Dare and my Jeff Kollman solo material. Also CD Baby and Guitar 9 records online.


FN: Did you have formal music training?
JK: Informally formal. I studied everything without attending an institution. The information is out there; the teachers and players are out there to study with. I would go to my library every week and study the books and get the music. I’d find the best improv guys in town or the classical teacher who could help me with technique, get a handle on the style and learn the repertoire.

I was fortunate to study with a non-guitarist jazz great. My mentor was someone who played everything but guitar. He taught the art of improvisation, phrasing, piano voicings, space, and the art and development of a solo. He also enlightened me to all the cats of the 20th century in jazz and bob that made an impact on the history of the music and why. This is really important for the young players; to continually research the history of music.


FN: Any advice for guitarists?
JK: I would say don’t be a closet guitarist—waiting until you’re good enough to play in front of others. Just get out and do it. Don’t be afraid. Play as many gigs as you can. Play with those who are better than you. Record yourself. Be creative. It will help you find your style and tone; your voice on the instrument.

Listen to good music. Figure out what was going on back before you started listening. You have to research the great artists who made a difference. Get out of your little musical bubble and check out Django Reinhardt, for instance, or Chet Baker.


FN: What are you listening to lately?
JK: Everything. The new Ray Charles release with the Count Basie Orchestra. We Want Miles. 10,000 Days by Tool. Lewis Taylor. I’m all over the musical map. Also, virtuoso guitarist Tommy Emmanuel.