Kevin Chown is the bassist for Tarja Turunen and Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats, and has also worked with a wide range of artists including JKB, Uncle Kracker, Chuck Berry, Tiffany, The Supremes and Tony Macalpine.

Kevin Chown has been a professional musician since the age of 15. Originally from the small rural town of Escanaba, Michigan, where he was raised in a musical family, he was always surrounded by music; his mother was a composer and teacher and his father a conductor and teacher. After high school, Kevin moved to Detroit and spent many years there honing his skills before moving to Los Angeles, where he lives today with his family.

Kevin has performed on over 100 recordings over his many years as a pro. In addition to his studio work, Kevin tours around the globe with Finnish rock superstar Tarja Turunen and is also a founding member of the groundbreaking instrumental funk-jazz group Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats.

Kevin has been a part of the Markbass family since 2006. “I feel that bass players are unique,” he says. “Bass players are typically the conscience of the band, no matter what style of music. The person most likely to be the quiet guy in the room with the big sound. That walk softly, but carry a big stick. The type of person that lets their ability and creativity speak for itself… To me, Marco and Markbass exemplify that bass player spirit, churning out product after product that simply speaks for itself. No fluff or hype is needed. It’s great to have a partner in this business that not only understands how to build great stuff, but seems to build it with me in mind, as a professional bass player. That knows that my goal is to make my life and the music that I play LESS complicated. I can’t say enough about how happy I am working together with Markbass. Their amps are simply the best out there. They are amps for bass players built by bass players. It’s a wonderful thing.”

With a wide variety of musical interests and likes, Kevin has always been a bassist with many musical identities. In addition to his informal musical education “in the trenches” of rock and roll thru the years, Kevin received a formal education at Wayne State University, receiving his degree in Jazz Studies. His well-rounded musical education, upbringing and experience gives him a broad musical perspective to bring to every musical environment that he finds himself in, in the studio or on the stage, with Markbass always his partner in crime.

“I love to get in the pocket and just stay there and let the music build around me….with the bass as the b-a-s-e of the music. There was a time when I loved to play a lot of notes. The older I get, the more I want people to feel it!” Kevin has had the honor of achieving this with some of the greatest drummers in music: Chad Smith, Kenny Aronoff, Matt Sorum, Mike Terrana, Gary Maliber, Shane Gaalaas and many more.

“I came of age as a bass player in Detroit, the city that seems to breed bass players. It has to be the bass capital of the universe, for whatever reason. I am VERY lucky to have had that experience. I try and uphold that tradition and bring that blue collar, no nonsense approach to everything that I do. I try to keep it simple, supportive, in the pocket and always try and have a good time with it. Life is too short for the groove to fall apart!! I have fun by letting everybody else have fun around me.”