Matt & Gregg Bissonette On The Reddcoats’ New Single “Just Gimme The News,” Playing With Legends, Future Plans & More

Boasting one of the most powerful collective pedigrees in rock, the members of The Reddcoats 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 5 musicians assemble like a virtuoso answer to The Avengers on their 2020 self-titled independent EP. The group unites vocalist, bassist and producer Matt Bissonette (Elton John, Joe Satriani, David Lee Roth, Rick Springfield), his brother and drummer Gregg Bissonette (Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band, David Lee Roth, Robert Downey Jr., Don Henley, Santana), GRAMMY Award-nominated Keyboardist Wally Minko ( P!nk, Jean-Luc Ponty, Toni Braxton), and guitarist Andy Timmons (Danger Danger, Olivia Newton-John) joined by producer Mike Medina (Edgar Winter, Victor Wooten). Forging a singular sound out of everything from funk, jazz, and bebop to metal and Latin, those Reddcoats surprise on each and every track.

As someone who grew up reading liner notes and caring about who wrote, produced and played on my favorite music, I was well-aware of both Matt and Gregg Bissonette long before learning about The Reddcoats. For starters, the brothers Bissonette were both members of David Lee Roth’s solo band. The two have also played together in ELO’s backing band, as part of Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band and with Maynard Ferguson. In other words, the 2 veteran players have not only succeeded as top-notch touring and studio musicians for nearly 40 years, but have consistently been able to play at a top level within a variety of musical genres. And they are only 2 of the 5 virtuosos in The Reddcoats.

On October 19, 2020, I had the honor — and I do mean “honor” — of speaking with both Matt and Gregg Bissonette via Zoom, as embedded below. We spoke about The Reddcoats’ debut single “Just Gimme The News,” the reason The Reddcoats formed, the brothers’ musical journey, their Detroit roots, what there is still left for both to accomplish, future plans, whether it is true that both brothers played on musical cues for the show Friends and plenty more. More on the Bissonettes can be found online by visiting www.thereddcoats.com, greggbissonette.com and mattbissonette.com.

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Tags: David Lee Roth, Detroit, Gregg Bissonette, Los Angeles, Matt Bissonette, Ringo Starr, Session Musicians, The Beatles

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."