He was born in
Princeton, New Jersey, Kinchla is the younger brother to long-time Blues Traveler
guitarist Chan Kinchla. He began playing the
upright bass as a child after his brother had settled with the guitar. He graduated from Princeton High School in 1991, the same high school that the rest of the band attended (with the exception of
keyboardist Ben Wilson). Following high school, he attended and graduated from
Brown University. During his time there, he studied
political science, played
lacrosse and formed a band called
Dowdy Smack with future internet personality
Ze Frank. == Career ==