Archive for October 2009 - Page 9

All musicians benefit from practice with a metronome, yet many, if not most, musicians tend to avoid it some or all the time. The metronome can feel like a scolding tyrant reminding us of our incompetence, or maybe we want to get through our work quickly without the discipline of methodical practice, or maybe we believe that the metronome is...

We frequently see bassist Christian McBride playing the upright, but can he ever play on the bass guitar. Check out this video of McBride taking a solo during a live performance of the Jaco Pastorius tune “Havona”, with the Christan McBride Band. McBride has three bass guitars that he currently uses: first a Pensa 4-string fretless maple neck, an Atelier...

In case you missed it, here are the No Treble highlights from the week of September 27th, 2009. We added a new Lessons section! Jon Burr‘s latest lesson focuses on the Stance on the Upright Bass. Donovan Stokes latest Lowdown with Dr. D. column, Making the Switch from Electric to Upright, Part 2, focuses on the right hand. Damian Erskine...

Jazz bassist Dave Holland is currently performing with his Overtone Quartet featuring saxophonist Chris Potter, pianist Jason Moran and drummer Eric Harland. Throughout Holland’s four-and-a-half decade career he’s also played with Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Jack DeJonhette. Holland says he came to the bass by circumstance, “I was in my first band when...

Bassist Richard Bona joined guitarist Ferenc Snétberger and drummer/percussionist Paolo Vinaccia in May 2009 for a performance at the Palace of Arts, in Budapest, Hungary. This song, “Tavaszi Utazás”, was written by Snétberger.

Radar Online is reporting that founding member and former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr was arrested Monday on drug charges. The arrest occurred in Los Angeles and was a felony narcotics charge. Currently he is being held at the Bauchet Street Jail with bail set at $100,000. He is schedule for arraignment on October 14th at the Pasadena Superior...

Bassist Robin Duhe has a new album out, Life released on his own Blaise Two record label. Duhe was an original member in the band Maze, starting with them in 1974 and playing on almost all their albums. It’s his licks that open the tracks “Joy and Pain,” “Happy Feelin’s,” and “Golden Time of Day.” In 2004 Duhe stopped working...

We received this great video of bassist Tony Levin performing with King Crimson in Japan. Check out that thumb! The performers included Levin on bass and vocals, Adrian Belew on guitar and vocals, Robert Fripp on guitar and Bill Bruford on drums. Levin has a few different projects cooking this fall, he just finished a 3 day tour with L’Image...

Genz Benz is celebrating their 25th anniversary this year and has announced the release of their latest bass amp, the Shuttle 9.0. The Shuttle 9.0 is built on the foundation of the Shuttle 6.0 and delivers 900W at 4 ohms (or 500W at 8 ohms) weighing in at a mere 4 pounds. The Shuttle 9.0 features a tube preamp and...

Aero Force One will be hosting an online chat with Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton on October 7th at 7pm (Eastern Standard Time). This is an AF1 Exclusive where you can ask anything you want to Hamilton in the chat session. Hamilton recently wrote a “Checking In” post to let his fans know what’s going on in his life. He covers...

Bassist Christian McBride is on the road for the next two months. Here’s the latest: October 3: Christian McBride & Inside Straight Kayenn Jazz Festival in Cayenne, French Guiana October 4: Christian McBride & Inside Straight Jefferson Center/Shaftman Performance Hall in Roanoke, VA October 9: KPFK-FM Peace Awards with Christian McBride, Ziggy Marley and many, many more Ford Amphitheater in...

I think I can safely say that, through time, the song I (and many others I’m sure) have received the most request to play is the theme from Seinfeld. Even though the famous slap bass-line was originally played on a keyboard, it remains in high demand. This may be the best version I have heard yet – and it’s played...