Rewind: The Top 10 Bass News, Reviews, Videos and Columns of the Week

by Corey Brown Monday, May 24th, 2010

1. Player News: Black Sabbath Bassist Remembers Dio
Black Sabbath bassist Terry “Geezer” Butler released a statement last week, remembering his friend and band mate Ronnie James Dio.

2. Video: Ran Levi (aka Bassran): Bass Solo
Here’s Israeli bassist Ran Levi doing a cool bass solo on his 6-string Ken Smith bass.

3. Gear Watch: Warwick Just-a-Nut III Brass
Warwick has released the Just-A-Nut III Brass model to their line of bass hardware.

4. Column: The Cross-Genre Bassist
How do your musical tastes influence your playing? Do you have a wide or narrow frame of reference when it comes to what you allow to impact and inspire you? Russ Sargeant shares his thoughts on how having as diverse as possible a range of styles and influences at your disposal is of prime importance to your growth and sustainability as a bass player.

5. Review: Lenny White’s “Anomaly”
For his first solo album in 10 years, Lenny White stated his intention of putting the rock back into jazz-rock. Check out Phil Wain’s review.

6. Contest: NPR’s Carrie Brownstein Announces Bass Solo Contest
Carrie Brownstein, former guitarist for Sleater-Kinney, has announced a bass solo contest on her NPR Blog, Monitor Mix.

7. Ask Damian Erskine: Following Up On Patterns
Damian answers this reader’s question: “I’ve almost gotten through all three videos, really good stuff in them. I really like the concept of knowing patterns/visualizations to have handy when your soloing, like your ascending 4ths, alternating major/minor, and alternating 6th/7th fingerings.”

8. Player Spotlight: Todd Erickson
Denver-born, Maine-raised, Boston-honed, lead-singing, songwriting bottom dweller for “hippie-shredder” rock trio “FREERIDER”, Todd Erickson is our player in the spotlight this week.

9. News: Chickenfoot Working On New Album
Rock supergroup Chickenfoot, featuring ex-Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, have announced that they have begun work on their second album, with plans to finish it up early next year for a Spring 2011 release.

10. Concerts: Marcus Miller Extends “Tutu Revisited” Tour to the US
After taking his tour of “Tutu Revisited” through Europe and Japan, bassist Marcus Miller will be bringing his show to the US this summer.