Skip to main content

Archive for August 2010 - Page 6

Herbie Hancock: “Chameleon” Live at Montreux Jazz Festival 2010, with Tal Wilkenfeld
Bass Videos

Herbie Hancock: “Chameleon” Live at Montreux Jazz Festival 2010, with Tal Wilkenfeld

Here’s a pretty good video of Herbie Hancock’s newest line-up, shot from a member of the audience at the Montreux Jazz Festival last month. The band is performing a classic from Herbie’s extensive library, “Chameleon”, with Tal Wilkenfeld holding down the low end and even helping Herbie with some equipment issues.

Andy Rourke Leaves Freebass
Player News

Andy Rourke Leaves Freebass

Andy Rourke, the bassist formerly with the Smiths, has left Freebass, the bass super group he formed in 2005. The band also includes New Order bassist Peter Hook and The Stone Roses/Primal Fear bassist Gary “Mani” Mounfield According to a post on the band’s website, Rourke will not tour with the group, who planned to hit the road in support...

Flea Giving Away Signed Bass Through Charity Sweepstakes
Bass Gear, Contest

Flea Giving Away Signed Bass Through Charity Sweepstakes

Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea has started a fundraising page on Crowdrise.com to raise money for his Silverlake Conservatory of Music. Silverlake is a non-profit that grants scholarships to low-income students, as well as gives them instruments and lessons. “A few years back, I had the opportunity to visit my old high school and noticed how many of the...

Adam Clayton Talks About New U2 Songs
Player News

Adam Clayton Talks About New U2 Songs

In an interview posted on U2.com, Adam Clayton spoke about U2’s plans for new songs. The band just returned to the stage in Turin, Italy after Bono recovered from his back injury. During their downtime, Clayton said they’ve been laying down tracks of new material. “We’ve been doing some rehearsing but mainly we’ve been doing recording,” the bassist said. “That...

Felice Del Gaudio: Dido Dado
Bass Videos

Felice Del Gaudio: Dido Dado

Here’s Italian bassist, Felice Del Gaudio, playing his tune Dido Dado which features some tasty fretless bass playing.

The Bass Line Encyclopedia
Sheet Music & Instruction

The Bass Line Encyclopedia

Alfred Music has just released the Bass Line Encyclopedia by Tim Ferguson. The book is a reference for bass players to expand their knowledge of genres and styles, therefore increasing their versatility. It features over 100 bass lines in tons of styles, including Chicago blues, Texas blues, heavy metal, punk, funk, bebop, jazz, reggae, samba, bluegrass, and more. The lines...

Jean Baudin Releases “The Mechanics of Tapping” Method Book
Sheet Music & Instruction

Jean Baudin Releases “The Mechanics of Tapping” Method Book

Jean Baudin, the bassist famous for his “Super Mario theme song” performance on 11-string extended bass and other videos, has released a method book on bass tapping technique. The Mechanics of Tapping is a 58 page ebook aimed at beginning and intermediate bassists. The book covers Baudin’s approach to tapping with tab for both the left and right hand and...

Slap Bass 101: Part 2 – Building on the Basics
Slap Bass 101

Slap Bass 101: Part 2 – Building on the Basics

Last time, we covered the basics in my introduction to slap bass lesson. This week, we’re going to build on the concepts of the introduction, covering basic thumb slapping, ghosted notes, muting and offbeat bass lines. Next: Part 3 – left hand slap and hammer-ons.

Esperanza Spalding: Little Fly
Bass Videos

Esperanza Spalding: Little Fly

Esperanza Spalding has a released a video performance of “Little Fly”, from her upcoming album , to be released on August 17th. “Little Fly” is the first track on the album. Be sure to check out our review of Chamber Music Society.

Gorillaz Announce North American Tour, with Paul Simonon
Concerts & Tours

Gorillaz Announce North American Tour, with Paul Simonon

The Gorilaz have announced an extensive North American fall tour in support of their March 2010 release, Plastic Beach. This is the third album from the animated group, which was created by Blur frontman Damon Albarn and Tank Girl animator Jamie Hewlett. The tour will mark a rite of passage for the group, as it will be the first time...

Gear Watch: Peterson StroboClip Tuner
Bass Gear

Gear Watch: Peterson StroboClip Tuner

Peterson is now shipping their latest addition to their Virtual Strobe series, the StroboClip. Designed with acoustic instruments in mind, the StroboClip is the world’s first clip-on strobe tuner and features a large strobe display housed in a brushed aluminum shell. The StroboClip also offers up a load of other features including Sweetened Tuning presets for varied instruments and Sustain...

Ask Damian Erskine: Confidence
Ask Damian Erskine

Ask Damian Erskine: Confidence

Q: I’m a newbie and a beginner bassist from Bangladesh. I’m playing (or you can say I’m practicing) with a progressive/metal core rock band. I’m happy with the band, as they are all my friends. But the band leader says I’m not ready to perform on a gig, and that I’m the weakest one, although my bandmates disagree. I’m pretty...