Archive for March 2015 - Page 4

Cherry Red Records’ John Wetton The Studio Recordings Anthology is a prog-rock fan’s dream. Wetton is most well known as the singer, primary songwriter and bassist for Asia. However, he was also a member of King Crimson from 1972 to 1974 and played with the band UK. He has released solo work and performed as a session musician, as well....

Like any craft, the art of building basses takes finesse and attention to detail. Each contour is carefully considered and carved into the bass as a painter would add a stroke to his painting, so it’s only fitting that Accuracy Basses named their doublecut model the Matisse Deluxe after the French artist. Accuracy is a small bass building company based...

Jan Urbanec just sent me this video of a project he’s doing with percussionist Adam Koller. Jan humbly said, “I hope you’ll like it! Still unnecessary amount of notes, but…we had great fun with it.”

Fusion bassist Bunny Brunel, known for his work the band CAB and with the likes of Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, has released Invent Your Future. The album includes Brunel’s take on the Jaco Pastorius classic, “Continuum” and contributions from keyboardists like Patrice Rushen and Patrick Moraz. It also features compositions of his own, and some by Corea. Invent Your...

A letter, documenting the moment when you realize that things aren’t what they used to be but that you have the power to amend the situation. This particular moment, and the frequency with which it occurs, is different for everyone. That said, this letter highlights a few subtle signs to help you determine when it’s time to make some modifications....

Here’s another one for heavy music fans. Alex Canion sent us this playthrough of “The Domination Game” from his band Voyager’s album, V, and it’s got some serious weight to it. Canion uses slap and fingerstyle to pull a fat, gritty sound out of his bass that fills out the low end of the mix. Besides the finger-busting riffs, it’s...

Bassist Richie Goods and Nuclear Fusion aren’t sticking with any one style on his latest album, Three Rivers. “It’s finally me-not confined to any particular genre or style, but just free to express and play what I hear in my heart and spirit,” said Goods, the youngest person ever inducted into the Pittsburgh Jazz Hall of Fame. Goods has recorded...

One of the many new products Ashdown introduced at NAMM this year was the Retroglide-800, an amp head built in their custom shop. The company describes the amp as a throwback to the ’80s with founder Mark Gooday saying, “[it] takes me back to my roots as a bass player [with] pure, simple tone at your fingertips.” The Retroglide revolves...

Nearly three years after their last release, over-the-top rock band The Darkness has announced that their fourth album, Last of Our Kind, will be dropping on June 1st. The record sees the band return in epic fashion with ten new songs filled with tales of battle, love, and struggle. Of course, the whole album is tied together by the massive,...

I love hearing music from around the world, especially when it features the bass. Here’s a fantastic clip of Argentinian bassist Willy González and his Trio performing “La Saladita” from their latest album, Tamocomoqueremo. González, who started as a jazz musician, has been reimagining traditional Latin American styles on his six-string bass. “La Saladita” is in the vein of Cueca,...

Jazz bassist Mark Egan has released his latest album, Direction Home. It’s the eighth album for the onetime student of the late Jaco Pastorius, known for his past work with the Pat Metheny Group and the band Elements. Direction Home is a follow up to last year’s About Now, which offered up more groove with longtime colleagues drummer Danny Gottlieb...

Meet David Hogeboom, who started playing bass in high school before selling it as he left for college. But the bass wouldn’t be out of his life for good… each time he set it down, he ended up finding an opportunity to come back. David has two important jobs as far as I can tell – one is playing bass....