Archive for June 2015 - Page 2

“We can fly!” “You can fly!” “We can fly!!” “Come on, everybody! Here we gooooooo… Off to Neverland!” With just a few happy thoughts and a sprinkle of pixie dust, Peter Pan, Wendy, John and Michael swooped around the nursery, singing, laughing, and soaring with the greatest of ease. It was off to Neverland for an adventure… second star to...

I love discovering older bands that I missed, and The Electric Flag is definitely one of them. The short-lived band fused blues, rock, and soul for an upbeat sound. Electric Flag was anchored by bass great Harvey Brooks, who also worked with Bob Dylan, The Doors, and Miles Davis. His active bass line drives the energy alongside a young Buddy...

Bikini Kill, a band at the heart of the 1990s riot grrrl movement, has reissued The First Two Records, which combines the band’s self-titled six-song EP and the Yeah, Yeah, Yeah record into one package. Part of the latter record featuring founding bassist Kathi Wilcox, was actually half of an UK album the band shared with another group to promote...

Fender shared a great video featuring Geddy Lee talking about his right-hand picking technique – one he says developed after touring with Primus back in the early 2000s. Geddy was inspired by Les Claypool, and incorporated more of a flamenco-style approach as a result.

Lemmy Kilmister and Motörhead are headed back out on the road. The band has announced a North American tour for August and September that will span from California to New York with several stops in between. The string of dates kicks off August 19th in Riverside, California with Saxon and Crobot in support. Motörhead will also be playing Riot Fest...

Olivier Babaz has a specialty in performing double bass, kalimba, and shaker simultaneously to create a unique and beautiful texture. His latest video takes on the iconic Led Zeppelin song “Stairway to Heaven,” and it has to be seen to believed. Babaz starts the melody on the kalimba before switching to focus on bass during the breakdown, while his footshaker...

Did you miss the Spanish version of David Lee Roth’s Eat ’Em and Smile album back in in 1986? Or you didn’t know it existed at all? Don’t worry. Most people don’t know about it. But now, the album, titled Sonrisa Salvaje, is available again on CD, and this time, it’s the remastered version. The Spanish-language album featured all the...

Q: I have been practicing bass on my own for two years while attending college. My goal is to become a working musician and I would like to at least get a gig at a church this year. I’m at a point now where I can hear a piece of music and get pretty close to the right note the...

Bassist Federico Malaman and vocalist Rossana Carraro teamed up to create this terrific cover of “Bang Bang” – the tune recorded by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj. It is making the rounds on Facebook now – with over 600,000 views. Federico shared the video with us to get it even more attention. As always Federico blends humor and...

Instrumental rock/fusion trio The Aristocrats’ third studio album, Tres Caballeros, reveals a young band of pros, who have learned a great deal in the band’s four years together. Here’s a few ways information manifested itself for Tres Caballeros, according to guitarist Guthrie Govan: “The decision to road-test our new material in front of a live audience before commencing the recording...

Meet Mia Webster, a bassist who has as much personality coming through as any I’ve seen in the Reader Spotlight series. Mia also has the right attitude when it comes to bass and music. Here’s her story. Bio: I’m Mia, I’m 25 and I live in Norwich, UK. I’ve been playing bass for a few years now and am insanely...

Here’s another lick to add to your bag of tricks. Once again, I’m using open strings as described in past lessons. This one is a groovy bass line you can play over a E7, E9 or E13 chord using the Em dorian scale with the Major 3rd added (G#). Omit the G# and use it over a minor chord/key. Follow...