King Crimson Announces Summer 2017 Tour Dates
After teasing that they would be going on a North American tour this year, King Crimson has finally revealed the tour schedule for 2017. The trek kicks off on June 13th in Seattle, Washington and will make its way across the U.S. and Canada before ending with a pair of to-be-confirmed dates in Mexico City. “We can finally satisfy all...
Miles Mosley Announces Uprising World Tour
Hot off the release of his killer solo album, Uprising, upright bassist Miles Mosley has announced an extensive world tour that will cover North America and Europe from April to July. As usual, his band The West Coast Get Down will be by his side. The tour kicks off April 1st at Sage Gates Head in Newcastle, UK and circles...
Ashdown Engineering Celebrates 20th Anniversary with Limited Edition Amps
Ashdown Engineering first launched in 1997, so this year they’re celebrating 20 years in the business with two limited edition rigs. Each of the sets will be handmade-to-order in England. First up is the pairing of the Limited Edition 20th Anniversary ABM-600 EVO-IV and ABM 410T EVO-IV. The models are takes on Ashdown’s flagship ABM amplifier with some cosmetic and...
Thundercat Releases “Drunk”
Thundercat’s long awaited full-length followup to 2015 EP The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam is finally out. Drunk is a 23-track exploration of the bassist/vocalist’s dark humor marked by shorter, more intense musical vignettes. As always, his unique six-string chordal playing creates a dream-like sonic playground punctuated by funky licks and quirky lyrics. Thudercat, aka Stephen Bruner, enlisted a...
Olivier Pinard: Cryptopsy’s “White Worms” Bass Playthrough
Get ready for an aural assault: Olivier Pinard has released a new playthrough video for “White Worms” by Cryptopsy, and it’s super heavy. Pinard rips through the blazing tempo with incredible veracity and right hand technique. This playthrough is not for the faint of heart.
Peter Erskine Releases New Albums with Benjamin Shepherd and Damian Erskine
Drum legend Peter Erskine has worked with a slew of the world’s best bass players, and that’s once again documented on two new albums from his projects. First up, Erskine’s “Dr. Um” band has followed up their successful debut album with Second Opinion. Where the original album featured Janek Gwizdala, the former Weather Report drummer tapped bassist Benjamin Shepherd to...
Earth, Wind & Fire Announce Spring Tour
Bass legend Verdine White will be hitting the road with Earth, Wind & Fire this spring for a tour that will span March. Focusing on the East Coast, the tour kicks off March 9th in Saint Augustine, Florida and is scheduled to wrap up April 2nd at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center in South Carolina. The band is also...
What a Day: Mardi Gras Mambo
The unconventional duo What a Day, consisting of upright bassist Jonathan Joly and singer/typist Leah Gracie, are ready for Mardi Gras this year with a cover of the classic song “Mardi Gras Mambo.” Joly handles all of the harmonic accompaniment with a simultaneous bass line and countermelody on his upright while Gracie leads with her soulful vocals. The result is...
EBS Launches Blue Label Pedals and Premium Gold Flat Patch Cables
EBS unveiled a new line of pedals called the Blue Label Series at NAMM this year. It’s starting this year with three analog overdrive models called the Drive Me Crazy, The Black Haze, and The Drive. While EBS makes everything work well for bass, these pedals are made specifically to work well on bass and guitar. “We know how to...
Bass of the Week: Blasius Guitars Kata 4 Headless
The Kata 4 Headless from Blasius Guitars features a pretty unique body shape with the tone to match. A take on the company’s flagship Kata model, this headless bass is built with three-layer body wings consisting of a bubinga back, maple core, and flamed maple top. Its five-piece neck is a sandwich of maple, padouk, and walnut while the ebony...
Trickfish Amplification Introduces Bullhead .5K Bass Amp
Trickfish Amplification introduced a new bass amp at the Winter NAMM Show this year called the Bullhead .5K. A little brother to the Bullhead 1K, the amp features a Mike Pope low noise preamp matched with a Class D power amplifier that offers 500 watts at 8 ohms and 700 watts at 4 ohms. “We embarked on an important mission...
EchoTest Releases Third Album, “From Two Balconies”
Ever since Julie Slick teased the album back in October, we’ve been patiently waiting for the new EchoTest album. Now we’re basking in the goodness that the band calls From Two Balconies. Slick shares bass duties in the band on her Bass VI with fellow phenom Marco Machera, who plays on a five-string. Slick gave the lowdown on their third...