Archive for September 2009 - Page 8
Djordje Stijepovic: Atomic Boogie
Since our own Dr. D mentioned slapping the upright in his column, it is only appropriate that we break out some Rock-a-billy videos and introduce you to a killer player at the same time. This is Djordje Stijepovic performing an intense upright slap-bass piece “Atomic Boogie” (wait until get to 1:05). You can check out more on Stijepovic on his...
RIP Mickie Jones
Rock bassist Mickie Jones passed away Saturday, September 5th, 2009 after battling liver cancer. According to his family he died “peacefully and beautifully” in San Dimas, California. From a brief bio on Blabbermouth.net: “Mickie performed on four Angel albums — ‘Angel’ (1975), ‘Helluva Band’ (1976), ‘On Earth As It Is In Heaven’ (1977) and ‘An Anthology’ (1992; compilation). He toured...
Gear Watch: Line 6 POD X3 Pro
If you do any recording you will definitely want to check out the latest product from Line 6: the POD X3 Pro. This dual tone processor comes packed with effects for recording bass, guitar and vocals. You can even record two instruments simultaneously! You are able to blend tones to create a hybrid sound or process instruments separately. It also...
Lesson: Practicing Chord Changes
There are many ways to get better at the changes on a particular tune, but this approach works really well. First, play just quarter notes, and play all the arpeggios to get a “mental map” of all the chord tones in the progression (try to do it with a metronome): Then, still in quarter notes, start inverting the chords to...
Mike Gordon: Get Bassed Tour
Phish bassist Mike Gordon will begin a 10-show solo tour, the “Get Bassed Tour,” along the east coast this week to promote his latest solo CD, The Green Sparrow. After the solo tour, he’ll be preparing for the Phish festival in late October at the Coachella site in California. In a recent Boston Herald interview, Gordon was asked about his...
No Treble Rewind: Lowdown with Dr. D, Practicing and the Mind, Tips for Pro Musicians and more
In case you missed it, here are some of the most popular features from last week (August 29th through September 5th). Jon Burr‘s latest lesson series continues with the extremely popular “Practicing and the Mind” article. We introduced our newest column, from Dr. Donovan Stokes. Check out the first The Lowdown with Dr. D column, “Making the Switch from electric...
Autographed bass auctioned for Chi Cheng
A 2001 Fender Precision Bass is being auctioned to help raise money for the medical needs of Deftone bassist Chi Cheng. The bass is autographed by Green Day’s Mike Dirnt, Rush’s Geddy Lee and notable session players Reggie Hamilton, Stu Hamm, Victor Bailey, Marcus Miller and others. The bass was also autographed by Cheng before his accident. Fieldy from Korn...
Sunset Rubdown bassist survives lightning
Sunset Rubdown bassist Marc Nicol was recently struck by lightning and survived! He was enjoying hanging out at lakeside when the lightning struck. Aside from a pretty intense burn Nicol’s is doing just fine. He describes the experience: “My heart started back up after the electrical shock. I woke up feeling like I was suffocating and was delirious. Then I...
DavidSinRocks: Sir Duke bass playalong
Swiss bassist DavidSinRocks posted several playalong videos within the last couple of years, not long after he first picked up the bass. This one, Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke”, was performed just 14 months after David started playing. When you’re done with that, check out David’s Jackson Five “I Want You Back” playalong. David’s band, Deep Kick, is on Myspace.
The Bassist’s Guide to Creativity: Expand Your Groove Potential
Bassist Chris Kringel has a new bass method book out, The Bassist’s Guide to Creativity: Expand Your Groove Potential. The book/CD combo is designed to help you “opening your mind, identifying your strengths and weaknesses, and examining the many mental and physical aspects of being a bassist.” The CD contains over 80 tracks, with each music example presented in the...
The Horrors working with The Gorillaz
Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, the creators of The Gorillaz, have asked The Horrors to collaborate on a track for their upcoming album. Horrors’ bassist Rhys Webb said: “Damon got a copy of our album Primary Colours really early, contacted us out completely out of the blue and told us how much he liked it… It was kind of...
Bill Evans Trio with Chuck Israels: Waltz For Debby
Here’s a nice performance by the Bill Evans Trio, including a great solo by bassist Chuck Israels. The trio also includes Larry Bunker on drums. Israels joined the trio after the passing of Scott LaFaro. The performance was recorded in 1965, we think.