Archive for 2009 - Page 38
Interview with Catalin Rotaru
We posted a player-watch piece on bassist Catalin Rotaru in July. Catalin has been gracious enough to share his insight into the double bass and his career as a professional classical performer and educator. In case you missed our last post, he served as associate principal bass in the Romanian National Radio Orchestra, principal bass in the Sibiu Philharmonic Orchestra,...
Les Claypool: One Better, live at Bonnaroo 2008
It’s been a while since we featured a Les Claypool video… too long in fact. So, here’s one of Les and Master of Puppets at Bonnaroo in 2008. His bandmates include MIRV, Sam Bass, and Paulo Baldi.
RIP Larry Knechtel
Bassist Larry Knechtel has passed away. Knechtel died August 20th at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital in Yakima, Washington, at the age of 69. There is no official report for the cause of death, but it is believed he suffered a heart attack. Knechtel had a long music career as a player and studio musician. He was a member of the...
Bassist Cash Colligan leaves The Cab
After their latest national tour “What Happens in Vegas” as a headliner, bassist and original member Cash Colligan has decided to leave The Cab. The Cab have been doing well, they were signed to Decaydence Records in May 2007 and released their debut full-length Whisper War in April 2008. The Cab has released the following statement on their MySpace Blog:...
Ask Damian Erskine: Melodic approach to soloing
Q: How do you approach the line between creating an interesting melody while soloing as opposed to playing chord tones and notes that harmonize better. I suppose the two blur into one really but is there a point where you worry less about the changes and more about finding an interesting melody to fit over the top and vice versa....
Goatika and Tony Levin: LEVITATION
Goatika Lab – comprised of Tony Levin on bass, Artem Yakushenko on electric violin and mandolin, Sergey Klevenski on winds, Boris Nazarov on percussion programming and special effects, Pavel Mikhailuk on didgeridoo and vocals, Jagannat on tabla, Evgenia Tedjetova on vocals and Jovis Bubrowski on didgeridoo – performed live at the Moscow B2 Club in 2007. This video captures one...
Free Download: The New RockStar Philosophy Book
The New RockStar Philosophy Book, a new music business book, is now available for free download. The book is the creation of two authors working as The New Rockstar Philosophy, started to “help artists learn more about what’s going on in the ever-changing music industry, to inspire them to embrace entrepreneurship, and give them them the tools for DIY 2.0”....
Gear Watch: EBS MetalDrive
EBS has released another new pedal, the EBS MetalDrive is a high-gain distortion pedal designed specifically for the bass. The MetalDrive is the eighth pedal in the “Black Label” series released by EBS. The pedal was inspired by bassist John Moyer of Disturbed. EBS had been modifying a MultiDrive pedal for Moyer who required overdrive as well as metal distortion....
Reader Spotlight: Adam Tanner
Meet bassist Adam Tanner (aka ZenBeer), our player in the spotlight for August 25, 2009. Bio: I mostly play solo (ZenBeer). I have three solo CD’s out with ItsAboutMusic: The Cosmic Trigger EP, Grand Unified Chaos and, most recently, Bass, The Universe and Everything. It’s all bass, all the time! I played at the Denver Bass Bash in 2009 and...
Stu Hamm solo, live at Vicar Street Dublin
Here is a bass solo by Stu Hamm, during a concert with Joe Satriani at Vicar Street Dublin. You get to see him really kick it up a notch around 3:20 with his awesome slap bass style!
Josephine Wiggs rejoins The Breeders
The Breeders have been on tour this summer to support their latest release Fate To Fatal, released in April on their own label. On the tour, bassist Mando Lopez had to fly home to be with his pregnant wife. The Breeders reached out to their former bassist, Josephine Wiggs, to fill in for the last few shows. Wiggs has not...
RIP: Dean Turner
Dean Turner, bassist and co-founder of the Australian rock band Magic Dirt, has lost his battle with lung cancer. Turner was 37 and is survived by his partner and two daughters. Along with being the bassist for Magic Dirt, Turner was also an in demand producer, recently completing Magic Dirt singer Adalita’s solo album. The Magic Dirt MySpace page has...

