Archive for 2009 - Page 40
Bassist John Illsley sparks hearing awareness
My Bloody Valentine has partnered with Earplugshop to combat hearing loss at rock concerts. EarPlugShop is an organization dedicated to protecting hearing. Spokesperson Shaun Thornburgh said he respects the “ear-splittingly loud” rockers for tackling this very serious issue: “The band is highlighting how important it is to protect ears from damage which, once set in, is irreversible.” My Bloody Valentine...
Gear Watch: Stanley Clarke Signature Wah-Wah
EBS Sweden has released their latest pedal product, the Stanley Clarke Signature Wah-Wah. This pedal has been designed specifically for the bass according to Clarke’s musical requirements and personal taste. The result is a “a distinctive tone and a clear idea of how it should sound, we all knew what to expect. A unique pedal design that satisfies his exacting...
Lesson: Bass Chords
It’s time to focus on the guitar aspect of bass guitar and learn to play chords. Why bother with this technique? First, it will improve your ability to hear the chord structures other band-mates play and give your ear a head-start on making a strong line. Second, you’ll get to learn a lot about what goes on above the root...
Victor Wooten & Steve Bailey: Mercy Mercy Mercy live at NAMM 2009
Check out Victor Wooten and Steve Bailey performing Joe Zawinul’s “Mercy Mercy Mercy”, along with David “Fingers” Haynes, at the PreSonus booth.
Retrospective: Kam Falk’s Native Tongue
We have found another gem in the archives… Bassist Kam Falk released his debut album Native Tongue in 2001, combining jazz, rock, World and classical music with a taste of the blues. A little background on Native Tongue, from the album notes: “After years of performing, recording and developing his craft with some of today’s most respected musicians, such as...
Armistice, the new release from Mutemath
Mutemath has released their new album, Armistice, featuring bassist Roy Mitchell-Cardenas. From a recent review by Soul Audio: “Roy Mitchell-Cardenas turns in bass work that’s nothing less than stellar throughout the whole album, handling the pop oriented songs with economy and taste and the rock/indie parts with intelligence and enthusiasm. His bass playing percolates and boils, writhing along the underbelly...
Ask Damian Erskine: Theory and right hand technique
Q: Just wanted to ask you how can I get used to using the harmonized major and minor scales when soloing or using them when I’m playing a fill. I use the relative major or minor of the key I’m playing in regularly but I cant seem to get the other scale degree’s to work. My second question is how...
Debra Killings: Love, live
This video shows bassist and singer Debra Killings performing “Love” off her 2003 album Surrender. In addition to her own compositions, Debra has played bass on many OutKast albums and has been a backup singer on most of the albums released by TLC.
Gear Watch: Lyt F16 Pedal Board
The LyT F16 is the latest addition to the LyT pedal board collection. This board is specifically designed for tight locations and is great for when you need to get the most out of your stage space. The LyT F16 is designed to hold 4-8 pedals. The LyT F16 is made of the same lightweight ultra-strong wood composite material as...
Christian Grizzard: Space Artist
Bassist Christian Grizzard has released a new album, entitled Space Artist. The album is available as a free download at The Electric Experiment web site. The 10-track album is all instrumental and was produced at light-speed. “I wrote the songs in 3 days and we recorded them in 4 hours without a full band rehearsal,” according to Grizzard, “it’s our...
Reader Spotlight: Alun Vaughan
Meet bassist Alun Vaughan, our player in the spotlight for August 18, 2009. Bio I play in UK rock band Panic Room and am also a busy freelance player, playing with various local bands as well as backing some of the UK’s top jazz musicians such as Alan Barnes, Steve Waterman, Mornington Lockett and Dave O’Higgins, among others. I also...
Hiromi with Tony Grey: Live at Duc des Lombards
Today’s video shows off the incredible line up of pianist Hiromi with bassist Tony Grey, drummer Mauricio Zottarelli and guitarist John Shannon, performing live at Duc des Lombards in Paris.


