Archive for 2011 - Page 11

The holidays are coming. Dream big! Q: If you could have Santa bring you any bass, amp or other musical gear, what would it be? A: Answer below in the comments. Ho ho ho.

Today, I’m kicking off a new Practical Theory lesson series, starting with an approach to improvising over a minor 7 chord. In the video below, I demonstrate a solo groove before describing the approach. In jazz, funk, and rock, if a solo section consists of a static minor 7 chord, most often the Dorian minor scale is used. The Dorian...

Here’s an awesome clip of Gospel bass guru Andrew Gouche, getting funky in church with some serious talent including saxophonist Donald Hayes with Tim Carmon, Gorden Campbell, Vadim Zhilberstein, Jackie Gouche, Tracy Brown, Chris Bolton, Mavuto Carpenter and Theresa Jones. Gouche masterfully backs up each player, building their solos to incredible heights while getting his own licks in at all...

With over 40 years under their belt, the prog icons in Yes have released In the Present: Live From Lyon, a new live CD/DVD combo with footage taken from their December 2009 performance in France. The band plays hit songs from throughout their career, including “Roundabout” and “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” though with the fresh face of singer Benoit...

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have announced the first leg of North American shows since their August release of I’m With You. Mixed in among their European dates, the string of six shows hit Southern arenas starting January in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. Fans can rest assured that more dates are coming soon, according to the band....

I’ve been traveling quite a bit this year, and I’ve come to rely heavily on a few different apps on my iPad and/or iPhone. I thought I’d share a few of my favorites that I haven’t touched on here already. (If you want to check out my previous recommendations, you can check them out here). You’ll notice these apps are...

Bassist Nathan Navarro teamed up with singer Dylan Patrello to form the electronic duo Dot, even though the pair live in different parts of the world and come from different musical backgrounds. “Dylan and Nathan collaborate online while being thousands of miles away as Dylan is most often in Texas and Brazil while Nathan spends time in California and Massachusetts,”...

Gear. Videos. How-to’s. Readers can’t get enough of them (neither can we). Last week, Evan Marien’s “Soulseek” took top honors, with Viz Maurogiovanni’s solo performance of Fauré’s “Pavane, Op. 50” and the duet of Grant Stinnett and Michael Manring performing “Money Talks” making the list too. Our gear coverage ranged from old school cool to weird and wacky, plus a...

In the early ‘90s, Bill Wyman left the rock and roll dynasty known as The Rolling Stones to form the Rhythm Kings. Today, a new box set chronicles the band’s entire recorded career. The Rhythm Kings Collectors’ Edition Box Set contains all four of their studio albums released from 1998 to 2001, including the 2-CD Double Bill. The tracks in...

Hard to believe the musical career of Jerry Scheff can fit into a 256 page autobiography, but somehow Scheff managed to do it. The pro session bassist has penned a memoir covering his 45 year career with some of the biggest names in popular music, set for release in March, 2012. In Way Down: Playing Bass with Elvis, Dylan, the...

What the world needs is more Doug Johns videos… especially like this one. Here’s Doug with drummer Chris Ceja, performing “Pocket Fulla Nasty” live at CPE Sound in Chicago, IL. The tune can be found on the 2008 release of the same name. Be sure to check out our interview with Doug (after the video, of course).

SupreMegaUltraGroovy has updated their Capo app for iOS with version 1.2. Designed for learning, the music app allows for independently adjusting the speed and pitch of any song in your music library. Capo 1.2 adds several features, including mono re-mixing for isolating the left or right channels, which comes in handy for students working with play-alongs. A 10-band equalizer allows...