Archive for 2012 - Page 55

Q: I’ve been feeling like I’m stuck in a rut lately. Do you have any advice for how to climb out of this thing?? A: To start, I want to say that ruts can be a good thing, because they’re usually followed by a breakthrough. The trick is that you have to push your way through and never let it...

Bassist Charnett Moffett takes his upright bass and channels some Hendrix in this all-bass rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner”. Happy fourth!

Eighties supergroup Asia is celebrating their 30th anniversary with a new album entitled XXX. Featuring members of Yes, ELP, King Crimson, UK and The Buggles, the band’s current lineup includes bassist/vocalist John Wetton, guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Carl Palmer, and keyboardist Geoff Downes. The new release is being hailed as their best since their breakthrough self-titled album. “We’re very pleased...

Meet bassist/multi-instrumentalist Kurt Skrivseth, a musician hailing from Montana. Kurt’s story is a great one, including having performed with both Slash and Snoop Dogg. His gear list is pretty GAS-inducing too. But most impressive is Kurt’s story of overcoming injury to pursue his dream of music and playing bass. Kurt turned this into an asset – one he refers to...

Fender’s Custom Shop has unveiled their 2012 Limited Edition Models, including the Limited Edition Relic La Cabronita “Boracho” Bass. Bringing together elements of the Porazzo and its sister Boracha, the Boracho sports a reversed Jazzmaster body with added mass. Couple that with a custom T.V. Jones Thunderblade pickup and you get what Fender says is a “very unique and LOUD...

Until today, I’ve never seen a video by bassist Huw Foster. Now I’ve seen a ton. I enjoyed them all, but this one stood out. Huw plays an improvised intro and outro, with the tune starting around the 0:38 mark. He’s even incorporated a riff from the Live at Last version.

Tomáš ?elechovský, bassist for the Czech symphonic metal band Symphonity, has passed away after a hard fought battle with pancreatic cancer. Hailing from Brno, ?elechovský listed his musical influences as ranging from The Beatles and The Beach Boys to Frank Zappa and Tom Waits, though Led Zeppelin was always his favorite. The bassist joined Symphonity in 2004, while the band...

Moog has introduced the MF-104M Analog Delay pedal, a reissue of their MF-104 pedal, originally introduced in 2000. The new version utilizes the same vintage “Bucket Brigade” delay chips as the original, giving up to 800ms of analog delay. In pushing the pedal further, the new MF-104M adds a 6-waveshape LFO to expand sonic capabilities. The pedal brings back Spillover...

Although scales, arpeggios and repertory are necessary for any musician’s development, etudes and exercises such as the ones below should also be part of any instrumentalist’s diet. Such exercises allow us to focus on a single aspect of technique. Single task left hand drills are essential if we desire to have true dexterity in the left hand fingers. There are...

Thomas Risell, perhaps better known as MarloweDK around these parts is part of the jazz/rock trio Trio Bravo, along with guitarist Per Gade and drummer Thomas Duus. Here they are rehearsing Gade’s tune, “History Confusion”. These guys know how to get down! Good stuff from MarloweDK, as always.

June ended with a sonic boom of bass greatness. Here is the top 10 list of reader favorites for the week of June 24-30, 2012. 1. Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes: Isolated Bass & Vocals Our Facebook friend Leon Wilson shared this alternate track with us, featuring the isolated bass work of Bakithi Kumalo on Paul Simon’s hit,...

Tommy Stinson will be reuniting with his former Replacements bandmate Paul Westerberg to benefit guitarist Slim Dunlap, who suffered a stroke earlier this year. The duo will be recording a single as part of a limited edition project of covers songs of Dunlap’s original music done by his friends. The recordings will be split into limited edition 7-inch albums and...