Archive for 2013 - Page 17

They’re back! Dirty Loops, the Swedish power trio known for their incredible renditions of pop songs has released a video for “Hit Me,” their very first original track. The song retains all of their energy and musical complexity, and bassist Henrik Linder’s playing is spectacular as ever.

Kill Devil Hill has released their sophomore album, Revolution Rise. Following up on their self-titled debut, the effort dishes up a variety of groove metal with southern and grunge tinges. The record shows the band’s chemistry from touring, says bassist Rex Brown. “It’s collective, but there’s more diversity on this one than the last one within the same confines of...

Grove Guitars does something really cool for their bass tops. Instead of an exotic hardwood, the company will sometimes use old crate tops to “provide a genuine vintage feel without the faux finish.” A good example is our bass of the week, the FHP Bull Moose 5. Described as a super spec’ed MM bass, the Bull Moose 5 is built...

As the instrument that expresses your musical ideas, it’s important to choose a bass that fits you and your music. But with so many options available, what do you look for? Active or passive electronics? Maple or rosewood fingerboard? How many strings? Which brand? The choices can be daunting, and finding a worthy instrument can take some time. That’s why...

We like to celebrate Halloween bass-style each year. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” shows up on many of the top 10 Halloween song lists we’ve seen, and luckily for us, Andres Rotmistrovsky put together his own solo bass arrangement. I don’t know how he holds down the bass line while playing the chords, but I’m going to be studying that. Happy Halloween!

When you play bass for more than one prominent metal band, you’re bound to make friends with some of the best heavy musicians out there. That’s precisely the case for bassist Jeff Hughell, who has recruited his friends to guest on his first full length solo album, Chaos Labyrinth. Hughell, who lays down the low end for death metal outfits...

Q: During jam sessions, I normally have a “hit and stick” approach to coming up with grooves. Essentially, there’s a lull between grooves where I end up peddling notes or playing the one. My keyboard player pointed this out and it bothers me. Is this something that I should be worried about? How do I lead a groove during these...

Rick James’ “Super Freak” was a mega-hit in 1981, and listed at #477 on the Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”. Here’s James’ isolated bass from the original multi-track master. Thanks to Rick Suchow for sharing this one!

As a former bassist of both King Crimson and Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Greg Lake has plenty stories to tell. So many, in fact, that it’s been hindering the release of his long-awaited autobiography, Lucky Man, which derives its title from a song Lake wrote for ELP’s debut album. “I’ve been writing it for some years now,” he told Sean...

Meet Marek Bero, a bassist living in London and pursuing the dream. We loved Marek’s story, but even more, we loved the way he tells it. Marek is No Treble’s reader in the spotlight for the week of October 28, 2013. Bio: I am originally from Prague, Czech Republic and two years ago I moved to London, UK. Man, I...

One of rock’s longest standing feuds appears to be over after Paul McCartney told Rolling Stone that he’s over having hard feelings toward John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono. The two figures, who often fought over songwriting credits, recently made up with Macca even referring to Ono as a “badass.” “I thought, ‘If John loved her, there’s got to be something....

You just gotta love bassist Viaceslav Svedov, who brings great all-bass arrangements, tons of energy and plenty of epic bass faces in each of his videos. Here’s Viaceslav doing his thing with the Megadeth tune, “Train of Consequences”, from the band’s 1994 album, Youthanasia.