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Archive for January 2014 - Page 5

Fumbling Fingers: When Common Tasks Take Their Toll on Bassists
I Wish I Knew That

Fumbling Fingers: When Common Tasks Take Their Toll on Bassists

For some of us, finding the time to playing bass is a luxury. We don’t get many opportunities to sit down and groove, learn our favorite songs, or hit the woodshed to practice technique. Work takes up too many hours in the day and after having to make dinner, spend time with our friends or family, and take in a...

Spare Parts: Quarter Pulse
Bass Videos

Spare Parts: Quarter Pulse

Our friend Steven Smith sent this in to us, saying “I just discovered a new band – new to me, that is – Spare Parts. Great 70s groove! The bassist is Colin Scott, [and he’s] layin’ it down on the Fender Jazz. Sweet!” Sweet indeed. Love that old school sound.

Gwil Sainsbury Quits Alt-J
News

Gwil Sainsbury Quits Alt-J

Bassist Gwil Sainsbury has quit the English indie rock band Alt-J, according to a post on the band’s Facebook page. “We’re sad to say goodbye to Gwil – the last 5 years with him in the band have been fantastic and we are all proud of our achievements together,” the post reads. “However our enthusiasm to continue working on our...

Bass of the Week: Jimmy Haslip’s “Gabriella Rose” Bass by Wyn Guitars
Bass of the Week

Bass of the Week: Jimmy Haslip’s “Gabriella Rose” Bass by Wyn Guitars

The best basses come with great stories. Jimmy Haslip’s six-string bass from Wyn Guitars, called “Gabriela Rose,” is a great example. Wyn Guitars luthier Randy Fullmer recounts the whole process on his website. “It’s a luthier’s dream to make an instrument for an artist with the stature and playing chops of Jimmy Haslip,” Fullmer humbly states. “I of course handled...

David Murphy Leaves STS9
News

David Murphy Leaves STS9

STS9 has been forced to postpone their winter tour after the band announced that bassist David Murphy will be leaving their ranks. “In life, the only constant is change. We try to embrace this in our music and in our lives and its in this spirit that we announce STS9 and bassist David Murphy are parting ways,” the band shared...

Juraj Griglak and Stanley Clarke Jam (1985)
Bass Videos

Juraj Griglak and Stanley Clarke Jam (1985)

The incredibly talented Slovakian bassist Juraj Griglak just posted this awesome video from the 1985 Bratislava Jazz Festival. Griglak got to hop on stage to jam out with the Stanley Clarke Band and ripped up some crazy slap lines. Clarke shouts, “we got a good one!” just before jumping into the action himself. Too cool.

Railroad Earth Releases “Last of the Outlaws”
New Albums

Railroad Earth Releases “Last of the Outlaws”

Americana band Railroad Earth has released its first studio album in three years, . The record’s eclectic mix of roots sounds shouldn’t surprise fans of the band or its bassist, Andrew Altman, who joined the group in 2010. In a quick-hit interview with Jacksonville.com a couple of years back, Altman listed the five albums that changed his life, and not...

Jeff Berlin and Cort Announce Signature RITHIMIC Bass
Basses

Jeff Berlin and Cort Announce Signature RITHIMIC Bass

Jeff Berlin has teamed up with Cort for a new signature bass for 2014. Dubbed the RITHIMIC, the model features an alder body with a striking padouk and spalted maple top with a matching spalted headstock. Its hard rock maple neck is topped with a rosewood fingerboard. The bass is set up to Berlin’s liking with low action and a...

Memorizing Chords and Scales
Ask Damian Erskine

Memorizing Chords and Scales

Q: I’m lucky enough to attend a college with a robust and demanding music department, and like a lot music in academia, this means I’m playing a fair amount of jazz. I’ve been a fan of the genre for a long time, but I am new to playing it and seem to have run into a problem with improvising and...

Jaco Pastorius’ “Chromatic Fantasy”, Latin Style
Bass Videos

Jaco Pastorius’ “Chromatic Fantasy”, Latin Style

Hüseyin Karaca shared this video with us with a simple note: “Thank you Jaco Pastorius.” Written by Bach and reimagined for solo bass by Jaco on his Word of Mouth album, Hüseyin has remade “Chromatic Fantasy” into a Latin style piece featuring bass and percussion, along with percussionist Mehmet Arslan.

Greg Christian Leaves Testament, Steve DiGiorgio Steps In
News

Greg Christian Leaves Testament, Steve DiGiorgio Steps In

After a 10-year stint, Testament founder and longtime bassist Greg Christian has once again left the legendary thrash metal band. A reason for the departure has not been given, though the news comes just a few months after Christian had to sit out the group’s North American tour with Lamb of God for personal reasons. Filling his shoes will be...

Reader Spotlight: Josh Cohen
Reader Spotlight

Reader Spotlight: Josh Cohen

Meet Josh Cohen, who has one of the coolest stories about his first bass we’ve read. (And he has a very cool dad). Josh is No Treble’s reader in the spotlight for the week of January 13, 2014. Bio Josh Cohen is an electric bass player, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader. Having received his bachelor’s degree in music from Humber College,...