Archive for 2016 - Page 11

One of the things that I love about doing this column is that I sometimes find unlikely pairings – like this one. I didn’t know that Bon Jovi’s Hugh McDonald played bass on this extremely funky joint, “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination” as performed by Gladys Knight and the Pips. The song was written and originally performed by Barry...

Rubatat Antonin just shared his latest video with Hungry Beats, saying “Our most experimental track so far… ring mod, Meatbox, key bass. Lots of stuff in this video.” We’re really digging what Rubatat and drummer Romain Chenard are doing.

Rush’s Time Stand Still documentary is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray. The film documents the band’s 40-year history, centered on the band’s final R40 tour. Geddy Lee, Neil Peart, and Alex Lifeson share personal stories about the band’s career while much of the film focuses on the trio’s fans, as well. “A lot of people pat us on the...

Meshuggah’s Dick Lovgren has gotten a crazy new bass from Zon Guitars, and it’s our bass of the week. The one-of-a-kind Zemi Acoustik is based on Zon’s Sonus body style but has a thicker, hollow mahogany body with a stunning flame maple top. Its set neck is made of a composite, while the phenowood fingerboard holds 24 frets. The pickups...

Photo by Alan Levine Q: I recently saw a video that talked about going to music school. After watching it I got the impression that maybe school wasn’t such a good idea. At the same time it seemed like the only way to get work as a musician, was to go to school and use that school’s alumni network to...

Viktor L?rincz is back, and he’s just shared his latest video with us. Viktor said, “The Loner” is one of his favorite guitar songs after hearing Gary Moore perform it. So he decided to create his own solo bass arrangement of the tune.

Brandi Disterheft has returned with her fourth album as a leader, entitled Blue Canvas. With veteran pianist Harold Mabern and drummer Joe Farnsworth in tow, the jazz bassist/vocalist goes deep on a mix of classic and original tunes. “Aside from an array of classic standards from Clifford Brown, Bobby Timmons, and Tadd Dameron, I chose four out of thirty songs...

We had a great week last week, with a heavy dose of great lessons and columns. Add to that some new gear, top bass videos and more, and you have this week’s reader favorites. Thanks for reading, watching, commenting and sharing. 1. Competing with the “Bass Virtuosos” A reader wrote in to Damian this week saying he feels a bit...

We were so knocked out by the bass and vocals duo of Vincenzo Maurogiovanni and Gaia Gentile. In this video, they perform Vincenzo’s tune, “Fascino” – and it is fantastic.

A special piece of history has been released with Mike Watt’s Ring Spiel Tour ’95 album. It was a special time for Watt, who was just beginning his solo work after years of working with The Minutemen and fIREHOSE. His first solo album, Ball-Hog or Tugboat? was released in February 1995, and he took the show on the road in...

Roger Sadowsky and crew have introduced a vintage version of their Single Cut model, which was introduced earlier this year. The bass retains the specs of the original bass with two key differences: different pickups and the inclusion of a pickguard and control plate. Sadowsky gave us the scoop on the new pickup set, which includes a single J-style pickup...

Bass the World has shared another video featuring several bassists. Dubbed Project B, the lineup includes Naoki Kobayashi, SHU, Kensuke Harada, Fernando Molinari, Mana Iwanaga, Federico Malaman, Naoki Tozawa, Tomoya Iwaki, Yusuke Morita, Keitaro Sasaki, Kiyomi Kunihisa, and TMMK. The bassists cover rock, hip hop, fusion, and funk. That’s a lot of bass.