Archive for 2016 - Page 53

The Wood Brothers, anchored by bassist extraordinaire Chris Wood, have announced Fall tour dates to fill out their 2016 tour. The three-piece, Nashville-based band are continuing their trek in support of their latest album, Paradise. Starting in Birmingham, Alabama on October 6th, the newly revealed performances will focus on the Southeast and Midwest. November will have the group visit Illinois,...

Another big week in the world of bass. Here are the top 10 reader favorite stories, columns, videos and more. Thanks as always for reading, watching, commenting and sharing. 1. Cliff Williams Announces Retirement from AC/DC After 40 years holding down the low end for AC/DC, bassist Cliff Williams has announced he will retire after the band’s current tour. Williams,...

The other day, I stumbled upon this 1973 video of Tower of Power’s appearance on Soul Train. I immediately texted it to Kevin, and then I watched it countless times since then. The song is “So Very Hard To Go”, and Rocco Prestia is laying it down like only he can, behind one killer band.

Bassist and composer, Juan García-Herreros, (a.k.a., Snow Owl), known for his work on his 6-stringed electric contrabass guitar, has released his latest album, The Blue Road. The overriding message of the album from the Latin Grammy nominee is one of unity, and features members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and a variety of New York artists. Let Snow Owl explain...

New Zealand’s Stonefield Musical Instruments has teamed up with Freekbass to produce a signature model. Based on the company’s Model 1-4C, the bass has special tweaks to fit the funk bassist’s style. “Using the dense and somewhat brittle African wenge for the top wood and Solomon Island ebony for the fingerboard adds a bite to the tonality of the instrument,”...

Time for some old school goodness from our good friends, Vulfpeck and their tune “Game Winner”. The track appeared on Vulpeck’s album, , and features guest appearances by Charles Jones on vocals and Rhodes and David T. Walker on guitar. As always, Joe Dart handles the low end, beautifully. “Give me the ball…”

Pat Metheny Group bassist Steve Rodby has released his third album with the Anglo-American jazz group, The Impossible Gentlemen, called Let’s Get Deluxe. The contemporary jazz group’s influences range from Metheny, of course, to outfits like Steely Dan. Band members also include pianist Gwilym Simcock, reed/flute player Iain Dixon, guitarist Mike Walker and drummer Adam Nussbaum. Check out the title...

Playing with good time, develop sensitive dynamics, produce a solid tone and have the confidence to express interesting musical ideas on your bass is essential. It only makes common sense that developing a deeper bass guitar specific technical understanding and prowess is the essential path as an improvising bass player. In this lesson, we will cover some ground to gain...

Les Claypool’s latest project with Sean Lennon, aptly named The Claypool Lennon Delirium, is everything you’d imagine it would be. Built upon the bassist’s unmistakeable style, the band has a mind-altering style of rock and psychedelia. Check out this clip of “Breath of a Salesman” taken from The Late Late Show with James Corden. The synergy between Claypool and Lennon...

Bass instructor and author Jon Liebman’s latest book teaches you how to play like one of the greats. In “Play Like Jaco Pastorius: The Ultimate Bass Lesson” Liebman examines and analyzes everything from Jaco’s technique and equipment to his licks and his “stylistic DNA,” according to one book description. Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, who produced the recent, well-received “Jaco” documentary,...

Fender has teamed up with bass legend Flea to release the Flea Signature Jazz Bass. The new model is a recreation of the bassist’s Shell Pink 1961 Jazz Bass he received from a fan and used to record the Red Hot Chili Peppers albums Stadium Arcadium and The Getaway. “Shell Pink is the rarest of Fender’s classic Custom Color finishes,...

Many basses tend to have similar body shapes, but that’s not the case with SVS Designs. Each bass is drawn from the imagination of its owner and tweaked for real life use by luthier Shawn Shannon. With a background in extreme metal, it’s no surprise that the basses carry a certain extreme quality in their designs, although each bass is...