Archive for 2017 - Page 16

Fans of blues and rock will want to check out Jeff Beck’s latest DVD, Live at the Hollywood Bowl. Recorded in the summer of 2016, the live concert featured songs from the guitar god’s entire career, as far back as The Yardbirds right up to his latest release, Loud Hailer. It also features a plethora of special guest artists including...

Every now and then, you may get lucky enough to do a gig or to jam with players in a truly creative and inspired way. You get to play in the greatest sense of the word, and better yet, you get to be your best musical self. You feel a sense of camaraderie with your fellow musicians and you walk...

Sons Of Apollo are back with another video from their album, Psychotic Symphony, which once again features the double-neck theatrics of Billy Sheehan and Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, along with Mike Portnoy, Derek Sherinian, and Jeff Scott Soto. Here’s the track, “Lost in Oblivion.” was released on October 20th.

Jack Conrad, who played bass for The Doors and wrote songs for many artists, has passed away from a massive heart attack. He was 69 years old. Conrad’s diverse musical career started in the ’60s. He recorded for the Petula Clark album I Know A Place in 1965 and started writing songs. He collaborated with Paul Williams for his albums...

Massive FX Pedals has released the Hypnotik Fuzz, a hand-wired super heavy fuzz that is suited for both bass and guitar. The unit has knobs for Master Volume and Fuzz Level as well as a two-position switch that toggles between two modes. Classic Fuzz mode is described as a vintage tone with a thinner, “trebly” sound. The second mode is...

Here’s a little known personal fact about me: Steve Bailey’s 2007 album, So Low… Solo, is one my favorite instrumental music discs of all time. Beyond his stunning mastery of the six-string fretless bass, the composition and arrangements on this album are captivating. It’s still on high rotation in my weekly playlist. With that, Steve is more commonly known as...

Matt La Maida messaged me with a new, killer bass arrangement he worked out. This time around, Matt takes on Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” with lots of bass goodness and other effects. Matt says he has a transcription coming, so be on the lookout for it here. In the meantime, check out Matt’s popular cover of “Ziggy Stardust” from the archives.

The new Weezer album was supposed to be a darker, moodier counterpoint to their last self-titled record referred to as The White Album. However, when the band got together a different mood presented itself. Pacific Daydream is their 11th album and shows a new tonal character for the group. “I’m going to say [it sounds] somewhere between The Beach Boys...

Time to celebrate the reader favorite gear stories for the month. Here are your favorite 10 gear stories we covered in October. Thanks for reading, commenting, and sharing. 1. Geezer Butler’s New Ashdown Engineering Signature Head of Doom Amplifier Geezer Butler shocked fans this weekend when he shared the news of his new signature amp from Ashdown. The Black Sabbath...

Q: First of all thank you very much for your past reply to my question! Lately while working on improvisation and in particular on linear melody through changes, I started asking myself why I should bother with modes. For instance, if there’s a Fmin7 moving to an Amin7 chord and I want to think about those two chords as F...

Six-string fretless bass beast Steve Di Giorgio always brings the heat. Here’s his latest with a playthrough of “As Hope Welcomes Death” by Gone In April. Di Giorgio tears through the song, bringing serious tenacity to the low end. Be sure to check out the drum and bass breaks starting at 5:22.

King Crimson’s latest formation is captured in a new official bootleg from this summer. Official Bootleg: Live In Chicago, June 28th, 2017 is a two-CD live release featuring the low-end stylings of Tony Levin, who describes the concert as “One of our best.” The rest of the band includes Mel Collins (Saxes & flute), Robert Fripp (Guitar & keyboards), Gavin...