Archive for August 2018 - Page 2

Death Cab For Cutie has released their ninth studio album, Thank You For Today. The album is a shift for the band as it is the first not to feature guitarist Chris Walla while being the first to feature touring members Dave Depper and Zac Rae. Like every other album, it is anchored by bassist Nick Harmer, who weighed in...

Jerzy Drozd creates some fantastic instruments. Alongside his regular line, he also goes out of his way to create some over-the-top beautiful basses. This week we’re checking out the Orion, a bass created from his Soul VI model that is decked out in moissanite gems. The bolt-on, six-string bass is built with a swamp ash body attached to a one-piece...

With producer and mentor Chas Chandler in control, and holed up in Olympic Studios in London, the early sessions for the album had been relatively straightforward, and the band had recorded basic versions of “Crosstown Traffic” and “All Along the Watchtower” before setting off on their early ’68 North American tour. On a break from their schedule, a short recording...

Alex Bershadsky recently shared this 2013 video on his Facebook page, and I was knocked out. Joined by drumming legend Dennis Chambers and soprano saxophonist Shlomi Cohen, here’s the trio’s performance of Bershadsky’s original tune, “Babous.”

Polish double bassist Wojtek Mazolewski has released a new album with his Quintet called Polka Worldwide Deluxe Edition. The album contains his 2014 album Polka with a new bonus track, “Theme de Yoyo”, as well as the follow-up Track, “London.” The UK capital is also where the inspiration for his album came from. “I stumbled upon a beautiful invitation to...

After Derek Engemann left the band in January, death metal band Cattle Decapitation has announced a new bassist plus a new guitarist. Olivier Pinard, who has also played with Cryptopsy and Neuraxis, will hold down the bottom end for the band while Belisario Dimuzio will be the new second guitarist. The band made the announcement along with the teaser for...

Boveda has announced a new humidity control system for acoustic stringed instruments including acoustic bass and guitar, upright bass, ukulele, and more. The device prevents warping and cracking while requiring no maintenance. “The humidity control system is unique in that it responds to ambient temperature and moisture by adding OR removing humidity to regulate the pre-determined RH% engineered into each...

The last time we featured a video by Jeff Berlin, he focused on the use of harmonics by Jaco Pastorius. This time around, he focuses on the 16th note dead note groove in the style of the ultimate groove master, Rocco Prestia.

Vulfpeck collaborator Cory Wong has released his sophomore album, The Optimist. As the title suggests, the album is an upbeat and funky collection of songs. “I wanted to share the part of my personality that keeps a positive and optimistic outlook on circumstances and life in general,” Wong told JamBase.com. “I felt like this collection of songs really captures that...

Ernie Ball Music Man has unveiled the Ball Family Reserve series for August. The lineup for this month includes two guitars plus one bass: the Bongo 6HH in Grabber Green. “The Ernie Ball Music Man Ball Family Reserve series is a celebration of our heritage in instrument craftsmanship,” the company writes. “These rare pieces are offered in limited production runs...

Victor Wooten visited the KNKX Public Radio studio recently, along with saxophonist Bob Franceschini. While they were missing the third part of the trio, drummer Dennis Chambers, the two put on quite a show. Here’s the duo performing “Funky D.”

Anthrax’s Frank Bello promises their next album will be their heaviest yet. In an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, he revealed that the veteran metalheads will begin writing sessions for their twelfth studio album in January 2019. “We’re gonna go heavy — heavier than ever, I think,” he said. “That’s just the vibe. There’s an inner anger, which I...