Weekly Top 10: Kira Roessler Interview, Keep It Groovy Lesson, Tower of Power Tour, New Bass Gear, and More

This week we’re checking out one of the most evocative basses I’ve seen in a while. The Prophecy Instruments PLASMA-4 has an aesthetic design that pulls from both organic and synthetic themes.

Last month, Joe Walsh joined forces with some heavy hitters in the music industry for his “VetsAid 2021: The Basement Show”. Here’s Walsh with Ringo Starr, Benmont Tench, Waddy Wachtel, Leland Sklar, and Russ Kunkel performing “Funk #49”.

Tower of Power has unveiled a new spring tour of the U.S. that marks their first major outing since the beginning of the pandemic. Bassist Marc Van Wageningen, who had filled in for Rocco Prestia through the years, will carry on the tradition.

If there’s one thing we know about Motown, it’s that the grooves are deep and bass legends like James Jamerson and Bob Babbitt have given us some incredible lines to learn from. Ryan Madora runs through “Ball Of Confusion” by The Temptations in this new “Keep It Groovy” bass lesson.

Josh Paul has announced he’s leaving Daughtry after fifteen years with the group. The bassist, who was one of the four original members, shared the news on Instagram with a heartfelt message.

Rodenberg Amplification has unveiled a handy new pedal called the KILLMISTER. Named in homage to bass icon Lemmy, the device is an automatic kill switch that lets you cut your signal with eight settings.

She’s a punk rock icon, a bass hero, an award-winning sound editor, and now a solo recording artist. But the biggest part of Kira Roessler’s identity comes back to being a bass player. We caught up with Roessler to get the scoop on all that and more, including how the bass is her lens to the world.

Mastro Valvola has unveiled a new pedal called the OFF1. The unit combines octave, fuzz, and filter circuits into a stompbox made for “guitar, bass, synth, and any other stuff,” the company states.

We’ve been enjoying the studio videos from Scary Goldings featuring organist Larry Goldings for the past few months, and now the full album is available. “Scary Goldings IV” is a collection of ever-funky grooves with Goldings and an unreal band.

Warwick’s Rockboard has unveiled a new power supply called the RockBoard Power Block. The compact unit features ten power slots with eight 9-volt connections and two 18-volt connections.