Weekly Top 10: New Bass Gear, The Best Bass Videos and the Best Bass How To’s
How much bass can you take? Hopefully at least enough to get you through this weekly top 10 list of bass greatness. Here are the 10 most read/most watched stories and videos on No Treble for the week of July 8 – 14, 2012. 1. Victor Wooten: “Isn’t She Lovely”, Live Solo Bass Performance In April, Victor Wooten held a...
Funk Bass Line Lesson – James Brown’s “The Payback”
Today’s featured video is as instructional as it is cool. Bassist/instructor Anthony Pell breaks down how to construct a funk line, using James Brown’s “The Payback” – a tune from Godfather of Soul’s 1973 album of the same name. Fred Thomas was the bassist on that album, by the way. Pell breaks down three approaches to note selection for the...
Rolling Stones Rehearsing with Bill Wyman
Back in April, we shared the news that the Rolling Stones were re-uniting with Bill Wyman, in celebration of the group’s 50th anniversary, which they celebrated last week. Wyman held down the low end for the group from 1962 until 1993, when he left to form his own band, Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings. Guitarist Ronnie Wood said Wyman is returning...
Columbia Releases Weather Report: The Columbia Albums 1976-1982
In 1976, a relatively unknown bassist by the name of Jaco Pastorius joined Weather Report as a full-time member – an event that brought unprecedented commercial success to the six year old band. Jaco’s impact wasn’t limited to Weather Report either. It was during this same year his solo album debuted – an album which redefined the electric bass in...
Victor Wooten: “Isn’t She Lovely”, Live Solo Bass Performance
In April, Victor Wooten held a music clinic at a music school in Mechanicsville, Virginia. One of the songs he performed was his solo bass take on Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely”. The folks who shared this video said that this was recorded “at 8am on a Sunday morning, and during a torrential downpour. Victor showed up, picked up the...
Funk Bass Fills
Berklee bass professor Anthony Vitti has released his latest method book, this time focusing on funk bass. Funk Bass Fills offers up bass fills spanning funk, soul, R&B and hip-hop styles, playing fills in different positions and keys, funk rhythms and rhythmic patterns and more. The 72-page book comes with a companion play-along CD, including the recorded bass lines –...
Adam Ben Ezra: Can’t Stop Running
Our Facebook friend Guy Dayan shared this video with us, and we are happy to pay it forward (we’re huge Adam Ben Ezra fans here.) This is Adam’s latest video, featuring his original composition, “Can’t Stop Running”. Adam says, “One take, no loops or layers.” Amazing. The track is available for purchase via Adam’s BandCamp page: Can’t Stop Running by...
Reader Spotlight: Heyko Gülicher
Meet Heyko Gülicher, a bassist from Germany who takes on the big task of anchoring a Jamiroquai tribute band dubbed Jamirolike. He says he fell in love with the bass “from the first time [he] played Peter Gunn on an E string”. Heyko is our player in the spotlight for the week of July 10, 2012. Bio: I’ve been brought...
Top 10: The Most Watched Bass Videos (June 2012)
Is there anything better than an awesome bass video? How about ten awesome bass videos? Here are the most watched videos on No Treble last month. Enjoy. 1. Billie Jean’s All Stars, Featuring Marcus Miller What do you get when you have five jazz masters improvise to an a cappella version of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”? An Italian radio show...
Vulfpeck: “Prom”, Live in Studio
I’ve been listening to Vulfpeck’s EP, Mit Peck a lot lately. The band – which is the Vulfrecords Records’ house rhythm section – is so funky, thanks in large part to bassist Joe Dart who just lives in the pocket. But the whole group just grooves, with drummer Jack Stratton, keyboardist Woody Goss and guitarist Theo Katzman. This tune, “Prom”,...
Weekly Top 10: Gearing up for NAMM, New Bass Lessons and How To’s and the Top Bass Videos of the Week
As the Summer NAMM show approaches, we’re seeing a steady flow of gear news coming our way — and it’ll only get better. As usual, No Treble’s columnists brought the good stuff: Dr. D’s left hand dexterity drills, Ryan’s “Getting To Know Your Bass” feature on action, and Kevin’s Bass of the Week: the Fodera Buckeye Burl Yin Yang Imperial...
Stuart Clayton Releases “The Bass Player’s Guide to Scales & Modes” in iBook Format
Bassist/author Stuart Clayton is taking his popular bass method books and publishing them in iBook format, offering new interactive features for the books previously only available in print. The first release is Clayton’s The Bass Player’s Guide to Scales & Modes, re-imagined for the digital format. The iBook format introduces full versions of each of the supporting tracks, as embedded...