Keb Mo with Vail Johnson: The Whole Enchilada, Live
Great bass doesn’t need to be flashy. Sometimes, it just needs to groove. Bassist Vail Johnson, who shared this video with us, does just that in this video. Performing live on Conan O’Brian’s show, here’s Keb Mo and his band performing “The Whole Enchilada”, from the just released album, The Reflection.
Rewind: Bootsy Documentary, Old School Teisco Bass, New Bas Gear and The Best Bass Videos of the Week
Last week, No Treble readers enjoyed the story of Bootsy Collins, via the TV One documentary, as well as meeting bassist Rebecca Johnson, our player in the spotlight. On the gear front, we got an inside look at May Custom Basses, a look back at and old school, 1965 Teisco bass, and a first look at new gear from ESP...
Megadeth Announces TH1RT3EN, with the Return of Dave Ellefson
Megadeth has announced their thirteenth album, TH1RT3EN, will be released on November 1, 2011 and will mark the return of bassist Dave Ellefson. Ellefson performed with the group from 1983 until 2002 and rejoining the band for live performances last year. The new album follows the 2009 release, Endgame. Guitarist Dave Mustaine says TH1RT3EN is “the culmination of my work...
The Jam! Happy 65th Birthday, Larry Graham
65 years ago today, Larry Graham, Jr. was born in Beaumont, Texas. From Sly & the Family Stone to Graham Central Station, and a whole lot of other projects, he’s credited with the invention of slap bass. Or as Larry calls it, “Thumpin’ and Pluckin’.” Larry is still bringing it… Here’s a clip of Graham Central Station performing “The Jam”...
Marcus Miller: “Bruce Lee” Live
Here’s Marcus Miller and band performing the tune “Bruce Lee” live in 2005 at the Jazz a Juan Festival in France. Miller is backed by long time drummer Poogie Bell, as well as bassist Doug Epting, who performs on bass and samples.
Old School: 1965 Teisco Del Rey EB-200
Bassist José Correa shares his 1965 Teisco Del Rey bass with us in this installment of Old School. Teisco was a Japanese instrument manufacturer who built affordable musical instruments from 1948 until 1969. In addition to basses, the company built guitars, keyboards, amplifiers, drums and microphones. The company’s name stands for “Tokyo Electric Instrument and Sound Company”. In 1967, the...
Unsung: The Story of Bootsy Collins
Here’s TV One‘s documentary on Bootsy Collins, sharing the highs and lows of the funk legend’s life. There’s so much great stuff here, from Bootsy’s start with a guitar strung as a bass, to James Brown and more. Interesting to hear the difference between “Bootsy”, the funk legend, William Collins, the regular guy.
The Wood Brothers Release “Smoke Ring Halo”
For 15 years, brothers Chris and Oliver Wood had separate musical careers. Chris, the bassist, is a founding member of the trio Medeski, Martin & Wood, while Oliver, the guitarist, worked in the rock/blues band, King Johnson. That changed one day at a family gathering in 2004, where the brothers decided to join forces to record their own material. The...
Krzysztof Scieranski: Live Looping Bass
Marcin Suchodolski shares this video with us, featuring bassist Krzysztof ?ciera?ski, who knocked us out with his cool bass loop performance (and late 60’s Fender Jazz). Thanks Marcin! Krzysztof submitted this video as part of the BOSS loop contest, and came in 2nd place for central Europe. Have a video to share? Send it to [email protected].
How to Play Heavy Metal Bass!
Alfred Music Publishing and Guitar World have teamed up to release How to Play Heavy Metal Bass!, an instructional DVD by Matt Scharfglass. The DVD contains more than 70 minutes of lessons and includes tab files to follow along. Scharfglass covers tone, fretboard patterns and techniques, chords and progressions, playing fingerstyle vs. playing with a pick, constructing bass lines over...
Reader Spotlight: Rebecca Johnson
A few weeks ago, we shared bassist Rebecca Johnson and her band in our daily video feature, and reader feedback was terrific. So it was easy to pick Rebecca as our bassist in the spotlight for the week of August 9, 2011. Meet bassist Rebecca Johnson… Bio: Rebecca Johnson is a bass player/singer with 29 years professional experience in the...
Question of the Week: Who are your influences?
Here’s another question taken from our Player Spotlight questionnaire. (By the way, the Player Spotlight is open to all bassists). The question this week: Who are your influences? Answer below in the comments, or on our Facebook page.










