Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 241

Umphrey’s McGee are masters of creating atmosphere with their intro music, and now they’ve expanded on the ideas from those tracks to create a new album. We caught up with Ryan Stasik to get the scoop on that and more.

Since David Ellefson’s dismissal earlier this year, rumors have been flying about who Megadeth would be bringing on board to fill the bass seat. Now the band has revealed James LoMenzo will be joining them on the upcoming “Metal Tour of the Year”.

After several postponements, Primus is heading out on their epic “A Tribute To Kings” tour. Les Claypool has been very open about his eagerness for the outing as well, and apparently, he’s been practicing up – and learning the parts from Geddy Lee.

Schecter has unveiled their latest artist model with the Daniel Firth Hellraiser Extreme-5 Signature Bass. The Cradle of Filth bassist’s new axe features a mahogany body with a quilted maple top in a Cthulhu Burst Satin finish.

Adi Meyerson has released a new album called “I Want To Sing My Heart Out In Praise of Life”. The bassist/composer’s second album as a leader is a six-part suite inspired by the work of avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama.

Valenti Basses shared their latest V24-P5, which is a five-string p-style bass with a full 24 frets. This one, which is built with an alder body, has a rocking pink finish matched to a black pickguard.

Back in June, Percy Jones announced his new supergroup, PAKT, which includes Alex Skolnick, Kenny Grohowski, and Tim Motzer. The band had a handful of performances, and now the first show has been released as their debut live recording.

Guns N’ Roses have dropped a new single with “Absurd”. The song is their first new music in over a decade, although some fans may recognize it as a reworked version of the unreleased song “Silkworms” from the “Chinese Democracy” period.

Bay Area bassist Tony Saunders has returned with a new solo album called “All About Love”. The contemporary jazz artist brings his influences to the table on original music as well as popular covers.

Dusty Hill may have passed away last month, but we haven’t heard the last of him. ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons revealed that Hill had already recorded his bass parts as well as vocals for an upcoming album.

Blues Traveler has released a new album called “Traveler’s Blues”, which is a collection of covers from the American Blues Songbook and other classics. Tad Kinchla holds it all together from the low end, providing deep grooves and funky lines.

Phil Jones Bass is rolling out a new product called the BP-200, which they bill as the “ultimate affordable bass head.” Rated at up to 200 watts, the compact head unit weighs just 2.5 pounds and can fit into a backpack.