Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 245

Snarky Puppy will be hitting the road again for the first time since canceling their tour plans last year. The musical collective, led by bassist/bandleader Michael League, made the announcement on Facebook.

The Wood Brothers are ready to pick up where they left off from when their 2020 “Kingdom in My Mind” tour got cut short. Though the band has been performing socially distanced shows, this will be their chance to really flesh out the new music.

Spector has expanded their line of Bantam basses with a new five-string model. Similar to the four-string, the Bantam 5 Bass has a medium 32-inch scale length and a chambered body. Spector says this delivers a lightweight and comfortable instrument.

Mile Twelve bassist Nate Sabat has published a new book for beginners called “Dirt Simple Upright Bass”. The 45-page book, which is geared towards bluegrass players, is split into two parts.

Guitar legend Eric Clapton is hitting the road this fall and feature veteran bassist Nathan East. The U.S. tour will include eight shows, which he says will be his only U.S. shows for the year.

Hamstead Soundworks has unveiled the Comet, a four-knob drive pedal that has both transparent and character drive voices. The company says the pedal can be “molded from boutique sounding overdrive with a vocal midrange to a rich and creamy fuzz.”

Bass phenom Thundercat has announced a substantial North American tour this fall to support his 2020 Grammy-winning release, “It Is What It Is”. Rapper Channel Tres will be opening the show for much of the outing.

This week we’re checking out the Dylan model by Nichols Guitar Company. While the bass comes with several options, this particular version is a four-string featuring a swamp ash body topped with Engelmann Spruce and Rosewood laminates.

Bass virtuoso Charnett Moffett has returned with his seventeenth album as a leader, entitled “New Love”. The bassist describes the music, recorded in trio and quartet band formats, as a love letter to humanity.

In what seems to be a prog lover’s dream tour, King Crimson has unveiled the “Music Is Our Friend” tour. The outing will see the band accompanied by the California Guitar Trio for the first half of the tour and The Zappa Band for the second half.

Forty-seven years ago, Charles Mingus performed with his band at Carnegie Hall. A live album, “Mingus At Carnegie Hall”, was issued but excluded much of the 2-hour performance. Now the full concert has been released as a deluxe edition.

G&L Guitars is showing some love for lefty bassists with a new southpaw version of their Tribute Fallout Bass. Originally launched in 2019, the Fallout Bass is a short-scale model loaded with the company’s Magnetic Field Design humbucker.