Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 252

Former Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh has been forced to cancel his upcoming festival appearances due to a medical issue.

The Dead Daisies have released “Locked and Loaded,” a covers album. The band, anchored by bass great Marco Mendoza, will also be hitting the road for a U.S. tour in support of his latest solo album, “Viva La Rock.”

D’Addario has introduced a new line of strings for nearly every instrument type called the XT Series. The string design incorporates a high carbon steel core with alloy wraps and an expanded lifespan treatment coating.

This week we’re taking a look at an otherworldly bass by Germany’s Claas Guitars. This Moby Dick bass from their custom shop has a headless design with a singlecut body.

Multi-instrumentalist Raphael Saadiq has returned with his first new album in eight years. “Jimmy Lee” is a darker turn for the neo-soul star and serves partly as a reflection of his brother, who died of a heroin overdose.

Mr. Bungle is reuniting to play live shows for the first time in nearly 20 years. The tour will include the band playing their 1986 demo tape “The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny” in full in three cities over 7 nights.

Bassist Charlie Wooton has released a new album with his solo project called “Blue Basso.” Named after his well-worn and well-loved bass, the record also helps to pay tribute to one of his idols: Jaco Pastorius.

Mooer Audio has introduced their first clip-on tuner called the CT-01. Made for use with bass and guitar, the unit has a 180° rotatable hinge and a color display for easy visibility.

Sad news to share: Larry Taylor has passed away after a long battle with cancer. He was 77 years old. Nicknamed “The Mole,” Taylor was the founding bassist for Canned Heat and played with the band from 1967 to 1970.

Mike Gordon and Phish have announced a quick jaunt for the fall with seven dates focusing on the East Coast. In other news, Gordon shared a photo of himself with Leo Kottke with the caption “Studio daze” on his Facebook page.

After selling out the initial run in a matter of hours, SUNN O))) and EarthQuaker Devices have teamed up again for a second edition of the Life Pedal. The unit is an octave fuzz and distortion used to make SUNN O)))’s last album, “Life Metal.”

After nearly fourteen years in the band, bassist Frédéric Leclercq has left the ranks of the power metal band DragonForce. The band made an announcement on their Facebook page thanking him for his musical contributions.