Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 268

Bassist and composer Avery Sharpe has released a poignant new album documenting the story of African Americans called “400: An African American Musical Portrait.”

Gert Simso of Tüi Instruments builds instruments out of local woods found on his home island of Muhu, including his Muhu bass. With all the interesting woodwork, it may take a minute to realize this is actually a three-string bass!

Four years after releasing a live album, Sammy Hagar & The Circle have released their debut album of original material. “Space Between” contains ten new songs created by the supergroup of Hagar and his longtime musical partner Michael Anthony.

Duff McKagan has released a new track from his upcoming solo album, Tenderness, which comes out May 31st. “Last September” is an ode to the abuse survivors in the #MeToo movement.

Mid Valley FX has expanded their pedal range with the Elevation Fuzz, an original gated fuzz circuit that offers a wide range of tones. The pedal dishes out “huge dirty sounds with octave overtones to sputter velcro tones at lower gain settings.”

Blues prodigy Christone “Kingfish” Ingram has released his debut album, entitled “Kingfish.” The 20-year old guitarist (who started playing bass at 6 years old) recorded the album with eight original songs and four covers. The entire album features session bassist Tommy MacDonald.

Megadeth’s David Ellefson is gearing up to release his second autobiography and a collection of songs from his career in early July. Now he’s announced a new round of his “Basstory” tour to support his works.

R. Low Vaughn Instruments has introduced a new budget model that’s made in the United States. The Panzer series is made by luthier Rob Vaughn in his Boise, Idaho shop with set features to streamline the process and reduce cost.

Tal Wilkenfeld is gearing up for an East Coast tour followed by some dates in Japan later this summer. The bassist/vocalist will be supporting “Love Remains,” which marks her second solo album and her vocal debut.

Barre Phillips has been playing bass for nearly all of his 84 years, and his 1968 album “Journal Violone” is credited as the first ever solo bass record. 51 years later he’s released what he says is his final solo album, “End to End.”

Iconic UK punk band The Damned announced a tour to celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Machine Gun Etiquette.” Bassist Paul Gray, who played the band during their “Black Album” and “Strawberries” era, will once again be holding down the low end.

Form Factor Audio is expanding their line of bass amps with the Bi1000Di, which builds upon their 1,000-watt flagship Bi1000. The new model retains many of the same features with some key differences in the direct output department.