Billy Cox and Bootsy Collins to Join Experience Hendrix Tour 2014
The Experience Hendrix Tour is back for its eighth run, and this year is set to be another spectacular show. Leading the charge is bassist Billy Cox who will be a constant member of the tour’s rhythm section. Cox is the only musician, apart from Hendrix himself, who was a member of both the Band of Gypsys and the Jimi...
Von Dauer Launches Bass Line with Art Bass M1
Von Dauer, a newly formed German bass brand, has announced the launch of their first bass called the Art Bass model M1. The instrument is handmade in Germany in small production runs. The M1 riffs on the traditional J shape with a whitewood body accented by an inset stained ash scratchplate that’s sits flush with the top. Its body is...
Michael Thurber: Story of the Bass
Michael Thurber gets a huge thumbs up in our book. As a co-founder of cdza, he’s been creating musical video experiments, including this awesome all bass Ace of Bass medley. The group now has a series called “The Instrumentals” in which they chronicle the history of different instruments. Here, Thurber rips through 45 songs on nine basses to tell the...
Les Claypool’s Duo de Twang Announces Debut Album
Les Claypool is never one to stand still, a fact that is evidenced by his many musical groups. Now his latest project, Les Claypool’s Duo de Twang, has announced that their debut album Four Foot Shack will be released on February 4th via ATO Records. Claypool is joined by longtime friend and guitarist Bryan Kehoe for the group. Together the...
Project RnL with Or Lubianiker: Another One
Or Lubianiker joined forces with Project RnL to make the band’s very first live video. The band describes their music as a “strange, yet mysteriously appealing blend” of genres, and we completely agree. “Another One” is a bass-heavy tune and starts with a duet between Lubianiker and vocalist Ray Livnat. The rest of the group kicks in and things take...
Ashdown Now Shipping Nate Mendel NM2 Double Distortion Pedal
Ashdown is now shipping the latest addition to their Artist series effects pedals, the NM2 Double Distortion Pedal. Designed in collaboration with Foo Fighters four-stringer Nate Mendel, the stompbox is a stereo pedal with two separate distortions that can be routed to different amps or combined. It has a single input and two outputs – one for each overdrive. Both...
Adam Neely and Justina Soto: I Didn’t Know
Bassist Adam Neely has started experimenting with new sounds and genres with his bass. “I have been influenced recently Thundercat and Squarepusher and love the idea of melding virtuosic bass playing with modern electronic dance textures,” he explains. In “I Didn’t Know,” Neely teams up with Indie/soul singer Justina Soto to deliver a catchy groove and thick textures in a...
Justin Morell Dectet Releases “Subjects and Complements”, Featuring Damian Erskine
Guitarist/composer Justin Morell’s new album Subjects and Compliments is an experimental exploration of the relationship between the jazz and classical idioms. Compositionally, Morell reaches into the past with fugue forms on some tracks while also blending in room for solos on others. The ensemble itself fits somewhere between a big band and jazz combo and chamber group with instruments ranging...
Elvis Presley with Jerry Scheff: “Suspicious Minds”, Live 1970
We recently featured Jerry Scheff in a new series, Profiles in Tone. In that interview, Jerry shared insights on how he got his tone. While I was researching for the interview, I found this clip from a 1970 concert with Elvis Presley in Las Vegas. The whole band is cooking, but Scheff’s bubbling yet muscular bass line really brings the...
Nufutic, Featuring Jeroen Paul Thesseling, Releases Debut Track
Seven-string fretless bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling has released the first track from his new band Nufutic entitled “Dark Full Moon.” The band, formed by Thesseling and Sadist guitarist Tommy Talamanca, blends metal and fusion with plenty of awesome bass lines. “We had ideas that we couldn’t use in bands we played in in the past, and we thought it could...
Bass of the Week: Becker/Martian Basses Mantis 4-String
My Facebook friend Dusty Mulholland shared a picture of a Becker/Martian Bass a couple weeks ago, and I’m glad he did. It led me to find this fine specimen of a bass, known as the Mantis – a bass with a body shape that you might expect from an other-worldly bass company. While they can be made to order, this...
Studio Jams with Leland Sklar: Cissy Strut
Leland Sklar recently took part in an episode of Studio Jams, an online series that brings together different legendary musicians to jam on songs and see what happens. The rest of the band includes saxophonist Najee, guitarist Joe Jewell, drummer Rayford Griffin and David Garfield on keyboards. The group decided to jam out the classic Meters song, “Cissy Strut.” “These...