Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 683

Parliament-Funkadelic member Cordell “Boogie” Mosson passed away on April 18th from an unspecified illness. He was 60 years old. Mosson grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, where he was friends with future P-Funk guitarist Garry Shider. The duo eventually joined a band called United Soul, which came to the attention of P-Funk founder George Clinton. Clinton produced several of the...

The Tedeschi Trucks Band has announced that they’ve recruited bass legend Bakithi Kumalo to lay down the low end during their Spring tour dates. The bassist, who first made waves on the classic Paul Simon album Graceland, will be with the group this weekend at the Wanee Festival through the May 3rd performance in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Since original bassist Oteil...

A collaboration between Martin Off and luthier Jozsi Lak, the Off Guitar Design soulbrotha’ bass is unique mix of retro and modern design aesthetics. The bass, which gets its design from the company’s soulsista’ guitar, is handmade by Lak in Germany. Much of the soulbrotha’s construction is optional, from the body wood (alder, swamp ash or mahogany) to the neck...

Janek Gwizdala is staying ahead of his goal of putting out an album every year with the release of Theatre by the Sea. His third record in 18 months, the album features nine tracks of the bassist’s own compositions and lush arrangements performed by a host of heavyweight musicians including Peter Erskine, Mike Stern, Randy Brecker and more. Gwizdala wrote...

Here’s an awesome video of Uruguayan bassist Diego Zecharies playing David Anderson’s Capriccio No. 2 for solo double bass. His rich, thick tone and intensity make the piece sound like it’s played by a full ensemble. Bravo!

Höfner has introduced new “Cavern” versions of their Contemporary and Ignition Series Violin basses at the 2013 Musikmesse in Frankfurt last week. The pickups on the new models are positioned closely together and towards the neck in the Cavern style, similar to Paul McCartney’s original 1961 bass. Each of the entry level basses will be built with the same specifications...

Dave Marks sent us this killer video from one of his fusion gigs, where the band lays into the classic Billy Cobham track “Stratus.” Marks locks into the groove (originally played by Lee Sklar) before the band stretches out for some jams. The bassist then takes a spacey solo at the 8:55 mark, eventually whipping the group into a frenzy...

After playing a handful of shows at the end of last year, The Rolling Stones are continuing to celebrate their 50 years together with new “50 and Counting” tour dates. The trek kicks off May 2nd at the Staples Center in Los Angeles before making its way across the U.S. with a few Canadian dates and skipping across the pond...

Digitech has expanded their looping pedal lineup with introduction of the JamMan Express XT, a pared down pedal built for simplicity. The pedal sports one knob for adjusting the loop level with a footswitch for controlling the looping process. Three colored LEDs display what mode you’re in – Record, Dub, or Play – which are toggled by stepping on the...

Bassist Viktor Lorincz has a great duo with László Peck called B2Men. The two are best friends and grew up together, so naturally they got into music together. Here’s a cool version of Sting’s “Shape of My Heart” featuring the duo on bass and voice.

Paul McCartney has added several U.S. stops to his 2013 “Out There” tour. The trek will stop at seven cities, including McCartney’s first ever concert in Austin, Texas. Macca’s “Out There” performances will be packed with nearly three hours of songs from the bassist’s career from the Beatles to Wings to his solo work. His band consists of keyboardist Paul...

Waterstone Musical Instruments is honoring the work of Jackson Pollock with a new line of guitars and basses named after the influential abstract artist. The instruments feature an abstract finish inspired by the floors of Jackson Pollock’s studio. “Pollock’s studio was a converted barn, where he spread his canvas out flat and danced around it, using rhythmic gestures to apply...