Wailers Celebrate 40 Years of “Family Man” With Tour
The Wailers, who played with Bob Marley during his lifetime, are on the road in a trek that takes them across the U.S. The legendary reggae band is on tour in celebration of bassist Aston “Family Man” Barrett, who co-founded the band and has stayed with the group for 40 years. It was Barrett’s musical leadership that helped Marley and...
Slayer Announces Rescheduled Dates After Araya’s Surgery
In early January, we reported that Slayer frontman Tom Araya was scheduled to have back surgery, and that the band’s American and Canadian Carnage Tour had to be rescheduled. Araya had his procedure on May 20th, and the masters of metal have announced their make-up dates, which will occur after a European trek. In his first interview since going under...
Melissa Auf der Maur Releases “Out of Our Minds”
Ex-Hole and Smashing Pumpkins bassist Melissa Auf der Maur has just released her new album/multimedia project, Out of Our Minds. The project consists of the music album, music video, film, and comic. You can order variations on the package at Melissa’s web site. “OUT OF OUR MINDS | OOOM began as a song,” Auf Der Maur writes on her web...
Three-Bass Supergroup Freebass Releases EP
Freebass, the three-bass supergroup hailing from Manchester, has released their debut EP entitled Two Worlds Collide. The band consists of Peter Hook (Joy Division/ New Order, Gary “Mani” Mounfield (The Stone Roses/Primal Fear), and Andy Rourke (The Smiths). The album also features guest vocals by Tim Burgess of the Charlatans, Pete Wylie of the Mighty Wah, and Howard Marks. The...
Bakithi Kumalo Joins Simon and Garfunkel Tour
South African bassist extraordinaire Bakithi Kumalo will be touring with folk duo Simon and Garfunkel in their North American ‘Old Friends’ tour. The tour focuses mostly in Canada, with about seven U.S. dates. Kumalo joined Paul Simon for his classic 1986 album Graceland, and has worked with him since. Kumalo has also worked with many pop and jazz musicians, including...
Christian McBride Launches New Radio Show
Jazz bass legend Christian McBride will be hosting a new weekly radio show on Sirius XM’s Real Jazz channel. The show, entitled “The Lowdown: Conversations with Christian,” premieres today at 1 PM ET. The format of the show takes place on stages in jazz clubs around the country while McBride interviews and performs with special guests. The first episode features...
Slipknot’s Chris Fehn to Play Bass for Will Haven
Will Haven has announced that Slipknot percussionist Chris Fehn will be filling in on bass after Mike Martin left the group to take care of his family. In a statement, the band said, “We have found our new bass player and we are more than excited about it. Our long-time brother and close friend Chris Fehn has joined the family....
Anthrax’s Frank Bello Helps Donate to NYC Schools
Anthrax’s Frank Bello recently teamed up with Fender and the nonprofit organization Little Kids Rock to donate electric basses and amps to 15 New York City public city schools. Bello, who was born and raised in the Bronx, showed students a good time with a jam session and by answering all of their rock questions. Little Kids Rock is a...
Duff McKagan Officially Working with Jane’s Addiction
Rumors of Duff McKagan’s involvement with Jane’s Addiction have finally been confirmed by guitarist Dave Navarro through his Twitter account. Navarro posted a picture of the band rehearsing with Duff on bass, with the caption, “Another day of writing and creating in the studio with Jane’s Addiction!” Rumors spread that Duff would be joining Jane’s Addiction even before original bassist...
Gear Watch: DPA 4099B Upright Bass Mic
DPA Microphones have announced the newest addition to their 4099 clip mic series with the 4099B for upright bass. The new model sports a clip design which attaches to the E and G- strings below the bridge and a gooseneck design for optimum mic placement. The 4099B is a condenser microphone featuring a supercardioid polar pattern to enhance gain before...
Green Day Announce Summer Tour Dates
Mike Dirnt and Green Day will be coming back to North America for summer tour dates after they complete their overseas trek which wraps up in July. The group is still touring in support of their latest Grammy award winning album, 21st Century Breakdown. A musical inspired and featuring the music of Green Day will be opening on Broadway on...
RIP John Ciambotti
John Ciambotti, bass player for the band Clover, passed away this week at the age of 67 from an abdominal aneurysm. Ciambotti and Clover backed up Elvis Costello on his debut album, My Aim is True, and reunited with him in 2007 to play the album live at fundraisers in San Francisco. He also found session work with artists including...