Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 779

New tracks from Christian McBride’s upcoming big band record, The Good Feeling are available for streaming. Due September 27th, the album comes as the Christian McBride Big Band’s debut and will feature a mix of standards as well as the bassist’s original tunes arranged for the large ensemble. McBride fans will revel in the variety of songs picked from throughout...

Korg has introduced the MA-1 Solo Metronome, a device capable of audible beat keeping, rhythm training and tuning, via a chromatic pitch source. Adjustable from 30 to 252 beats per minute, the MA-1 features a swinging metronome style needle display with on-screen triangles to inform which beat you’re on or how far into a pattern you are. Tempo can be...

The Smashing Pumpkins, anchored by bassist Nicole Fiorentino, have announced an October tour of the U.S. The 12-city trek will focus on intimate venues spanning coast to coast and serve as a warm up for 2012, which will also see the release of a new album, Oceania. Oceania will be the group’s first full-length release with Fiorentino, who joined the...

Ra Ra Riot bassist Mathieu Santos has released his debut solo album, Massachusetts 2010. Driven by simple yet catchy bass riffs, the album was written in Santos’ home state and includes a new arrangement of the “Massachusetts”, which was the first song he wrote by himself entirely. The tracks have a very open feel, with Santos’ lines and punchy, indie...

As fans eagerly await their first album in five years, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have announced that their August 30th show in Mexico City, Mexico will be broadcast to movie theaters around the world. The show will be the first and only performance of I’m With You, but will also include a selection of hits from throughout their career....

Don’t you love it when you stumble upon an old favorite song, and the bass player is just killing it? Here’s Brad Campbell with Janis Joplin laying down some melodic and groovy bass lines while the icon does her thing. Ya dig?

Bassist Bryan Beller has teamed up with guitar virtuoso Guthrie Govan and drummer Marco Minnemann to form The Aristocrats, a rock/fusion instrumental trio of epic proportions. The group has announced that their debut album will hit shelves September 13th, with a three-week tour of the East Coast and Canada to follow. Beller broke the news in his e-newsletter. “The good...

Shawn May of May Custom Basses started playing as a teen and got interested in building after a chance visit to the local library. Inspired by the distinguished luthiers who came before him, he eventually turned his interests into a business. Intrigued with exotic and “intense” looking woods, May focuses on creating one-of-a-kind instruments for each of his customers. We...

Kustom Amplification has introduced the KXB500 bass amp, a no-nonsense amp built for a big sound while staying compact. The amp is rated at 500 watts and has a total of five control knobs, and weighs in at five pounds. The KXB500’s input stage accommodates for a range of signal levels features a clip LED and mute switch. Tone controls...

In preparation of the upcoming soundtrack release from his audiobook, The Music Lesson, Victor Wooten is giving away free downloads of a track called “Lesson Prelude”. The track is a beautiful rendition of his song “The Lesson,” with a guitar doubling the melody. The full soundtrack will be available for download starting September 20th, but the Woot Crew has something...

Bernhard Lackner has released his third album, Stories from Home. The Austrian-born bassist explains the album came to him after getting song ideas while visiting his native country. Besides a wealth of musical talent on the release, including Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez, Jeff Coffin and Derico Watson, the album was co-produced by fellow Nashville bass ace Adam Nitti. Lackner flew...

Marhsall Grant, the bassist in Johnny Cash’s original backing duo The Tennessee Two, has passed away at the age of 83. Grant was instrumental in Cash’s sound and success, as he also served as Cash’s road manager until 1980. Grant’s playing became an integral role in the “boom-chicka-boom” sound, which shaped a whole style of country and rockabilly music. Born...