Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 836

Former Gov’t Mule bassist Andy Hess will be hitting the road this summer with The Rhythm Devils, featuring Grateful Dead drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann. The band will also showcase Sikiru Adepoju, Davy Knowles, and guitarists Keller Williams and Tim Bluhm, who will trade duties throughout the tour. According to the Rhythm Devils website, the group will “take music...

After a long and frustrating legal battle, Jaco Pastorius’ family have finally regained ownership of his legendary “Bass of Doom”, thanks to Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo. The news comes via a statement on Metallica.com. The bass, which was stolen from a Manhattan park bench in 1986, resurfaced in early 2006 in a New York guitar shop. The owner reportedly refused...

TC Electronic has announced that they will soon be releasing the iPhone version of their revolutionary PolyTune pedal tuner. The new app, which is a 1:1 port of the original, will be available for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. The PolyTune allows players to tune all strings simultaneously by strumming on your bass (or other instrument), even down to...

FEA Labs has unveiled the newest pedal in their product line: the Opti-FET Compressor. The pedal uses a combination of optical elements for compression as well as 100% “class A” FET-discrete amplification for the signal path. The Opti-FET has a side-chain control circuit with a 3-band equalizer and a loop to give you tons of control over your compression. The...

Christian McBride will be hosting an intimate one-on-one conversation with Esperanza Spalding after she gives a performance in an event presented by Jazz House Kids. The two jazz bass stars will also perform together, marking their debut duet performance. The evening’s proceeds benefit Jazz House Kids, an arts enrichment organization created to inspire and motivate children of all backgrounds by...

Sex Pistols founder Glen Matlock will be filling in on bass for the reunion of classic Brit rock band the Faces. The punk legend will be taking the place of original Faces bass player Ronnie Lane, who passed away in 1997. The rest of the reunited band includes original members Ronnie Wood on guitar, drummer Kenney Jones, and keyboardist Ian...

Last month, we reported that Slipknot bassist Paul Gray would join metal supergroup HAIL! for their upcoming European and Asian tour dates. After Gray’s untimely death on May 24th, HAIL! announced that James LoMenzo would fill in on bass. The group released a statement on the situation: “On Monday we were dealt a devastating blow with Paul’s passing two days...

To celebrate 30 years of their music, punk legends Bad Religion have recently released a new live album, 30 Years Live, and are giving it away for free on their website. The Southern California based group, which formed in 1980, took recordings compiled from their spring 2010 tour to build the track list. In an interview with Room Thirteen, bassist...

After pondering which festivals they would play, bassist Phil Lesh and guitarist Bob Weir of Furthur decided to just make their own. The Furthur Festival will take place at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds in Angels Camp, California on May 29th and 30th, with an “Open Aire Soundcheck” scheduled for the 28th. In a throwback to Lesh’s and Weir’s former band,...

This year’s Summer NAMM show in Nashville will include the first ever “Wanna Play Sunday,” which will be open to the public. The event takes place on Sunday June 20th (the last day of NAMM), and will include music education sessions on how to get endorsed, how to set up a home studio, and more. Also on the itinerary are...

Pro Tone Pedals has teamed up with metal bassist Blasko to produce the Blasko Bass Overdrive Pedal. The pedal is designed to be tonally versatile, which is “something Blasko needs as he rips through rock anthems as well as ballads onstage with Ozzy Osbourne.” The Blasko pedal, which is hand made in the USA, has a Baxandall EQ, and features...

Carrie Brownstein, former guitarist for Sleater-Kinney, has announced a bass solo contest on her NPR Blog, Monitor Mix. After receiving bass solos on her voicemail from her friend, she thought “If one bass solo could make my day, how would I feel after hearing 10 bass solos, or 20? More importantly, how would you feel? I bet you would feel...