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...
Gear Watch: Korg Micrometro Metronome
Korg has released the Micrometro, a compact clip-on metronome so you can keep time wherever you go. It uses 39 traditional pendulum settings to set the tempo between 40 and 208 beats per minute. It also has seven time signatures provided, as well as duplet, triplet, and quadruplet patterns. Volume is adjustable, and can be muted for practice with only...
Charlie Haden and Keith Jarrett Album Announced
Charlie Haden and pianist Keith Jarrett will be featured on a recording together for the first time since the break up of the their American Quartet in 1976. The album, entitled Jasmine, will be released in May. The collaboration began in 2007 when the duo were reunited during the making of the documentary Charlie Haden: Rambling Boy. Not only is...
Gear Watch: Digitech JamMan Delay Looper Pedal
Digitech has introduced yet another looping pedal to their JamMan line called the JamMan Delay Looper. Utilizing an SD expansion card, the pedal is capable of storing up to 16 hours of CD-quality audio loops. It also features 16 seconds of stereo delay time, a tap tempo footswitch, and an expression pedal input for changing each of its eight delay...
Ex-Pantera Bassist Rex Brown to Debut New Band
Down and ex-Pantera bassist Rex Brown will be debuting his new band, Arms of the Sun, in Dallas, Texas on April 17. The performance comes as part of the “Basement Reunion” show, which celebrates the hard-rock club, The Basement, which shut its doors for good in 1995. This will mark Rex’s first performance in Dallas in 10 years. Arms of...
Pablo Aslan Releases “Tango Grill”
Pablo Aslan has released a new album entitled Tango Grill, with Zoho Music. The album was recorded in Buenos Aires with a group a top-notch tango and jazz musicians to produce a unique flavor, which is described more as “musical bilingualism” than a fusion. The personnel includes Aslan on bass, Nestor Marconi on bandoneon, Nicolas Ledesma and Abel Rogantini on...
RIP Sean Stewart
Bassist Sean Stewart of the Australian alt-rock band HTRK died last week according to a recent statement by the band’s label, Blast First Petite Records. Though the details of his death have not been released, it is said to have been suicide. He was 29 years old. HTRK (pronounced ‘hate rock’) formed in Melbourne, Australia in 2003. They released their...
Gear Watch: TC Electronic BG500 Combo Amps
TC Electronic is introducing the new BG500 bass combos at the Frankfurt Musikmesse 2010, which runs from March 24th to the 27th. The 500-watt BG500 is available as a 1×15 or 2×10 combo, each equipped with a 1″ tweeter. The BG500 combos share many of the same features as the company’s RH450, including the SpectraComp multi-band compressor and TubeTone control...