Les Claypool & Sean Lennon Collaborate on “Monolith of Phobos”
Primus bassist Les Claypool and Sean Lennon began to jam together in 2015 when Lennon’s band, Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, opened for Primus, and that musical connection spawned an album: The Claypool Lennon Delirium’s Monolith of Phobos. “I use the metaphor that a musical interaction or jam is a conversation, and the best conversations are the ones that...
The Melvins Have All The Bassists They Need on Latest Album
The Melvins have gone through a lot of bass players over the years. So, on its latest album, Basses Loaded, the band decided to go for broke and feature six different bassists. Some, like Jeff Pinkus (Butthole Surfers), Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle/Fantomas), Jared Warren (Big Business) and Dale Crover, have appeared on Melvins albums before and perhaps will again. While...
Aidan Hampson Transcribes Prince, MJ, and Aerosmith for Bass
Top bass transcriptionist Aidan Hampson has another bunch of downloadable transcription books available — Michael Jackson: Bad, Best of Prince and Best of Aerosmith for Bass. Hampson notes that the Bad transcriptions complete his Quincy Jones trilogy. “There are some fantastic basslines here from the likes of Nathan East and Greg Phillinganes. This is the first time that hits like...
Fountains of Wayne Bassist/Songwriter Produces The Monkees’ 50th Anniversary Release
The Monkees’ first album in almost 20 years is part of something bigger – the band’s 50th anniversary celebration and tour. Good Times! features songs written by the three remaining members of the band originally assembled for a 1960s television show — Mickey Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork. The remaining original member, Davy Jones, died in 2012 after suffering...
Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals Announce Tour Dates
Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals crafted a new album after reforming for a 2015 tour, and now, the band, featuring the inimitable Juan Nelson on bass, is touring behind that album, Call It What It Is. The Call It What It Is Tour kicks off June 23 at Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington, and wraps up Dec. 4 at...
E Street Band Bassist Tallent Makes Solo Debut
Garry Tallent, the longtime bassist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, has released his first solo album, Break Time. However, on this record, Tallent handles the guitar work, vocals, percussion, and “various silly noises.” The bassist this time around is none other than Dave Roe, the prolific Nashville bassist known for working the legendary Johnny Cash. Roe plays standup bass...
Thumbscrew’s Latest Release Benefits From Residency
Jazz trio Thumbscrew, featuring double bassist Michael Formanek, honed the music for its latest album, Convallaria, at the Pittsburgh residency program City of Asylum. “I’ve done some composition residencies working on my own. But we were all there together, working on music every day, trying things out. I miss that from my younger days,” Formanek said of the residency spent...
Two Full 1970 Shows from Frank Zappa Released in “Road Tapes” Series
Not many full shows from Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention are available from mid-1970, making the Road Tapes, Venue #3 package a special one. The set includes two complete July 5, 1970 shows from Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At the time, Jeff Simmons handled bass for the Mothers, which also included Flo & Eddie, George Duke,...
Tiger Army Enlists Nashville Bassist Extraordinaire for Latest Album
Psychobilly band Tiger Army is sporting some serious bass cred. The group’s new album, V •••, features the work of Nashville bassist Dave Roe (Johnny Cash, Sturgill Simpson, Dwight Yoakam, Vince Gill, Loretta Lynn and a host of others). It’s the band’s first studio effort since 2007’s Music from Regions Beyond. The group also added one of the world’s best...
New Eric Clapton Album Features Old Collaborators
Bassist Dave Bronze, who appeared on Eric Clapton’s 1994 and 1998 albums From the Cradle and Pilgrim, has re-teamed with the guitar great for Clapton’s latest studio record, I Still Do. The new album featuring Bronze (Robin Trower, Art of Noise, Procol Harum, Dr. Feelgood) sees Clapton working with another old collaborator, producer Glyn Johns, who was at the helm...
Tom Petty’s Mudcrutch Releases Second Album
Mudcrutch, Tom Petty’s band before the Heartbreakers, has released its second album, 2, more than 40 years after the band’s 1975 breakup. Mudcrutch can almost be seen as an incubator for Petty’s later band, including future Heartbreakers Mike Campbell (guitar) and Benmont Tench (keyboards). Both men, and Petty, are part of the current incarnation of Mudcrutch, which reformed and released...
Boris Kozlov Releases Album as Bandleader
Two-time Grammy Award-winner Boris Kozlov has released his debut album as a bandleader: Conversations At The Well. The New York-based bassist, who originally hails from Russia, performs on the record with guitarist David Gilmore (Steve Coleman and Five Elements) and drummer Rudy Royston. The album was recorded on Feb. 16, 2016, in Brooklyn. Conversations at the Well is available on...