Buzz
Niacin: Blood, Sweat & Beers
Dennis Chambers is on the short list of drummers I’d love to play with, and I’m sure most bass players would agree. Billy Sheehan is one of those bassists lucky enough to do just that, in the band Niacin. Here’s the trio with John Novello on keys performing “Blood, Sweat & Beers.” This one grooves. Oh yeah.
Restored Version of Classic Genesis Concert Film Released
Genesis’ 1981 concert film, , is now available in standalone Blu-ray and DVD editions. While the film has been available to avid Genesis fans as part of the band’s extensive video collection, The Movie Box, and on VHS, this reissue features fully restored footage. Filmed on the Abacab tour, Three Sides Live documents Genesis — guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford, keyboardist Tony...
La Bella Unveils Vapor Shield Treated Bass Strings
La Bella has announced a new type of extended-life string called the Vapor Shield series. Instead of spraying or dipping the string into a coating, the process treats the entire surface of the string with a nucleated polymer vapor. “Using a highly sophisticated Ionic Vapor Process™ developed by Acoustic Science™, proprietary compounds are activated in a glow discharge electromagnetic plasma,...
On Musical Expression and Playing Freely
Q: I’ve been wondering about what people really mean when they speak of “music as a language,” and how this applies to improvising. When I take a solo, I feel like I’m just running the same patterns over and over again and never really doing anything different from song to song. What thoughts do you have about this? A: This...
Before Yellow: Following The Signs
Before Yellow bassist Johannes Pehrson sent us this video of their new tune, “Following The Signs.” Featuring vocalist Anna Schonebeck, Pehrson said the song was recording using only a 6-string bass, drums and vocals. Great tune and sound from this trio.
Suzi Quatro Releases 4-disc Career Retrospective Box Set
Many Americans got their first look at singer/songwriter/bassist Suzi Quatro when she appeared on the hit TV show “Happy Days” several times between 1977 and 1979 as rock-and-roll singer Leather Tuscadero. But the Detroit native, while relatively unheralded in the U.S., was already a superstar in Europe, and had number 1 hits in the UK. She didn’t top the charts...
Reader Spotlight: Ron Jaworski
When I first saw this submission for Reader Spotlight, I did a double take… Ron Jaworski? Turns out the ex-Eagle QB is not a bassist (at least that we’re aware of). This Ron Jaworski is, and we loved his story. Ron has a pretty crazy day job, but manages to make time for his band – a band whose name...
Bass on a Budget: 9 Basses Under $500
Our third entry in the “Basses on a Budget” series includes basses we’ve covered between August, 2013 and August, 2014, with a price tag of $500 or less. As we said previously: This is not a “best bass under $500? list – we don’t like those lists much anyway. We’ll leave that up to you decide. Of course, if you...
Petros Klampanis: Minor Dispute
Bassist Petros Klampanis is working on his next album and has released this awesome video for the title track. The group mixes jazz, world music, and chamber music into a beautifully organic style of music. Klampanis is currently raising money for his album on Kickstarter.
New Exhaustive 27-Disc Set Details the 1973/74 King Crimson Live Experience
Everything one could possibly want from mid-1970s King Crimson has been compiled on the massive collection, . The exhaustive 27-disc set pretty much presents the material created by the 1973/74 version of King Crimson — particularly in its live shows — from almost every conceivable audio angle available on CD or DVD/Blu-Ray. The multi-CD and DVD set, which will only...
Bass of the Week: Naked Bass Hitchhiker 5-String
Luthier Bill Woger decided to make the jump to create his own business last year called Naked Bass and Guitar Company. His fourth bass ever built is the Hitchhiker 5-string, and it’s No Treble’s Bass of the Week. The Hitchhiker is a neck-through design built around an awesome 9-piece multi-laminate neck consisting of maple, mahogany, and wenge. Its body wings...
Avoiding Injury: Five Tips for Bass Players
As bassists, our health is important, and paying attention to our routine is paramount to avoiding injury. Here are five tips to keep in mind to staying healthy and injury free. 1. Stay Loose Keep those joints flexible and muscles moving. Excessive tension is the enemy. Upright players tend to have problems in shoulders and upper back, followed by issues...