Buzz
Erlend Caspersen: Abhorrent’s “Reward System Malfunction” Playthrough
Prepare yourself: Erlend Caspersen sent us this playthrough of his band Abhorrent’s song “Reward System Malfunction,” and it’s scary good. The song comes from their upcoming album Intransigence, and while the band has a vocalist, this playthrough removes the vocals to focus on the instruments. Caspersen navigates the song with incredible agility moving between lightning fast fingerstyle and slap.
“An Evening of Who Music” Benefit Concert to Feature Geddy Lee and Others
The Who is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, and they’re doing some important work. The band has announced they’ll be performing at a benefit concert on November 11th in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust. The “house band” for the event will include Simon Townshend, Zak Starkey, Pino Palladino, Billy Nicholls, Frank Simes, Loren Gold and John Coury. The...
Weekly Top 10: RIP Jack Bruce, New Basses and Gear, The Top Videos and More
This week’s top 10 list starts with the sad news of Jack Bruce’s passing. The article was shared more than 13,000 times as the bass world honored the musical legend. Reader favorites making this week’s list include new basses from Fender and Hofner, some terrific bass videos, a beauty of the bass of the week and more. Here is the...
Russ Sargeant: Still
It has been way too long since we’ve featured bassist Russ Sargeant. Russ has just completed a recording of his newest tune for bass and vocals, “Still”. Once again, his incredible musicianship shows through. You should also check out “Beauty” – another of Russ’s videos we shared in 2009. Once again, well done, Russ.
“Love Will Tear Us Apart” Re-Issued on Limited-Edition Colored Vinyl
For those of you who just have to have your Joy Division on vinyl — colored vinyl, no less — here’s the for you: “Love Will Tear Us Apart/Leaders of Men.” The limited-edition single, pressed on grey vinyl, is taken from the 1980 Martin Hannett session. (Hannett, who was Joy Division’s producer throughout its career started out in music as...
Devi Ever: FX Announces Big Distortion Sound Machine
Devi Ever: FX has unveiled the Big Distortion Sound Machine, a parallel distortion that combines their Ruiner and Torn’s Peaker fuzz circuits. The company, which is now owned by the same people that run Dwarfcraft Devices, says the pedal was designed for bass guitar but is applicable to guitar or keyboard as well. It is the first release under the...
Simone Masina with Angelica Lubian: Always on the Run (Lenny Kravitz Cover)
Bassist Simone Masina shared this video with us of him performing the Lenny Kravitz tune, arranged for double bass and vocals. The vocalist is Angelica Lubian, and the arrangement is described by Simone as a “cover of cover” – inspired by Adam Ben Ezra’s solo bass version of the tune. Enjoy!
Warner Bros Releases Jaco Pastorius Anthology
In 1981, Jaco Pastorius left Weather Report to pursue work with his Word of Mouth Big Band. He released his second solo effort, Word of Mouth under his new contract with Warner Bros. On December 1st of that year, Jaco celebrated his 30th birthday by hosting a party at a Fort Lauderdale, Florida club. He flew in musicians from the...
Bass Gear Roundup: The Top Gear Stories in October 2014
Half of the top 10 No Treble reader favorite gear stories for the month featured new basses. That, plus a few pedals, amps and accessories make up the top bass gear stories for October, 2014. As always, this list comes with a warning: may cause G.A.S. Thanks for reading, commenting and sharing… and enjoy! 1. Fender Adam Clayton Signature Jazz...
Bass Players to Know: Louis Johnson
A long, long time ago, when I decided to leave the confines of my basement and embark on weekly private lessons, I was lucky enough to find a teacher who opened my eyes and ears to the playing and players of bass. Yes, we focused on technique and theory. And yes, I was a known procrastinator — notorious for squeezing...
Davie504: Halloween Meets Bass
We always love celebrating Halloween bass style. Davie504 can always be counted on for doing something cool. Put that together and you have this Halloween video of various tunes by the talented bassist. Davie asks, “Which songs am I playing? Leave a comment!” And Happy Halloween from all of us.
Paul McCartney’s “New” Gets a New Collector’s Edition
If you enjoyed Paul McCartney’s album, New last year, then you may be up for the collector’s edition of the record from the legendary singer/ songwriter/ bassist. The includes not only the original album, but also a disc featuring unreleased tracks as well as live versions of several songs, including “Queenie Eye” and “Save Us.” Don Letts’ documentary about the...