Buzz
Janek Gwizdala Announces Ultimate Play Alongs App
Practicing will be taken to a whole new level with Ultimate Play Alongs, a new app that will be available for iOS and Android devices. The app, created by bassist Janek Gwizdala and drummer Louie Palmer, is built around a play-along experience with the back catalog of some of the world’s greatest musicians including Mike Stern, Nathan East, John Patitucci,...
Ibanez Introduces Peter Iwers PIB3 5-String Bass
In Flames bassist Peter Iwers has teamed up with Ibanez to release a third signature bass called the PIB3. Featuring a new blood red finish, the company says the new five-string model’s secret weapon is the EQB-IIID 3-band EQ. The mid control is set up to boost at one frequency while cutting at a different frequency to optimize mid-frequency control....
Bass Bash Jam: Victor Wooten, Steve Bailey, J.D. Blair and Derico Watson
Berklee hosted their 2014 Summer Bass Bash recently, and what a bash it was. Here’s one of the highlights from the event with Victor Wooten and Steve Bailey jamming along with drummers J.D. Blair and Derico Watson. Smokin’!
The Wood Brothers Announce Fall Tour Dates
After spending the summer on the festival circuit, The Wood Brothers have announced their own tour that will stretch from September through October. The Americana folk group will kick off their trek at the WorkPlay Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama and spend the two-month outing focusing on the Southeast and Midwest United States. The Wood Brothers is based on the duo...
ADA Amps Introduces Definition Preamp
ADA Amps has unveiled the Definition Preamp, a discrete transistor preamplifier housed in a stompbox format. The pedal is designed to get the most out of instruments with passive magnetic pickups. ADA says the Definition’s high impedance and low capacitance allow for passive pickups to “produce their full dynamic and frequency capabilities without introducing compression, noise or distortion.” The Definition...
Dominic “Forest” Lapointe: Beyond Creation’s “Elusive Reverence” Bass Playthrough
Technical Death Metal band Beyond Creation is getting ready to release their sophomore album, Earthborn Evolution, and bassist Dominic “Forest” Lapointe has dished up a bass playthrough of the first track from the album, “Elusive Reverence.” The left-handed, six-string fretless player tears through the track with deceptive ease. Rather than lay on root notes or double the guitar, Lapointe lays...
Phish Reveal Fall Tour Dates
Phish is continuing their tour in support of their latest release, Fuego, which dropped in June. Their fall tour dates will take them to the West Coast starting in Eugene, Oregon at the Matthew Knight Arena. The outing will also include dates in Washington, Nevada, and California with 3-night residencies at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and the MGM Grand...
Mr. Big Says New Album Set for a September Release
Mr. Big has kept the reunion of its original lineup going and announced it will release a new album in September. Featuring Billy Sheehan on bass, the new album, …The Stories We Could Tell, debuts on September 23. The rest of the classic Mr. Big lineup — the one that produced the band’s massive early 1990s hit, “To Be With...
Profiles in Tone: Francis “Rocco” Prestia
Rocco Prestia has been making the world dance since 1965 when he first joined Tower of Power. His infectious and distinctive 16th note groove became a foundation of fingerstyle funk bass playing that innumerable bassists have been trying to master for decades. Prestia was born and raised in California, where he got into music at an early age. He joined...
Phantom Pop: Atlantic Ave
Phantom Pop bassist Dave Lowenthal sent us the band’s first single from their upcoming album. The tune is “Atlantic Ave”, penned by the bassist. The band is a 5-piece instrumental group from Brooklyn, NY who “combines elements of funk, soul, and R&B with the improvisation of jazz to create their own sound.” “Originally formed by Dave Lowenthal to create an...
Simon Phillips Releases “Protocol II”, Featuring Ernest Tibbs
Famed drummer Simon Phillips, known for his work as both a session player and in Toto, has released his first solo project in 14 years — the jazz/rock/fusion instrumental , featuring Ernest Tibbs on bass. Tibbs is a renowned session player (David Benoit, David Garfield, Pat Kelley and Kevin Toney) who also teaches at the Musician’s Institute. Phillips says he...
Aries Basses Introduces the Aman II Bass
Aries Basses has added a new model to their lineup called the Aman II. The design is brings together elements of two of their existing basses with the front pulling from the Aman I and the semi-acoustic body style of their Conis bass. The Aman II is built with a chambered Mahogany body and spruce top. Its neck is a...