Buzz
Errick Lewis and Michael Manring Jam
So this video was apparently the first time bassists Errick Lewis and Michael Manring performed together. And they just decided to improvise it all the way through. Sweet.
Dave Klein Leaves Black Flag
Black Flag’s personnel is in flux once again as bassist Dave Klein announced he’s quit the band to rejoin punk band They Stay Dead. “I guess I should OFFICIALLY (puns!) say that I’m no longer playing with [Black Flag],” Klein wrote on his Facebook page. The news came the same day that Rolling Stone published a story stating the band...
Tonecraft Audio Launches with 363 Tube Direct Box
Tonecraft Audio launched this year with their flagship product, the Tonecraft 363 Tube Direct Box. The interface is made for all instruments that use a 1/4″ connection, but the company’s designer Ryan Feves notes that it was created with a slant towards upright and electric bass. “While the DI is not exclusively for bass, [Jon Erickson] and I are both...
Adam Stevens: All Bass Cover of MAGIC!’s “Rude”
When Adam Stevens first heard the tune “Rude” by Reggae/pop group MAGIC!, he said he couldn’t get the song out of his head. A week later, he recorded this all bass cover of the tune. And that makes it just a little sweeter, to us at least.
OoN Releases “Polaris”
Electric bass and bassoon may seem like a strange duo setting, but OoN is proof that the instruments blend quite nicely. The group, which consists of the fabulous Ariane Cap on 6-string bass and bassoonist Paul Hanson, has released their debut album, . Named for the North Star, the album showcases a range of styles, from jazz to rock to...
Flea Makes Statement on Red Hot Chili Peppers Super Bowl Halftime Show
The Red Hot Chili Peppers received a lot of heat for their performance during the Super Bowl halftime show, and not in a good way. Social media was buzzing after a picture of Flea’s unplugged bass from the show proved the band was only miming to a pre-recorded version of “Give It Away.” After a few days of outrage, Flea...
New Steps Ahead: “Wishing Well”, with Richard Bona
What Richard Bona can do with a bass is pretty much supernatural. Here’s New Steps Ahead performing one of Mike Stern’s tunes, “Wishing Well,” which features Stern and Bona prominently before the rest of the band kicks in. That band also includes Mike Mainieri on vibes, Bill Evans on sax, and Steve Smith on drums. So so good.
Sunn o))) and Ulver Team Up for “Terrestrials”
Metal drone band Sunn O)))’s collaboration with Norwegian metal/heavy chamber group Ulver, , is summed up in this passage from Drowned in Sound: “This might be the closest you can get to ‘new age’ while remaining a heavily tattooed riff-worshipper.” Bassist Greg Anderson of Sunn O)))’s augmented bass feedback is featured on the “Western Horn” movement of the three-movement record....
Bass of the Week: CG Lutherie Sequel 5-String Hollow Body Fretless
I got a tip to check out CG Lutherie, a French bass builder, and I’m glad I did. The company’s Sequel bass is an interesting take on a hollow body with multiple sound holes on the bass side of the instrument. This 5-string fretless Sequel is built with a black limba body a neck of garapa and rosewood. It’s tied...
Radial Announces Bassbone OD Pedal
Radial Engineering has updated their ToneBone series of pedals with the Bassbone OD, a bass preamp with two input channels and a built-in overdrive. The new pedal builds on the original Bassbone with several new features in addition to the overdrive such as a mute footswitch and the option to keep the effects loop active at all times. Each channel...
Unidentified Flying Project: There is a Dream, with Pino Palladino
Songwriter Simon Wood Harris has been busy working on a project with some awesome musicians and goals. Described as “the pursuit of dynamic energy, the hope of the edge of perfection and the promise of an insight into the minds of the great musicians,” SWH’s Unidentified Flying Project has put out their first video. “[I] started to consider the idea...
The Funky Knuckles Return With “Meta-Musica”
Jazz fusion band The Funky Knuckles has a true Dallas sound, according to bassist and band leader Wes Stephenson. “It’s the feel for funk, hip-hop and gospel, to which we add the elements of jazz and improvisation,” Stephenson tells The Dallas Morning News. The second album from the group composed of seasoned music industry sidemen (Stephenson has performed with Erykah...