Buzz
Star & Dagger, Featuring Sean Yseult: FreakTrain
Sean Yseult’s new band Star & Dagger has released a music video for their new song “Freaktrain.” Described by LA Weekly as “the perfect blend of Black Sabbath and Valley of the Dolls,” the groove-heavy band is anchored by Yseult’s huge bass tone that fills out the bottom end while cutting through the mix at the same time.
Les Claypool’s Duo de Twang Announces Summer/Fall 2013 Tour Dates
Les Claypool’s Duo de Twang will be covering the West Coast and Midwest with newly announced tour dates throughout August and October. The acoustic group, consisting of Claypool and guitarist Marc “Mirv” Haggard, will kick things off August 16th at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, California and wrap up the first leg of the tour August 26th in...
Reader Spotlight: Eric “Pedals” Thompson
Meet Eric Thompson, a bassist who goes by the nickname “Pedals”, who keeps busy with a life devoted to music… including owning and operating a store dedicated to (as you may have guessed) effects pedals. One of our favorite parts of Eric’s profile here is the description for one of his bands, quoted by an “old man” who said “it’s...
Ampeg Reintroduces V-4B All-Tube Bass Amplifier
Ampeg has reintroduce the V-4B, a 100-watt all-tube bass amp. Based on the company’s classic amp from the ’70s, the new head is described as offering the tone of an SVT while weighing half as much. The new V-4B’s preamp includes a pair of 12AX7 tubes while the driver has a 12AX7 and one 12AU7, and its power amp contains...
Vulfpeck: Wait for the Moment
Yes, I’m a huge Vulfpeck fan. It starts with bassist Joe Dart, who always seems to find the right bass line and then do something quite unexpected, but it just fits. But truth is, the whole band is just stellar. And fun. From their new release, My First Car, here’s the opening track “Wait for the Moment”, featuring guest vocalist...
Vulfpeck Releases “My First Car”
Regular No Treble readers will instantly recognize the name “Vulfpeck”, thanks in large part to bassist Joe Dart, who first wowed us with the first video we shared of the group. The studio musicians-turned-band has just released their third album, My First Car. As we mentioned in our exclusive track preview last week, the album’s name was inspired by Dart’s...
Motörhead Cuts Wacken Open Air Festival Show Short Due to Lemmy’s Health
Motörhead was forced to cut the band’s set short at this year’s Wacken Open Air festival in Germany after frontman and bassist Lemmy Kilmister fell ill. The band got through six songs of their planned 75-minute show before Kilmister left the stage. Fans reported that the rock legend was looking pale on stage. “I’ve been ill recently,” Kilmister told the...
PercussionTutor: A Look at the Rhythm Reference App
PercussionTutor is an app I am really excited about. While it is actually designed for percussionists, the app and free ebook combine to offer a huge reference for any musician wishing to better understand rhythms and learning how the different percussion parts fit together to produce the groove. In other words, this will help you – as a bassist –...
Eric Czar: Caffeine
When we interviewed Eric Czar last year, he told us that as a 7-string bassist, he’s “survived [his] share of ‘string bashing’”. But Czar is a versatile bassist and composer, adept at pretty much any bass we can imagine. Here he is performing his own tune, “Caffeine” on a 4-string modified Matsomoku Jazz bass copy.
FM Cables Introduces Speakon Series Speaker Cables
FM Cables has introduced the Speakon Series of cables for connecting between amps and speaker cabinets. Featuring heavy duty Neutrik connectors, the cables are built with transparent loudspeaker cable with flexible twin wire made in Germany and protected by a fire retardant sheath. The cables come in three types. The ‘Tour’ Standard has 6mm Squared cable, while the Standard series...
Weekly Top Ten: The Best in Bass for the Week of July 28
Last week was a good one in the land of the low end, including Geddy Lee’s 60th birthday (and the celebratory video that went with it). Here are the top 10 most popular stories, features and videos – decided by you – for the week of July 28 – August 3, 2013. Thanks for reading, commenting and sharing. 1. Federico...
Black Country Communion: Beggarman, Live Over Europe
Though they only lasted a few years, Black Country Communion was a band that really got it right. The supergroup, fronted in part by bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes, had all the right riffs and attitude to bring that classic and elusive perfect rock vibe to the stage. Here’s the group playing “Beggarman” from the DVD Live over Europe.