Buzz
Jayme Lewis Band: Abby Someone
We recently shared a video from the archives by Jayme Lewis and his band, and it knocked everyone out. Here’s Jayme’s band in a more recent video, performing the tune “Abby Someone” and once again delivering the goods. The tune is on the band’s release, When Will Then Be Now.
Christian McBride Releases New Trio Album, “Out Here”
Christian McBride is keeping busy. The bassist has a new trio and they’ve released his second studio album of the year, Out Here. Joined by pianist Christian Sands and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr., Out Here offers McBride’s smallest group in three years. “It’s a pretty diversified trio,” McBride says. “The real core foundation is hardcore swingin’, blues and the American...
Squier Adds Cabronita Precision and Bass VI Models to Vintage Modified Line
Squier’s Vintage Modified line of basses is getting two new additions with the announcement of the Vintage Modified Cabronita Precision Bass and the Vintage Modified Bass VI. The Cabronita comes in one finish – black, with a single play white pickguard. The bass sports a maple neck with a 9.5?-radius maple fingerboard with 20 medium jumbo frets, and a Fideli’Tron...
MarloweDK Releases “Beginning Slap Bass” for iPad and iPhone
Bassist and educator Thomas Risell – perhaps best known as MarloweDK – has released his “Beginning Slap Bass” lessons in the form of an iPad and iPhone app. Beginning Slap Bass with MarloweDK features 25 licks covering all the fundamentals – slapping, popping, slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, bends, double thumbing and more. Each lick includes four different videos – three set...
George Duke with Byron Miller: “Dukey Stick”, In the Studio 1978
The music community was rocked this week with the passing of the legendary keyboardist George Duke. The phenomenal musician had a long and varied career including work with Cannonball Adderley, Frank Zappa, and more. The list of bassists he worked with is equally inspiring: Stanley Clarke, Christian McBride, John Heard, Alphonso Johnson, Tom Fowler, Louis Johnson, Doug Rauch, Byron Miller...
Newsted Releases Heavy Metal Music
Newsted has built upon their Metal EP with the release of their first full length album, entitled . Fronted by bassist Jason Newsted, the band’s raw grooves and genuine attitude shine through on eleven tracks of unadulterated metal. “I’m doing this because I want to do this,” Newsted told us in an interview earlier this year. “I only do what...
Misa Introduces Tri-Bass MIDI Controller
Australian company Misa is all about enabling live bands to play electronic music, and their new Tri-Bass is a great example of that. The Misa Tri-Bass is a MIDI controller built for use with synthesizers or computers while fundamentally feeling like a bass. It has two main parts: a touch sensitive neck with three “strings” and a touch screen on...
Lesson: Soul/Funk Fingerstyle Bass Groove
In this lesson, we’ll explore some fingerstyle soul/funk with a nice groove in A. As with the previous lesson, I’m making use of open strings to achieve some fast note doubling (this time, A and D). Follow along with the video and this transcription (PDF). For the gear heads: I’m playing a Sandberg California TT MarloweDK Signature bass through a...
ACT: Emin Köklü’s Bass Play-through of “You Owe Us Blood”
Turkish bassist Emin Köklü sent in this video of his recording session for his band ACT’s song “You Owe Us Blood,” and am I glad he did. The hard-hitting metal is underpinned by the bassist’s cutting tone, solid groove and wicked tapping and sweeping techniques. Make sure you check out the breakdown section starting at 2:39 for some cool melodic...
Wayman Tisdale’s “Absolute Greatest Hits” Released
During his “second” career, the late Wayman Tisdale completed nine albums – four of which reached #1 on the jazz charts in the U.S. A new compilation album, The Absolute Greatest Hits, has been released by Artistry Music, featuring twelve tracks from Wayman’s albums. The compilation includes guest appearances by George Duke and Toby Keith. Before Wayman’s musical career, he...
Bass of the Week: Adam “Nolly” Getgood’s G-Spot Basses Temptress
Hold on to your hats. Periphery’s Adam “Nolly” Getgood shared the details of his newest axe from G-Spot Basses called the Temptress, and the name fits the bill. The handmade six-string bass was built by luthier Steve Gammon out of Hollywood, Florida and recently got its debut at one of Periphery’s concerts. Based around a swamp ash body, the Temptress...
Stories Behind the Songs: Will Lee
As a part of the CBS Orchestra, Will Lee’s bass playing is heard by millions of people every week on The Late Show with David Letterman. Millions more listen to him every day thanks to his prolific recording career that spans nearly 40 years and over 1,700 albums of nearly every genre. “What I’ve always loved about my career is...