Buzz
Peter Hook and The Light to Perform New Order Albums on North American Tour
Peter Hook and The Light are gearing up for a special North American tour this fall in which the group will play the first two albums from the bassist’s previous band New Order. The band will perform both 1981’s Movement and 1983’s Power, Corruption & Lies in their entireties at nine cities across the U.S. and Canada, starting September 10th...
Organizational Skills for Bassists: A Checklist for Getting There
I’ve just spent the past hour tearing apart my room, searching through notebooks and drawers, on top of shelves and beneath the bed, and I still can’t find what I’m looking for. Frantically, I called a friend to create a distraction (secretly hoping that what I’m looking for will magically appear right in front of me), and his response was,...
Damien Langkamer: Funk/Soul Bass Groove Development
Bassist Damien Langkamer put together this funky video to teach us how to build on the groove. (And how about that tone?) Damien shares, “I’m taking a few simple groove ideas and expanding them each time round, to build on the groove. There’s two main ideas in this, a funky melody section and a choppy bridge section, both start off...
Crazy Horse’s Billy Talbot Releases New Album
Billy Talbot, the longtime bassist Neil Young’s backing band Crazy Horse, has just released his latest album with his own band. On the Road to Spearfish is a nine-track album and the band’s second album following the 2004 release, Alive in the Spirit World. Talbot began performing solo in 1999, playing small venues until officially forming the Billy Talbot Band...
Bass of the Week: KR Guitars Ursa
This week we check out the Ursa from KR Guitars, a striking multi-scale bass that’s handmade by luthier Kevin Robertson in Vallejo, California. While the bass can be built with whatever woods are requested, this particular bass caught our eye with its 5A California Claro Walnut top and 5A flame maple back. The rest of the bass’s body is The...
Custom Shop: Revsound
Started in 1983, Revsound is a company that offers handmade bass cabinets. Proprietor David C. Luke’s deep interest in sound and sound production has driven his work to create powerful cabinets with an emphasis on staying lightweight. Luke builds all of the cabs to order in his Effingham, New Hampshire workshop. The RS series includes a 1×10, 2×10, and 4×10...
Alex Bershadsky: Via Dolorosa
Here’s a cool tapping tune from Alex Bershadsky, who employs a constant pulse in his left hand with arpeggios while bringing out a beautiful melody with his right hand.
Primus Reissues “Sailing the Seas of Cheese”
Nearly 22 years to the day, Primus’ second studio album, Sailing the Seas of Cheese is being reissued. Bassist Les Claypool oversaw the restoration project, which has been remixed for the new release. “Musically, it holds up incredibly well. Sonically, it holds up fairly well,” Claypool said about the original album. “There’s some old-style reverbs that are a little bit...
Getting Noticed – Part 1: Your Demo
Q: I’ve reached the point where I know I need to meet new people to get my career up to the next level, but I don’t know where to start. What do you think makes effective networking in the context of being a musician as opposed to an artist who has written songs? How do you know the right person...
Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Omar Hakim & Stanley Clarke: “Cantaloupe Island” (1991)
Back in 1991, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Omar Hakim and Stanley Clarke took the stage at the Jazz à Vienne festival. Here’s the quartet playing Herbie’s tune “Cantaloupe Island” and having a lot of fun with it.
In Memoriam: Trevor Bolder
Trevor Bolder, who played with David Bowie’s backing band Spiders From Mars, has passed away after a battle with cancer. He was 62. Born in Kingston Upon Hull, England, Bolder was a prominent member of the local R&B scene in the ‘60s before replacing Tony Visconti in Bowie’s band. He appeared on the albums Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall...
Reader Spotlight: Spencer Herbert
Meet Spencer Herbert, a bassist who first got stuck in some sort of “enrichment class” for people who wanted to play the guitar, knew better, and got a P Bass. Ten years later, he’s still loving the low end. Spencer is our reader in the spotlight for the week of May 20th, 2013. Bio: I’m a twenty-three year old bass...