Buzz
Viaceslav Svedov: “Look Around” All Bass Cover
Viaceslav Svedov is back with a new all-bass cover. This time, the versatile bassist takes on Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Look Around”. Complete with the classic Viaceslav bass faces.
BassUp! 2012
BassUp! is returning for 2012 this year on November 10th. Held in Atlanta, Georgia, the annual bass festival will focus on solo bass with performances by players from around the country. Bassists for the event include Trip Wamsley, Edo Castro, Darren Michaels, Scott Fernandez, Myron Bennell Carroll, Aaron Gibson, Brittany Frompovich, Russ Rodgers, Craig Shaw, Luke Putney, and Christopher “C3”...
New Details Revealed on Atoms For Peace Debut Album
Atoms For Peace have released new details on their highly anticipated debut album, which they first announced last year. The band revealed the album title, AMOK, as well as the track listing. The exact release date, however, is still left at “early next year”. The supergroup – comprised of Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, Radiohead singer Thom Yorke, and...
Playing Fast (and Cleanly): A Discussion for Bass Players
Q: When I hear you playing I think how amazing your technique is and the way you apply it to whatever you want to say through your bass. In the past I didn’t mind about the sound of the notes I was getting. I tried to play fast and didn’t really see or hear what the hell I was doing....
BassGirl: Spain
It has been a while since we featured a video of the bassist known as BassGirl. This young bassist just keeps getting better and better with each video too. Here’s a recent video of BassGirl performing Chick Corea’s “Spain”. Also cool: her dad is the drummer. It is so nice to see a young, up-and-coming bassist appreciating great music from...
Reader Spotlight: Chris Lomas
Meet Chris Lomas, a bass player with nearly 40 years experience hailing from Stourbridge UK. Chris is an active player who currently plays an interesting mix of music, from semi-acoustic roots to power blues to a “muscular sound reminiscent of the floor filling music of New Orleans”. Chris is our player in the spotlight for the week of November 6,...
Dwarfcraft Introduces The PitchGrinder
Dwarfcraft has unveiled the PitchGrinder, a new sequenced pitch shifter that will interest fans of exotic effects. The PitchGrinder, which is their first digital pedal, “smashes” your signal down to 8 bits before shifting it anywhere from an octave down to two octaves up. The onboard sequencer has 8 steps with corresponding knobs to control the amount of pitch shifting...
Snarky Puppy: Thing of Gold
Check out this Snarky Puppy video featuring the tune “Thing of Gold”, from their groundUP release. It takes a bit for the bass to kick in, but once it does, Michael League makes it groooooooove.
Nathan Navarro Releases Debut Album, “They Came From the Sky”
Nathan Navarro has released his debut album, featuring 11 original tracks showcasing the bassist’s unique style. They Came from the Sky ranges from raging dubstep to ambient grooves to bouncy solo bass, with guest appearances by vocalist Dylan Patrello and guitarist Annie Shred. “During the writing process of They Came From the Sky I was inspired by considering the human...
Clutch Working on New Album, Announce Tour Dates
Hard rock outfit Clutch is readying their next release entitled Earth Rocker, which is being produced by Machine and will drop in March 2013. Fans can check out the album’s progress via a website dedicated to updates. Bassist Dan Maines checked in with a short video interview talking about the band’s approach. “The approach was… not to overthink the songs...
Enclosure Tone Exercises for Bassists
One way to give more interest to your improvisations is to add enclosure tones to otherwise simple note choices. Enclosure tones are two tones which “enclose” (i.e. one higher, one lower) another note. Generally, but not always, the note which gets “enclosed” is a chord tone. For example, if we begin with the root of a C7 chord: …and precede...
Rob Smith: Solo Bass Arrangement of The Beatles’ “In My Life”
“In My Life” is one of the most touching Beatles songs, and Rob Smith brings that passion and soul to his solo bass arrangement. Rob really nails the bridge with some awesome two-handed tapping.