Buzz
Cooperstand Announces Duropro Line of Bass Stands
The Cooperstand has a new look with the introduction of the Duropro line. Built with industrial grade ABS composite, the colorful instrument stands are based of the company’s Ecco-G model and offer a flexible yet durable design. The Cooperstand supports basses, acoustic and electric guitars, ukulele, mandolins and more, while folding down to fit into gig bags. Colors include blue,...
Isolated James Jamerson: I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” wouldn’t have amounted to much without the iconic bass line we’re able to recognize without hearing anything else. To prove that, here’s the isolated bass, featuring the incredible bass line by James Jamerson. Of course, like all tracks from Motown in that era, there’s plenty of leakage from some of the other...
Duesenberg Celebrates Eagles’ 40th Anniversary with Signature Bass
Forty years ago, The Eagles began their career with their self-titled debut album. During the four decades since, the band has earned six Grammys, sold over 120 million albums worldwide, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Anchored by bassist Timothy B. Schmidt, the Eagles celebrated the anniversary by teaming up with Duesenberg to...
Primus Kicks Off West Coast Tour and Announces Tour Poster Artists
Primus is now on tour on the US west coast, which kicked off yesterday with the band’s first visit to the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. The two-week tour makes its way up the west coast from there to many Primus-favorite spots such as Eugene, Seattle, and Vancouver, plus some new ones, including Spokane and Grand Junction. Fishbone will...
Janek Gwizdala Band: Live in London
Amazingly great stuff here, with a “Dave Marks bootleg” video of bassist Janek Gwizdala and his band performing live back in 2009. The band also includes Jojo Mayer on drums, Oli Rockberger on keys and Auden Waage on trumpet. Love the way this one starts out. What am I saying? I love it all.
Darkest Hour Bassist Switch is Official
Aaron Deal has officially replaced Paul Burnette as the full-time bassist for Darkest Hour, according to a statement on the band’s website. Burnette, who started a hiatus in August, is parting amicably to join Iron Reagan. “It’s with a heavy heart that we announce the official departure of long time friend and bassist, Paul Burnette,” the band’s statement read. “Paul’s...
Ibanez Introduces New Fretless SR Bass Models
Ibanez is now offering fretless versions of their SR370 and SR375 models. Aimed at providing fretless basses at a cost-effect price point, the company chose to start with the SR370 due to its maple body which they explain lends itself seamlessly to a fretless version. The SR370F and SR375F are 4- and 5-string basses, respectively, and are built with slim...
Getting to Know Your Bass: Part 1 – Tone Controls
Last night, I got to experience a true musical treat: the Tedeschi Trucks Band at the historic Ryman auditorium in Nashville. The band is somewhat of a super-group of talent and each player has a distinctive voice that contributes to the overall awesomeness of the music. Listening to players like Oteil Burbridge and Derek Trucks, I witnessed first-hand how much...
Weather Report: Young and Fine, Live (1978)
Here’s my favorite Weather Report line-up, performing at a concert in Offenbach, Germany on September 29, 1978. Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, and Peter Erskine doing what the band always seemed to be able to do with perfection. Or as Zawinul described it, “everybody solos and nobody solos”. Jaco does it all here – the slides, the funk, the...
Jan-Olof Strandberg Releases “Made in Finland” with Michael Manring
Finnish bassist Jan-Olof Strandberg has released his seventh album as a leader entitled Made In Finland. The new effort also includes contributions from fellow bass heavyweight Michael Manring, along with keyboardist Kimmo Tapanainen, saxophonist Risto Salmi, drummer Kimmo Pörsti and guitarists Matias Kupiainen and Petteri Hirvanen. Included in the package is an hour long DVD with live studio performances by...
Bass of the Week: GMR Bassforce NT
While checking out different luthiers’ websites, I came across the GMR Bassforce NT: a neck-through version of their flagship model. Based out of the UK, GMR’s Bassforce is proof of their constant work. “The shape is seen on Bassforce is a case of evolution of early models which started coming out from the workshop nearly 30 years ago,” explains GMR’s...
Owen Biddle’s Mister Barrington: Rawzz
Since leaving The Roots in August, bassist Owen Biddle has been focusing on his project, Mister Barrington. Here’s a video from their latest album, II, for the song “Rawzz.” The trio’s experimental sound mixes electronica with hip hop and lots of crazy keyboard sounds.