Buzz
Witch Mountain’s Self-Titled Album Features Reinvigorated Band
Just over three years ago, Witch Mountain was at a turning point. Their lead singer and bassist left the band following the release of Mobile of Angels, but the core duo of guitarist Rob Wrong and drummer Nate Carson soldiered on. They quickly recruited vocalist Kayla Dixon and bassist Justin Brown in 2015. Instead of jumping into the studio again,...
Old Blood Noise Endeavors Introduces the Alpha Haunt Fuzz Pedal
Old Blood Noise Endeavors has released the Alpha Haunt Fuzz, a pedal that they say offers a range of fuzz textures “from open overdrives to squashed sputters.” It has controls for fuzz gain, compression, bias, and tone for dialing in your sound. The fuzz has a switchable range while the tone control has voices for flexibility. Other features include a...
Mr. DanZ: Butterfly
We first featured Mr. DanZ five years ago, with their great cover of “Proto Cosmos.” Here’s the band, featuring bassist Ben Shepherd, performing “Butterfly” by Herbie Hancock and Bennie Maupin. Ben adds something special to the tune with the use of a vocoder.
Megadeth Reissues “Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good! – The Final Kill”
Megadeth’s iconic album Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good! has once again been reissued in a new package called “The Final Kill.” The band’s debut album has been newly remixed by Mark Lewis (Trivium, Devil Driver, Whitechapel) with ten bonus tracks including live cuts and the original 1984 “Skull Beneath The Skin” demo. The original lineup of Dave...
Fodera Unveils the Masterbuilt Butterfly Bass
Fodera has revealed the latest in their top of the line Masterbuilt series with the Butterfly. The one-of-a-kind bass is inspired by the company’s butterfly themed models and uses the Imperial body shape as a “canvas.” “Using over 200 pieces of varying natural materials such as Gold Pearl, Mother of Pearl, Black Pearl, and various colored stone, each piece was...
Lake Street Dive: Baby Don’t Leave Me Alone With My Thoughts
Lake Street Dive is back with another live performance of a tune from their new album, Free Yourself Up. Here’s “Baby Don’t Leave Me Alone With My Thoughts”, once again featuring the great bass lines by Bridget Kearney.
W-Music Distribution Introduces RockCare StringJet 64
Warwick’s W-Music Distribution has introduced a new string cleaner called the RockCare StringJet 64. Useful on six-string guitars and four-string basses, the gadget has microfiber cleaning pads on a hinge to wipe down both sides of your strings evenly. The pads can be used with or without a cleaning solution and can be washed for reuse. The StringJet 64 comes...
Bass Players To Know: Bernard Edwards
I’d like to title this column: “Better Late Than Never.” You’ve heard his bass lines at weddings, on the radio, at the supermarket, and possibly while waiting on the phone for the next available representative. His grooves defined the funk and disco era with their syncopated and infectious hooks, in-your-face tone, and get your booty on the dance floor swagger....
Evan Marien x Dana Hawkins: Cali
It is exciting to see the videos coming regularly from one of our favorite duos. Filmed during their masterclass at Musicmaker in May, here’s Evan Marien and Dana Hawkins playing “Cali.”
Brad Mehldau Trio Releases “Seymour Reads the Constitution!”
Larry Grenadier once again anchors the Brad Mehldau Trio on their latest effort entitled Seymour Reads the Constitution! Comprised of three Mehldau originals plus pop and jazz tunes, the album finds the bassist exploring alongside the pianist and drummer Jeff Ballard in flowing grooves. Grenadier joined Mehldau’s trio in the early ’90s, and this album is a testament to their...
How To Play Hemiola Rhythms
Q: I’ve been playing around with hemiola rhythms and, no matter how much I try to “feel” them. I can’t. Help? A: I assume that you’re talking about rhythmic figures that repeat in a cycle and cross the barline (no obvious downbeats until the cycle has repeated enough times to bring it back to starting on the one). Literally speaking,...
Marcus Miller: B’s River
Marcus Miller has a new album out, but today’s video features a tune from his last one, Afrodeezia. I was so intrigued by this 2015 performance at North Sea Jazz, thanks in large part to the instrumentation. Marcus describes the instrument – and the inspiration for the song – in the video description: “My wife, Brenda, traveled to Ndola, Zambia...