Buzz
Singles Set from The Meters Arrives
All the singles legendary New Orleans funk band The Meters ever made for the Josie, Reprise and Warner Bros. labels has been released on the two-CD set, A Message from The Meters: The Complete Josie, Reprise & Warner Bros. Singles, 1968-1977. The set includes every “A” and “B” side, meaning rare single and mono single mixes of some of the...
Quilter Amps Unveils the Bass Block 800
Quilter Amps has unveiled the Bass Block 800, a bass amp that delivers up to 800 watts while weighing in at just 3.75 pounds. The micro-sized amp sets itself apart by being completely designed by Quilter, the company says. “Unlike many of today’s compact bass amps, the Bass Block 800 is not simply an existing consumer-grade power module married to...
Defining “Practice”: A Discussion for Bass Players
Q: How do you define “practice”? I’m curious because a friend asked me how I practice, and I said that I just play a lot and wasn’t sure how to answer the question. He said that “there’s a difference between playing and practicing”. Do you agree with that? A: My quick answer is yes, I believe that there is a...
YYNOT: La Villa Strangiato
The guys known as YYNOT have done it again – nailing yet another virtual Rush cover. In case you’ve missed the previous videos, guitarist/keyboardist Billy Alexander, drummer/percussionist Rodrigo Concha Tm and bassist Tim Starace don’t live near each other, but they share a common interest – the music of Rush. They record all of their videos virtually. In this video,...
Helms Alee Releases “Stillicide”
Metal band Helms Alee has released its fourth studio album, Stillicide. The trio of Ben Verellen (guitar, vocals), Dana James (bass, vocals), and Hozoji Margullis (drums, vocals) makes “smart, nerdy, weird music,” according to a Noisey/Vice song premiere note, which goes on to say, “but the strangest thing about it isn’t its quirky rhythms or offbeat approach—it’s that you could...
Reader Spotlight: Jaymi Millard
Meet Jaymi Millard, who has a life devoted to bass – touring, recording, writing about and repping. And not just any basses either – Jaymi is all about pink when it comes to his basses. Jaymi is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s his story… Bio: The Pinkbassman! Jaymi graduated from Belmont University with a degree in...
Talking Style: G-Funk
G-Funk is a sub-genre of Hip-Hop that came out of 1990’s West Coast Gangsta Rap. Some characteristics of G-Funk are Parliament-Funkadelic-inspired, with mid-tempo grooves, melodic synths (high pitched “Gangsta Leads”), deep bass, and male or female vocals on the hooks. G-funk often consists of fewer, unaltered samples per song as opposed to the altered samples that are more prominent in...
Ehud Ettun Trio: Funk
I like hearing funky upright bass, and Ehud Ettun brings a jazz flavor to it on this song aptly entitled “Funk”. Ettun is joined by Daniel Schwarzwald, who wrote the tune, on piano and Nathan Blankett on drums. Check the bass solo at 4:15.
King Crimson Releases Audio/Video From 2015 Tour
King Crimson’s Radical Action To Unseat The Hold Of Monkey Mind audio/video set is the band’s most fully realized version of its 2015 concert experience. The three-CD/one Blu-ray set from the band, with the inimitable Tony Levin on bass, has a “virtual studio album effect,” on the CDs, with no audience sound between songs. It also features a Blu-ray disc...
Bass of the Week: AMJ Guitars Fretless Bass
No Treble reader Deryl Gallant wrote in to us with a cool story on the creation of his AMJ Guitars fretless bass. Strangely enough, it started out as just a neck for his Fender Jazz and ended up with a body of reclaimed wood. Gallant tells the story: “In 2015 I visited Adam Marsh Johnston of AMJ Guitars to get...
My Double Bass Setup: Part 1 – The Bow
Usually in this column I talk about general double bass (upright bass) subjects, or answer specific questions that I think will be of benefit to the largest number of readers. Lately, however, I’ve been getting a great many questions about my personal bass setup. So, in the next few columns I’m going to go through some of the things that...
Marcus Miller Band: Tutu & Blast (Live)
Back in April, Marcus Miller and his band took the stage at Olympia Hall (L’Olympia) in Paris. Among the tunes they performed were “Tutu” and “Blast”. Thankfully, cameras were rolling.