News - Page 295

Welsh metal band Bullet For My Valentine has released its fifth studio album, Venom. Frontman Matt Tuck handled bass on the record, which is the group’s first following the departure of longtime bassist Jason “Jay” James. The album deliberately shies away from any melodic or pop sounds, Tuck said. “We wanted to keep this as dark as possible. It was...

Soulfly has released its last album with bassist Tony Campos (former Static-X), who left the band to join Fear Factory. Archangel, the metal band’s 10th album, is the band’s most mystical one since its 2004 record, Prophecy, says Max Cavalera (ex-Sepultura), the band’s founder, guitarist and vocalist. He says the record reflects diverse influences, from Biblical themes to death metal....

Chicago bassist Pennal Johnson (PJ) combines jazz, funk, adult contemporary and rock and roll on his album, Cissy Strut. The bassist for The Chicago All-City Jazz Band from 1984-87, Johnson began playing bass at age 8. During his career, he has performed with artists like Andre and Sandra Crouch, Kurt Carr and Abraham Laboriel. Johnson is also working as part...

Hundreds of thousands of people witnessed The Grateful Dead’s “Fare Thee Well” concert series, marking the final time the “core four” surviving band members would perform together under the band’s moniker. A month later, three of the four band members – Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart – have announced a concert on Halloween night at Madison Square Garden...

If you love the sound of the early days of The Replacements and feel like a vinyl record is the only way to hear the legendarily unruly rock group, a new four-album set has your name written on it: The Twin/Tone Years. The set includes the band’s first four records: Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash (1981), the...

Experimental/avant-garde bassist, producer, and composer Bill Laswell has released back-to-back albums as part of his M.O.D. Technologies’ Incunabula Digital Series. One album, On Brion Gysin, features the spoken word work of the late poet, photographer and filmmaker Ira Cohen, incorporated into Laswell’s music, in tribute to the work of the late artist and writer Gysin, who pioneered the cut-up writing...

Nearly two years after their first release, bassist MonoNeon and producer Kriswontwo have teamed up again as Weon to release Neon the Won. The experimental duo fuse stellar bass playing with ear bending soundscapes to create an album that transcends genre. This time around they invited several guest musicians, including David “Fuze” Fiuczynski, Jerome Flood, Lance Lucas, Amber Baker, and...

The late, great jazz bassist Charlie Haden and pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba have long been known for the work they did together. Although Haden died in July 2014, there’s still music to be hear from the pair via the album Tokyo Adagio, which captures the best of their 2005 performances at Blue Note Tokyo. The sound is classic. Just listen to...

Terri Lyne Carrington’s 2011 The Mosaic Project was an album with an all-female superstar lineup of musicians. Her latest, The Mosaic Project: Love and Soul, is another all-female affair. This time out, the Grammy-winning jazz drummer and composer (she’s known for her work with a slew of artists, including bassist Esperanza Spalding) the roster includes some impressive bassists: Meshell Ndegeocello,...

Emerging blues teen titans The Peterson Brothers have released their first, self-titled, album on Blue Point Records. The pair, who hail from near Austin, Texas, have been making a name for themselves on the blues circuit for five years, after really being discovered at Pinetop Perkins’ 97th birthday celebration at Antone’s in Austin. The younger brother, Alex, 16, plays a...

So you’ve decided that you want to emulate the sound of all those Stevie Ray Vaughan records you’ve always loved. But, you need a little help in exactly replicating what Tommy Shannon does on bass. Hal Leonard Publishing has released a new book to help players lock into some of Vaughan’s most famous work. Stevie Ray Vaughan: Bass Play-Along Volume...

If you hear a rumble coming from the Midwest, don’t worry. It’s just the buildup to Detroit Bass Day on August 8th, 2015. This year’s event will take place at the Detroit Institute of Music Education and promises to be the biggest one yet. Detroit Bass Day 2015 will be hosted by Lola George with special guest speaker Will Austin,...