News - Page 321

Eighties supergroup Asia is celebrating their 30th anniversary with a new album entitled XXX. Featuring members of Yes, ELP, King Crimson, UK and The Buggles, the band’s current lineup includes bassist/vocalist John Wetton, guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Carl Palmer, and keyboardist Geoff Downes. The new release is being hailed as their best since their breakthrough self-titled album. “We’re very pleased...

Once again, it is time for a new wave of box sets for music buffs who love their collections of music with added memorabilia, new music (and updated versions of the old stuff). None of them can be more exciting than the limited edition box set featuring the music of Stanley Clarke. Stanley Clarke: The Complete 1970s Epic Albums Collection,...

ArtistWorks has extended their online music-based learning community with the announcement of a new Bass Campus. The company has recruited three renowned bassists to offer up a wide range of bass education, with John Patitucci (Jazz Bass School), Nathan East (School of Rock & Pop Bass) and Missy Raines (Bluegrass Bass School). Like all of ArtistWorks education programs, the Bass...

Kill Devil Hill has unveiled a boatload of new North American tour dates set to kick off August 1st at the Cheyenne Saloon in Las Vegas, Nevada. The band is trekking to support their self-titled debut, which came out in May and landed at #9 on the Billboard Top New Artist Albums Chart. The group has a solid foundation as...

Hot on the heels of the release of Clockwork Angels, Rush’s 20th studio album, comes the first glimpse at the album’s companion novel, Clockwork Angels: The Novel. Author Kevin J. Anderson, who is collaborating with Rush drummer Neil Peart, posted news on his blog that a sneak peek booklet for the book has been released as a free download. The...

Bassist/vocalist Casey Abrams has released his self-titled debut on Concord Records. Abrams caught national attention on the tenth season of American Idol after performing some rousing renditions of pop tunes while accompanying himself on bass. Through that experience, he hooked up with fellow bassist and Idol judge Randy Jackson, who produced the album. The album is laden with upright bass...

A new film documenting The Who’s iconic Rock Opera Quadrophenia will be showing at select movie theaters across the U.S. for one night on July 24th. The Who: Quadrophenia – Can You See the Real Me? takes its name from the 1973 album’s second track, “The Real Me,” which of course features some top-notch playing by bassist John Entwistle. Loaded...

Steve Uccello‘s latest release is Fire Times, an album on which he shares low end duties with UK solo bassist Steve Lawson. The group, dubbed Clarified Birds, is rounded out by drummer Mike Shannon and multi-instrumentalist and singer Dayan Kai. Fire Times came about after Uccello started thinking of arranging for a single tune he wrote. “I had this piece...

Hal Leonard set their sights on the music of that little ol’ band from Texas with the release of Best Of ZZ Top For Bass. Part of the “Bass Recorded Versions” series, the 64-page book focuses on Dusty Hill’s bass lines on 15 ZZ Top tunes from over the years. The music is presented in both standard notation and tab....

Following two vastly different solo recordings, guitarist Pat Metheny has once again turned his attention to the quartet format with the release of Unity Band. The guitarist set his sights on a new bassist this time around, enlisting Ben Williams for the record, and rounding out the group with drummer Antonio Sanchez and saxophonist Chris Potter. Williams, who won the...

Hal Leonard has added a new edition to their Bass Play-Along series, with the release of Red Hot Chili Peppers: Bass Play-Along (Vol. 42). The 80 page book offers up tab for nine Flea bass lines, with the standard enhanced audio CD that is included with each book in this series. The audio provides the opportunity to hear the bass...

Lick Library is now shipping a new instructional DVD by Phil Williams entitled Learn to Play Rock Basslines. Aimed at beginner to intermediate players, the video guides you through 20 rock songs ranging from Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” to Muse’s “Hysteria.” “It’s 20 of the classic rock basslines that I consider to be landmarks in bass playing,” Williams explains. “A...