News - Page 337

Les Claypool has been focusing on his Duo de Twang lately, but he’s getting geared up to return to Primus with a string of dates announced for May and June. The jaunt will kick off with a three-night run at the Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada from May 1st to May 3rd, after which they’ll join Queens of the...

Drive-By Truckers’ 12th album, , is almost exclusively the result of just 13 days of recording by a compact lineup that features bassist Matt Patton, who joined the band in 2013. (Only one song was recorded at a different time.) “This lineup is so direct,” said Mike Cooley, one of the band’s primary singer-guitarist-songwriters (the other is Patterson Hood.) “It...

Phish bassist Mike Gordon has released his fourth solo album, . It’s the first of his solo albums to feature an outside producer, Paul Q. Kolderie. Gordon’s collaborator on the record, guitarist Scott Murawski says hiring Kolderie (who has worked with Radiohead and The Pixies) was the right idea. “The payoffs are all over the place.” The album promises plenty...

If you miss 1970s/80s style jazz-funk, the groove-laden supergroup Rock Candy Funk Party has got something for you — the DVD/CD package . The group includes Mike Merritt, who has been the bassist in Conan O’Brien’s late-night shows since 1993. The other players are album producer Tal Bergman (drums), Joe Bonamassa (guitar), Ron DeJesus (guitar), Renato Neto (keys), and Daniel...

Jaco, the much anticipated documentary film about Jaco Pastorius is in the news once again. The film, produced by Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo and directed by Stephen Kijak and Paul Marchand has been selected as the Official Film of Record Store Day 2014. The one day event takes place on April 19, 2014. “Record Store Day is a celebration of...

Grammy-winning instrumental fusion band Snarky Puppy, led by bassist/composer/producer Michael League is hot right now. And if you want to hear what the group sounded like pre-Grammy (Best R&B Performance for its work with Lalah Hathaway) the DVD/CD set We Like It Here might just be the place to start. Recorded live in Kytopia Studios in Utrecht, Holland from Oct....

Fans of Beck’s 2002 classic album Sea Change will feel right at home with the intimate psychedelia of , which reunites the singer/songwriter with the band that backed him in the studio and on the road from 1996-2000 and 2003-2003. The players on Beck’s 12th studio album include bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen (also known for work with Nine Inch Nails, Air,...

“You just didn’t expect them to be as funky, or as greasy as they were.” That’s how Aretha Franklin describes The Swampers, the legendary house band at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in the star-studded documentary . The band, including bassist David Hood, then went on to co-found the iconic Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in 1969, solidifying the tiny...

“If you want to know the real deal, read Alan Paul,” says Allman Brothers bassist Oteil Burbridge about Paul’s (St. Martin’s Press). The book is billed as the first major biography of the ABB, which marks its 45th anniversary this year. All the surviving members of the band, including former members, are interviewed in this oral history, and founders Butch...

Italian bassist and songwriter Marco Machera has released his sophomore album, . The effort includes a host of special guests, including fellow bassist Tony Levin on “Out of Blue,” drummer Pat Mastelotto, guitarist Markus Reuter and more. With an interesting cast of characters, Machera offers up a quirky take on pop music. “Dime Novels is a beast. Pretty much like...

Lake Street Dive is often called a string band with soul, and its latest album lives up to the description, as well as the acclaim the folk band has received in its young career. , out on Signature Sounds Recordings, features an eclectic pop style created by double bassist Bridget Kearney, vocalist Rachael Price, drummer Mike Calabrese and guitarist Mike...

George Porter, Jr. will be returning to tour the UK for the first time in years. The bassist will be taking his band The Runnin’ Pardners on a four-date run of Brighton, Manchester, Nottingham, and London. Porter is famed for founding the legendary New Orleans band The Meters and can be heard on such classics as “Cissy Strut,” “Just Kissed...