News - Page 339

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...

Progressive metal band Cynic, and its bassist, Sean Malone, have released the group’s long-awaited record, , Cynic’s first in three years – and its first full-length album since 2008. Malone, aside from his Cynic and solo work, is also an author, having penned four music books, including Music Theory for Bassists and A Portrait of Jaco: The Solos Collection. It’s...

HELLYEAH has split ways with guitarist Greg Tribbett and bassist Bob “Bobzilla” Kakaha, according to a new post on Blabbermouth. The supergroup didn’t give a specific reason for the split, but posted about it on their Facebook page. “Things happen for necessary reasons,” they wrote. “It’s so easy for people to assume or makeup reasons for things. Don’t ASSUME anything!...

Fans of The Allman Brothers Band’s 1990’s lineup can travel in the wayback machine and experience some of its famed concerts. documents the band’s first long run at the theatre. It, and DVD release , shows off the band after it reconstituted itself for its 1989 20th anniversary with new players, including bassist Allen Woody. (Woody left the band in...

Bassist Carlo Chirio has released a new instructional eBook called Double Thumb Technique for Electric Bass. The technique, popularized by Victor Wooten, makes use of the thumb almost like a plectrum by striking down and up. Chirio’s book uses short patterns to get readers comfortable with the technique and groove before building on it. “I think that the choice of...