News - Page 343

Metal legend Max Cavalera and his group Cavalera Conspiracy have named Converge’s Nate Newton as their new bassist. Newton broke the news in a statement online: “Hello friends! Just wanted to get some info to everyone since I’ve been getting so many messages…. Yes I am playing bass on the new Cavalera Conspiracy record. No…I am not going to leave...

After being diagnosed with cancer in October, John McVie is back to performing with Fleetwood Mac. The health scare forced the band to cancel a tour of Australia and New Zealand as McVie underwent treatment. But the veteran rockers returned to the stage for a December 30th gig at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Singer Stevie Nicks spoke with ABC...

After announcing European tour dates, Dream Theater has revealed their North American tour plans for 2014. The prog metal outfit will be kicking things off at Toronto’s Massey Hall before covering the States in the Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast. Their trek is capped with three dates in Mexico. “We are all really pumped and excited to bring our new...

Guitar legend Eric Clapton has once again recruited bass giant Nathan East to his touring band. East, who played with Clapton from 1984 to 2004, will be hitting the road with the former Cream guitarist in 2014, starting in Japan. The rest of the band includes keyboardists Chris Stainton and Paul Carrack, vocalists Michelle John and Sharon White, and drummer...

Line 6, makers of digital amplifiers and effects, is slated to be acquired by Yamaha Corporation, according to a press release issued by Yamaha. The deal will result in a 100% acquisition. Established in 1996, Line 6 specializes in guitar and bass modeling processors, including their POD line, as well as PA equipment and wireless systems. The agreement states that...

I guess you can now call this a tradition. This is the time of year we love to look back at all the great moments we’ve been a part of in the online bass playing community, and to say thanks to all of you for making this so much fun. Over the next several days, we’ll be sharing our annual...

In Yes, bass — or perhaps more accurately, the bassist — is the band’s linchpin. The legendary prog-rock group’s co-founder and bassist Chris Squire is the only band member to appear on every album since the group’s late 1960s inception, and his spectacular work is all over a remastered and expanded . The set includes 12 albums on the Atlantic...

When keyboardist Ray Powell set out to fill out his project band Mumpbeak, he went straight to the top of prog rock royalty. Mumpbeak’s features drummer Pat Mastelotto and a host of talented bassists: Bill Laswell, Tony Levin, Lorenzo Feliciati, and Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz. Described as “art by committee,” the project takes on shades of King Crimson, Yes and Gentle...

Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has officially announced the 2014 inductees. The artists that will be joining the Hall next year include Nirvana, KISS, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Cat Stevens, and Linda Ronstadt. The E Street Band will be given the Award for Musical Excellence. Among the artists are bassists Krist Novoselic (Nirvana), Gene Simmons (KISS), and...

Minnesota’s After the Burial is back with new music for the first time in three years with . The metal band remains on Sumerian Records, which also released the group’s Rareform and In Dreams albums and its This Life Is All We Have EP (three remastered tracks from the band’s first album, Forging a Future Self.) The band features bassist...

In 1989, The Jerry Garcia Band embarked on what would become a well-remembered East Coast tour, featuring Grateful Dead guitarist/vocalist Bob Weir and upright bass player Rob Wasserman as the opening act. commemorates that tour on six CDs of music: complete performances from Sept. 5 (Hartford Civic Center in Connecticut) and Sept. 6 at Nassau Coliseum in New York. Each...

Phish’s Mike Gordon has announced his fourth solo LP, Overstep, will be released on February 25th on ATO Records. Following up on 2010’s Moss, it’s the first album that the bassist hasn’t produced himself. Instead he enlisted Paul Q. Kolderie, who has worked with Radiohead, Uncle Tupelo and the Pixies. Gordon also stretches out musically on the album. It features...