News - Page 374

Bassist and producer Bill Laswell‘s amazing career in music has spanned the spectrum. Looking at a short list of the musicians Laswell has worked with says it all: Mick Jagger, Iggy Pop, Public Image Ltd, Laurie Anderson, Brian Eno, Bootsy Collins, Motorhead, Sting, Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock… It was Laswell’s work with Hancock that brought the 1980’s hit, “Rock-It” —...

The famed bass played by Krist Novoselic and smashed by Kurt Cobain in Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video is heading to Christie’s in London for an auction later this month. The 1960’s Japanese Zen-On bass was bought by Novoselic from a pawn shop, because he knew it would be destroyed in the video. The body is all that’s left....

Green Day has announced that their remaining 2012 tour dates have been cancelled and concerts set for next year will be postponed due to lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong’s time in rehab. The news comes just weeks after the release of ¡UNO!, the first of a trilogy of new albums. Bassist Mike Dirnt weighed in on the situation in a...

Black Country Communion has released their third album, Afterglow, through J&R Records. Fronted by bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes, the group brings together fellow rock legends Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham, and Derek Sherinian. Though there is some uncertainty to the band’s future, their latest effort is more proof that the mixture of talent is a winning one. “So happy that Afterglow is...

Hal Leonard has published their latest in the Bass Recorded Versions series with the new (and phone book-sized) edition, Ultimate-Guitar Bass Bonanza. The 352 page book contains transcriptions for the bass lines to 50 well-known tunes, presented in both standard notation and tab. In addition to the bass line for each tune, the lyrics and vocal melodies are also included,...

Bassist, author and educator Dave Overthrow has released his latest instructional book, The Bass Style Resource: A Comprehensive Guide to Exploring New Techniques and Styles from Heavy Metal to Jazz. The book is designed for any bassist who has already learned the basics and wants to explore new styles and techniques. The Bass Style Resource offers up bass lines from...

After months of speculation, guitarist Keith Richards has confirmed that bassist Bill Wyman will be making a cameo during the Rolling Stones’ 50th Anniversary concerts. Wyman, who played with the iconic rock band from 1962 to 1993, will be at both the London and New Jersey concerts, though he previously stated he doesn’t fly anymore. While the 76-year old bassist...

Bassist Janek Gwizdala has released You’re a Musician. Now What?, a new instructional ebook aimed at teaching musicians modern day skill sets to make it in the music business. The book focuses on building and nurturing an online presence with tips on how to build a website, creating a mailing list, blogging, and much more. It also details time management,...

The trio of guitarist Scott Henderson, bassist Jeff Berlin and drummer Dennis Chambers have been playing together for years, have released their debut album, HBC. The album consists of covers of the members’ collective influences, including tunes by Weather Report, Herbie Hancock and Billy Cobham, along with some original tunes by Henderson and Berlin. “The trio is all about interplay,”...

Following the release of The Prog Collective, former Yes guitarist Billy Sherwood’s companion album, The Fusion Syndicate is now out and features the same sort of dream team line-up Sherwood assembled for the first one. Sherwood composed, produced and recorded the tracks with help from bassists Jimmy Haslip, Billy Sheehan, Colin Edwin, Percy Jones and Justin Chancellor, as well as...

Bassline Publishing has taken their Ultimate Slap Bass books to the screen with the release of all three levels as interactive iPad editions. Originally released in 2005, the popular print counterpart of this book has been expanded to offer video demonstrations of all the main techniques, audio tracks for each exercise as well as the sheet music and text. Each...

It looks like Kings of Leon are ready to get back into gear after taking a break following a tour cancellation last year. In an interview with BBC 6 Music, bassist Jared Followill dropped the news that the group is in the process of making a new album. “We are in the writing process right now and it’s coming along...