News - Page 99

This is a difficult story to write. One of my great friends, Steve Lawson, shared some tough news recently, regarding his health. Here’s how you can help.

The somewhat unlikely yet unbelievably perfect duo of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have announced a new round of U.S. tour dates for the fall. They will be joined by by bassist Dennis Crouch.

The Mars Volta is back. For the first time in more than a decade, the group has released a new single and announced a tour. What’s more, the single features the return of original bassist Eva Gardner.

Former Kreator bassist Christian “Speesy” Giesler has a new gig. The thrash metal hero has joined the supergroup Bonded, which also features ex-Sodom guitarist Bernemann Kost.

Violent Femmes have unveiled a new set of tour dates for the fall that will focus on the Midwest and East Coast. The band, featuring the acoustic bass stylings of Brian Ritchie, will kick things off on October 2nd.

Esperanza Spalding has announced a set of tour dates for July that will see her collaborating with choreographer, dancer, and director Antonio Brown. Spread across the U.S., the concerts will pull from the last few of her albums.

If you’re looking to dig into the New Orleans style, you may want to check out Billy Bileca’s new book, “Bass Transcriptions from Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy”. The book contains note-for-note bass lines played by Arvell Shaw.

Bassist Jedd Chlebowski has returned with his second solo release, entitled “All Alone”. The solo effort is a collection of original songs rendered with just his bass, some pedals, and some software.

Punk bass icon Mike Watt will be heading to Europe as the third member of Flipper for their “’Till the Wheels Fall Off Tour.” He will be playing bass as well as singing with founding members Stephen DePace and Ted Falconi.

After releasing his memoir last year, Anthrax bass man Frank Bello has announced he is following it up with his debut solo EP. “Then I’m Gone” will include three original songs as well as a scored audiobook with excerpts from his autobiography.

Musical icon and bass thrasher Lemmy Kilmister will be officially memorialized on June 23rd at Hellfest. The Motörhead frontman, who died in 2015, has had a portion of his ashes enshrined at the festival in Clisson, France inside a new statue of him.

Bassist Nenad Vasilic has returned with a new live album with his trio. The songs were captured from performances at the Austrian ORF National Radio Studio as well as the National Theater in Vasilic’s hometown of Niš in Serbia.