Groove Podcast

Christian McBride is the renaissance man of the bass. The six-time Grammy-winning bassist is powered by a relentless drive, and he works at a frenetic pace in a myriad of ways. We chat with him in this episode of Groove.

It’s hard to argue that Tim Starace from YYNOT is just another Geddy Lee clone playing Rush’s fabled music. Both statements would be incorrect. Anybody who can even play close to the brilliance that is Geddy on bass is worthy of attention, and Tim brings a whole next level of creativity, sound, and energy to the bass.

When I started preparing for my conversation with Janek Gwizdala, it became abundantly clear why he is such a popular bass player, teacher, and YouTuber. I found myself completely immersed in a fifteen minute long YouTube video about why he has his action so high on the bass. And, yes, it really was captivating. Janek started playing music at eleven...

A fellow No Treble contributor! We’re super excited to bring you this conversation with our own Damian Erskine. He’s not just a regular contributor to No Treble, but he’s been here the longest. Longevity is a theme for this monster of a player. Damian is known for his ability to fit into any musical situation, extraordinary reading and improvising skills...

Judas Priest ruined me. While I had been exposed to a myriad of musical genres over my young life, nothing has impacted me more than the infamous US Festival in 1983. Their “Heavy Metal Day” on Sunday, May 29th featured Quiet Riot, Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, Triumph, Scorpions, Van Halen and the now-legendary Judas Priest. That one day – and...

Bridget Kearney doesn’t talk much about the electric bass (mostly because that’s not her instrument of choice). The musician and composer is a double bass player that graduated with a dual degree from Tufts University and New England Conservatory of Music. She started playing the bass when she was nine years old and fell madly, deeply in love with the...

The first time I saw Marco Mendoza play bass live was with Whitesnake. Whatever you think about Whitesnake’s music (personally, I am a child of the 80s and a lover of that genre), they are a force of hard, heavy and blues power that is not to be reckoned with (if you can get past those wild hair metal videos...

She just turned thirty, but she is an old soul. It’s for this reason that she has fit in performing with artists like David Crosby, Joan Baez, Jackson Browne, Seal and others. Mai Leisz (formerly Mai Agan) is a curious and engaging bass player. The Estonian born composer started on classical violin and piano. At the age of 16, she...

Simply put, Evan Marien is a very exciting bass player. The composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist grew up in Illinois, but Brooklyn is now his home. And yes, he’s super active on YouTube and pushing his own projects, but you may not know that Evan was also the last bassist to work with the legendary guitarist, Allan Holdsworth. Evan attended Berklee...

Wikipedia can be funny sometimes. When you look for Chris Wood, he is listed as a “jazz musician” (this happens when there are multiple people with the same name). I wonder if Wood considers himself a jazz musician? Most know him as a founder, experimental player and musician visionary within the band Medeski Martin & Wood. Others may know him...