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Getting Noticed – Part 1: Your Demo

Damian Erskine — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:30:43 +0000

Q: I’ve reached the point where I know I need to meet new people to get my career up to the next level, but I don’t know where to start. What do you think makes effective networking in the context of being a musician as opposed to an artist who has written songs? How do...

Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Omar Hakim & Stanley Clarke: “Cantaloupe Island” (1991)

Corey Brown — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:30:13 +0000

Back in 1991, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Omar Hakim and Stanley Clarke took the stage at the Jazz à Vienne festival. Here’s the quartet playing Herbie’s tune “Cantaloupe Island” and having a lot of fun with it.

In Memoriam: Trevor Bolder

Kevin Johnson — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:30:04 +0000

Trevor Bolder, who played with David Bowie’s backing band Spiders From Mars, has passed away after a battle with cancer. He was 62. Born in Kingston Upon Hull, England, Bolder was a prominent member of the local R&B scene in the ‘60s before replacing Tony Visconti in Bowie’s band. He appeared on the albums Hunky...

Player Spotlight: Spencer Herbert

Corey Brown — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:40:12 +0000

Meet Spencer Herbert, a bassist who first got stuck in some sort of “enrichment class” for people who wanted to play the guitar, knew better, and got a P Bass. Ten years later, he’s still loving the low end. Spencer is our reader in the spotlight for the week of May 20th, 2013. Bio: I’m...

Lesson: Funky Bass Grooves and Fills with Open Strings

Thomas “MarloweDK” Risell — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:30:09 +0000

Here are some cool patterns for you to try out, using open strings for creating fast passages and note doubling. In the video demonstration, I first play it at full speed, followed by a reduced speed. Follow along with the notation/TAB (PDF). For the gear heads: I’m playing my 1966 Fender Precision bass (I don’t...

Mr. DanZ: Proto Cosmos

Corey Brown — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:30:59 +0000

I’ve never heard of Mr. DanZ until today, but I was glad I found them. Here’s the group – with bassist Ben Shepherd laying it down, slapping, soloing and jumping – performing their cover of Alan Pasqua’s “Proto Cosmos”. Tight.

Starting Your Day with Open Strings: A Warmup Routine for Bassists

Donovan Stokes — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:30:26 +0000

Many people simply pick up their instrument and start playing without any warm-up. While there is value to this approach, I generally advise a gradual warm-up for students. Although slow scales can often serve as a warmup, even a slow scale can be quite complex technically. After all, it involves tone production, shifting, light left...

Franck Hermanny: All Bass Cover of Greg Howe’s “Jump Start”

Corey Brown — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:30:33 +0000

Bassist Franck Hermanny put together this video to demo recording multiple bass tracks on video (started out as three, then became four). For the demo, he chose to do his all-bass cover of Greg Howe’s “Jump Start” (with some drums in the mix). While it isn’t a complete song performance, what he does is quite...

Bobby McFerrin Releases “Spirityouall”, Featuring Esperanza Spalding and Larry Grenadier

Kevin Johnson — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:30:03 +0000

Master vocalist Bobby McFerrin has released Spirityouall, a thirteen track album compiled of classic spirituals as well as original compositions. Integrating many of McFerrin’s musical influences, the effort pays homage to the legacy of the singer’s father, the late baritone Robert McFerrin, Sr., who was the first African-American to sign a contract with the Metropolitan...

Deftones’ Final Album with Chi Cheng Closer To Being Released

Kevin Johnson — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:30:42 +0000

The Deftones were nearly finished with their album Eros in 2008 when tragedy struck and a car accident left bassist Chi Cheng in a coma. After some time, the band decided to shelve the project out of respect for Cheng and recruited bassist Sergio Vega to start a new album, Diamond Eyes. Eros turned out...