My dad was an awesome drummer and all-around musician, and he always had instruments lying around the house, so I was always checking things out and tinkering around. When I was about 12, he decided to build his own electronic kit and got into MIDI recording, and he asked me to learn ‘So Lonely’ by the Police on his bass so he could try capturing a live bass and drums take. I was obsessed with the way the bass combined both melody and rhythm, and basically haven’t put it down since.
I learned every CD in the house, and thanks to my mom, we had a killer collection. She was the only mom I knew who listened to Alice In Chains, Nine Inch Nails and Nirvana. My dad and I always used to jam together, so in so many ways he was my introduction into being passionate about music. He passed away too young in 2011, and that was part of what inspired me to quit my day job and make music my career in his honor.
My first bass guitar was my Fender P-Bass in sunburst, probably purchased by my dad around 1999. I was just a high-schooler when I used to play local gigs with it, and I remember at one band practice the saddle was crooked after one too many nights left in the trunk of my car. I quick-fixed it with a little piece of notebook paper from my homework. It’s still there, and I love when I notice it on stage now! I still play that bass occasionally and it’s a time capsule to what feels like another lifetime.
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THUMBS AHOY! MIX AND MATCH: ADVANCED SLAP
Welcome! For the last year or so we’ve been working on some very advanced slap bass techniques.
POP MUSIC
Cat Popper has earned her stripes as a bassist with a long list of big names—so a solo career is long overdue. We meet the reluctant star...
MEDICINE MAN
The Foo Fighters return with a new album, Medicine At Midnight, with the low end taken care of as always by the great Nate Mendel. Has he fallen for a five‑string yet? Find out here...
LAKLAND Skyline J-Sonic
A classically-styled Jazz with a sonic twist... does that sound interesting? You bet it does, says Mike Brooks
KIND OF BLUE
Fusion artist extraordinaire and sometime Pat Metheny alumnus Mark Egan brings us up to date with his new album, Electric Blue, recorded with his long-time drummer colleague Danny Gottlieb
I SPY…MIX AND MATCH ARPEGGIOS
Hey there, bass players! We’ve recently dedicated two columns to arpeggios, and for good reason. Whether you’re creating a groove or walking through changes, we do our jobs better by gracefully outlining the notes of the chord and clearly defining the harmony.
HONE YOUR SKILLS: DIG DEEPER WITH YOUR BASS THINKING
Last month we looked at inversions, which are chords where the lowest note is something other than the root. Using the third, the fifth, or even the seventh in the bass—in other words, the lowest note in the chord— offers us a whole lot more interesting options as bass players.
BASSIST Of The YEAR
Meet Danny Sapko, voted by you as Bassist Of The Year 2020!
Haim Sweet Haim
“It’s just me, with no bells and whistles,” explains Este Haim of the bass behind her trio’s acclaimed music
Stephen ‘Thundercat' Bruner – 'Bass Traverses Different Worlds'
Want to learn the secrets of the universe? Then you’d better join us as we sit down with Stephen ‘Thundercat’ Bruner, the pre-eminent bassist of his generation. This one goes deep!
Countryside Wellness with Marika Blossfeldt
Meet Marika Blossfeldt, founder of Polli Talu (Polli’s Farm), an Estonian wellness retreat by the gentle Baltic Sea. Guests practice mindfulness, yoga and a diet of whole, real foods. We sat down with Marika to find out how you can bring the beneficial magic of Polli Talu into your home.
The Detonations of Alice Neel
A survey of her portraits at the Met is packed with raw emotional power.
THAT MISSING YEARS OF XK120
Kieran Lillis explains the previously unrecorded and lost years of the 1951 Darwin to Alice Springs world record breaking XK120. How it survived unscathed is astounding.
Artist Emily Mason's 4,700-Square-Foot Studio Is Just As She Left It
She painted there for 40 years.
MORAKNIV Classics
THESE TIMELESS BUSHCRAFT KNIVES HAVE BEEN UPDATED AND ARE BETTER THAN EVER
Ice Music
EVERY WINTER IN Luleå, Sweden, a remote town located just beneath the Arctic Circle, people are treated to a special concert. It’s not like any concert or recital you might have been to. The concert hall is an igloo, and all the musicians play instruments made almost entirely of ice! These ice concerts have also traveled to places such as Beaver Creek, Colorado, and the Italian Alps.
Joy for both dogs and humans in walking
PET TALES
Black Magic Woman
A conversation with ORIANTHI: Her new album, “the biggest guitar gig in the world,” trading licks with ROBBY KRIEGER, marvelling at JEFF BECK — and, oh yeah, gear galore!
ACTIVISM
MARYAM and NIVAAL REHMAN became activists when they were eight years old, inspiring girls in their village in Pakistan to continue their education. The now 19-year-old twins have since worked for such causes as girls’ education, climate justice, gender equality and inclusivity. They have their own non-profit, The World With MNR, that uses advocacy, storytelling and development to take action and inspire others to do the same. They have used their social media and YouTube channels to cover several events, including the Social Good Summit in New York City, the Girl Up Leadership Summit in Washington D.C., and interviews with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, and Madame Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank. They have received several awards, including the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award. Recently they released a documentary on the status of girls’ education in Pakistan and held global screenings to spark further conversation and inspire action.
DEFIBRILLATOR DELIVERY
Everdrone, a global leader in autonomous drone technology, recently announced that its drones are now being used to deliver Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to the scene of cardiac arrests in real-world emergencies—a first-of-its-kind project.