And We’re Off!
So.. The blog is back in action! I’m looking for:
- Guest bloggers
- Great bass news stories
- Interesting sites/links
- Good folks to follow on Twitter
Get in touch and let’s roll the low end like never before!
Bassists Who Never Were
A bit of Friday fun! So, we here a lot about famous bassists… You know the names! But what about the famous non-bassists? Which famous people out there are actually closet bassists? Can we out a few of them?!?
Someone forwarded me this video, which is a mash up of audio from London’s world-famous Mayor, Boris Johnson. It is now on the front page of Youtube’s UK music chart (All proceeds to Macmillan Cancer Care). Boris Johnson vs 2 Anonymous DJs contains, towards the end, the startling revolution that Boris was actually, well nearly, a bassist!
“A guy who was in a band, said listen, I think you have the makings of a bass guitarist. And he gave me a bass guitar and I spent a long time mastering Smoke on the Water, but nothing else. But it was a disaster”
So close! Any other famous bassists who never were?
Laurence Cottle To Host Bass Masterclass in London
For those in the UK and near London, you might be interested to know that The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) is hosting a master class by their faculty member Laurence Cottle on Thursday 15th April. Laurence has played with artists as diverse as Sting, Cher, Brian Eno, Eric Clapton and Black Sabbath, although he is most known for his jazz fusion style, As well as has recording music for films including Lethal Weapon and Mr. Holland’s Opus, he has composed music for television including Matlock, the Oprah Winfrey Show and Good Morning America. It’s interesting how many of us bassists also compose!
You can get a feel for his jazz stype from this guitar-x video:
If you want to know more, get in touch with ICMP on 020 7328 0222, or email enquiries@icmp.co.uk
Laurence plays a custom GB Guitars Rumour bass, and is an EBS endorsee. Here is another video of him on the EBS stand at NAMM back in 2006:
Gail Ann Dorsey
This one via the ever wonderful Steve Lawson, who posted a link to the first solo performance he ever saw, from a legendary British music show called The Tube, back 1986. Here is Gail Ann Dorsey playing (and singing) stop on by:
Who Would You Hand Your Bass To?
Many thanks to @tucsonbass for bring this one to my attention in his post “Have You Played Victor Wooten’s Bass?“ - he saw it on Saudra Williams Facebook page – aren’t the Interwebs a wonderful thing 
The video shows what Victor Wooten’s shows are all about – such energy and fun! Check out about 50 seconds in to the clip. Victor plays guitar, while the guitarist plays his bass, all without swapping instruments. The real fun starts at about 2 mins 40 seconds in as Victor’s bass heads into the crowd…
Ritter Cora – Bass fit for a Prince – Bassist
Jens Ritter has released a new model, designed together with Josh Dunham (the Bass Player for Prince). The “CORA” – click on the images to see more full size pictures on the Ritter site. It is rather conventional for a Ritter Bass, given the wild bass designs that have come out of the German-based luthier. [More...]