Bass Player US - November 2020

In this issue

DAVE PEGG AND STEVE DI GIORGIO
The current Fairport Convention and former Jethro Tull bassist Pegg is quizzed by guest writer Di Giorgio of Testament.

CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE
Jazz tips from the master, recounted to Andy Hughes. Study his wisdom today!

PEARLS of WISDOM

Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam returns with a solo project, American Death Squad, and advice that applies to all of us.

10+ mins

FAIR GAME

Dave Pegg of Fairport Convention has been a leading light of the British folk-rock movement for half a century. Sessions with troubadours such as Nick Drake, Sandy Denny, and John Martyn cemented his reputation over the years, with a 15-year stint in Jethro Tull a particular influence on a generation of American bassists. One of these is our guest writer Steve Di Giorgio, currently playing bass with thrash metal heavyweights Testament, who interviewed Pegg for us in an unlikely, but productive, collision of two very different worlds...

10+ mins

THE LAW OF LEE

The Texan trio Khruangbin is unlike almost any other band we know. Jamie Dickson asks bassist Laura Lee to explain...

3 mins

TOP OF THE LAKE

Matthew Leone of Madina Lake recalls his way into bass

2 mins

ICONIC

Jazz maestro Christian McBride looks back at his storied career

9 mins

THE DEAN GENIUS

Metal monsters Destruction return with a new live album. We meet frontman Marcel ‘Schmier’ Schirmer for a chat about the album he recorded by mistake...

2 mins

PASS NOTES

Lindsay Manfredi of Cold brings us essential survival advice, for life in general as much as related to bass playing

4 mins

BITE Roxanne

Austrian luthiers Bite have a novel approach to bass-building, driven by the customer. We test out the company’s Roxanne P-Bass...

4 mins

I SPY… THREE-NOTE SEQUENCES

Hey there, bass players! Welcome back to our game of ‘I Spy’. Let’s take a moment to recall the rules. In this game, our goal is to refine the most essential tool in our musical arsenal: Our ears. By highlighting a particular theme and attempting to spy it on a record, we’re actively listening for something that lies beneath the surface of the songs that we love. Our goal is to draw attention to it, to call it by its name, and to recognize it in its natural habitat.

4 mins

PICKUPS EXPLAINED

Dan Veall closes this issue with a guide to those wiry pickup units

3 mins

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Bass Player US Magazine Description:

Bobby Vega
Ever since his first recording session with Sly Stone at the age of 17, Bay Area bass badass Bobby Vega has set the bar for funktastic pick playing. In this month's cover story, he goes deep on his plectrum technique and artistic approach. Plus: interviews with Cheap Trick's Tom Petersson, Dream Theater's John Myung, and Jerry "J Blakk" Henderson of Big Sam's Funky Nation; reviews of the Blackstar Fly Bass mini-amp, Mesa-Boogie D-800 head and Ultra Lite cabinets, and new pickups from Lindy Fralin; Jazz and R&B lessons you can use; a full-song bass transcription of Deep Purple's "Gettin' Tighter;" and more!