CATEGORIES

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...

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...

KVELERTAK

ON THE UBER-DYNAMIC SPLID, NORWAY’S FINEST RETURN WITH THEIR THREE-GUITAR ATTACK, A NEW SINGER AND A NON-STOP ROCK ‘N’ ROLL ASSAULT. BJARTE LUND ROLLAND AND VIDAR LANDA TELL ALL!

STEVE HOWE TRACK BY TRACK

THE YES LEGEND UNCOUPLES FROM THE MOTHERSHIP TO DRIFT THROUGH EVER-SHIFTING LANDSCAPES, BOTH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL, ON HIS FIRST SOLO ALBUM IN NINE YEARS

Right-Hand Man

FUNK RHYTHM MASTER CORY WONG GOES DEEP ON GEAR, PLAYING WITH VULFPECK AND THE FEARLESS FLYERS — AND HIS UNDYING FENDER STRAT LOVE

Swan Dive

CATCHING UP WITH DANCE GAVIN DANCE’S WILL SWAN: “I DON’T WANT TO SOUND LIKE LIAM NEESON HERE, BUT I REALLY DO HAVE A SPECIFIC SET OF SKILLS!”

Kathleen Edwards

AFTER A SIX-YEAR BREAK SERVING UP COFFEE, SANDWICHES AND MUFFINS IN ONTARIO, THIS RESILIENT CANADIAN ALT-ROCKER IS BACK WITH A FRESH NEW RELEASE, THE APTLY TITLED TOTAL FREEDOM

DevilDriver

GUITARISTS NEIL TIEMANN AND MIKE SPREITZER DISCUSS THEIR LESS ”SHREDDY” APPROACH TO THEIR NEW DOUBLE ALBUM — AND WHY YOU NEED A 5150 IN YOUR ARSENAL

Jasmine Star

Stevie Ray Vaughan, country, K-Pop, hip-hop – she's soloed over it all on her way to TikTok viraldom

A Steady Diet of Riffing

Ian MacKaye of Fugazi – and now Coriky – talks Hendrix and harnessing what you have

All The Madmen

Fifty years after its release, DAVID BOWIE bassist TONY VISCONTI recounts the making of The Man Who Sold the World — and the rocking influence of guitarist MICK RONSON

STONES SOUP

DAVE THOMPSON LOOKS THROUGH ALL THE INGREDIENTS OF THE ROLLING STONES ALBUM GOATS HEAD SOUP IN ITS REI SSUED BOX SET, AND FINDS EVERY LITTLE SPICE THAT’S IMPORTANT.

THE RIGHT MOULD

ALTERNATIVE ROCKER BOB MOULD RELEASES THE STUDIO ALBUM BLUE HEARTS, A SET CALLED DISTORTION: 19892019 — WHICH CHRONICLES MOULD’S SOLO MUSIC AND HIS WORK WITH THE BAND SUGAR — AND RECORD STORE DAY VINYL WITHIN A MONTH’S TIME.

TRUTH REMIX BOX FOR LENNON'S 80TH

ANNIVERSARY EDITIONS

THE BOOK ON FRAMPTON

PETER FRAMPTON RELEASES AN ENGAGING MEMOIR CHRONICLING HIS PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL HIGHS AND LOWS.

SHE'S GOT IT GOIN' ON

DRUMMER CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA STEPS UP TO THE MICROPHONE ON HER NEW SOLO ALBUM, FEATURING HER FAMOUS HUSBAND AND OTHER BIG-NAME GUITARISTS.

NILS LIVE

NILS LOFGREN RELEASES A 16-TRACK COLLECTION, WEATHERED , WHICH WAS RECORDED ON THE ROAD IN 2019.

OHIO EXPRESS - MEMBERS KEEP OFFERING UP A ‘YUMMY' TIME

THE FOUNDING OHIO EXPRESS MEMBERS KNOWN FOR PERFORMING THE BUBBLEGUM ROCK HITS “YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY” AND “CHEWY CHEWY” ARE SET TO BRING BACK THE FUN.

FOR VINYL CITIZENS

CITIZEN VINYL, A CULTURAL HUB FOR VINYL LOVERS, LAUNCHES IN THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS.

GROOVES

THE LATEST ON MUSIC COLLECTING, MEMORABILIA & NEWS

AN INTERVIEW WITH CAT STEVENS

In 1968, after surviving an almost deadly bout of tuberculosis, Cat Stevens, already a star in his homeland of England, having racked up the hits, “Matthew and Son,” “I Love My Dog” and “I’m Gonna Get Me a Gun,” had grown weary of living life inside the bubble of fame.

WIRELESS TRANSMITTERS EXPLAINED

Dan Veall closes this issue with a guide to how to unplug and play

ROCKABILLY HEROES RETURN

The Stray Cats unleash new, basspacked live album

The moment when three bass legends first shared a stage...

A historic moment in bass world—recalled by those who were there to see it

BP 400: UP TO 11

So what’s your favorite bass amp? Freddy Villano recalls 400 issues’ worth of the big boxes

THE WRITE STUFF

Our writers have had a busy 30 years, chronicling the history of the low notes in these pages for future generations to pore over. We asked BP staff past and present to recall their bass-related high points from our first 400 issues...

I SPY… SOMETHING CHROMATIC

Chromatic movement means that we'll be moving in half-steps or fret by-fret on our instrument

BP 400: IN FULL EFFECT

Hey, what’s that weird noise? Steve Lawson revisits the highs and lows of 30 years’ worth of bass effects

BP 400: MAKING BASS HISTORY

How many cool bass guitars have we encountered since BP’s first issue came out? Mike Brooks takes a look back at a few of the very finest...

Beginners' Lesson

Ensure a smooth playing experience with these tips from Steve Lawson