Loading ...I had the pleasure recently of interviewing Berklee College of Music Bass professor Joe Santerre at his home in Massachusetts. Anytime I am in the presence of Joe and his bass, I immediately want to dust off my 6 string bass and hope that after much practice I could gain even a small percentage of his mastery. Whether it be [...]
Welcome back for part two of my interview with the wonderful Mr. Ralphe Armstrong. In this segment Ralphe talks about his favorite electric basses, the need for us all to embrace new technology and lesson times with and the inspiration he recieved from Ron Carter, Ray Brown and Buster Williams. JS - Tell me about your times with Ron Carter. Ralphe - Ron Carter was [...]
Touring with John McLaughlin at the young age of 17 started this bassist on his musical journey. What followed, were decades of tours, recording sessions and appearances with top name artists in many genres. Such a rich musical history couldn’t help but generate some great stories, read on to get to know the wonderful Mr. Ralphe Armstrong. JS – Could you [...]
This weeks spotlight is on Italian bassist Vincenzo (Viz) Maurogiovanni. Viz is the winner of the 2007 Euro Bass Day and was given the award of “Best European Rising Bass Player” and also recieved first place in the “Bassmaster” international electric Bass contest in Croatia in 2010. Viz has recorded and performed with many artists including Michele Campobasso, Simone Clarelli, [...]
My newest article on Bass creators is with local artist Alvin Harrison. I met Mr. Harrison at Larry Hartke’s Bass Lounge in Manhattan. Not only does Alvin sculpt beautiful one of a kind basses, but also produces fine paintings. No detail is overlooked, as is evidenced in not only his basses but his paintings as well. With a military upbringing, [...]
I am a sucker for a pretty BASS. I have as much a love for art as I do music and when I started seeing pictures of these basses pop up a few years ago on Facebook, I fell in love. The care and beauty taken with each instrument is evident and what the person ends up with is a [...]
I first saw David Ellefson at the Hartke clinic inside Daddy’s Junky Music in Dedham, MA. What struck me most about him initially, is that he exudes a certain confidence, not born of cockiness but more a sense of purpose. In fact he speaks a few times during our interview about that sort of purposefulness a person can feel in [...]
A direct quote from my notebook, written while observing Frank Bello playing the Hartke clinic inside Daddy’s Junky Music in Dedham, Massachusetts. “This guy F—ing loves music!!” This was my first impression of Frank Bello. He’s a ball of metal bass energy that, when the music is turned on, goes from 0-60 in 2 seconds. His passion for playing and [...]
Welcome back to part 2 of my interview with Stu Hamm. This week we get more in depth on his thoughts as a player and composer. Stu talks about some of his writing techniques, who his inspirations are and a few of his road stories. JS - Are you currently studying any players, composers or new techniques? Stu - I’m always working on new stuff. I’ve got a [...]
In order to be a master you need to think like one and in order to think like one, you need to know how they think! Stu Hamm’s musical career has spanned decades. His first musical ventures were with Steve Vai, who he met at the Berklee College of Music, and Joe Satriani. Later he went on to play with Billy Sheehan [...]
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