Bassist, composer, recording and performing artist, educator, and historian – among other endeavors… Brad Hallen hosts a brief video and tutorial history of the electric bass!
Who is Brad Hallen. Glad you asked! From his website bio https://bradhallen.com/index.html
Brad Hallen hails from Boston, Mass and is an accomplished Acoustic and Electric bassist.
Since graduating high school in 1975 Brad has been thoroughly committed to the art of music.
After graduating from Andrew Warde High School in Fairfield, Ct in 1975 he spent time in top forty bands honing his craft and learning bass lines to songs that were on the radio at that time by Earth,Wind and Fire, Rufus, Stevie Wonder, Average White Band, etc. In 1978 he got off the road and moved to Boston, Mass where he quickly became part of the musical fabric in the city. He joined Pastiche and they went on to win the Rock N Roll Rumble in 1980 and became one of the top draws in Boston. Also during this time Brad played with many other Boston Bands including The Nervous Eaters, Willie Alexander, and The Outlets.
In 1981 he joined forces with a band out of Chicago called Ministry and toured steadily for two years including tours with The Police on their Synchronicity tour, Culture Club and Madness. During this time there was a flurry of recording activity with Ministry (With Sympathy and Twitch), Eliot Easton (the Cars), Jane Wiedlin (the Go Go’s), and Iggy Pop. After getting off the road with Ministry, Brad came back to Boston and got involved in the local scene again and The Joneses were born and quickly secured a contract with Atlantic Records, releasing Hard; they became a staple on WBCN and in New England.
After that band ran its course Brad toured and recorded with Aimee Mann (I’m with Stupid) for a year or so. Following his stint with Aimee, Brad toured and recorded with Monster Mike Welch (Just Like It Is) and then joined Susan Tedeschi’s touring band, as documented by Live at WC Handy Hall; after two years of working with Susan, Brad became a member of the legendary Roomful of Blues. For 5 years he toured the world with them and made two records for Alligator including the Grammy nominated That’s Right. During that time he also recorded with Johnny Winter (I’m a Bluesman).
After his tenure with Roomful, Brad hooked up with Duke Robillard and has been in his touring and recording band for the last 7 years. Brad has made 6 records with Duke as a leader and countless records that Duke has produced. Brad’s other project at this time includes The Evenfall Quartet on Blue Duchess records.
The journey continues!