A distinguished member of the Musicians Hall of Fame, he was a first-call Nashville session cat / sideman from 1977 until he passed in 203.

 

Raised on a steady diet of country, rhythm & blues, Cajun, jazz, and various permutations thereof in his native Monroe, Louisiana, Michael Rhodes was a master groove / song player who anchored scores of genre spanning artists including Stevie Nicks, Hank Williams Jr., Reba McEntire, Dixie Chicks, Steve Winwood, Randall Bramblett, Vince Gill, Kelly Willis, Johnny Cash, Lorrie Morgan, Toby Keith, Taylor Swift, Dave Stewart, Etta James, Dolly Parton, Joe Bonamassa, Neil Diamond, Joss Stone, Tanya Tucker, Ronnie Milsap, Marty Stuart, Brooks & Dunn, JJ Cale, Willie Nelson, Rosanne Cash, Shawn Colvin, and Terry Radigan to namedrop a select few.

 

Rhodes cited Joe Osborn, Carol Kaye, John Paul Jones, Tommy Cogbill, Sir Paul, Jack Bruce, and Jack Casady among his influences. His weapons of choice included several Fender Precision basses, a ‘64 Epiphone Embassy Deluxe, various Hofner instruments, all run through an Ashdown CTM 300 Tube Head and two 8 x 10 Ashdown cabinets.

 

Michael Rhodes Sound & Vision….

 

Joe Bonamassa’s British Blues Explosion https://youtu.be/ds5p59XOXHk

 

Dave Stewart and Orianthi “Girl In a Cat Suit” https://youtu.be/sTuOL-qreJc

 

Terry Radigan “So What” https://youtu.be/Y6Ai-grgtjw

 

Lee Ann Womack “I Hope You Dance” https://youtu.be/RV-Z1YwaOiw

 

Kelly Willis “Get Real” https://youtu.be/SJJC2AtbLXw

 

Shawn Colvin “Sunny Came Home” https://youtu.be/qfKKBDFCiIA

 

“She grinds her leather like Liberace rhines a stone…”

 

Among the most entertaining (and musically adept) ensembles of the legendary the 1980s Sunset Strip metal / hair band era was Faster Pussycat – helmed by a crooner and entrepreneur whose name Mel Brooks would have conjured if only he’d thought of it first: Taime Downe.

 

Note that many of the players of said scene were accomplished musicians who also studied the entertainment arts (acting, choreography) – hence the theatrical persona that accompanied some pretty darn good rock and roll. Disposable but enjoyable….which brings us to…

 

…bassist Eric Stacy, a Berklee School of Music student whose very “uncool” (at the time) weapon of choice was a vintage Fender Jazz. Eric plied cool syncopated lines and mighty riffage to such sleazy staples as “Nonstop to Nowhere,” and “Where There’s a Whip There’s a Way” in an era wherein rock ‘n’ roll and big hair kept American youth blissfully amused. It was fun while it lasted…

 

Eric Stacy Sound & Vision…

 

“Nonstop to Nowhere” https://youtu.be/4m83udrJlxw

 

“Where There’s a Whip There’s a Way” https://youtu.be/V5wbgEXf0i8

 

“House of Pain” https://youtu.be/v1ntsBXdK88

 

 

A producer, composer, singer, and recording artist, Wornell “Sonic Prince” Jones has been a busy session cat and sideman in the USA – and most recently Japan – for five decades and counting.

 

A James Jamerson / Ron Carter disciple, Wornell’s career spans Bobby Parker, Eddie Kendricks, Sly Stone, Koko Taylor, Patrick Moraz, Maria Muldaur, Earth Wind & Fire, Ramsey Lewis and the Pointer Sisters, to cite a few.

 

Erudite rockers know him best for his work with Nils Lofgren wherein Jones afforded the acclaimed guitarist soulful grooves aplenty on such seminal sides as Nils Lofgren (1975), Cry Tough (1976), I Came to Dance (1977), and the live set Night After Night (1978). In the 90s Jones performed with Nils, trading his Fender Jazz for an extended range.   

 

 

Wornell Jones Sound & Vision…

Nils Lofgren:

 

“Back It Up” https://youtu.be/LL9tKbICXl4

 

“Heart on Fire” – Wornell on lead vocal https://youtu.be/EGm1u9eKMG8

 

“Black Books” https://youtu.be/9lrDr4Nmm9E

 

“You’re So Easy: https://youtu.be/qNylNjulRvk

 

“The Sun Hasn’t Set on This Boy Yet” https://youtu.be/M-wR438lTXw

 

Wornell Jones:  

 

“The Edge” https://youtu.be/MtQJh3knULA

 

“Must Have Been Love”https://youtu.be/golJhioU3gE

 

By Thomas Semioli

One name! One icon!

 

“You look like a Bootsy…” said the mother of the bassist born William Earl Collins – hence the single moniker synonymous with the genre he so richly enhanced. Indisputable fact: Bootsy is the foremost funkiest player ever to pick up the instrument – namely the “Space Bass.”

 

His legion of master disciples, including Flea, Prince Roger Nelson and Marcus Miller, to cite a humble few, have certainly expanded on the template set by Bootsy, however to my ears, Mr. Collins reigns supreme with his deft command of rhythm, space (pun intended), melody, showmanship, use of mind-bending, shape-shifting effects, and most of all…attitude!!!!

 

An incomparable and prolific recording artist, producer, composer, philanthropist, Funk University founder, and multi-instrumentalist, Bootsy’s tenure with James Brown in the original J.B.’s; Parliament Funkadelic; as a bandleader with Rubber Band; and collaborator whose work spans Keith Richards, Material, Snoop Dogg, Herbie Hancock, Sammy Hagar, Jerry Harrison, Deee Lite, and Buddy Miles to reference a very, very very, select few, has been oft imitated and sampled, yet never surpassed.

 

Bootsy Sound & Vision…

 

Dig this all too brief sampling of Bootsy tracks…

 

James Brown live 1971: https://youtu.be/ZJ-qaeldagg

 

Bootsy’s Rubber Band Live Stretchin’ Out 1976 https://youtu.be/3byI94zEjc4

 

Bootsy’s New Rubber Band Live 1993 https://youtu.be/FQNdAnZkN78

 

Keith Richards “Big Enough” https://youtu.be/LbzxcvNFhoU

 

Deee Lite “The Groove is in the Heart” https://youtu.be/etviGf1uWlg

 

Herbie Hancock “Perfect Machine” https://youtu.be/yJq9_EqcwQU

 

Snoop Dog “Undercover Funk” “Give Up the Funk” https://youtu.be/m_84x4wFaoE

 

Musiq Soulchild / Big Daddy Kane https://youtu.be/EbS2dIADcsg

 

Disciples of Funk https://youtu.be/WUDy4S4BdOE

 

Jerry Harrison “Bonzo Goes to Washington” https://youtu.be/_BRHwFy0qaQ

 

Bootsy Collins Praxis “Transmutation Animal Behavior” https://youtu.be/9TerGRhSFJg

 

Prince Inducts Parliament Funkadelic into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame https://youtu.be/EbS2dIADcsg

 

By Thomas Semioli

When synthesizers become commonplace in the 1980s, bassists had to adapt or die! Among the most adept at working with the emerging digital technology that revolutionized (or some say “killed”) the pop music landscape was Paul Gardiner with Gary Numan’s Tubeway Army, and later as the anchor of Numan’s solo band.

Gardiner fortified synthesizer motifs with unison lines, pocket grooves, harmonic extensions, and fretless which afforded the instrument a role – albeit a greatly reduced one.

A composer and keyboardist, Gardiner also recorded a few minor hit singles under his own name in his native UK including a remake of the Velvet Underground’s “Venus in Furs,” and also guested on Robert Palmer’s groundbreaking Clues collection in 1980.

Dig Paul with Tubeway Army:

“Are Friends Electric?” https://youtu.be/ZF4Z6smOrZw

“Down In The Park” https://youtu.be/K1EUxGZQoDU

Dig Paul with Gary:

“Stormtrooper in Drag” https://youtu.be/obmdmWqtcss

Dig Paul’s rendition of “Venus In Furs” https://youtu.be/v0Kz1qFGEbo

Dig Paul with Robert Palmer “I Dream of Wires” https://youtu.be/WOmoURHDgVM

Try cutting bass tracks with Jennifer Anniston, Courtney Cox, and Mary-Louise Parker in the studio!

He was a Counting Crow when the Crows actually counted on the 1990s rock music landscape. A dexterous player who mastered fretted, fretless, extended range, and upright in a pop context– Matt Malley anchored Adam Duritz’ confessional compositions which moved millions and were staples during the last hurrah of FM music radio in the grunge era.

Among Malley’s co-writing credits include “Accidentally In Love” which found its way on to the Shrek 2 soundtrack, netting the bassist Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe nominations! Following his split with the Crows back in 2004, Matt has collaborated on a world music project with guitarist Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, and with Yes singer Jon Anderson for Family Circle wherein Malley played all the instruments. Among his recording and stage credits include Emitt Rhodes, Jerry Donahue, and Beverley Martyn. He also waxed a solo slab entitled The Goddess Within.

With the Crows, Malley plied passages which grooved appropriately and kept the singer on key (mostly) as starlets aplenty swooned o’er the libretto of the lovelorn dread-locked poet.

Nice work if you can get it!

Dig Matt with Counting Crows:

“Accidentally In Love” https://youtu.be/QUypt2nvorM

“Mr. Jones” https://youtu.be/-oqAU5VxFWs

“Hangin’ Around” https://youtu.be/ARiiO_41Id8

Dig Matt with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt

“The Eternal Wait” https://youtu.be/SKoWb2oIjyA

Dig Matt solo from The Goddess Within

“How You Are” https://youtu.be/SceWIAfX23Q

“Into the Silence” https://youtu.be/UlfAVautin4

When the Black Crowes broke big in 1990, all of a sudden everything old was new again and again and again as retro became vogue in rock….and remains so to this day.

 

An entrepreneur, radio / digital media host, among other endeavors – the bassist born Charles Brandt skillfully plied his craft on a variety of instruments (vintage Fenders, Ampeg, Gibson basses) for the Crowes in the tradition of the British rockers that profoundly influenced the Marietta, Georgia quintet. Colt was given to groovin’ in-the-pocket and punctuating the brothers Robinson with occasional counter-melodies delivered with a gritty tone.

 

An affable chap and versatile player, Johnny’s enjoyed continued artistic and commercial success following his split from the Black Crowes with his trio Brand New Immortals, along with Train, Rock Star Supernova, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, among others.

 

Johnny Colt Sound & Vision…

 

Black Crowes:

 

“Remedy” https://youtu.be/BYyRLTveFJQ

 

 “Hard to Handle” https://youtu.be/BRcs_OzQb14

 

“Twice as Hard” https://youtu.be/XLg7aoGAkkk

 

 Live at Pinkpop 1990 https://youtu.be/APYX_VjkbOg

 

“Feelin’ Alright” https://youtu.be/Z5gEMaeIYCU

 

 Brand New Immortals:

 

 “Reasons Why” https://youtu.be/QbAIUgg-BqY

 

“Tiny Voices”  https://youtu.be/65KhQSQ0hoM

 

Johnny Colt Solo:

 

“Strychnine” https://youtu.be/93fN4YBxLPQ

As the anchor of the Dave Matthews Band for three decades and counting, Stefen Lessard has established himself as an exemplary pocket player, improviser, soloist, and melodic foil for one of the most popular and prolific jam bands in the history of rock ‘n’ roll.

Stefan started out on trumpet and at age 16, he answered the call to join Matthews’ fledging ensemble, and the rest as they say, is history…

Spanning jazz fusion, funk, folk, bluegrass, alternative rock, and pop with Matthews – Lessard plies his craft slapping, finger-plucking, and plectrum purveying on a variety of basses ranging from vintage Fenders to Warwick, Modulus, Norstrand, fretted and fretless, and extended range boutique instruments to old-school upright.

Dig Stefan with the DMB…

“Crush” https://youtu.be/elUwSHjfA94

“Two Step” live https://youtu.be/NTC__g12xPs

“Don’t Drink the Water” https://youtu.be/psIuidkkLjI

“Tripping Billies” https://youtu.be/vsUuYkMHV4w

“Ants Marching” https://youtu.be/FoezrZ-DCJw

By Thomas Semioli

“Because nobody wanted to play bass, I was instantly in a band!”

Leslie Edward Claypool is a genre unto his own…

He is a prolific, dexterous, multi-faceted master of poly-rhythmic bass artistry which he plies on a variety of instruments by way of numerous techniques (some self invented – such as his Flamenco stroking coupled with finger-tapping) which defy convention.

And if that’s not enough for one world class bassist, Les has additionally distinguished himself as a composer, record and video producer, author, actor, wine maker, stage performer, humorist, session player, film / television soundtrack composer, collaborator / bandmember (Oysterhead), and solo recording artist – among other endeavors.

Leader of the iconic funk punk progressive experimental ensemble Primus – which came to prominence during the 1990s grunge era zeitgeist – Claypool’s collaborations span Metallica, Rob Wasserman, Spinal Tap, Jerry Cantrell, Govt. Mule, Jack Irons, Firehose, Tom Waits, Adrian Belew, and Hank Williams III to reference a very “conservative” few.

Les cites Larry Graham, Sir Paul, Geddy Lee, Bootsy, Stanley Clarke, and John Paul Jones among his influences, and scores of bassists list Les among their heroes.

To see and hear Les live is to appreciate him: keep tabs with Claypool via www.LesClaypool.com . Claypool is on that very, very short list of bassists you must experience in your lifetime!

Dig Les with Primus:

“My Name is Mud” https://youtu.be/953PkxFNiko

“Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver” https://youtu.be/aYDfwUJzYQg

“Jerry Was a Race Car Driver” https://youtu.be/LBQ2305fLeA

“Lacquer Head” https://youtu.be/kY7jSesdxl0

Dig Les with Oysterhead (with Stewart Copland, Trey Anastasio) Live at Bonnaroo 2006 https://youtu.be/X9uk9IcoQ0w