The SBL Podcast

In today’s podcast we catch up with Morten Ehlers, the self-confessed bass junkie from Denmark. Having enjoyed a ten year career as the driving force behind the bass department at TC Electronic, Morten Ehlers is currently amassing an Aladdin’s Cave for bass players. Look around his new bass store and you sense immediately that this is no ordinary shop. Bass Buddha sells instruments from a number o...

In today’s podcast US bass ace, Mike Bendy, gives us an insight into his signature tone. From Kenwood Dennard and Roy Hargrove to the Hipster Assassins, Brooklyn-born bass player Mike Bendy is forging a reputation as one of the bass world’s most exciting players. His formative days were spent listening to bands like Metallica (‘Cliff Burton was my first bass hero’) and then Primus and the Red Hot...

In today’s podcast The Darkness bassist talks us through the band’s brand-new album. Frankie Poullain has been entertaining crowds with The Darkness for years. Since hitting the big time with their 2003 debut album, Permission To Land, he’s hardly had time to catch his breath. This year has been a busy one for the band, who are fresh off shows with Guns N’ Roses and a run of European festivals. Th...

In today’s podcast Steve Jenkins tells us all about his new course for the SBL Academy and the secrets behind his killer tone. As many of you will already know, earlier in the year the SBL team descended on New York’s coolest borough to rub shoulders with some of the most exciting bass players on the planet. We captured some fantastic behind-the-scenes footage and we’ve been bringing you exclusive...

In today’s podcast we talk to US luthier Joe Zon – a must-watch for anyone interested in the art of bass building. Joe Zon’s open-minded approach when it comes to design has led to some incredible basses, such as the headless VB model, the Sonus and Micheal Manring’s signature Hyperbass, which features a three-octave fretless neck and is capable of something around 10,000 tunings! Completely self-...

In today’s podcast we meet the man pulling the bass strings with UK breakthrough act the Ezra Collective. One of the few left-handed bassists around today, TJ Koleoso is currently making a name for himself with the award-winning Ezra Collective. Sonically inspired by the likes of Flea, Bobby Watson and Fela Kuti’s Nweke Atifoh, the basic template is jazz, but there are so many elements bubbling un...

In today’s podcast we track down top US bass player Uriah Duffy… For many years, Uriah Duffy has remained the ‘bass players’ bass player’, working with artists ranging from Whitesnake, CeeLo Green, Christina Aguilera, The Family Stone, Toni Tony Toné and Alicia Keys. As a seasoned sideman, producer and musical director, Uriah’s ability to leave his own musical ego and stylistic preconceptions at t...

In today’s podcast we’re catching up with Richard Yale, bassist for Dead Can Dance, and Tour Manager/Backline Tech for the likes of Muse, Metallica and the Brand New Heavies. Formed in Melbourne by Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard, Dead Can Dance de-camped to London in 1982 and began creating some of the most far reaching goth music you are ever likely to hear. At this point, Perry and Gerrard becam...

In today’s podcast we’re talking slap bass with SBL’s very own Phil Mann. Having already made waves among the SBL audience with his first academy course on slap bass, Phil Mann is back with the next instalment that takes a closer look at some of his trademark slap techniques. Be it the polyrhythmic tapping and slapping of Victor Wooten or Mark King’s ‘chugging’ rhythms from Level 42, slap bass sou...

In today’s podcast we catch up with chiropractic physician and acupuncturist, Dr Randy Kertz If you’re anything like me, you’ve experienced more than just blood, sweat and tears when it comes to playing the bass. We put our bodies through a lot of punishment while we’re out gigging and eventually our performance could suffer because of it. Luckily, guys like Randy are here to help us get in shape...

In today’s podcast Eva Gardner talks us through her inspired bass work with some of the biggest names in pop. The daughter of Creation bassist, Kim Gardner, Eva Gardner may not be a household name in some corners of the bass world, yet Pink, Moby, Cher, Gwen Stefani and many others among the pop world’s elite have called upon her services as a first-call touring musician at one time or another. Ev...

In today’s podcast we marvel at the awesome bass playing of Cameron Dawson. Mamas Gun are a London-based five-piece that’s been gathering critical acclaim and an international audience since 2008. Cameron Dawson took up bass duties in 2012 and has been at the heart of the band’s dazzling pop and wicked grooves ever since. Commitments with Mamas Gun have taken up most of Cameron’s time for the past...

In today’s podcast we’re talking to Damian Erskine, author of our latest SBL Academy course, Contemporary Groove Techniques. Having honed his chops with some of the best musicians the West coast of America has to offer, Damian Erskine is the real deal. A player of both strength and depth, he more than matches the hard-swinging grooves of his counterparts, not to mention his exceptional soloing. Be...

In today’s podcast we meet the man behind Nordstrand Guitars. Carey Nordstrand has established a fine tradition for building top-of-the-range guitars and basses. Nordstrand Audio also boasts a pretty comprehensive range of specialist pickups, with the likes of Tim Lefebvre, Evan Marien, Jamareo Artis and Abe Laboriel all getting in on the act. But that’s not all that’s been keeping Carey Nordstran...

In today’s podcast we’re talking to Sam Lord, bassist with electro-pop outfit Aquilo. Since gaining recognition on the UK airwaves with the single ‘You There’ some four years ago, Aquilo have gone on to have more success across the pond, even finding time to pen hits with the likes of Vanic (‘Losing You’ was released onto YouTube in 2015 and has accumulated over 7.5 million plays on SoundCloud to...

In today’s podcast we’re talking to double bassist and long time supplier of the low-end for Lamb, Jon Thorne. It’s been 20-odd years since Jon Thorne came to some prominence as bassist with experimental trip hop duo Lamb. But Jon has also played alongside folk guitar genius, John Smith, written and recorded an album, Watching The Well, in tribute to his mentor Danny Thompson and recorded and perf...

In today’s podcast we get up-to-speed with one of the founders of thrash, Megadeth bassist David Ellefson. As founding member of US rockers Megadeth, David Ellefson needs little introduction as one of the founders of thrash. Having appeared on countless Megadeth releases including the bands 1985 debut, Killing is My Business… And Business is Good!, right through to 2002’s Rude Awakening, Ellefson...

In today’s podcast we get the lowdown on a stunning new album featuring Jaco Pastorius live in New York City. Released on May 26th, Jaco Pastorius - Truth, Liberty & Soul - Live in NYC showcases a previously unreleased performance by Jaco and the New York incarnation of his Word of Mouth Big Band. The original recording engineer, Paul Blakemore, was onboard to revisit the original 24-track tap...

In today’s podcast we chat to the man behind the award-winning Brooklyn-based collective Snarky Puppy. Always pushing the boundaries with an unbending work ethic, Snarky Puppy are tighter and better oiled than ever before. Inspired by Michael League’s earth-shattering bass playing, their recorded catalogue grows more impressive from album to album. And now Michael’s back with a newly formed projec...

In today’s podcast we meet the man pulling the bass strings with UK breakthrough act Inglorious. Colin Parkinson has found himself in a surreal situation that most bassists only dream about, joining a band that’s already being billed as a shrine to classic rock. Larger-than-life frontman Nathan James of TV talent show The Voice fame joins Colin onstage, and while the young bass prodigy may seem li...

In today’s podcast we sit down with Keith Duffy, long-serving bassist with The Corrs Following a fine tradition set by the likes of James Jamerson and Joe Osborn, as a modern-day session player Keith Duffy’s awareness of what it takes to make a situation work, together with an impulse to keep things simple, has has proved essential, allowing him to communicate the crucial feeling of each song so d...

In today’s podcast Ruth Goller talks us through her inspired bass work with some of the coolest names on the London jazz scene. Ruth has been a regular presence on the London jazz scene for several years now, toting a Fender Mustang and performing with a wide variety of bands including The Moss Project, Let Spin and punk-jazz rockers Acoustic Ladyland. Yet for all her jazz knowledge, Ruth’s unfuss...

In today’s podcast Andrew McKinney lends an insight into every bassman’s dream gig. Aside from leading the bass department at BIMM London, Andrew McKinney is bassist with the James Taylor Quartet, whose high-energy blend of groove jazz has earned them legions of fans right across the globe. What’s more, the bass parts are almost always jaw-droppingly amazing – and Andrew is the first to admit how...

In today’s podcast we catch up with one of the most recorded bass players in popular music. Nathan East has performed with such a huge number of all-time greats, from Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder to Quincy Jones and Eric Clapton, that it’s hard to sum up the impact he’s had on popular music. His funk-fueled bass work added the sparkle to Daft Punk's 2013 hit single, 'Get Lucky'...

In today’s podcast we're catching up with a star of the 2017 London Bass Guitar Show, Shez Raja. With two solo albums already to his name, and another due for release next year, Shez Raja is without doubt a unique creative talent. Having earned a loyal live following in the UK, his bass-led collective draws on a hybrid approach that blends the fusion sounds of Return to Forever with a bass st...