Articles – FretlessBass.com

Jol Dantzig Discusses the Creation of Sting’s 8-String Hamer Explorer Fretless Bass

fretlessbass October 11, 2023 Articles Tagged

Sting 8-string fretless Hamer bass. Photo by Jol Dantzig

Jol Dantzig Discusses the Creation of Sting’s 8-String Hamer Explorer Fretless Bass

I had the opportunity to discuss the creation of one of rock ‘n roll’s most iconic fretless basses with Jol Dantzig – Sting’s red fretless Hamer 8-string Explorer bass. Dantzig and the team at Hamer Guitars custom designed this bass for Sting in 1980 with a maple neck, unlined fingerboard, and a cherry red Explorer style body. Featured in The Police video for “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” and played live on a few occasions, this bass is an absolute work of art and truly is one-of-a-kind. …continue reading »

Bill Laswell Interview

fretlessbass December 12, 2019 Articles, Interviews Tagged Tags: Bill Laswell, Public Image Limited

Bill Laswell Interview – Public Image Limited (PIL) Album, Fretless Bass and More

A while back I started a conversation with Bill Laswell curious to find out more about his bass playing and also an album he did with Public Image Limited, aka PIL. The album titled simply ALBUM is a favorite of mine and features some amazing fretless bass. In addition, this album also features Sex Pistols lead singer and PIL founder John Lydon, veteran drummers Tony Williams and Ginger Baker, legendary guitarist Steve Vai, and some other amazing musicians and technicians. …continue reading »

Adam Ant Concert Review Shubert Theatre Boston September 17, 2019

fretlessbass October 1, 2019 Articles, Concerts, Reviews Tagged Tags: Adam Ant

Photo © Eric Larson edl.media Adam Ant Shubert Theatre Boston MA

Adam Ant Concert Review Shubert Theatre Boston September 17, 2019

I have been a long time fan of Adam Ant, ever since the Friend or Foe album was released in 1982. The first time I heard the title track playing over the radio waves, I was mesmerized – I’d never heard anything like it. …continue reading »

Mai Leisz Interview – Recording MaiGroup’s Metamorphosis and More

fretlessbass June 14, 2019 Albums, Articles, Interviews Tagged Tags: mai agan, mai Leisz, maigroup

Mai Leisz Interview – Recording MaiGroup’s Metamorphosis and More

As I was reviewing MaiGroup’s 2019 Metamorphosis album I was so blown away I had to ask a few questions about how it all came together. Mai Leisz was kind enough to answer a few interview questions about the album, the studio, the band, and more. To see the complete album review click here. Continue reading the interview below. …continue reading »

Album Review – MaiGroup Metamorphosis – Mai Leisz

fretlessbass June 6, 2019 Albums, Articles, Reviews Tagged Tags: mai agan, mai Leisz, maigroup

fretlessbass-album-review-square-maigroup-metamorphosis

Album Review – MaiGroup Metamorphosis

noun, plural met·a·mor·pho·ses [met-uh-mawr-fuh-seez] “a profound change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism”.

MaiGroup is indeed evolving and growing, revealed in their latest 2019 release Metamorphosis. Formed by Estonian bassist and composer Mai Leisz almost a decade ago, MaiGroup has just released their third studio album, a well thought out and wonderfully told story, that keeps the album concept alive and well. This is not just another thrown together compilation that can be all too common in a content driven world. This is a well crafted project, beautifully written and arranged, with attention to detail and subtleties – a true band performance, where the power comes for the whole, not the individuals. The album features amazing musicians, the core consisting of Mai Leisz on fretted and fretless bass and background vocals, Björn Arkö on sax, Simon Berggren on piano, Calle Stålenbring on guitar and Jonathan Lundberg on drums. Guest musicians include three musical legends, David Crosby, Bill Frisell, and Mai’s husband Greg Leisz. Produced by Mai and Greg, this release is one that needs to be listened to in its entirety several times through to expose its true brilliance – the sign of any great album. …continue reading »

Mai Leisz Fretless Questions Interview

fretlessbass May 16, 2018 Articles, Interviews Tagged Tags: mai agan, mai Leisz

Mai Leisz Fretless Questions Interview

Article by Eric Larson, © Copyright 2018 FretlessBass.com
Featured photo credit: Anna Webber

I am honored to have interviewed Mai Leisz (formerly Mai Agan), Estonian bass player and composer for MaiGroup, David Crosby and more. A very hardworking professional bass player, who caught the attention of Greg Leisz while he was on tour with Jackson Browne in Stockholm, Mai has crossed genres playing and writing with many artists, forming her own “MaiGroup”, and touring, writing, and recording extensively. Her fretless playing is sweet, melodic, and always respectful of the music. She plays a gorgeous 1981 Ibanez fretless bass that is seven years older than she is, yet her ability and musicianship go far beyond age, breathing new life into this vintage instrument, and the genres she crosses. It was a pleasure to learn more about her fretless bass playing and background.

Read the full interview here >>>

Mo Foster and Friends Live at Pizza Express Soho January 2016

fretlessbass May 10, 2018 Articles Tagged Tags: Mo Foster

Mo Foster and Friends Live at Pizza Express Soho January 2016

Mo reached out to me a while back and let me know about a few videos from his “Mo Foster and Friends” performance at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho. He plays his legendary fretless on two of the songs and it sounds as sweet as ever. Amazing performances, high quality videos, and great audio. Be sure to check these out! …continue reading »

Mark Egan & Arjun Bruggeman “Dreaming Spirits”

fretlessbass January 31, 2018 Albums, Articles, Interviews Tagged Tags: Mark Egan

Mark Egan & Arjun Bruggeman “Dreaming Spirits”

This new release from Mark Egan and Arjun Bruggeman, featuring Shane Theriot, gets better and better the more you listen. Originally intended to be a bass guitar and tabla album, the project evolved to include guitar and more. Mark Egan was as generous as always answering my questions about how this project and trio came together, giving me thorough details of the project and the players that contributed. There is plenty of beautiful fretless bass work, and the complimentary styles that flow between the musicians are impressive. Read more to be brought behind the scenes of this unique project.

Basses – Mark Egan
Tabla & Drums – Arjun Bruggeman
Guitars – Shane Theriot

FretlessBass.com: How did this trio and project come together? What was the initial concept for this album, and did it change along the way at all?

Mark Egan: I met tabla player, drummer and percussionist Arjun Bruggeman in 2008 when we recorded and toured with master Kirtan singer-chanter, Krishna Das. Arjun is a world percussionist and session recording artist …continue reading »

Remembering Doug Lunn 1954 – 2017

fretlessbass January 30, 2018 Articles Tagged Tags: Doug Lunn

Doug Lunn Fretless Bass www.fretlessbass.com

Remembering Doug Lunn 1954 – 2017

On January 30, 2018 fretless bass player Doug Lunn would have turned 64 years old. Sadly he passed away February 11, 2017 after a battle with cancer. A close family friend reached out to me to remember Doug, and to look for any info that I might be able to contribute, as he was planning to put together a website celebrating Doug’s life and music. I was surprised, but also honored, to find out that FretlessBass.com was one of the few (if not the only) websites that had published the bio that Doug had sent me nine years ago. I was also shocked to find out that there was no Wikipedia page created for Doug.

Doug Lunn specialized in the 5-string fretless bass. His contributions to music were extensive, playing with top artists that include Bruce Springsteen, Mark Isham, David Torn, Andy Summers, Sting …continue reading »

Interview: John Taylor – Duran Duran – Past and Present: Part 1

fretlessbass June 22, 2017 Articles, Interviews Tagged Tags: Duran Duran, John Taylor

Interview: John Taylor – Duran Duran – Past and Present: Part 1

In the 1980s Duran Duran took the radio waves, television sets, and the world by storm. Platinum albums, Grammys, and multiple music video awards followed their gold record debut. Tens of millions of album sales and sold out venues worldwide became the norm for the newly dubbed “Fab Five”. Though some may have predicted that this band would not escape the ’80s and continue this kind of success, the band has shown decade after decade that they were here to stay, proving the point in 2015 with the Top 10 release of their latest album Paper Gods, and the multi-year, continually extended, world-wide tour that has supported it.

I spoke with bassist John Taylor during the recording of Paper Gods. He spoke by phone from his home in Los Angeles, California, on business in the US, away from the London recording studio for a brief moment.
…continue reading »

Interview: John Taylor – Duran Duran – Past and Present: Part 2

fretlessbass Articles, Interviews Tagged Tags: Duran Duran, John Taylor

Interview: John Taylor – Duran Duran – Past and Present: Part 2

<< Click here for Part 1 of the interview

I directed this part of the conversation with John Taylor of Duran Duran to their latest album and reflections on career longevity. At the time of this interview Taylor had no idea that their project, still being formed in the studio, would be a Top 10 hit in the US, the UK, and multiple other countries. He had no idea that the album would get rave reviews and worldwide attention. And he had no idea that the tour to support it would continue two years after the album release, with multiple tour extensions still happening.
…continue reading »

Even Snoopy plays fretless…

fretlessbass December 25, 2016 Articles Tagged

Even Snoopy plays fretless (and Pig-Pen plays upright!)…

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from FretlessBass.com! …continue reading »

Tony Levin Interview – Sting & Peter Gabriel 2016 “Rock Paper Scissors” Tour

fretlessbass September 23, 2016 Articles Tagged Tags: Tony Levin

Tony-Levin-Sting-Peter-Gabriel-tour-2016-01

Tony Levin Interview – Sting & Peter Gabriel Tour 2016

We caught up with Tony Levin while he was on tour for the Sting & Peter Gabriel 2016 “Rock Paper Scissors” Tour. This is a unique tour with Sting and Peter Gabriel sharing the stage with a mixed group of members from both of their long-time touring bands. Tony was very generous with his time, as always, and gave us some interesting insight into the tour setup from his unique perspective, including some information on his legendary, road-worn equipment.
…continue reading »

Tony Levin Interview – New Album From LEVIN MINNEMANN RUDESS: “From the Law Offices of Levin Minnemann Rudess”

fretlessbass July 26, 2016 Albums, Articles, Interviews Tagged Tags: Tony Levin

Tony Levin Interview – New Album From LEVIN MINNEMANN RUDESS: “From the Law Offices of Levin Minnemann Rudess”

LMR - From the Law Offices Of — Levin Minnemann Rudess – From the Law Offices Of

It was an honor to catch up recently with Tony Levin, the legendary bassist, who is an extremely busy man. Tony was the first bassist to answer our “Fretless Questions” many, many years ago, and has always been very approachable and friendly to FretlessBass.com. We can’t thank him enough for taking the time to tell us about the new album from LEVIN MINNEMANN RUDESS: From the Law Offices of Levin Minnemann Rudess.

FB: I’ve been listening to the new album from LEVIN MINNEMANN RUDESS: “From the Law Offices of Levin Minnemann Rudess” which was released July 15, 2016. I am very impressed! Much thanks for letting me listen to it pre-release.

How does the writing and recording of this album compare to the last album?

Tony Levin: We took a lot more time on this album, for the writing process. Partly because we were all on the road much of 2015, with various tours. Also, we’d got a sense on the first album of how the other players would react to the pieces, and so, at least in my case, …continue reading »

MuteMath Bassist Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas – A Brief Interview

fretlessbass May 16, 2016 Articles, Interviews Tagged Tags: Roy Mitchell-Cardenas

Roy Mitchell-Cardenas playing fretless bass guitar

MuteMath Bassist Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas – A Brief Interview

If you have never heard MuteMath I suggest that you check them out. I was first told about this Grammy nominated band from New Orleans by a friend of mine. I had never heard of them. I listened to “Chaos” and “Break the Same” from their MuteMath album and immediately purchased it.

This band is phenomenal, but being a drummer and bass player, the rhythm section caught my attention immediately. Darren King is an unbelievable drummer with amazing energy and creativity, and a real showman. But I was really impressed with bassist Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas. …continue reading »

Sting’s 8-String Hamer Explorer Fretless Bass

fretlessbass May 9, 2016 Articles Tagged Tags: Sting

Sting’s 8-String Hamer Explorer Fretless bass featured in The Police video for “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” and played live on a few occasions.

8-string basses are typically strung with four pairs of strings, each in the pair a different gauge, set close together and typically played together. The top string of each pair is a light gauge string strung an octave up from the main normal gauge bass string of the pair, creating an octave and chorus effect when played together. Though this is the typical setup, other alternate setups exist including using the heavier gauge bass string as the top string of the pair, with the light gauge string below it.
…continue reading »

Pedulla Guitars 40th Anniversary Interview With Michael Pedulla

fretlessbass February 26, 2015 Articles, Interviews Tagged Tags: Michael Pedulla, Pedulla Guitars

For the past forty years the sound of Pedulla basses has been embedded in music of all genres. From Anne Murray to Eagles to Kiss. From Lynyrd Skynyrd to Elton John to Brooks & Dunn. From Mark Egan to Tim Landers to countless other players, Pedulla basses have been heard all over the world. If Michael Pedulla hadn’t combined his love for music, woodworking, and engineering in a small guitar shop near Boston in 1975, who knows how that music may have suffered? How would the musicians have been different, lacking the unique inspiration of a Pedulla, had he not committed his passions to building the best basses possible without compromise? Fortunately, as we enter into the year 2015, answers to those questions are not something to be pondered. …continue reading »

Mark Egan Interview – “About Now” Album, Tour, and More – Part 2

fretlessbass February 2, 2015 Albums, Articles, Interviews Tagged Tags: Mark Egan

I recently interviewed Mark Egan, focusing on his latest solo album About Now, and also covering some new projects that he is working on. This particular project was released in the spring of 2014, and features long time collaborators Danny Gottlieb on drums and Mitchel Forman on keyboards.

This is Part 2 of the interview where we focus more on the songwriting process itself. …continue reading »

Jaco: A Documentary Film – Produced by Metallica’s Robert Trujillo

fretlessbass January 28, 2015 Articles Tagged Tags: Jaco Pastorius, Robert Trujillo

Jaco Pastorius was arguably one of the best bass players to ever live, if not the best. Metallica’s Robert Trujillo is producing a long overdue documentary film on the late great Jaco, and has started a pledge campaign, through PledgeMusic.com, to raise funds and complete the project. Robert considers Jaco to be a hero and one of his biggest influences, and he has formed a very special relationship with some of Jaco’s family members. Robert tells a story of …continue reading »

Mo Foster – A History of His Fender Jazz Fretless Bass

fretlessbass January 26, 2015 Articles, Interviews Tagged Tags: Mo Foster

I have been in touch with the legendary bassist Mo Foster recently. I was telling him that I was a bit of a fretless bass collector, but assured him my collecting was not an addiction (I can stop any time I want to). His reply was perfect, “There is a concept known as Guitar Acquisition Syndrome, or GAS. It is a question and an answer: Q – What is the correct number of guitars? A – One more than you have already. Luckily I don’t suffer from it — the only instruments I have are the ones I play.”

The discussion started when I asked about his gear, and what fretless basses he has and uses. He told me …continue reading »

Category: Articles

Bill Laswell Interview – Public Image Limited (PIL) Album, Fretless Bass and More

Adam Ant Concert Review Shubert Theatre Boston September 17, 2019

Mai Leisz Interview – Recording MaiGroup’s Metamorphosis and More

Album Review – MaiGroup Metamorphosis

Mai Leisz Fretless Questions Interview

Mo Foster and Friends Live at Pizza Express Soho January 2016

Mark Egan & Arjun Bruggeman “Dreaming Spirits”

Remembering Doug Lunn 1954 – 2017

Interview: John Taylor – Duran Duran – Past and Present: Part 1

Interview: John Taylor – Duran Duran – Past and Present: Part 2

Tony Levin Interview – Sting & Peter Gabriel Tour 2016

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