The Streamliner holds true to its name with a simple, user-friendly control configuration and an all-tube, class-A preamp section.
Listen:
By definition, “streamlining” refers to
the process of making something simpler
or more efficient. And this certainly
appears to be the direction behind the new
Streamliner amps, a series of class-D bass
amps from Jeff Genzler and his team at
Genz Benz. While other amplifiers in the
Genz Benz line offer tone-tweaking options
like FET and tube preamps, active parametric
equalization, and global signal-shaping
circuitry, the Streamliner holds true to its
name with a simple, user-friendly control
configuration and an all-tube, class-A preamp
section.
Brick House
The Streamliner 900 has a very different look
than its class-D cousins in the Genz Benz
Shuttle series. The chassis is aesthetically pleasing,
with extruded aluminum sides that convey
a sense of durability. The knobs feel substantial,
and their smooth rotation contrasts with the
finer movements of Shuttle pots.
What makes the Streamliner so unique
lurks within its clean, well-designed interior.
Removing the top plate reveals a six-stage, all-tube
preamp with three 12AX7 tubes—one
for Gain, one for the Bass and Treble controls,
and one for the active Mid EQ. Genz
Benz also integrated its proprietary Heat
Abatement Technology, which effectively—
and just as importantly, silently—cools the
unit during operation. Another unique feature
is the Streamliner’s 3 Dimensional Power
Management (3DPM) technology—a limiter
that compresses lower frequencies while leaving
upper mids and highs untouched. This
creates a feel similar to tube compression
while protecting the class-D power amp.
About Face
The Streamliner’s front panel is simple and
straightforward. The 1 MΩ input matches
well with high-impedance pickups—
whether they’re in a passive electric bass or a
pickup-equipped upright. Next to the input
and conveniently placed Mute switch, the
preamp section has a Gain switch for overdriven
tones. Used in conjunction with the
Gain and Volume knobs, it enables you to
achieve a variety of tones—from clean tube
warmth to a nasty snarl.
A first for Genz Benz is the influence
of the Bandaxall topology on the Bass and
Treble shelving filters. This creates smooth
enhancements to the lows and highs without
dramatically affecting other frequencies.
And continuing with the streamlining philosophy,
Genz Benz simplified the midrange
EQ by allowing the user to cut or boost
within three frequency centers—220 Hz,
600 Hz, and 2.5 kHz. These commonly
used frequency points allow you to add
some very precisely tuned punch and presence
to your tone.
Rounding out the front panel is a Master
knob, and an array of LED indicators confirming
power delivery (blue), signal peaking
(amber), and Protect mode (red). When
you turn on the Streamliner, the red LED
also indicates that Warm-Up mode is active
and allowing the tube preamp to bias and
stabilize properly before operation.
The rear panel has common features
like dual Neutrik speakON connectors, an
effects loop, and a DI. Genz Benz also
included an auxiliary input for a
CD or MP3 player, a Tuner Out, a
Headphones jack that you can use
without a speaker load, and a voltage
selector for the world traveler.
Wielding the Hammer
My initial impressions of the
Streamliner 900 were based on a
comparison with its counterpart, the
Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0. Setting both amplifiers
flat and pairing them individually with
a 4x10 cabinet, it was immediately clear
these two amps were very different animals.
The Streamliner 900 provided a thick tone
and solid attack, and with each pull of the
strings I could feel the weight of each note.
The Shuttle had a more modern sound
with clarity and response, but it couldn’t
quite match the warmth and heft of the
Streamliner. As a sonic weapon, the Shuttle
is more like a sword, while the Streamliner
is definitely a war hammer.
I used four basses to assess the versatility
of the Streamliner 900—a 1964 Fender Jazz
bass, a 5-string Music Man StingRay, a Bill
Nash P-style with flatwound strings, and
a carved German upright with a Fishman
BP-100 pickup. I paired the Streamliner
with a variety of 4x10, 1x12, and 1x15 cabinet
configurations. After setting the Gain
and Volume knobs to minimize peaking, I
played the basses with the EQ set flat. Then
I tested how various adjustments to certain
frequencies enhanced the basic sound.
The J bass retained its clear, articulate tone,
and soloing on the bridge pickup sounded
round and burpy. Boosting the mids at 220
Hz gave the ’64 J’s aging pickups some extra
punch. The 3DPM feature was a big benefit
when slapping and popping on the StingRay,
because it kept the bottom tight and maintained
the bright transients of that modern
classic bass. The Streamliner also handled the
5-string Music Man’s B string with good definition.
I was also impressed with how well the
Nash P bass matched with the Streamliner—
pairing the amp with a 1x15 cabinet evoked
enough old-school tone to bring out my best
possible James Jamerson impressions. I was
also able to capture the classic P-bass growl by
backing off the Bass control and boosting the
mids at 600 Hz.
With all the electric basses, I engaged the
Gain switch and experimented with varying
amounts of overdrive. The switch is useful
in adding an edge or a bit of hair to the
tone, but the lack of power tubes seemed to
keep the Streamliner from completely hitting
the mark on classic overdrive sounds.
While I was pleased with how the
Streamliner handled electric basses, I was most
impressed when I plugged in my upright. Set
flat, the amp brought out the wood of the
instrument, as well as a tight, low-end punch
on every note. And it was simple to temper
the highs of the Fishman pickup by cutting
the well-voiced Treble EQ. On a recent jazz
quintet gig with the Streamliner, some listeners
were surprised to learn my bass was amplified—
the tone was that pleasing and natural.
I have tried numerous amps in search of these
qualities, and the Streamliner 900 has quickly
joined the group of rigs that fit the bill for me
when gigging with an upright bass.
Power Play
Besides pumping out great tones, the
Streamliner delivered an impressive
amount of power for its 6 1/2-pound
package. Rated at 900 watts at 4 Ω (500
watts at 8 Ω), the Streamliner held its
own against volume-happy guitarists and
bombastic drummers. It also blended in
well with jazz combos and big bands. If
you don’t need that much power, check
out the Streamliner 600, which uses the
same preamp but is rated at 600 watts at
4 Ω (375 watts at 8 Ω).
The Verdict
The Streamliner 900 is a solid option for
great tube tone in a small package. Its simplicity
and nod to classic bass designs make
it a welcome addition to the Genz Benz
family. Their engineers have designed a
musical EQ that makes it easy to solve tone
issues in live performances. While it’s not
the lightest or smallest amongst the many
class-D amps on the market, the Streamliner
makes up for it with its durable chassis and
well-built components. So if you’re seeking
a versatile, powerful, extremely portable
bass head, the Streamliner 900 is well worth
checking out.
Buy if... you seek portability and tube
tone that works well with acoustic
and electric basses. Skip if... you prefer modern tones or only
an all-tube amp will do. Rating...
Designed for bassists, this gain staged preamp/overdrive features Lounsberry’s eye-grabbing graphic appeal and pro-quality construction.
Lounsberry Pedals has launched the new Mo Bass pedal. Designed for bassists, it’s a gain staged preamp/overdrive featuring Lounsberry’s eye-grabbing graphic appeal and pro-quality construction.A bass guitar pedal for the working man, the Mo Bass delivers both overdrive and clean big bottom tones with mild natural compression and even-order harmonics, and can do both at the same time.
Features
Simplified, two-knob operation, The knob labeled "Mo" is the drive control, and theknob labeled "Less" is the level control.
The Mo Bass pedal is capable of all the grind, bottom end, and transparent overdrive ofthe one could ask for, layered with the clean sound of a tube preamp.
Allows for the growly top end favored by rock and prog rock players, while still delivering the round, fat bottom bassists are looking for.
The clean, fat sound is always present, but as the drive control (Labeled "Mo") is advanced, the balance is tipped more towards overdrive.
The Mo Bass provides an excellent pre-driver to help any bass cut through a dense mix, and enhance the sound of any bass amp.
Matt Bellamy designs his own signature Manson Guitar Works instruments and took ownership of the company when Hugh Manson retired in 2019.
Photo by Debi Del Grande
Muse returns to self-producing on Will of the People, an album teeming with formidable anthems that navigate themes of fear, politics, dystopia, compliance, corruption, and other topics concerning the world order.
Decked out in black ninja-like uniforms with mosaic mirrored masks obscuring their faces, Muse opens their current shows with the powerful, sing-along chant of “Will of the People,” the anthemic title track off their latest album. From that song’s infectious shuffle until the very end of the concert’s encore, people are jumping out of their seats, and appear to be completely mesmerized.
Muse’s guitarist/frontman Matt Bellamy describes the song’s concept: “‘Will of the People’”is a fictional story set in a fictional metaverse on a fictional planet ruled by a fictional authoritarian state run by a fictional algorithm manifested by a fictional data centre running a fictional bank printing a fictional currency controlling a fictional population occupying a fictional city containing a fictional apartment where a fictional man woke up one day and thought ‘fuck this.’”
Muse Won't Stand Down (Live at NOVA Rock Festival 2022)
This live version of “Won’t Stand Down” (the first single from Will of the People) from the Nova Rock Festival in Nickelsdorf, Austria, sees Bellamy playing exotic melodies unaccompanied on a drop-tuned guitar to open the song up. Bellamy’s early classical influences can be heard in the secondary dominants used in the chord progression of the song’s chorus.
Fictional, perhaps, but art imitates life, and the whole vibe is connecting explosively with Muse fans upon the return of being able to experience one of the best live shows around. After all, the trio of Bellamy, bassist Chris Wolstenholme, and drummer Dominic Howard view themselves as a live band, first and foremost, and the concert experience informs every aspect of their writing process.
“It’s unavoidable for us because we’ve probably connected to our audiences more through live performance than we have through pop charts or anything like that,” says Bellamy. “We’ve never been embraced by the mainstream. I don’t think we’ve ever had a Top 40 single or anything like that. We’ve always been kind of alternative outsiders regarding recorded music, but where we connect with our audience is onstage. I think it’s totally inevitable that when we’re in the studio, almost every song we’re creating—I mean not every moment, but almost—we’re thinking about that, rather than like, ‘Oh, this is going to be on X radio station, or it’s going to be in this film.’ We’re not thinking about any of that stuff. We’re thinking, ‘We’re making this song and we’re going to go onstage and play it.’”
Bellamy has been Muse’s main songwriter since the band formed in 1994, when they were originally called Rocket Baby Dolls. After the songs are drafted, the band collaborates on production, song arrangements, and the sounds to be used on each album. Over the years, Muse has tinkered with outside producers, but for Will of the People the band decided to keep it in the family.
“We haven’t produced an album since The Resistance in 2009 and The 2nd Law in 2012,” Bellamy says. “Then, we felt like we needed some outside input, and we went to Mutt Lange for the Drones album. On [2018’s] Simulation Theory, we worked with a whole bunch of different producers. But on this album, we felt like it would be good to get back to our original process.”
“I’ve always been anti-authoritarian by nature. If you read some of my school report cards, you’ll probably find that I wasn’t the most compliant student.”
Will of the People was recorded at Abbey Road, and the production process was very communal. “We actually all enjoy it,” says Bellamy. “Chris is really into the whole Pro Tools engineering side and Dom is really into the synthesizers and the production side of things. The songwriting, in terms of what the core song is—like lyrics and stuff—that’s me.” Muse drew from the different production techniques they learned from outside producers they’ve worked with.
Bellamy recalls, “Lange leaned towards the human side but wanted the humans to play their parts accurately rather than use computers to repair an inaccurate performance—a very humans-first approach.” Other producers “wanted to program a drum beat and just start with that.”
Muse doesn’t operate with a singular magic formula. “Songs like ‘We Are Fucking Fucked,’ ‘Kill or Be Killed,’ and, to some extent, ‘Will of the People,’ benefit from being a bit more human sounding, a bit more relaxed, and not perfectly tight in all the different spots,” explains Bellamy. “Sometimes you can tighten the life out of a track, and we’ve noticed with Muse that could be a problem. If we make it too tight, we lose elements that we like to tap into, like chaos or feeling slightly out of control.”
The sense of reckless abandon is huge in Bellamy’s music. “I grew up on things like Nirvana and Kurt Cobain, or Jimi Hendrix. Those are the two guitarists that I probably loved the most. And the element that they brought into guitar playing was, obviously amazing guitar playing, but also an element of chaos, an element of being slightly out of control. Sometimes When you edit it out, you end up losing a little bit of that chaos feeling. That’s something that we’ve been trying to balance a little bit. It’s difficult because it’s so tempting to try to tighten everything. There was a bit of that on certain tracks. Something like ‘You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween,’ for example, is much more on the tighter side.”
TIDBIT: Muse returned to self-producing on their ninth studio album, Will of the People, which was recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London.
That is, until the blazing guitar solo enters. “When the guitar solo comes in, it’s really like, ‘Just let it rip. No editing,’” says Bellamy. “It was like, boom, whatever happens, happens. It’s just a balancing act with rock where you want to make sure you don’t erase the feel of it, if that’s part of what the song is trying to convey.”
Muse’s label had hinted at the band making a greatest-hits album. But for Will of the People, Muse wanted to create a new take on that concept. Rather than rummage through their discography looking for the “best” songs, Muse wanted to make all new songs for Will of the People,with the aim of making “greatest hits” in different styles. To that end, it seems like they’ve succeeded. Bellamy has said “Compliance” is the best pop track they’ve ever done, and “Kill or Be Killed” is the best prog-metal song they’ve done.
The latter will appeal to lovers of guitar pyrotechnics. It features a lethal whammy-infused, drop-tuned opening riff, Lydian pedal chords, and an over-the-top dramatic solo that could make envious shredders want to quit. But Bellamy cautions them to hold off giving up.
“If you listen to the Grace album by Jeff Buckley, you’ll notice the guitar sound is very glassy, very bright but very, very clear at the same time.”
“I’m plainly cheating in that solo [laughs],” he says. “I’m basically tapping and using a whammy pedal to do octave shifts. It sounds like I’m doing insane arpeggios. I’m not a shredder at all. I’ve never been a very good shredder, but I found ways to cut corners. On that one I’m doing a simple tapping technique, but the octave is being pitch-shifted as I’m tapping to make it sound like a really broad arpeggio.” Bellamy used this setup before to great effect on “Map of the Problematique” from Black Holes and Revelations [2006].
The Multi-Faceted Musician
Being a guitar virtuoso is far from Bellamy’s priority. “I’d say I’m a jack of all trades but not necessarily a master of one,” he confesses. Initially, in his formative years, Bellamy went down the road of trying to be a flashy, technical guitarist, but soon changed course.
“Trust me, there are thousands of guitarists on Instagram that are way better than me [laughs]. I see them all the time. I sort of realized I was never going to be like Steve Vai or something. To me, probably where my specialty is, is in playing guitar and singing at the same time. That’s something I’ve had to work on quite a lot because it’s hard—at least it was hard for me in the early years. Especially playing certain rhythmic parts or rhythmic patterns and detailed kind of singing. That’s what I focused on. Sometimes you have to work out where your upstroke is on the guitar and how that connects to which syllable of the vocal.”
Bellamy has always been less myopic than his peers in the guitar community. Starting in his late teenage years, he had a dual musical personality. On one hand he was in bands that were all about rock, U.K. Indie music, and grunge, but on the side, he would be at home listening to classical music. “I just loved it,” says Bellamy. “I was getting into the electric guitar, but in my school there was a classical guitar teacher. That was the only guitar teacher who was available, so I decided to just go down that road because I was already playing guitar a little bit. I learned about different modes and scales, and different ways of moving chords around. I studied a bit of [Heitor] Villa-Lobos and learned a little bit about that back then, but I never really became serious in the classical realm, guitar-wise. I did it for a couple of years and then, through listening to that stuff, it led me to discover great piano composers, like Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and Liszt.”
Matt Bellamy’s Gear
Muse’s Matt Bellamy makes a point with his main axe, a Manson DL-1.
Photo by Hans-Peter Van Velthoven
Guitars
Manson 007 MB
Manson ORYX custom fanned-fret 6-string
Jeff Buckley’s 1983 Fender Telecaster
Manson MB Drone 003 with Manson PF-1 bridge pickup and Sustainiac
1966 or ’65 Gibson LG-0 acoustic
Manson MB Standard with Manson PF-1 Humbucker Bridge pickup and Sustainiac in satin “Matt Black” finish
Manson MB Standard with Manson PF-1 Humbucker Bridge pickup and Sustainiac in gloss “Red Alert" finish
TogaMan GuitarViol Bastarda
Microphones
Sennheiser MD 421
Royer R-122V
Neumann U67
Neumann U87
Shure SM57
Amps
Diezel VH4
Mesa/Boogie Badlander
Marshall Handwired 1959 Super Lead plexi (modded)
Orange Rockerverb 100 MKIII
Gibson EH 150 (1940)
1964 Vox AC30 Top Boost
Laney 100-watt Klipp head and 4x12 cab (1972)
Universal Audio OX Amp Top Box
Mills 4x12 cabinet with Celestion V30 8-ohm speakers
While Bellamy is the band’s sole guitarist, he is completely fine with not including the guitar on everything Muse. He’s made it a point to also showcase piano, and the instrument plays prominently on the new songs “Liberation” and “Ghosts (How Can I Move On).” The latter is the big piano number on Will of the People and opens with an arpeggiated keyboard figure similar to Adele’s mega-hit “Someone Like You.” This song indirectly spawned from a small solo side project Bellamy was working on over the last several years, which mostly saw him redoing Muse songs with just piano and vocals.
“That is what led to that song,” recalls Bellamy. “That was the first time I really tried to do a simple piano/vocal ballad. I guess you’re always going to be in the company of people who have had big hits with those kinds of things. For us it was a bit of an unusual move. I’ve always had piano here and there, but never really a song that’s just vocal and piano. To be honest, I played the song for the guys in the band, and we weren’t sure if it was going to be on a Muse album. But they really liked it and we thought, ‘You know what, this adds a little bit of color, so maybe it can be on.’ I’m not sure yet to what extent it will be played live.”
The Manson Connection
In his time away from the stage and studio, Bellamy keeps himself very busy. In 2019, he became the majority owner in Manson Guitar Works and is very involved in everything from overseeing all the new designs to going to the shop and meeting new employees. “It’s great. I love it. It’s a local business in the area I’m from in England. When I was growing up in Devon, South West England, there was a guitar shop in Exeter, which is the nearest college town. It was kind of the best guitar shop really,” says Bellamy, who, as a teen, lusted after a Manson custom build.
Muse - WON'T STAND DOWN (Official Video)
“I bought my first couple of guitars from there, but I couldn’t really afford the custom-made ones. We found out that the guy who ran the place, Hugh Manson, used to be Led Zeppelin’s guitar tech. He’s a luthier that makes his own guitars to whatever spec you want. So, as soon as Muse had any kind of success and I could afford to buy a nice guitar, around the year 2000, I went to him and said, ‘I’d love to have a custom-made guitar.’”
Bellamy’s first custom Manson was an aluminum guitar, with a finish similar to a DeLorean and a Z.Vex Fuzz Factory and MXR Phase 90 built in. “It became my main guitar from about 2001 onwards. Then I went back to him to get a couple of others that were similar in shape. I designed the shape. I wanted a unique shape that hadn’t been seen before. I worked with him on custom guitars throughout the 2000s and this just went on and on, to the point where all the guitars I use onstage are Manson guitars. Then, around four or five years ago, Hugh retired and wanted me to take over ownership of the company, to keep it running, and to take it to the next step.”
Manson sells a good amount of custom guitars, but the big seller is the Manson Meta Series MBM-1, which comes in at the lowest price point. “That was something I introduced to the company when I took over. I really wanted there to be a more affordable version available,” explains Bellamy. “We have some of those parts manufactured in Europe and some in Indonesia, and we have those parts brought to our warehouse in Devon where we put them together ourselves. The more expensive ones are handbuilt and handmade in the factory in Devon. Since the last 20 years, he’s employed a bunch of amazing guitar makers. There’s an amazing workshop where people hand-make these things.”
Matt Bellamy prefers an element of chaos in his music, which Muse mirrors in their thematic tours and potent onstage presence.
Photo by Jordi Vidal
While Bellamy is mostly a Manson loyalist, he employed a unique instrument called the GuitarViol for the pizzicato string parts in the verses of “Won’t Stand Down.” “It’s got a similar range as a guitar, only a few tones up from where a cello is based. When you play it, it sounds a bit like a cello,” he says. “I’m not a fretless player. It’s a way of adding string sounds to songs. I was playing it like I play a guitar or bass. It’s a cool instrument because, rather than using sound libraries, I just played that instrument.”
Bellamy also recently indulged in the purchase of a trophy instrument: Jeff Buckley’s 1983 Grace Fender Telecaster. Rather than store it away in a glass case, Bellamy uses the instrument quite often. “It appears a couple of times on the album and I love it. It’s a great guitar. Rather than just stick it on the wall, I think it’s nice to give it some use and keep it involved in music,” says Bellamy. “I used it on ‘Will of the People,’ on the lead part, which is the high bluesy bit. I may have used it on the verses of ‘We Are Fucking Fucked’ as well. It’s such a great instrument. It’s just a unique, strange-sounding Telecaster. I had it looked at by the Manson team and they were saying there’s something odd about the pickups. They seem to be slightly out of phase, and it causes this very glassy tone. If you listen to the Grace album by Jeff Buckley, you’ll notice the guitar sound is very glassy, very bright, but very, very clear at the same time.”
“If we make it too tight, we lose elements that we like to tap into, like chaos or feeling slightly out of control.”
Populism and Power Struggles
Many songs on Will of the People, such as the title track, “Compliance,” “Liberation,” and the closer, “We are Fucking Fucked,” revolve around matters of oppressors and the oppressed. “I think it’s a theme that you can find across Muse’s career. It’s part of my nature,” explains Bellamy. “I’ve always been anti-authoritarian. If you read some of my school report cards, you’ll probably find that I wasn’t the most compliant student. I’ve always been kind of skeptical of power structures and those that have power—the concentrated few who take advantage of their power over the masses and so on. It’s not one particular thing that I’m aiming at. It doesn’t matter where it exists, I have a natural inclination to feel like that should be always disrupted.
“You can apply that to anything from corporate structures, banking structures, economic structures, to political structures. Any structure where a concentrated few have incredible power over a large population. I’ve always been intrinsically questioning that and wondering about the quality of the people who are placed in those positions of power, and how did they get there? It’s been a lifelong fascination for me, and it’s obviously translated into the music and the songwriting, going back as far as songs like [2009’s] ‘Uprising’ and so on. It doesn’t matter where they exist. The fact that extreme wealth can be concentrated in a handful of tech entrepreneurs, for example. Or the fact that powerful lobbyists can have such an influence on senators.”
Having lived in L.A. since 2010, Bellamy gained new insight into the class politics that divide America, and this seeped into many of the songs on Will of the People. “During the troubled period of the crossover from January 6, and when all that stuff started to fall apart, it kind of played into this idea that populism can actually be quite scary,” says Bellamy. “When the masses do topple something, it can be quite chaotic and crazy as well. On the one hand, the masses overthrowing power structures is appealing, on the other it can actually be quite frightening. This album explores both sides of that.”
Muse - Map Of The Problematique [Live From Wembley Stadium]
Matt Bellamy employs effects in uncommon ways to achieve his musical goals. “Map of the Problematique” was the first time that he used whammy pedals. “I basically sent a program to make it turn on and off in a certain rhythm,” explains Bellamy. “So, it would make the octave change in a rhythmic pattern. For example, in ‘Map,’ I’m just playing a power chord, but it goes (sings fast arpeggiated repeating phrase) and that’s kind of a program telling the whammy pedal to change octaves. I used that same technique for the solo on ‘Kill or Be Killed.’”
Nicole Atkins and PG editors share favorite memories from the last concert they attended. Plus, current obsessions!
Q: What was the last concert you went to? Describe the best moment.
Nicole Atkins—Guest Picker
A: It was Spoon in Wilmington, North Carolina. I went to see them the night before in Knoxville, and their opener got Covid, so I hopped on their bus and opened for them the next day and just used Britt Daniel’s guitar. He let me sing “Jonathan Fisk” with them, and it’s one of my favorite songs!
Spoon "Jonathan Fisk"
Thank god I had the day off. It felt like my birthday! Spoon are one of those special bands that make every album and play every show like they did not come to fuck around. They’re very inspiring to me.
Nicole Atkins' Current Obsession:
Sam Cooke’s version of “Unchained Melody.” It’s low and slow and breaks your heart in the best way. Anytime it comes on, I’m completely absorbed in it. Also, a lot of Rodgers and Hart songs are entering my wheelhouse lately, and I need those feeling changes in my music right now. It makes me wanna scream!
Chris Laney—Reader of the Month
A: In April 2019, I saw Buckethead at the National in Richmond, Virginia. I took a painting with me, specifically for Bucket, hoping to hand it to him. I got a position in the front row, on the right side, and enjoyed the show from the best perspective possible.
About a third of the way into the show, Buckethead gave out toys to fans upfront. As he got closer to me, I edged the painting to where it was partially resting on the stage. He approached me and took the painting! He took it back to his amp setup, and P-Sticks eventually displayed it behind the amps where a good portion of the crowd could see it. After that, Buckethead came back and gave me a bag of magnetic letters and shook my hand. It was amazing to interact with someone I looked up to, literally and figuratively. I consider it the best concert experience ever, with meeting Joe Satriani coming in as a close second.
Buckethead - Full Show, Live at The National in Richmond Va. on 4/5/2019
This video of the concert shows the handoff at 53:14, and if you watch later into the video, you can see it on display behind where Bucket is playing.
Chris Laney's Current Obsession:
Sweep picking. Cramming so many notes into such a short space and making it flow is hard, but so big of a payoff when it finally happens.
Shawn Hammond—Chief Content Officer
A: As a longtime fan of Together Pangea, I was super excited to see them play the Maintenance Shop in Ames, Iowa, earlier this summer—especially after Covid’s long live-music drought. Their show was energetic and spot-on in every way, but even cooler was the fact that opening band Tropa Magica—which none of us had even heard of before—blew our minds.
Their hypercharged, incredibly nuanced blend of psych, punk, and cumbia alone would’ve made the four-hour round-trip drive worth it.
Tropa Magica’s David Pacheco on the Power of Distorted Delays
Tropa Magica’s David Pacheco on the Power of Distorted Delays
Best moment: Band founders/brothers David and Rene Pacheco holding their Tele and red Nord Electro keyboard, respectively, aloft behind their heads and playing a mighty fucking crescendo in front of the venue’s medieval-church-style stained-glass backdrop.
A: About a month ago, I caught Bela Fleck’s touring bluegrass festival that he put on with Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas. All three bands were loaded with all-star pickers, and seeing Bela, Sam, Jerry, Sierra Hull, Bryan Sutton, and Michael Cleveland at the same time was incredible.
Where else can you see bluegrass legends rip off solos over a 5/4 groove in Bb?
Béla Fleck - Wheels Up (Live)
One of the absolute highlights was Justin Moses, who stepped up and played Dobro alongside Jerry, banjo alongside Bela, and fiddle alongside Michael—and kept up with all of them.
Jason Shadrick's Current Obsession:
Fundamentals. Every once in a while, I need to go back and break down my technique, fretboard knowledge, and improvisation skills to their bare bones. I then turn to transcribing because it’s all about vocabulary and sound for me.
Tropa Magica’s David Pacheco on the Power of Distorted Delays
