Bassist

The Pixies have parted ways with bassist Paz Lenchantin after a decade-long run with the band. They’ll be joined by former Band of Skulls bassist Emma Richardson when they kick off a European tour on March 8 in Dublin, Ireland. The news of Lenchantin’s exit from the group came via a curiously dry statement from the group. “We’re grateful for Paz’s many contributions,” they wrote, “and wish her all the very best going forward.” In an e-mail to Rolling Stone, Lenchantin made clear the decision was not her own:…

Over the past two decades you might have seen Italian-born bassist Ruth Goller playing with dozens of line-ups at the punkier end of London’s jazz and improv scene. She’s performed with Acoustic Ladyland, Melt Yourself Down, Sons of Kemet and Let Spin, and featured with artists as diverse as Alabaster DePlume, Marc Ribot, Rokia Traoré and Damon Albarn, usually playing intricate, wiry basslines on her short-scale Mustang bass guitar, using a plectrum.This solo project, however, sees her creating a very different sonic…

AC/DC are hitting the road for the first time in eight years. The hard rock band announced a European stadium tour Monday morning that kicks off May 17 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and wraps up August 17 in Dublin, Ireland. It’s a new lineup of AC/DC featuring drummer Matt Laug, who played with the group during their one-off Power Trip performance last year, and former Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney “carrying the torch” for bassist Cliff Williams. We are thrilled to finally announce the ‘POWER UP’ European…

Aston “Family Man” Barrett, bassist for Bob Marley and the Wailers, has died aged 77.The news was confirmed on Saturday by Olivia Grange, Jamaica’s minister for culture, who wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “I share with you my deep regret at the passing of Aston Francis Barrett, popularly known as ‘Family Man’ or ‘Fams’ … He died at the University of Miami Hospital in Florida in the United States early this morning.”Barrett was born in 1946 and grew up in Kingston, where he would help to lay the foundations for reggae and…

Aston Barrett, the Jamaican bassist known as “Family Man” who served as the rhythmic architect for reggae legends like Bob Marley and the Wailers, Burning Spear, and Augustus Pablo, has died at the age of 77. Barrett’s death was announced on social media by his son Aston Barrett Jr. “With the heaviest of hearts, we share the news of the passing of our beloved Aston ‘Familyman’ Barrett after a long medical battle,” Barrett Jr. wrote. “This morning, the world lost not just an iconic musician and the backbone of The…

The “best part” of Green Day updating lyrics to its 2004 protest anthem “American Idiot” during the band’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve performance was “that it provoked conversation,” according to bassist Mike Dirnt. While appearing on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest, the trio performed a collection of their hits past and present, including the title track to their critically acclaimed, chart-topping 2004 album American Idiot. The co-founding member recently spoke to Rolling Stone…

Rolling Stone interview series Unknown Legends features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and veteran musicians who have toured and recorded alongside icons for years, if not decades. All are renowned in the business, but some are less well known to the general public. Here, these artists tell their complete stories, giving an up-close look at life on music’s A list. This edition features backup bassist Billy Sherwood. If you saw Yes on the 1994 Talk tour and then again anytime during the…

Rolling Stone interview series Unknown Legends features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and veteran musicians who have toured and recorded alongside icons for years, if not decades. All are renowned in the business, but some are less well known to the general public. Here, these artists tell their complete stories, giving an up-close look at life on music’s A list. This edition features bassist Ginger Pooley. When Ginger Pooley was in high school in the Nineties, she cut out a photo of the…

Hart, one of the original members of Isbell's backing band, took a leave of absence from the group earlier this year Jimbo Hart, one of the founding members of Jason Isbell’s backing band the 400 Unit, has officially departed the group. Hart, the band’s bassist, shared the news in an online post on Monday morning. “I’m no longer a member of the 400 Unit. I’m grateful for all the years, all the faces I’ve played for in the course of the band’s history and proud of all we accomplished,” Hart…

Randy Meisner, the bassist and founding member of the Eagles who sang lead vocal on the band’s first big hit, “Take It to the Limit,” has died. He was 77. Meisner died Wednesday night in Los Angeles of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the Eagles announced on their website. “Randy was an integral part of the Eagles and instrumental in the early success of the band. His vocal range was astonishing, as is evident on his signature ballad, ‘Take It to the Limit,'” a statement…