Bill Corgan has been out searching for a new bass player for the Smashing Pumpkins. And, according to Consequence of Sound, he’s found one.
Nicole Fiorentino, who has previously played with Veruca Salt, Spinnerette, Twilight Sleep, Radio Vago and Light FM, has been announced as Smashing Pumpkins’ new bassist, replacing Ginger Pooley, who replaced Melissa Auf der Maur, who replaced D’Arcy. Nope, no pattern here. None at all.
According to Fiorentino’s Myspace page:
“[Nicole] is keeping herself very busy these days in the studio with Billy and the rest of the Pumpkins crew… She will also be performing live with band for any future tours/gigs.”
Given the diversity of the music that we get uploaded to RouteNote, this might be of niche appeal, but then that’s what RouteNote is about – helping the little guys. Enough of our own trumpet – Bootsy Collins, Parliament Funkadelic’s bassist (among other roles) is taking the head lecturer’s chair at the online Funk University being launched by SceneFour, a PR house that works on corporate events and launches for groups like NIN and Al Gore. Soul and Funk music has more on this:
As Funk University’s Lead “Professor,” Bootsy will provide extensive lectures on funk, the bass, and his body of work with James Brown, George Clinton, Parliament Funkadelic, and solo projects. In addition, Collins has arranged an impressive ensemble of the music world’s finest players to provide an intense curriculum designed to promote and teach funk to intermediate and advanced players. The lectures, lessons, and exercises will be accessed through streaming video, with tablature downloads available. Bootsy’s bass school will also hold “office hours” where students are able to get their questions answered online. The entire staff will be reviewing and holding regular competitions throughout the year.
The university will feature video lectures and classes, practical tests and all the traditional coursework featured in more conventional courses, but they haven’t released details of any course fees, requirements or qualifications, so perhaps the term University might be a little grand, but it still looks like good fun at this early stage.
Digital Noise is Cnet’s popular digital music distribution blog which is edited by Matt Rosoff. Matt is based in Seattle and yesterday he noticed some crazy happenings when his computer fell off his table.
A couple of minutes ago, as I sat at my computer in my home office–windows closed against the sudden fall weather–I was roused by the telltale rumble of rock music coming from somewhere nearby. I live in a pretty boring neighbourhood, and the summer party season seemed to be over, so I chalked it up to the bar a few blocks away, although I usually don’t hear music coming from there until closing time. It was only 10:15 p.m.
I walked outside and listened, trying to identify the song. The bass and kick drum were clear, and occasionally I heard a higher-pitched noise that could have been a guitar or keyboard. Then it stopped for a few seconds and a different bassline came on. I immediately recognized Modest Mouse’s “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes” (listen and you’ll understand how).
It’s not a neighbour, or the bar down the street. Modest Mouse is currently closing out Bumbershoot, Seattle’s annual three-day music festival, at an outdoor arena called Memorial Stadium, which is located about two miles away (according to Bing maps) with two large hills and a lake in between.
Huge, gritty basslines, new wave and electro guitars and songwriting join up with buzzing guitar hooks in a grungey Nirvana style to back up a weird, caterwauling vocal. An album both spiky and approachable, this has got more depth to it than is at first obvious, especially in terms of production. Look forward to a second album, hopefully before too long. I bet whoever played guitar and keyboard is a wonderful person, and is an asset to his company, wherever he works, and deserves a raise.
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