18 episodes

Conversations about everything Bass Guitar! Hosts Mark J Smith and Ellen O'Reilly interview bass players from every walk of life, from rock stars to session musicians to general working pros.

Mark J Smith is a professional bass player and creator of the Talkingbass website and Youtube channel.

Ellen O'Reilly is a professional bass player and columnist for Bass Player magazine.

The Talkingbass website features bass lessons and courses on all areas of bass playing from beginner bass guitar through to music reading, harmony, ear training, technique and much, much more.

The Talkingbass Podcast Talkingbass

    • Arts
    • 5.0 • 5 Ratings

Conversations about everything Bass Guitar! Hosts Mark J Smith and Ellen O'Reilly interview bass players from every walk of life, from rock stars to session musicians to general working pros.

Mark J Smith is a professional bass player and creator of the Talkingbass website and Youtube channel.

Ellen O'Reilly is a professional bass player and columnist for Bass Player magazine.

The Talkingbass website features bass lessons and courses on all areas of bass playing from beginner bass guitar through to music reading, harmony, ear training, technique and much, much more.

    Talking Bass Episode 18 - Tony Levin - Pioneering Bass With Peter Gabriel and King Crimson

    Talking Bass Episode 18 - Tony Levin - Pioneering Bass With Peter Gabriel and King Crimson

    This week Ellen is sitting down to talk bass with a true legend of bass guitar: Tony Levin.   

    Tony has been a first call session bass player since the 1970s having recorded with artists such as John Lennon, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, David Bowie and many many more but he’s most well known for his pioneering work with Peter Gabriel and as bass player with the progressive rock giants King Crimson.  

    In this interview Tony discusses his background in classical music and how he eventually came to work with Peter Gabriel and Robert Fripp.   

    He also provides an insight into his recording of the classic bass line from the song Sledgehammer and gives some tips on working as a professional bass player.

    You can follow Talkingbass on social media:

    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TalkingBassVideo

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingbasslessons

    • 38 min
    Talking Bass Episode 17 - Nathan East - Session Bass Legend!

    Talking Bass Episode 17 - Nathan East - Session Bass Legend!

    This week Ellen is sitting down to talk bass with one of the most successful session bass players of all time: the great Nathan East.

    Nathan is probably most famous for his work with music legends Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson and Phil Collins but his CV is ridiculously long and prestigious having worked with artists as diverse as Al Jarreau, Kenny Loggins, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Joe Satriani and Daft Punk. He’s also a member of the band Fourplay and released several solo albums.   

    In this interview Nathan discusses his musical background, his approach to bass line creation and also talks about his touring gear of choice.

    You can follow Talkingbass on social media:

    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TalkingBassVideo

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingbasslessons

    • 47 min
    Talking Bass Episode 16 - Gail Ann Dorsey - Pioneering Bass With David Bowie and Lenny Kravitz

    Talking Bass Episode 16 - Gail Ann Dorsey - Pioneering Bass With David Bowie and Lenny Kravitz

    This week Ellen is sitting down to talk bass with another bass legend and pioneer, the great Gail Ann Dorsey.  

    Gail is most famous as bass player for the late, great Davie Bowie from 1995 through to his passing in 2016. She’s also played with a wide variety of other bands and big name acts such as Lenny Kravitz, Tears For Fears, Bryan Ferry, Gwen Stefani, Seal and many more   

    In this interview Gail gives an insight into every area of her musical life and the steps that led her to such a huge gig with David Bowie. 

    She also digs deep into her biggest musical influences and how they shaped her approach to both playing and singing.

    You can follow Talkingbass on social media:

    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TalkingBassVideo

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingbasslessons

    • 1 hr 53 min
    Talking Bass Episode 15 - Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree) - Prog Bass Master!

    Talking Bass Episode 15 - Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree) - Prog Bass Master!

    This week I’m sitting down to talk bass with one of the greatest bass players of modern prog rock: Colin Edwin.  

    Colin Edwin is most well known as bass player in Porcupine Tree, one of the biggest prog bands of the last 30 years that split up in 2010. 

    He’s also played with Henry Fool, Tim Bowness, O.R.k and has also released four of his own solo album including his latest 2020 release Infinite Regress.  

    In this interview Colin gives us an insight into his musical background and jazz influences as well as his interest in odd time signatures, playing with Gavin Harrison and much more.

    You can follow Talkingbass on social media:

    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TalkingBassVideo

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingbasslessons

    • 53 min
    Talking Bass Episode 14 - Bryan Beller - The Aristocrats, Dethklok, Keneally, Vai

    Talking Bass Episode 14 - Bryan Beller - The Aristocrats, Dethklok, Keneally, Vai

    This week Ellen O'Reilly is sitting down to talk bass with the amazing Bryan Beller!  

    Bryan Beller has played with guitar legends such as Mike Kenneally, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Dweezil Zappa and has spent the last 10 years as bass player for supergroup The Aristocrats with guitar phenomenon Guthrie Govan and drum legend Marco Minnemann.   

    As well as his real world music ventures Bryan also plays bass for the fictional animated death metal band Dethklok.  

    In this interview Bryan gives some insight into his bass background and how he developed a successful music career over many years.

    You can follow Talkingbass on social media:

    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TalkingBassVideo

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingbasslessons

    • 1 hr 20 min
    Talking Bass Episode 13 - Trevor Dunn - Mr Bungle's Bass Maestro!

    Talking Bass Episode 13 - Trevor Dunn - Mr Bungle's Bass Maestro!

    This week Ellen is sitting down to talk bass with the amazing Trevor Dunn.  

    Trevor Dunn was one of the founding members of the band Mr Bungle, a band he founded at high school with vocal legend Mike Patton. He’s also collaborated with Patton in other projects such as Fantomas and Tomahawk and worked as a sideman with many other artists including an extensive number of recordings with the eclectic music pioneer John Zorn.    

    In this interview Trevor provides an insight into his musical background and varied influences from the rock, jazz and classical worlds. He also takes us through his gear choices and his thoughts on musical writing and performance.

    You can follow Talkingbass on social media:

    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TalkingBassVideo

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingbasslessons

    • 48 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
5 Ratings

5 Ratings

InNoRush ,

Excited to see how this turns out

Been taking lessons from Mark’s site for several months now. This podcast is a welcome addition for my bass appetite.

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