Patrick Audain

Patrick is an 18-year-old up and coming bassist from the D.C. Metro area. He has shared the stage with prominent gospel artist such as Duawne Starling, Butch Heyward, and Doobie Powell. Currently studying at Berklee College of Music, he plays with various talented artists in the Boston area. Patrick uses a modified Z6 and an American Saratoga 5 string.

The Pacific Northwest is home to bassist David Barta, currently touring and recording with Christian artist Brandon Bee. "Currently we do 150 to 200 shows a year, both in the USA and overseas. These shows include festivals, churches, and conferences."

Now Davis is playing these shows with a brand new MTD Kingston Saratoga! "I'm loving the tone on this Saratoga! It's seriously the tone I've been looking for for awhile, and the best part is I dont even have to EQ it on my rig! I was getting tons of compliments on it all night after my show tonight. it sounds absolutely incredible!"

Glad that you are enjoying the new bass, David!

Links:

www.brandonbeemusic.com

Max has toured and performed in concert with Ella Fitzgerald, Joni Mitchell, Barbra Streisand, Peggy Lee, Aretha Franklin, just to name a few. His many years of working in the studios have given him the opportunity to exercise his affinity for jazz, blues, rock and latin music and to combine those elements into his music. The list of outstanding artists with whom Max has recorded includes Quincy Jones, The Beach Boys, Joni Mitchell, Marvin Gaye, Frank Zappa, Celine Dion, Nelson Riddle, Henry Mancini, Ray Charles, Michael Franks, Frank Sinatra, Michel LeGrand, Phil Spector and countless others.

Also he has performed with such jazz greats as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, The Crusaders and many more. He then created a new concept of jazz in the world renowned L.A. Express which included Joe Sample, Larry Carlton and John Guerin, under the leadership of Tom Scott. Max then formed his own group “Freeway” and currently heads his most recent band “Private Reserve.”

Links: www.maxbennett.com

Born in Paterson, New Jersey in October 1952, singer/bassist Pete Bremy first played drums until age 14 when he wanted to play a more musical instrument. The transition from drums to bass made sense. He studied music at William Paterson University where he met and jammed with jazz legend Thad Jones. Pete continued to play drums well into his 20’s as well as bass, giving him a great advantage for working with drummers as a bassist. Pete has worked with some great drummers too, including Tiger Bill Meligari (2004 NAMM World’s Fastest Drummer) and legendary powerhouse drummer Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, and Beck Bogert Appice). As a sub for Hollywood Rock Walk bassist Tim Bogert, who is also Pete’s bass hero and good friend, Pete toured the USA and Scandinavia with Vanilla Fudge in 2002, and subbed for Bogert again in 2008 with Cactus. In 2004 and 2005, Pete toured the northeast with singer/songwriter Essra Mohawk, whose album Primordial Lovers was once ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the top 25 albums of all time. He toured with Vanilla Fudge’s Stein and Martell in 2009, and again with Vanilla Fudge in 2010 as the only non-original member. He also occasionally jams with jazz great, guitarist Lou Pallo, who was Les Paul’s partner for over 25 years and who continues to lead the Les Paul Trio Monday nights at the famous Iridium in New York.

Since 2000, Pete has been with The Vince Martell Band, and lives in northern New Jersey with his wife Jean and twin sons, Adam and Matt. Pete continues to work and sub with other northern New Jersey bands ranging in style from Classic Rock, to Country and Folk.

Links: www.PeteBremy.com

Thanks, Trip!

Links: www.myspace.com/chronicstew

Js is the bass player for Juno nominated band Jonas & The Massive Attraction. They are currently branching out of Quebec and heading to the rest of Canada, Europe and Russia to promote their album Big Slice. To fill up his free time, Js is hired for live and studio gigs and plays in his side band Magnum Daisy. As well as being a performer, Js loves to be behind the scene and produce up-and-coming artists.

Links: www.jonasandthemassiveattraction.com

Emerson is an amazingly versatile bassist who has dedicated himself to the infinite study of music. Currently touring and recording with The Salvador Santana Band, Emerson lays it down on his MTD Kingston Z 4-string with the burled maple finish.

Links: Myspace.com/emcardenas and www.salvadorsantanaband.com

Detroit favorite BUMP's bass player, Bryce Carroll-Coe, has had a sudden and brief ascention to "bass player". Being a lifelong lead-guitarist he searched for the perfect tool to help him along. MTD's Kingston Series was a clear choice for a touring and recording band such as BUMP."We're constantly going. BUMP's schedule is non-stop between touring the country, recording new material and other media projects. I needed to not only learn how to play bass (really well because of the quality of players in BUMP) but, find a bass that would make that transition from guitar to bass easier. MTD's Kingston gave me a great feel, wide variety of tones and serious durability. I immediately noticed the consistency and equality of frequencies. I knew I needed a 5-string due to the complexity and diversity of BUMP's music and good string tension is something I felt was very important to the quality of tone.
MTD has given me all the things I needed from the first touch."

Links: www.bumpmusic.net

Ryan De Arcos is an edgy and versatile bassist who is currently performing and writing in the rock trio "Telemetry." Telemetry's second album "Awaking from Temptation" is currently available on iTunes. Ryan currently plays a MTD Kingston Heir bass. "Let me tell you, I've played on a variety of different basses and the MTD Kingston Heir bass is by far the most versatile bass I've ever played on. The asymmetrical neck is a must and is perfect for bassist's like me who play long sets and have an aggressive style. Now the tone. Two words, "Warm" and "Big." Which is important in my book when your playing in a rock trio." (Photo by Amy Rae)

Links: www.facebook.com/telemetrymusic www.telemetryband.com

If you are a pro bassist, or even just a fan of the instrument, then you probably have heard of Mick Donner. Mick has been a musical mercenary most of his life. He did his first road work at 13 years of age with a country band and grew up in an amazing musical atmosphere. By the time he was a senior in High School he had already met Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson and Buddy Rich. He toured for many years but came off the road to apprentice with master guitar builder, Lyle Haldy. Soon, Mick had his own repair and building shop until he got hired into the musical instrument industry.

Over the years he has worked for Washburn, Gibson, Peavey, Parker and Dean, and he is
currently an independent consultant in the music products industry.

Mick comments, "I get to count guys like Mike Tobias, Stu Spector, Bill Bartolini, Rob Turner, Ken Parker, Nick Epifani and Sheldon Dingwall among my good friends.A lot of incredible bass players always seem happy to see me."

Mick lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida with his Wife, Mary and his two boys, Artie and Harry.

He is currently playing with The Treblemakers and with his Church.

Links:

www.facebook.com/pages/THE-TREBLEMAKERS/109905599040930?ref=nf

www.myspace.com/treblemakersrus

A bassist who brings an old-school creative mentality to a new breed of artists, Zach Fowler is the complete package...a knowledgeable, groove-oriented bassist with deep pocket, technical prowess, inspiring stage presence, and soulful solidity. Zach started playing bass at age 14, and within a year, he was gigging professionally and performing with the high school jazz orchestra. He earned two music scholarships to the University of New Mexico, where he studied jazz and double bass. Currently, Zach is a professional touring musician performing with award-winning funk band The James Douglas Show, upcoming rap group The KNN, and world renown vocalist and reality television star Romeo Johnson. Zach is also a first-call session bassist in Albuquerque and Los Angeles, with many major-label credits and projects with top producers to his name. Zach is also the musical director for the late-night television program, The After After Party with Steven Michael Quezada, which airs on The CW Network and through FilmWorks Entertainment. Zach uses MTD Kingston Basses exclusively, including the Saratoga, CRB, Z, ZX, and AG models.

Drew began touring most of the US and shooting a music video with death metal act Ominous before joining the international act, Malamor. Currently, Drew is working with Tara Lea, a very successful singer/songwriter. Drew has a funky pocket and dynamic groove, bringing unique funk inspired bass lines and various different techniques to express himself through music. Drew is always looking to learn and enjoy new musical experiences and is always up for a session whenever he is needed and is currently playing on a Kingston Z4 with some personal upgrades and a 5-string MTD made by the man himself, Michael Tobias. (Photo by Rob Kerwin)

Links: www.myspace.com/drewkerwin and www.myspace.com/taraleamusic

Bubby Lewis has been a long-time USA-made MTD player, but in 2010 he started performing with an MTD Kingston Artist bass. He quickly became a fan of the MTD Kingston line of basses and is now touring with a brand new CRB.

For such a young player, Bubby is an old-school, big groove bassist. He has made a name for himself as being a foundational player with a slick style, and is adept in many genres of music.

Links: http://www.myspace.com/robertslewis

Will Melones is a bassist, composer, and producer currently located in Boston, MA. He is actively writing and performing as he studies at Berklee College of Music. He is a graduate of Harford Community College and Bel Air high school, and is a recipient of the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award.

Will first gained notoriety in the Baltimore area with the alternative rock band Soul Paste. He continued to grow musically as a founding member of The Suburban Pirate Orchestra. This eight-member ska band gave Will the opportunity to cultivate his arranging and composition skills by exploring the possibilities of a small horn section.

In 2010 Will founded the Willmatics to perform his original jazz fusion compositions. The Willmatics made their debut at the CD release party for Will’s third solo record, My New Thing.

Recently Will Melones has performed with Bernard Purdie, Benny Russell, The Grimsley Brothers, The Secret Element Quintet, and Fifth Avenue. His song “Machine Gun” has been featured in the Matt Zorzi film Business is Good. He has worked in the studio playing and producing for a number of artists including The Aviator Set, Eric Bach, Matt Talley, and Kolby Kauffman.

Links: www.willmelones.com

To order Will's new CD follow this link!

To say that Craig Murray is busy is a serious understatement. In addition to playing bass for Crash the Machine, Craig also teaches music at Rio Linda High School in Northern California, passing his extensive knowledge to a new generation of musicians. In addition, he is a student himself, starting his Doctorate in Music Composition. Craig earned a B.S. in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Music from the Union Institute & University, an M.A. in Music Composition from California State University Chico, and he is credentialed to teach music in the state of California.

Links: www.crashthemachine.com and www.myspace.com/crashthemachine

Kris Osward began playing string bass in his elementary school orchestra, and by age 14 he formed his first band playing the electric bass. After receiving his A.A. degree in music, Kris moved to Hollywood and graduated from the Bass Institute of Technology in 1983. He toured professionally across the United States and throughout Korea, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia and Australia.

Kris is an accomplished and versatile musician with over 25 years of experience as a professional bassist and vocalist. He has performed, toured and recorded with some of the best musicians in the business, including The Drifters, The Coasters, The Shirelles, The New Christy Minstrels, Tony Miles, Rhythm Coalition, John Lee Hooker, Joe Craven, and with members of Sly and the Family Stone and Graham Central Station.

For over a decade, Kris has been touring throughout the Western United States with the Dan Bauer Band. When Kris is not touring, he is a private bass, guitar and vocal instructor and performs with other artists.

Kris is delighted with the playability and amazing tone of “Roxy”, his MTD Kingston Z-6 Six-String Bass, and uses it as his primary bass on stage and in the studio.

Paul began playing bass at age 13 in his middle school Jazz ensemble.  At 17, Paul worked playing Rock clubs in the greater Northeast region, received his B.A. in music and began a six-year stay with The Eden Jazz Quartet.  Paul recorded three albums; Iron Sharpens Iron, Coat of Many Colors and Still Standing with the quartet in addition to keeping a steady studio schedule, radio and T.V. jingles and album projects.
           

Paul currently maintains a heavy teaching schedule while performing with The Karen Lawrence Band.  His original work consists of writing and producing for Divine Order, a Contemporary Christian group founded with his wife, Karen Lawrence.  They are currently working on their fifth CD at Divine Order Studios in upstate New York.  Divine Order Studios is owned and operated by Paul Othon.
          

The basses of choice for Paul consist of two Kingston Z basses; fretted and fretless.

www.PaulOthon.com

Mario began his music career as self-educated bassist, at the age of 13 in Nashua, NH.  After playing in numerous projects he formed the metal band Psychosis in the early 90’s and was quickly signed to Germany’s Massacre Records.  Having the desire to delve deeper into studio engineering he also attended the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences in Tempe, AZ and studied under some of the best in the business.
 
He currently does most of his engineering work at his new private studio “Wolf Moon Studios.”  In addition, Mario is also an acoustical design engineer for PMI, LTD, a consulting firm specializing in the design and engineering of world-class screening rooms, home cinemas and professional studios.  He is part of the dynamic heavy alt-rock trio with a string quartet “Life Love Misery."  The group released its self-titled debut in 2009 and had 2 songs placed in episodes of the MTV’s show Real World/Road Rules Challenge 20: Cutthroat.
 
Mario has been a huge fan of Tobias basses since Michael’s days in LA and loves his new MTD KZ5 Fretless. He comments, “The defined power of this bass is just unbelievable. “  He will soon be adding the KAG5 to his collection.

Links:

http://www.wolfmoonstudios.com/
http://www.lifelovemisery.com/          
http://www.facebook.com/Mario.Previti

Perry is the dynamic bassist who plays with Country Music super star Craig Morgan. Not only does Perry lay down a bass foundation big enough to build a church on, but he also sings back-up for Craig. Some of you might recognize Perry from his work with the American Music Awarding winning band Firehouse.

Perry currently plays a Kingston Z 5-string with a Tobacco Sunburst finish and a Kingston ZX.

Links: www.craigmorgan.com/ and www.myspace.com/craigmorgan

Technical, powerful, creative and aggressive, Suzanne Sterne has upped the ante for the future of female rock bassists. At just 5' tall the petite phenom is a serious talent, wrangling an army of 5-string basses with ease and carving out an unconventional niche as frontwoman of avant progressive rock band Ruby Bullet.

Sterne's musical training began in childhood; when she discovered the bass at 16 she was already a working musician. Experience playing myriad genres from classical to jazz to world culminated in her unique style, which she brought to New York the following year. She worked off and on as a session bassist which always took second place to her artistic pursuits. As half of Ruby Bullet (with drummer Pete Vassil) Sterne's abilities are literally center stage. She can be found simultaneously performing bass, vocals and foot pedals/percussion during the band's energy charged live shows. Her mixed meter compositions are at once organic, complex and refreshing and the musical multi-tasker records "everything but the drums" in Vassil's Gain Studios. Ruby Bullet released their second EP "Splitting Heirs" in 2009.

Suzanne Sterne has tried nearly every bass on the market in her quest for a quality instrument with comfort and playability. Once she found MTD she never looked back. She currently owns several MTD Kingston fretted and fretless 5-strings. Her main bass is a one-of-a-kind prototype model (pictured).

Links: www.rubybullet.com and www.myspace.com/rubybullet

Jaime David Vazquez is a Staff Writer for the Bass Musician Magazine and Vid 90 Jazz Magazine. Jaime loves the low frequencies in music. He believes that the bass is still a young instrument with lots of possibilities that have not been explored enough. He likes everything that grooves but he thinks that the bass is a great lead voice with a great register too. His playing is influenced not only by bass players, but also by other instrumentalists such as guitarists, pianists, woodwind players, etc.  For Jaime, innovation is the key and now endorsed by MTD basses, he is enjoying his bass playing like never before.  He's a multi-instrumentalist, bass clinician, workshop instructor, composer, arranger, transcriber, studio musician, music educator, freelance and solo artist. He has played in several TV shows, concerts and festivals with artists such as David Bisbal, Gloria Trevi, Kimary Carrero, Rawy, Luis Fonsi, Olga Tañon, Lourdes Robles, Wilkins, Noelia, Shalim, Obey Bermudez, Samuel Hernandez, Tony Vega, Blest; Sheila Romero, and Humberto Ramirez and others. Also, he has recorded jingles for TV shows, commercials, etc. An overall bass player currently playing in several musical projects from rock to jazz, studio sessions, clinics, workshops, etc.

Links: http://bassmusicianmag.com/members/profile/48/Jaime David Vazquez, http://www.myspace.com/silkhandsonline, 
http://www.facebook.com/jaimedavidvazquez and http://twitter.com/#!/JaimeDVazquez

Timothy D. Williams, better known as RAWBIZ is a dynamic triple threat whose creative juices are constantly flowing. Born in Texarkana, Texas, he was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Rawbiz began playing drums at the age of five and bass at the age of 12.  He started his own production company Rawbiznes Entertainment in the year 2000. Upon Tim’s completion of high school, he received a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music where he studied Music Synthesis. As a proficient bassist, drummer and producer, Rawbiz has worked with mainstream artists such as Toni Braxton, Boyz II Men, Keyshia Cole, Young Jeezy, Omarion, Angie Stone, and J. Moss, to name a few. Currently, RawBiz continues to work with some of the industry’s most popular recording artists. Rawbiz’s repertoire of skill and talent has lended itself to the inclusion of his name on several recording projects on which he has been requested to perform. The privilege of being mentored by the legendary bassist Andrew Gouche has afforded Rawbiz the opportunity to be showcased on an array of platforms in the music industry. He has also landed endorsement contracts with MTD Basses, DR Strings, Eden Electronics, and Moog Music. His dedication and commitment to maximize his potential in the music industry highly influenced his fulfillment of a personal goal. In 2008, he began a quest to live a healthier lifestyle and to date has lost nearly 200 pounds. Newly noted by MILLIONS as one of the finalists of MTV & P. Diddys “MAKING HIS BAND” in 2009. Now he is the newest addition to the legendary punk rock band SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and funk rock band INFECTIOUS GROOVES, and music director for Pop sensation KARMIN. His reinforced tenacity for living life to its fullest has him commanding the stage in a rambunctious and explosive way: no holds barred!

Michael is a freelance bassist in the Greater Binghamton Area, upstate NY. Although his roots are firmly planted in progressive rock / metal, Michael has been involved in projects that span many styles with a technique that’s been described as, “…complex yet tightly controlled”.

Michael currently supports One Click Culture; a rock-jam-sometimes jazzy-fusion-ish, band, based out of Sidney, NY. OCC is led by Todd Evans, a Berklee graduate and former guitarist with the long-time Celtic Rock band, Tempest (Magna Carta). Rob Lipari (Berklee ’95), a music professor at SUNY Oneonta, rounds out the group on drums. OCC recently released their debut CD, “Rat Race” in Oct. ’11.

Michael is also live bassist for Lo-Fi Resistance. L-FR is the creation of multi-instrumentalist Randy McStine. L-FR’s debut CD, “A Deep Breath” (Sound Language), was mixed by Spock’s Beard luminary, Nick D’Virgilio. NDV also contributed drums and backing vocals. Additional guests include dUg Pinnick (King’s X) on vocals and Dave Meros on bass. The second L-FR CD is under production with Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree) performing on drums and John Giblin on select bass tracks. Michael will have his hands full when this CD is released…

Michael has been using MTD basses exclusively for studio and live performances since 2007. In OCC, he uses his MTD Kingston Artist, MTD Kingston Z fretless, and most recently, his new MTD Kingston Saratoga. In Lo-Fi Resistance, Michael favors his extended range MTD 635-24 basses and KZ fretless.

Web: www.wumusic.com | www.oneclickculture.net | www.lofiresistance.com

Michael's Facebook Page