As bassist and bandleader of the legendary rap group Public Enemy, Mr. Hardgroove travels the world in search of new and exciting artistic ventures. Producing records for two of the biggest punk bands in China – Demerit and Brain Failure – represent just a few of Hardgroove's recent musical endeavors. Always seeking new challenges, Hardgroove has signed on as production supervisor and bassist for the upcoming James Brown Tribute tour. Anchored by funk-rock superstar Bootsy Collins, the tour promises to be the beginning of a ‘funk-tastic' annual tour extravaganza.
Not to be defined by any single ability (bassist, drummer, songwriter, record producer, band leader and radio show host), Hardgroove is a sought after talent among some of music's most respected figures. Hardgroove cites Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Kiss) and Jack Douglas (Aerosmith, John Lennon, Cheap Trick) as two of his closest and most trusted advisors in the music business.
Always busy, Hardgroove's forthcoming projects include OverShine, "a band that I've been working on for quite some time and now I finally have the players needed to pull it off – Larry Mitchell (guitar), Ric Ocasek, Tracey Chapman and Grammy-winning producer Erik Hargrove (drums)." They are currently in the process of recording their debut album.
Brian Hardgroove with Public Enemy and 2xRH450, 4xRS212
No doubt TC's RH450 will be called into action for any bass action that's needed, as Hardgroove is clearly a convert: "It's a well thought out system that caters to the real needs of bassists. Many manufacturers add extraneous options to justify high prices, but RH450 has very practical functions and high quality results. Simply put, RH450 just makes more sense."
You can listen to Mr. Hardgroove's weekly radio program (Hardgroove's Fuse Box) originating out of Santa Fe, New Mexico at WWW.KBAC.COM.
During the last 30 years, Jannick Top has been among the most influential bass players in France. Due to an amazing and rather diverse musical background, he has developed a very unique way of playing the bass.
Philippe ‘Fifi’ Chayeb was born in Nice in 1965 and showed an interest in music at just five years old when he started to play piano. He then went on to learn double bass at six years old and carried on studying that at Nice conservatory until he was 17.
For Stern, bass is more than just low frequency vibe, defining the role of the bass as “the mediator between the pocket and the harmony. The bass should bring out the best in the groove and the melody.”
Think of legendary bass players and Rocco Prestia features on every list. For over 40 years now Rocco's bass has been underpinning the groove for Californian funk legends Tower Of Power. In that time Rocco has defined his own style and become synonymous with the much-imitated ‘Finger Style Funk' that he pioneered back in the '60s and '70s.
Esperanza is clearly only embarking on a career as a world class interpreter of Jazz, but what she's achieved already outlines a career path that's sure to be heavily punctuated with genre-defining moments.
Debra Killings may have propelled herself into a Gospel-tinted spotlight with her critically acclaimed debut long-player 'Surrender' back in 2005, but after contributing to some of the biggest albums of the '90s and beyond it's really no wonder she hit the ground running.
Randy Jackson, a Grammy Award-winning producer, is a 25-year music industry veteran. Randy has recorded, toured and performed with the likes of: Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, *NSYNC, Madonna, Elton John and Destiny's Child, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Cobham, Joe Satriani among others.
Mick's used a lot of amps over the years, but it didn't take long for him to become a convert of the RH450 sound: "These amps are the bomb. On stage they just sound great - warm tone and I love the distortion capabilities. And I've not had one complaint from monitor world or front of house."
Derrick Lee Murdock (Jay Leno Show and the Prime Time band)
In 1994 Derrick left Philadelphia and moved to LA where his skills on the bass were quickly noted and he landed his first high profile role, playing bass with Sheena Easton. He went on to perform and tour with a host of other high profile and talented performers including Tom Scott, Gladys Knight, Natalie Cole...
Over the years Paganotti has worked a lot as a session musician/arranger/producer whilst continuing to work on his own compositions. For the last 23 years, he has been Francis Cabrel's regular bassist and also plays with Bertrand Lajudie. He continues to tour widely around the world.
