Joe Shooman

Articles by: Joe Shooman

Placebo bassist Stefan Olsdal

Placebo’s Stefan Olsdal: “The moments we shared with Bowie, the titbits of advice – they’ve all stuck with us. Having him work with us gave us confidence to keep going”

By Joe Shooman published

The British alt-rock stalwarts return with an album that started with a photograph. As Olsdal explains, the unorthodox approach soon made sense, reminding him why Placebo mattered in the first place

Dire Straits

John Illsley reflects on Dire Straits' stadium-rocking success, the pressure it put on Mark Knopfler, and tells us what makes a great bass part

By Joe Shooman last updated

The bass player conquered the world with Dire Straits and as he reflects on his time in a new memoir, and a new solo album, he can say they survived: “We stayed intact, and stayed friends”

Paolo Gregoletto

Paolo Gregoletto: “I’ve never needed a side project because Trivium play everything. We’re always trying to push ourselves”

By Joe Shooman published

The Trivium bassist on Metallica's influence, live music, and how space, dynamics and an omnivorous approach to metal songwriting makes In The Court Of The Dragon sound so huge

Eva Gardner

Eva Gardner: “I was the kid singing to Veruca Salt in 1994. Fast forward to 2005 and I was their bass player”

By Joe Shooman published

The prolific bassist on receiving low-end lessons from her late father, her stellar session career so far and how the pandemic encouraged her complete her heavy-hitting new EP, Darkmatter

How trailblazing Yardbird Paul Samwell-Smith helped bass playing take flight

By Joe Shooman published

The best-dressed bass player of all time, hero of Billy Sheehan and more, we salute the incomparable Yardbirds bassist