New Episode Alert! Join Gear Club Podcast as we chat with Doug Wimbish, one of the most renowned bass players of all time, known for his work with a wide range of artists including Living Colour, Sugar Hill Gang, Mick Jagger, Annie Lennox and many more. Tune in as our hosts explore Doug’s journey through the music industry and discuss topics such as the evolution of bass playing, the birth of Hip Hop, and his experiences touring with music icons.

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Bassist Doug Wimbish’s friendship with drummer, producer, writer and recording artist Keith Leblanc extended over 45 years, with the pair first meeting in 1979, when drummer Harold Sargent introduced Leblanc to Wimbish and guitarist Skip McDonald.

The trio would become the legendary Sugar Hill Records House band for the groundbreaking & legendary label, Sugarhill Records, recording, producing and writing on classic hits such as Sugarhill Gang’s Apache, 8th Wonder and their 1980 self-titled album, Sugarhill Gang; Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s White Lines and The Message; the Funky 4 + 1’s That’s The Joint and more by the likes of the Treacherous 3, the Crash Crew and the Sequence.

When LeBlanc met British producer Adrian Sherwood in the early 1980s, the two teamed up with LeBlanc’s former Sugar Hill collaborators bassist Doug Wimbish and guitarist Skip McDonald to form the industrial hip-hop band Tackhead, later joined by Rolling Stones vocalist Bernard Fowler.

It is with great reverence and love for his legendary, departed friend Keith, that Doug is proud to present WimBash - A Celebration of Keith Leblanc, on Friday, November 8th, 2024 at Black Eyed Sally’s in Hartford, CT.

Doug will be joined by Living Colour drummer Will Calhoun, Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, Raghav Mehrotra, MJT The Band, Organized Chaos, Thaddeus Black (ft. Keith’s son, Chuck Peterson on drums), Jme Starchild, Dave Koltai & special guests in a musical tribute to Keith.

Special thanks for the continued support of the Hartford Firefighters Association Local 760 in presenting this event.

In its nearly 50-year history, the iconic Spector NS bass has been played by legendary bassists on countless recordings and stages. In the brand’s storied history, no bassist has become more synonymous with Spector than Doug Wimbish. Upon receiving his first Spector NS basses in 1987, Doug has employed these instruments on legendary recordings and performances with the likes of Living Colour, Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, Annie Lennox, Seal, Depeche Mode, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Madonna, and many, many more.

Now, Spector’s USA Custom Shop is proud to debut the Doug Wimbish USA Signature Series. The collection includes a four-string model, the DW-4, and a 5-string model, the DW-5. Each model has been carefully specified to match the unique properties of Doug’s vintage instruments including unique neck carves, nut widths, pickup locations, and even custom-wound EMG pickups that have been voiced alongside the pickups in Doug’s 1987 Spector instruments.

Experience the sound and feel that inspired Doug’s signature style with the new DW-4 and DW-5 models from the Spector USA Custom Shop.

"Spector took the time to get every little nuance right and that to me is dedication and being thoughtful enough to know “I want to nail it” and you did. I’m able to pick these instruments up for the first time and play them like I’ve already had them for years.”

- Doug Wimbish

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TopLink Music presents Living Colour South America October 2024 Tour through Brazil, Chile and Argentina! 

October 10, 2024 • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil • Sacadura 154

October 11, 2024 • Belo Horizonte, Brazil • Mister Rock

October 12, 2024 • São Paulo, Brazil • Tokio Marine Hall

October 13, 2024 • Brasília, Brazil • Toinha Brazil

October 15, 2024 • Santiago, Chile • Club Chocolate

October 17, 2024 • Buenos Aires, Argentina • Teatro Flores

Extreme with special guest Living Colour announce the addition of 15 new dates for a month-long September run of the “Thicker Than Blood Tour”, bringing the show to even more stops across the US and Canada.

Welcome to WimBash Hartford 2023!

Living Colour bassist and Connecticut native Doug Wimbish is excited to announce the return of WimBash to Connecticut’s Capital City on November 10th, 2023 at Black Eyed Sally’s!

After rocking downtown Hartford’s Black Eyed Sally’s with an explosive line-up last year, Doug welcomes the addition of local Connecticut bands to this years event along with the return of his WimBash Sound System with drummer Raghav Mehrotra, Funky Dawgz, MJT the Band [who are just off a tour with Alterbridge and Sevendust] and Koltai!

Presented by Hartford Fire Fighters Association Local 760, the event features:

WimBash Sound System ft. Doug Wimbish & Raghav Mehrotra, Funky Dawgz, MJT the Band, Organized Chaos, JME Starchild & Dream Factory & Koltai!

Friday, November 10, 2023 - 7:00 to 11:00 PM

Black Eyed Sally’s

Hartford, CT

Tickets Available Here →

Bass and Drum legends, Doug Wimbish & Will Calhoun perform an up close and personal clinic covering bass playing and drumming techniques, their history and live experiences. This is not to be missed! Doug and Will have carved out careers as two of the most innovative and cutting edge players of the modern era. These legends have done it all, playing with the The Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode, Tackhead and of course, Living Colour. Come and learn from the best in the business as they explain and demonstrate how to take your musicianship to another level. More info and tickets here.

Turramurra Music invites you to a Masterclass featuring Living Colour's bassist, Doug Wimbish & drummer, Will Calhoun, on Monday, September 11, 2023 at Magpie’s Waitara in Waitara, NSW, Australia.

The programme for this event includes: Performances & Rhythmic Demonstrations, Practice Philosophy & Routine, Insight into the Life of A Touring Musician, the Music and Influences that made Doug & Will, Q&A Session, Photo & Signing Opportunities, Giveaways including a Spector Bass signed by Doug! and more!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Presented by Turramurra Music, Spector and Aguilar.

Tickets & more information here.

Doug is interviewed by NBC CT’s Jeremy Chen discussing his early Hip Hop history with Sugar Hill Records on the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop. Read story here →

Guitar Summit 2023 is thrilled to announce that the legendary Doug Wimbish is set to join us this September! A titan of the bass world, the Spector Artist made his mark in the 80's with musical prowess that spanned pop, rock, heavy metal, funk and experimental genres. His career has ranged from bassist of the Grammy Award winning rock band Living Colour, to original Sugarhill Records House band bassist backing Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, partnering with British dub-reggae wizard Adrian Sherwood, to session work with Madonna and the Rolling Stones. Don't miss your chance to witness the bass mastery of this legend!The Guitar Summit 2023 will take place from September 22 - 24 in Mannheim, Germany. More Info here.

Attending the 2023 NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA April 13-15? Join Doug Wimbish at the Eventide Booth #5434 for two performances showcasing Eventide’s H90 Harmonizer on April 14 & 15 at 4:00 PM.

Since 2011, Doug Wimbish has been working with the DREAM Project & the world’s only Bachata Academy music students, located in Cabarete, Dominican Republic. As a brand ambassador for Spector Bass, Doug has coordinated the donations of Spector basses for the DREAM Project Bachata Academy bass students. In 2014, The DREAM Project’s newly established music program received it’s first electric bass, donated by Spector via the WimBash Music Festival. Doug recently visited DREAM’s Bachata Academy in March 2023, providing bass master classes and joining the Bachata Academy students in a performance at Cabarete’s La Chabola.

Back in August 2022, packed into Adrian Sherwood’s UK home, Doug joined reggae legend Horace Andy for his NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert. The concert featured Horace Andy (vocals), Adrian Sherwood (live FX), Doug Wimbish (bass), Charlie "Eskimo" Fox (drums), Crucial Tony (guitar), Cyrus Richards (keyboards), Ivan ''Celloman'' Hussey (cello), Dave Fullwood (trumpet), Richard Doswell (saxophone) and Skip McDonald (guitar). See concert video here →

Grammy Award winning rock band Living Colour was honored by the New York City Musicians Collective on Tuesday, Nov 1, 2022 during a ceremony held at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in Long Island City, NY. The band, along with artists including Paul Shaffer, Alyson Williams, Lisa Fischer, Gerald Alston, Mark Whitfield, CP Lacey, Kenny Seymour, Shaila Scott and Lenny Green were honored for their gifts and musical journey’s as New York City’s extraordinary musicians & artists.

Doug Wimbish is set to visit the School of Rock Music Schools on Nov 8th in Round Rock, TX and on Nov 10th in SW Austin, TX where he’ll host workshops and a meet and greet at the facilities with students, staff and families, as well as providing the SOR students with the opportunity to perform with Doug on stage.

On the heels of their incredible performance at Rock In Rio with Steve Vai, Living Colour decided to recreate that energy with a re-recorded version of their classic “Cult of Personality” featuring Steve Vai. The 100,000 fans in attendance at the Living Colour with Steve Vai performance at Rock in Rio 2022 were treated to a once in a lifetime rendition of “Cult of Personality”, where guitar greats Vernon Reid and Steve Vai traded licks, joined by the boisterous energy of Living Colour’s lead singer Corey Glover, bassist Doug Wimbish & drummer Will Calhoun. Stream or download here →

WimBash Music Festival returns to the City of Hartford on Saturday, Nov 5 at Black Eyed Sally’s. Sponsored by Hartford Fire Fighters Local 760, the event presents Uncle Doug & The Nephews ft. Doug Wimbish, Raghav Mehrotra, Dylan Niederauer & May Godfrey • Funky Dawgz • The MJT Band ft. The Godfrey Brothers • Koltai. Tickets available here →

The mighty TackHead returns to the US for two special performances on Sep 23 & 24 at the Willytown Music & Arts Festival in Ansonia, OH. This is the only 2022 US appearance of the legendary band - Doug Wimbish, Bernard Fowler, Keith LeBlanc, Skip McDonald, Adrian Sherwood. Special guest: Reggie Griffin.

Head>>Fake is the drum and bass, electronic and jazz infused duo of Doug Wimbish & Will Calhoun, the explosive rhythm section that drives the band Living Colour. Join us as we pre-game Bass Magazine’s Bass Bash 2022 & celebrate Living Colour drummer Will Calhoun’s birthday! Friday, July 22 at Martyr’s Live Chicago! Click here for tickets →

Doug speaks with RollingStone Senior Writer Andy Greene in an in-depth interview discussing Sugar Hill Records, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Carly Simon, Living Colour and many more highlights of his career. Read full article here →

Listen to Spoon’s “My Babe” (Adrian Sherwood Reconstruction) with Doug Wimbish on bass here →

Doug Wimbish is Kevin Rankin’s [A Flock of Seagulls] All Access Live guest on Tuesday, June 7 at 1pm ET / 4pm PT. Stream here→

On-U Sound is proud to present Pay It All Back Vol. 8, the latest volume in the much-loved and collectable series of On-U Sound label samplers, packed with exclusives, alternate mixes and previews of upcoming releases. Includes unreleased tracks from Tackhead including “Rulers & Foolers” ft. LSK and “I Don’t Want To Work A Fake Job” ft. Mad 45. CD & Digital out 20th May 2022, Blue Vinyl released August 5th. Order now on Blue Vinyl & CD

Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Gerald Veasley’s Bass Boot Camp, Doug Wimbish was invited as a special guest to present a Bass Masterclass on Saturday, March 19, 2022 at the Philadelphia Bass Gear Expo.

Surprise guest Living Colour added as a last second lineup addition to the 2022 80’s Cruise sailing on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas from Port Canaveral, FL to Nassau, Bahama, St. Thomas USVI and Philipsburg, St. Maarten from March 5-12, 2022.

Living Colour - Vernon Reid, Corey Glover, Doug Wimbish and Will Calhoun - featuring Steve Vai perform together at Rock in Rio 2022 on the Palco Sunset Stage, September 2, 2022 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Living Colour joins a full lineup of artists for the 2nd annual “A Bowie Celebration”, an all new concert livestream on what would have been David Bowie's 75th birthday. Stream live from anywhere worldwide at 6pm PST on January 8th, 2022 plus you can watch it again for 24 hours on demand! A portion of sales will be donated to Save The Children, a charity important to David Bowie. More Info, full lineup & tickets here →

Doug Wimbish connects with the brilliant vocalist Dellé, singer of the German fusion reggae band Seeed. Together, the pair create a heavy, bass driven cover with dub infused vocals of Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust”, refined by New York producer and remixer Lee Groves [Janet Jackson, Depeche Mode, Black Eyed Peas].

Released on Echo Beach Lifefidelity, “Years I Dubbed” [feat. Doug Wimbish - Bass & Composer] available for download as single or album here →

“I Am Not A Woman, I’m A God” appears on Halsey’s latest album,” If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power”, released in August 2021 and produced by Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. On September 30, Halsey released a new remix EP of “I Am Not A Woman, I’m A God” featuring remixes by On-U Sound / Adrian Sherwood (with. Living Colour’s Doug Wimbish on bass), Hot Chip, Underworld and Gazelle Twin. Listen to the On-U Sound / Adrian Sherwood with Doug Wimbish remix of “I Am Not A Woman, I’m A God” here →

Living Colour Fall 2021 Tour Dates - Summerland Tour Leg 2, Riotfest and Summerfest . Click image for complete schedule.

Doug was amongst the faculty at the 2021 Victor Wooten/Berklee College Summer Bass Camp program held at the Berklee College Campus in Boston, MA. Doug joined bass legends Victor Wooten and Steve Bailey along with many other bass instructors for the 3 day program held on August 16-18. Living Colour drummer Will Calhoun was a special guest at the program.

Living Colour’s Doug Wimbish & Will Calhoun join Daru Jones on Episode 9 of “Get It Started with Daru Jones” - “How Do I Navigate the Biz Post Pandemic?” - Monday, July 26, 2021 at 12PM Pacific.

Doug will join Hippie-Metal Rock band Glostik Willy as “eKoostik featuring Doug Wimbish” at the Willytown Music & Arts Festival in Troy, OH on September 9, 2021. The annual festival, organized by the band, will take place September 9-12 at Eagles Campground.

Living Colour and Hoobastank have announced additional dates on their Summer 2021 tour - Jul 20 - Jackson Street Pier, Sandusky, OH / Jul 22 - Cowboy Coast Saloon, Ocean City, MD / Jul 25 - Old School Square, Delray Beach, FL / Jul 26 - Victory North, Savannah, GA

Living Colour and Hoobastank, in addition to touring with Everclear and Wheatus on the Summerland Tour 2021, have announced a July 7 show at Hal & Mal’s in Jackson, MS. More Living Colour/ Hoobastank Summer 2021 tour dates to be announced.

Living Colour bassist and Peavey Electronics artist Doug Wimbish is coming to #GearFestOnline! Tune in for Doug’s tips for using effects with bass guitar and see the gear he uses to get his signature sound!

Learn more about what's happening at GearFest 2021.

Doug Wimbish joined bassist and host Josh Paul on Dunlop’s inaugural Bass Freq’s Podcast. Listen to Doug and Josh’s conversation on Apple podcast’s here →

Everclear’s Summerland Tour is back with special guests Living Colour, Hoobastank and Wheatus. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 7 at 10am local time. More dates expected to be announced as local Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

Doug joins Hippy Metal Band Glostik Willy for five nights of live music and conversation - live streamed on Glostik Willy’s Twitch TV Channel. Come join us as we reunite with everybody’s favorite uncle, Doug Wimbish! Sunday April 25 through Thursday, April 29 at 8pm EST

Doug joined bassist Alberto Rigoni on a new track, “Alone In The Dark”, from Alberto’s new album “For The Love Of Bass” released on April 2; the pair co-writing and co-producing the song. Doug joins a roster of all-star bassists who contributed to the album including Nathan East, Leland Sklar, Michael Manring, Tony Franklin, Adam Nitti, Lars Lehmann, Cody Wright, Mohini Dey and David Pastorius.

German electronic pop artist Schiller released his 11th studio album “Summer in Berlin” on February 12, 2021. The box set includes “Live in Berlin” concert footage and “Live in Berlin: The Live Album” from Schiller’s 2019 ‘Es Werde Licht’ final tour stop at the sold out Mercedes Benz Arena in Berlin, Germany on May 25, 2019. The tour featured an all-star band led by Schiller, with drummer Gary Wallis [Pink Floyd], bassist Doug Wimbish [Living Colour, Mick Jagger], Scott McKeon, Tricia McTeague, Yalda Abbasi, Schwarz & Sophie Hiller.

New Date Announced for the On-U Sound 40th Anniversary Celebration! Sat., April 30, 2022 at the O2 Forum, Kentish Town, London! Featuring the Return of the Mighty Tackhead, Mark Stewart & The Maffia, African Head Charge, Little Axe and Many More!

New Music Alert! Please check out this new single by Freekbass and Doug Wimbish - released today! Almost everything you hear is bass guitar by Doug and Freekbass on this track. Stream, download, share! Play it loud!

WimBash NAMM’21 presented by NAMM Believe in Music Spector Sessions! January 21, 2021 at 1 PM EST

Don’t miss this incredible stream with Doug Wimbish & Skyler Acord on the NAMM Believe in Music site! Registration is completely free and gets you access to many more events.

Filmed especially for NAMM's #BelieveInMusicWeek 2021, Rotosound met up with Doug Wimbish on Zoom to see what he has been up to in the past year and to put forward some questions from fans. Doug talks about his audition for Living Colour, recent chats with his former bandmates, and goes into detail about using effects pedals musically.

I’m honored to be on the cover of the forthcoming book “Sound of Light: Music Photography and Conversations with the Artists” by Petra Richterová.

Doug is featured on the cover of the October 2017 issue of Bass Player Magazine along with a full length feature article & interview with BassPlayer’s Elton Bradman. Doug discusses his career, 25 years + with Living Colour, his Sugar Hill Records years, playing style, tone, effects, basses and much more!