Article Courtesy of Bass Musician Magazine
I always enjoy running into Bill Dickens at the NAMM shows! I recall that he even gave us a bit of a preview about ’Tha Truth’ as far back as 2012.
Bill is a soft spoken powerhouse of a musician! Don’t let his mild mannered demeanor fool you, “The Buddha” can totally hold his own with the best of them and then some. Of course, we have always known this!
Back in the day (2007), Bill has even written for BMM…
So, when he handed me this CD at the 2015 Winter NAMM show, I was really looking forward to giving it a listen. Let me tell you, this CD does not disappoint.
Bill brings a solid collection of tunes, many of which are his own compositions. The bass work is flawless and extraordinarily exciting. Let’s not overlook the fact that Bill’s weapon of choice is his trusty Conklin Signature 7-string. He also does a fair amount of playing keys as well and the team of supporting musicians on this project is perfectly suited to highlight Bill’s playing.
Lets have a look at some of the tracks…
“Tha Truth” is the title track and it introduces Bill with a lot of Funk and attitude. The slap and pop work here is just insane and there is such speed and precision that you might not even need to look any further. I think this is what Bill is referring to as “Speed Funk”. This first track gives us the real idea of Bill’s bass voice.
Article Courtesy of Bass Musician Magazine by