#ben joseph

Ben Joseph, maybe known to some of you as a part of Ezra Furman’s band the Boyfriends, has recently released two music videos for his songs “Double Platinum” (a smooth chill hymn invoking slight vibes of the current Vaccines) and “Chicken” (definitely the

 weirder of the two videos).

While there are no current dates upcoming for the Chicago based band, I’m looking forward to see them on our European shores hopefully soon.



As for now, enjoy Double Platinum and Chicken on Youtube, if you’re into it, why not show your love by getting the songs on Bandcamp? -Ezra

Secret Bad Boy - Double Platinum

Artist: Foster Sylvers  Album: Foster Sylvers  Bass Player: Leon Sylvers III

View and download the transcription here!

Welcome to my weekly blog, Bass Transcription of the Week! Today I'm going to be looking at another song requested for me to transcribe. The song is “Misdemeanor” by Foster Sylvers, with Leon Sylvers III on bass!

The Request: This song was requested by Chicago studio bassist/keyboardist/everything-else-ist Ben Joseph. Ben is a fellow Columbia alumnus, and does a ton of session work in Chicago. He also has done pretty extensive touring with Ezra Furman and has lately been touring with local Chicago singer Jennifer Hall to support her EP, released last year. You can hear him do all kinds of stuff on her most recent release at BandCamp.

The Song: So “Misdemeanor” is the lead single off of Foster Sylver's debut solo album. He had previously been performing with The Sylvers, a family band, who released their first album the previous year and would release 10 more albums between then and 1984. It's nearly impossible to talk about The Sylvers without bringing up the Jackson 5, as they are extremely reminiscent of the siblings from Gary, Indiana, especially considering little Foster's fronting. But, they wouldn't reach the cultural plateau that the Jackson's made it to.

The Bass: Leon Sylvers III, Foster's older brother, played the bass on the tune in addition to writing it. He plays a laid back, Wilton Felder-esque bass line throughout the song, which has a sense of perpetuity to it that I find really cool. The guitar part mirrors the bass very closely as well, though it's so far back in the mix that I didn't even notice until I had already finished writing it out. It's a very consistent bass part without many twists and turns, but it is a perfect example of the kind of R&B bass playing that came into prominence in the 1970's.

Favorite moments: The opening groove's chords are really wonky and cool, and the bass line that follows throws you off almost immediately; I love the bass line that kicks in at measure 11, since it has a really nice groove to it in how it interacts with the drums.