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Following The Victor Wooten Band
By Jonathan Chase As related on alt.guitar.bass on May 10th, 2005 I just got back yesterday; I followed The Victor Wooten band through Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco, then spent the weekend down in Santa Cruz pretending to be a tourist. I've been to two of Victor's Bass Camp's, seen many of his shows, and last year he even pulled me up to play with the band, so I know most of the people in the band and Victor and Anthony Wellington are my friends. I went up to Seattle with a friend and we went to the club early to see if the band was there. They were doing a sound check so we stood around outside listening through the wall. The door burst open and there was Vic, wearing his bass! He gave me a hug and brought us both inside to watch the sound check. They club was really small, and the subs were at stomach-level built into the low stage. During the show the sound was very deep up against the stage, those subs were just too much for me. The band sounded great and played all new material, nothing from the older CD's. The stage was very small so they couldn't do the usual stage show, but they still rocked. We drove all night (and my friend had to take a few naps during the trip) so I got home at about 7:30 AM. I only got to sleep for a few hours before I had to be up and getting my stuff together. Vic let me come to the Portland sound check that day, and I brought my dad and my little brother. I already had tickets to bring him and my mom, but Vic put my dad on the guest list so my whole family could come. After the sound check Vic and Anthony checked out my Stambaugh Bass, it was really cool to see Vic play it. He also gave me one of his hair ties to try, since I can never find the kind that don't have a little metal bit on the back. They did the full stage show in Portland - it was quite a spectacle. They sounded incredible and everyone got a turn to shine and lead the band. Vic did a really nice solo looping section too. I won't spoil any of the surprises, but their new lights are really fun to watch, and Vic does some very cool things. At the end of the show Vic was doing some wild stuff, throwing basses in the air, spinning them around, and in general scaring the heck out of me. When he chucked a Fodera 3 feet above his head, the look on Anthony's (the bass tech) face was priceless. Then Vic went over and just handed his bass to a random guy in the audience. I found out later that they didn't know who he was, they just let him play. After that Vic played some more, then they ran to my side of the stage and Anthony pointed down at me. Vic grinned and handed the bass to me. I did a whole thumpin' and tappin' thing, a lot of my "I wish I was Victor Wooten" licks. The band was pointing down at me, and Vic laid down on his belly at the edge of the stage to watch me play. It was really fun, and I played way better than I did last year when they pulled me up on stage. It was my little brother's first show (he's 10) and afterwards the band was so nice, talking to him, giving him hugs, and they all signed a poster for him. Regi Wooten and Derico Watson signed it "To Eric - Da Man!" The next morning I got up early (running on almost no sleep) and flew down to San Francisco to see the band at The Fillmore. I'd never been there before. Vic invited me to come early to watch the sound check again, and I got there about an hour early. I got to watch them set up and wander around the theater, looking at all the photo's and seeing the history of the theater. It's amazing just how many famous players and legendary musicians have played there. Most of the band was warming up when Vic came in, he walked onto the dance floor, heard the funky drum beat, and hit the floor, doing some wild break dancing. It was the funniest thing, I wish someone had gotten a picture! Watching the band do their sound checks is really interesting, I got to see all of them (especially Anthony Wellington) play differently than they do in front of an audience. Seeing how Victor warms up is really cool, he played some just insane stuff that I've never seen him do on stage. Watching how they discuss song endings, make changes, and write arrangements was very interesting. I got to spend most of the afternoon and evening with Victor. A big group of us, including Vic, Saundra Williams, Divinity, and Derico Watson all went out to dinner together, and that was a lot of fun. I got to ask Vic some questions and he gave me a lot to think about. We walked around together doing some errands, and then he let me chill on the bus with him until show time. At one point I asked him if I should leave so he could get ready for the show. He leapt to his feet and said "oh yeah, I need to do my stretches and meditate!" As I started to walk toward the door he laughed and told me to sit down. Thinking about that cracks me up. They tightened things up for the San Francisco show, played shorter solo's, and added the song "Back To India" to the set. Vic played the Sitar Bass for that song, and that sounded very cool. I've never heard a bass sound quite like that. They sounded incredible, and the new show is very fun to watch. The stage show is great, the new lights add another level to things, and Vic always keeps it interesting so non-musicians are as entertained as the guys there to watch him play technical solo's. The Fillmore staff was weird and that was the first show I've seen where Vic didn't come out to sign stuff afterward. They threw us all out as soon as the lights went on. I hung out by the bus to watch for Anthony and the security guard even chased me away from the trailer! In the end I got to hang a bunch with Regi before Vic and Anthony came out, then Anthony walked me back to my hotel room so we got to talk bass for a while. It was a ton of fun and really an honor to be a part of things. Victor is such an inspiring person, as well as a monumental bass player, there's a lot more to him and what he does than being the guy who double thumps the bass. Anthony Wellington is such a monster player, I don't think most people really know how good he is. Check out his site and his tour diary at www.anthonywellington.com and watch for that name. I think he will make waves in the bass community when he puts some recordings out. I think everyone should check out the new Victor Wooten record, Soul Circus, and the tour. They're still doing some dates, and it's all at www.victorwooten.com There are still some incredible solo's and technical tricks, but the focus is a lot more on the songs and musicality over thumping 16th notes just for the heck of it. Everyone in the band is incredible...Derico Watson is one of the baddest drummers I've ever seen, and I don't think there are words to describe what Regi Wooten does on the guitar. His new 10 string bass (tuned in fourths with the lowest string a full octave below a regular basses low E string) is wild too. I had lots of fun, I learned a lot, and I feel really inspired to play. I'm also very honored that Vic let me hang out with him and gave me a view of what it's like to be a pro player on that level. Jonathan www.badspatula.com 
These Victor Wooten logos are the property of Victor Wooten. Please do not use them unless you have permission from him or his manager. AltGuitarBass.com has obtained permission for the use of these logos. |
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