A Mel Bay Publications, Inc. Webzine
April 2007 · Bimonthly
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In this issue: "The Queen of Bass" Double Z |
Life on the Road: With a little change of pace | Time as Mantra | Anthony Wellington of the Victor Wooten Band Print this Article (PDF) Email Article to a Friend 
Anthony Wellington of the Victor Wooten Bandby S.K. Wallace Flashback: Labor Day 2005, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, The Woodlands, TX… in the "lawn seats"... "I THINK I'LL JOIN THIS PARTY RIGHT HERE!!!"Initially startled by the sudden, unexpected presence behind me, I turned around to discover bassist Anthony Wellington had plopped down in the middle of the blanket with the rest of my family. As we were anticipating hearing him play with the Victor Wooten Band when they opened for Dave Matthews, Anthony had somehow found us in the midst of hundreds of people up on the hillside. ["I just looked for 'The Hair'!" he said… something only those acquainted with S.K. and her usual 'do in real life would understand.] Even more amazing than Anthony's uncanny ability to locate people in a crowd was the fact that he actually had time and wanted to visit and hang out before a major performance. But, there he was, totally at ease, with his characteristic blend of enthusiasm and calmness, exuberance and wisdom… happily chatting with my brother and parents (self-admittedly "the oldest people in the audience" that night.) [Later, during the VWB's portion of the concert, my mother commented, "So, you call this music 'funk'? Well, I certainly have no problem with it!" She also informed me regarding both the VWB and DMB that "Compared to this, Thursday Nite Live [locally popular, monthly-televised band that S.K. used to play in] sucks!" (And, she was right. Okay, now I'm going to have to enter the witness protection program.)] Just as I enjoyed introducing Anthony to my immediate family almost two years ago, it's my pleasure to share the following interview with the Bass Sessions family. S.K.: How would you describe your musical styles? A.W.: Stylistically, I would say that I'm mostly an R&B and funk bassist. But, with the Victor Wooten Band, I'm playing mostly fusion. The last couple of local projects I played in were pop rock. S.K.: What are some of your main projects and gigs, past and present? A.W.: Currently, I'm bass tech and second bassist for the Victor Wooten Band. I've been with the VWB since 1999. I did a couple of DC area gigs with the gospel legend Walter Hawkins in 1999. From 1999 to 2003, I was in a very successful local pop/alternative rock band called His Boy Elroy. I occasionally play with John Luskey who was also a member of His Boy Elroy. John is a singer-songwriter who is currently doing country, but when I play with him, we also do rock and R&B. As a teenager in the early 80's, I played with a popular, young, R&B/go-go band called Hot Property. S.K.: How did you get the gig with the VWB? A.W.: Victor and I had been friends for years when he told me that he was considering putting together a whole band to tour. Up to that point, he had just been touring with drummer JD Blair because his first CD, "A Show of Hands," was solo bass. After that, all of his recordings have been full-band CDs. I mentioned that I was available to tour with him if he needed my help with anything. Victor said that he'd considered taking out a bass tech because it would free him up to spend time with the fans and handle more of the business stuff. I didn't really expect him to call, but two weeks later he did. The gig was only supposed to last two weeks, but it's been eight years so far. S.K.: Describe your responsibilities with the VWB. What's a typical day like when you're touring with Victor? A.W.: In the beginning, I was bass tech, stage manager, monitor engineer, and bass player. Now, I focus mainly on teching and playing even though I'm still stage managing. A typical day begins with us laughing and joking on the bus. We usually arrive at the venue around noon for the load-in. Lately, I've been responsible for making sure all of the gear goes where it needs to onstage after the loaders bring it in. Then, I usually spend a couple of hours setting up both Victor's and my rigs. We usually travel with eight to ten basses, and it takes longer than you can imagine to carry ten basses in from the bus, pull them out of their bags, and tune them. After every third show, I usually change the strings on Victor's two main basses, and I change the strings on my basses once a week. Then, I have an hour break before sound check. At the start of the tour, we sound check for a couple of hours, but half-way through, we are done with sound check in a half-hour. We will have an hour or so break before show time. We usually play a two and a half to three hour show. After every show, we do a meet and greet with remaining audience members. We spend an hour to an hour and a half breaking down and loading out. Then, we get back on the bus and laugh and joke some more. S.K.: What are the most unusual or challenging circumstances you've faced as Victor's bass tech? A.W.: The most challenging/demanding circumstances I've faced have been four times when Victor split the neck on his bass. In New Orleans and Toronto, I had to find places that could fix it, and in Grand Rapids, MI, I had to fix it myself. In Grand Rapids, we were playing at a college, and I got hypodermic needles from the medical school and C-clamps from the shop department. I went out and bought epoxy, mixed it up, put it into the hypodermic needle, and injected it into the neck and clamped it for eight hours. Victor was able to use the bass that night for the show. S.K.: Talk about your rig and gear. A.W.: I currently have almost thirty basses. Three of them are upright. I also have three electric guitars, about eight synthesizers, and acoustic and electric drum kits. Because I own a recording studio, the gear list is quite extensive, so I'll focus on bass gear. I mainly play 5-string basses made by Fodera and MBass, but I have 4-, 5-, 6- and 7-string fretted and fretless basses. With the Victor Wooten band, I use an Ampeg Portabass 800 head and BXT 410 and 115 cabinets. Locally, I use cabinets by Epifani and Ampeg and preamps by Alembic. I use Fodera and DR strings. I own almost every bass effect and "toy" ever made, but I rarely use them. I mainly keep them at my school for students to sample. I prefer the clean, natural sound of the electric bass. S.K.: What are some of your favorite career highlights? A.W.: [lists the following]:
S.K.: What are your future plans and goals? A.W.: [I plan to] record and produce CDs and sell my own merchandise and that of other artists… continue to travel this country and the world playing music… continue to educate bassists and other musicians at my school. S.K.: Where can people hear your live and recorded performances? A.W.: Both Victor and I keep a gig calendar on our web sites. You can check mine at www.anthonywellington.com. In March, my wife [Toné Compito Wellington] is opening up an online store that will be selling CDs and merchandise for musicians and artists, jewelry, books, and other great stuff you can check out at www.theharmonynetowork.com. Hopefully, I will have a CD of my own up there to sell in the near future! S.K.: Talk about your musical background and education. Did you participate in any kind of school music program, take private lessons, teach yourself, etc.? Do you sing or play other instruments? How did you get started on the bass? A.W.: I'd like to think that I've always been a musician, even before I ever played an instrument. My mom and dad always played music in the house, and we had the popular house on the block, so we always had parties while growing up. I remember being six or seven and telling my dad that I was going to be James Brown's drummer someday. I remember making a drum set out of Crisco cans. My mom bought me various instruments growing up, and a lot of the kids in my neighborhood in DC played bass. So, I learned a lot of licks and got some insight on the instrument before I really thought of myself as a bassist. After my family moved to Maryland, my sister started dating a guy across the street who had a bass, and he pretty much let me play it whenever I wanted to. In high school, my music teacher, Mary Cole, worked with me extensively on theory (which I had never heard of up until that point.) I fell in love with it because it helped me to understand what I was already doing because I was basically a self-taught musician who played by ear. I play keyboards and guitar and sing a little bit, and I've done all three on gigs. S.K.: Would you elaborate on your formal music studies in jazz at University of Miami and in recording/audio engineering at the Omega Studios? A.W.: Going to Miami was a big deal to me. I had never been out of the DC area, so it was my first taste of traveling. Also, it was the first time I was around people who had a mastery of whatever instrument they played. Up until that point, I had only been around people who played an instrument as a hobby. I had no idea that people actually thought of this as a livelihood and a profession. I would say that University of Miami affected me mostly by helping me to understand the discipline it took to be a "real musician." But, academically, most of the stuff that I learned there, I had already learned from Mary Cole in high school. Much later I developed my own philosophies and understandings of the things that I had learned earlier as an undisciplined musician. So, my serious musical studies didn't begin until the mid 90's and it was mostly through self-education. During my time in Miami, I fell in love with being in the environment of recording studios. I decided to study some audio engineering at Omega Recording Studios in Rockville, MD. That was before the days of Pro Tools, when everything was still done with analog tape. I built my first recording studio in 1985. S.K.: Describe your bass journey. What was the process that led to your becoming a professional bassist? A.W.: I basically stopped playing bass in 1985 and was focusing mostly on writing and recording music in my studio. But, personally, I was on a path that would lead me to some "dark" places. I was involved in some serious criminal activity and was hanging out with some shady characters. That ultimately led to my being incarcerated for a year. During that time, the studio was burglarized, and everything was stolen except for my bass. After I was released in the summer of 1993, I decided to pursue music and electric bass seriously and without "outside distractions." In 1999, I chose being a musician over a career in the corporate world because it was an opportunity to make a living doing what I loved to do. S.K.: Congratulations on opening your new teaching studio, Bassology. Talk about what's going on there. What is your vision for the studio? A.W.: I wanted to open a place that was conducive to the serious study of music and playing the bass. I wanted it to be an environment without the distractions of a music store, but I wanted it to have more of a sense of professionalism than teaching at home. I wanted a place where serious musicians could go to acquire the knowledge and tools that it takes to be a working musician, with focus on the APPLICATION of that knowledge and tools. Having knowledge without understanding the application of it is useless in the real world. S.K.: While I've been privileged to sit in on your master classes at Gerald Veasley's Bass BootCamp, what's it like to study with you on an ongoing basis? A.W.: Studying with me is intense. I expect my students to be disciplined and serious. There are too many music stores out there that offer non-disciplined teaching situations. So, if a student isn't disciplined, they might as well study at a music store. One of my philosophies is that there are four ways to know every musical concept: Physically, Visually, Sonically, and Intellectually. It's through the study of music in those four ways that I can find the "holes" in a student's playing and address them. When people express themselves musically, I recommend that they ask themselves, "In which of these four ways am I the strongest, and in which of these four ways am I the weakest?" If you do this with every musical concept you know, you will always know what you need to work on. S.K.: Describe your materials and curriculum. A.W.: Most of the materials I use are things that I have come up with over the years. I'm not a big fan of bass books and bass DVDs because most of them aren't very good. Music is a language, and it's impossible to learn any language in a thirty-page book or an hour and a half DVD. At best, you can only get catchphrases, and that's not the same as "knowing" a language. [In my teaching] there's a heavy emphasis on "non-instrument specific" theory and ear training, and then I work with the students on how to apply that theory and ear training to the electric bass and other instruments. Most people assess musicianship by how fast someone plays, but I think how fast someone "hears" is a better assessment… just like any other language. I'm always being asked for recommendations on books. I have a list of some that I work with at www.bassology.net. I plan on adding more books and other tools to that list. S.K.: What's your best advice for bassists? A.W.: Sometimes, players who are already GOOD put off being GREAT because they can get by with just being GOOD. You just have to make time to become a GREAT bass player. And, the funny thing is… becoming GREAT is usually just a matter of knowing and working on the fundamentals. That's why basketball players work on dribbling and shooting free throws. They can't just get better just from playing the game. That's why boxers hit the speed bag and heavy bag. They just can't get better from having matches. But, musicians try to get better just from gigging and playing music. Getting better entails having discipline and working on the fundamentals. Do as much learning, listening, and playing as you can. And, if you have a free hour in the day, don't spend it online chatting about bass; pick up your bass and play it! "DON'T JUST LISTEN TO & READ ABOUT THE EXPERTS...BECOME ONE OF THEM!"- Anthony Wellington 
About the author: S.K. Wallace is a bassist, high school chemistry teacher, and in-demand guitar instructor. Her writing has appeared in Mel Bay's Bass SessionsTM since 2004. She may be reached at SKWBassist@aol.com. [ top ]
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