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Moving on Up (right) | "The Greatest Show on Earth"

READING GERALD VEASLEY'S MAIL

by S. K. Wallace

Preface: In creating the concept and title for this introductory article in a series sharing experiences at Gerald Veasley's Bass BootCamp, (March 11-13, 2005, at the Wyomissing Institute of the Arts near Reading, Pennsylvania), the following two thoughts predominated and persisted:

1. ["Whoa! He's been reading my mail!"] Every time Gerald Veasley addressed the campers, he showed such uncanny awareness, knowledge, and insight-not just on the aspects of bass playing or musicianship, but on living life well-things so personally relevant and close to home, (almost too close to home, sometimes), that my hair would stand on end, or I'd get chills, or I'd somehow manage to fight back an occasional tear or two; [DON'T cry at BootCamp, definitely NOT cool!]-all the while thinking, "How on earth did he know that?" At the same time, I'm certain he was just as deeply, intensely, and effectively reaching others, speaking and relating to them, "reading their mail" in their own very different and unique circumstances, backgrounds, and experiences as both bass players and human beings. [See related article: Best of Bass BootCamp Part I.]

2. ["On the other hand, if he's been reading my mail, what would it be like for folks to read his mail?"] C'mon. You know most people would like to sneak a look at a personal letter to a famous person. So Bass Sessions Readers, here's your chance, (but I don't think Gerald would really mind in this case, just this once).

An Open Letter of Gratitude and Reflection

Dear Gerald,

Thank you for Bass BootCamp, truly one of the most profound and transformative experiences in my bass journey thus far.

To be honest, it was with quite a bit of trepidation that I even registered for BBC in the first place. The only two people I knew who were attending were professional bassists of the highest order-one a college bass professor, the other a Grammy nominee-Did I have any business signing up for something where people like this were the students? Of course, it only made sense that you'd have students of this caliber, given the all-star faculty and featured speaker line-up (e.g. you, Anthony Wellington, Bakithi Kumalo, Gary Willis, Jimmy Haslip, Michael Manring, and others). On the other hand, as only my overly-analytical mind would have it, I started worrying about ending up on the opposite end of the spectrum in some "bass fantasy camp" nightmare, with the few of us who weren't pros hacking and flailing away like a bunch of star-struck but delusional yahoos.

When I e-mailed the address on the BBC website, I was astonished when you not only personally responded almost immediately-[Wow! GV actually answers his own e-mail!]-but you convinced me that there would indeed be a place for someone like me to learn and grow at BBC, [and, thankfully, you were good-natured and not mortally offended at my unfounded, wild imaginings about the "bass fantasy camp" scenario!] You also gave me some excellent practice and study suggestions on how to prepare for the camp, advice on air travel with an electric bass in tow and other travel logistics and practicalities, and I really appreciated it all. To top it off, you wrote a lot of this while you were on the road, on tour in Japan-just incredibly above and beyond the call of duty.

On Friday, March 11, from the moment I started meeting various BBC staff members and participants as we waited for the shuttle at the Philadelphia airport, traveled to Reading, and ultimately arrived at the Wyomissing Institute of the Arts, I was impressed with the awesome diversity of humanity: culturally, geographically, chronologically, experientially, musically… intense jazz folks from the West Coast, bluesmen from Chicago and Philly, a rockin' mom and her son from Colorado, a couple from the Netherlands, a member of the Blue Man Group's New York band… just to name a few… but we were all unified by an excitement and a passion for playing the bass and improving our skills and by a supportive enthusiasm for each other.

Then we walked in the door, and there you were, personally and individually greeting each one of us; it felt more like being warmly welcomed home by a close friend or family member than the uncertainty and apprehension of meeting a dignitary for the first time. This was a place of acceptance like nothing I'd ever experienced.

When I first looked through the BBC notebook and discovered that you had included the reprint of my August 2004 Bass Sessions article on practicing… well, to say I was surprised, thrilled, and delighted is an understatement. I was and am still ecstatic about your inclusion of it and really consider it an honor, one of the coolest things to happen to me in my bass "career" so far, (aside from writing the piece in the first place). Thank you! Because of your down-to-earth humanity, you made a point of seeking out my reaction to the article's being in the notebook and seemed pleased that I was so happy, and later on in the camp, you mentioned the article and acknowledged me to the group… again, just overwhelming and unexpected graciousness.

In terms of your teaching content, the creativity, practicality, and originality of the "Bass Circle" instantly engaged students of all levels and got everyone playing and contributing to something that really sounded good… a band comprised entirely of basses! You continued the hands-on approach with the "Look Through the Window" soloing activity, assuring us that "Even if this is not good, it's going to be FUN!" (and it was fun, and many of my fellow campers were quite good, but I'm not too sure about when you gave me the assignment to musically interpret "Samuel L. Jackson"-think I'll plead one of your opening statements: "To be good, you must be willing to sound BAD!")

Your philosophies of "Unlearning," "Travel Light," "Write Your Own Movie," preventing "Emotional Cancers," and so much more wisdom… Well, it's going to take a separate article to adequately address these-not that you need a rehashing of your own teachings-but hopefully to attempt to share them with others and provide you feedback. For now, I'll just say… You were reading my mail!

Peace & Light Travel to You!

-SKW

P.S. Speaking of "Travel Light"…On the trip home, the airline lost my luggage. When the suitcase was finally delivered to my doorstep the next day, it had bright red warning tags and stickers all over it proclaiming, "HEAVY!" A sign perhaps? Lesson learned!

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About the author: S.K. Wallace is a freelance musician, writer, and artist who studies the bass with John Reid, Editor of Bass Sessions. When not playing the bass, she teaches violin and fiddle and performs a variety of musical styles on the acoustic and electric violin. She may be contacted at FreedomToFiddle@yahoo.com.