Chances are, you have heard of Victor Wooten. You may have seen his confusing/mind-blowing bass techniques under his name or with Belá Fleck and the Flecktones. Not only is he a five-time Grammy Award winner and author, but he is also a damn good performer. Prepare to be infatuated and utterly overwhelmed.
It is a performance for music lovers of all breeds — on Wednesday night at the Majestic Theatre, Wooten will raise your bar for what you thought was talent. He brings together a band full of unique views and one key similarity: a comfort for music. With a knack for collaboration and a broad understanding of music’s power inside and outside of the venue, Victor Wooten is a soul to observe.
In preparation for Wednesday’s show, I attempted finger pick the man’s creative brain.
Fusing genres together has always been a method for innovating music. Questlove’s new VH1 show will put Lil Wayne, Skrillex, and London Grammar on stage together to force different types of artists to work together. How do you feel about this forceful nature of collaboration?
“I don’t know about the forceful nature of it. For me and the people I get to work with, it doesn’t feel forced. You may have different foods from different cultures at the same time. It’s like having different types of people at the same table. But we’re all made up of the same stuff and it’s not as different as we might think. The real difference exists in our mind.”
What was the most unique or interesting collaboration you’ve been involved in?
“Belá Fleck and the Flecktones. My brother, Future Man, grew up with R&B and soul. Then we met up with this banjo player who knew world music, bluegrass, and folk. Then we met this harmonica player — he knows where he came from. Putting that together has been one of the most unique combinations I’ve been involved in. And it worked immediately because we are comfortable with music. Period.”
What is the most valuable part of the music industry other than being a musician?
“It’s hard to say what is valuable. Even the smallest part that we might want to overlook is important, even the mailroom intern. If any link in the chain breaks, things won’t work.
“One valuable part is for sure – that’s the consumer. The consumer allows me to have this career. We are equal to each other and we provide a service to each other.
“Then there are people between the musician and consumer that take advantage of that, either for good or bad purposes. I am hoping there will be more people in the music business that will take advantage of the consumer in a positive way.”
Outside of playing music, what is the difference between a musical and non-musical person?
“A lot of aspects outside of music are related to being musical or non-musical.
“For a non-musician, this is a situation in which ignorance is bliss. A person who doesn’t play an instrument will sing or dance — not in order to be right. A person singing in the shower/car/work isn’t singing to be right. They are singing because it feels right.
“Often, a musician does it to be right. And a musician can allow an instrument to get in the way. On the other hand, knowing a lot about an instrument can allow you to experience it more rather than less. But often a musician will ask too many questions before playing it. This causes a knowledge delay.”
Is there a difference between listening to music and hearing music?
“There is a definite difference between listening and hearing anything. Spouses are either listening to one another or just hearing one another. This, too, relates to experiencing. Sometimes you can listen. I do believe there is a difference, but for me it relates to experiencing it. Often, the non-musician will experience it quicker and deeper than the musician will.”
In any given performance, what balance do you draw between your individual sounds versus the band’s collective sound?
“In my band, the band’s sound is bigger than my individual voice. Think about singing in a choir. The sound is always bigger than any individual voice. Belá Fleck would never squash our vision to allow for a band vision. He always said he was ‘a leader among equals.’ If I told (vocalist) Krystal Peterson what to sing and squash her vision, she would not shine like she does. We open up our set list for each member to drive it for a while.”