Victor Wooten Bass Nature Camp
by Matt Coen
Most of us can look back on our lives and see moments that help to define us personally, spiritually, professionally, and musically. On the eve of my 43rd birthday I found myself doing just that. One of the most interesting parts of my journey down memory lane is the fact that one of these moments occurred last year, when I attended Victor Wooten’s Bass/Nature Camp. What I had intended to be a six-day vacation from the proverbial rat race, and a chance to spend some quality time with my bass, turned out to be much more.
If you’re a bassist you probably know Wooten’s name and his amazing talent. If by chance you don’t know this Grammy award-winning bassist, a quick search of YouTube will undoubtedly etch him into your memory.
I first saw Wooten play roughly 10 years ago. I had traveled to Nashville with my brother Charlie for the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) music product industry show. Charlie, an outstanding luthier and guitarist, was preparing to open Coen Guitars, a boutique custom guitar shop in Michigan. He asked me to go with him to help gauge the competitive landscape.
One evening after the show, we decided to see a concert. There was a Les Paul tribute at the Ryman Auditorium featuring many incredible musicians and a special performance by Les Paul himself. When Victor Wooten, one of the first performers on the bill, was introduced, I had no idea who he was. After the first tune, I didn’t know whether to go home and practice, or just sell all my bass gear.
Ten years later, my “real job” brought me to Nashville, 500 miles from Detroit and my rock ‘n’ roll roots. While looking for musical things to do in my new hometown, I stumbled upon the Victor Wooten’s Bass/Nature Camp website (www.victorwooten.com/basscamp). After looking over the details and seeing that Steve Bailey, Anthony Wellington, and the legendary Chuck Rainey were instructors, I convinced my wife that I needed to attend.
The camps are typically limited to 60 students and there is an application to complete, but you don’t need any particular skill level. After submitting my application, I optimistically requested vacation time and waited to see if I would be fortunate enough to be accepted.
A few weeks later, the email I had been waiting for arrived and I had been accepted. I started my camp preparation by looking for my camping gear. There are sleeping options other than a tent, but it was Bass and Nature Camp after all and I intended to get the full camping experience.
That April I loaded my bass and camping gear into my Nissan Frontier and I was on my way. Though people traveled from as far away as Great Britain and Russia, my journey was much shorter. Wooten Woods is in Only, Tennessee, only about an hour from Nashville.
The nearly 150-acre camp is just off the I40, but as I made my way down the long driveway into camp, it became clear how peaceful and secluded it was. At the end of the road, the canopy of trees covering the drive opened and I got the first real glimpse of Wooten Wood’s beauty.
I parked my Frontier and headed toward a small cabin with a sign labeled Check In. I was greeted by Holly (Victor’s wife), Bob Hemenger, who I later learned was one of the nature instructors and an outstanding saxophonist. After checking in, I found an out of the way spot for my tent, set up camp, and headed toward “the barn” with my Coen Guitars CB1 bass (it’s good having a brother who’s a luthier).
There was a diverse mix of people at camp—all ages, ethnicities and genders—brought together by their love of music and the bass. The camp began with Wooten introducing the staff and letting people know what to expect. Then it was time for dinner.
Until that point in my life, I had associated camp food with hotdogs and baked beans from a can. The food at Bass and Nature Camp, prepared by Chef John Schopp, was far from normal camping fair. I am not exaggerating when I say that his culinary masterpieces outshone most of the expensive restaurants that have dented my wallet over the years.
Following dinner, Wooten led a discussion about music and nature. The most interesting part of this was that it was a discussion, rather than a lecture. It became clear that Wooten didn’t intend to make people see things his way, but rather to help them find their own way. Afterward, we were divided into four groups and encouraged to get some sleep. We had five full days ahead of us.
Each morning began with physical activity. Different guest instructors led us through classes in yoga, tai chi, and even a blindfolded “drum stalk,” in which we had to find our way across a large field blindfolded. After the morning exercise and breakfast, we broke into our groups for “rotations.”
During the days, we had classroom sessions with our amazing instructors. We worked on things like groove, tone, improvisation concepts, and timing. We heard amazing firsthand stories about musical legends and the sometimes hard lessons learned by our instructors. Most of us took in a volume of information and ideas that will keep us busy for years to come.
Three of the four rotations each day required our basses, but this was Bass and Nature Camp. In the fourth rotation, we where taught skills like making fire (without matches), understanding the sounds of nature, moving quietly, and the various uses for the plants and flowers around us.
In the evenings we gathered in “the barn” to listen to performances and insights from amazing musicians like bassists Reggie Hamilton, Adam Nitti, and Gerald Veasley, and saxophonist Bob Franceschini. If you weren’t worn out from the 14-hour days, there were open jam sessions, music reading classes, and a nightly bonfire.
Though the entire week played out like a highlight reel, some of my fondest memories are of Saturday night, the last full night at camp. Wooten informed us that he had hired a band for the evening, but they needed a bass player. The band was made up of some incredible musicians including: Drum World’s 2001 Country Music Drummer of the Year J.D. Blair, the amazing Kelly Gravely, guitarist Reggie “The Teacha’” Wooten, former Neville Brother’s guitarist Eric Struthers, keyboardist Joseph “Hands of Soul” Wooten (of the Steve Miller Band) and saxophonists Bob Hemenger and Bob Franceschini. The band started rocking and a few of us had jammed with the band when tragedy struck. A transformer blew up and we lost all power. Under normal circumstances, and with average people, this would have ruined the night. Neither normal, nor average applied here.
Gravely was playing the drums when the power went out, but drums and drummer don’t need electricity and the groove never stopped. Victor Wooten’s son Adam joined in on an African drum, Reggie Wooten found an extra tom, and J.D. Blair joined Kelly pounding out some killer rhythms on the cymbals while several of us began to sing.
Two and one half hours later, without even a momentary break in the groove, a new transformer was in, the power was on, and the jam session continued. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, everyone had played and this incredible night ended.
Sunday morning came quickly. We were all tired, but the energy for the night before kept us going though a clever activity that tied all the things we had worked on over the week together. Sunday afternoon was bittersweet as Victor Wooten and the staff left us with parting thoughts and we said goodbye to all our new friends. Though most of us missed our families and our beds, I don’t think anyone wanted to leave.
As I sit back and reflect on the impact of this experience on me, the “acid test” is not whether I enjoyed it while it was happening, but how it has affected me since. How do I know the effect of this camp was so profound?
Here are just a few things: My wife tells me I’m much more calm, I’m less stressed at work, I made many lasting friendships, and I’ve been playing a lot more music. I was even inspired to join a band (Strat5), which won the 9th Annual FORTUNE Battle of the Corporate Bands at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But that’s another story...
