Hanging out with Victor Wooten on his stop by the House Of Guitars to give a bass clinic which lasted about 2 ½ hours of him playing music and answering questions by the audience on how to play better bass and other music questions. Wooten is also the bassist for Bela Fleck. If you ever have the opportunity to hear him, play, it is well worth it but it might even be better just to hear him talk. When asked questions, he tends to throw the question back to the person who asked to get them really thinking about what truly makes someone a great musician (or person). He states that "the instrument doesn't make the music ... you do" and tells people that if they want to get ahead as a musician they need to 1) take care of themselves both physically and mentally since when you are in a good place, your music will sound better also, 2) take the time to learn to read music and understand how other instruments work so you can blend your sound with them (esp important if you want to write music), 3) make sure to learn from others even if you don’t fully use everything (he says he has learned many things about music while touring with Stanley Clark but admits he took what he wanted and adapted for his style) and 4) experience life to it’s fullest. To fully grasp what he is about, anyone who likes music or wants to truly get better might benefit from reading his book “The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music”. The closest Victor will be to Detroit in the near future is Rochester, NY’s Jazzfest this summer with Bela Fleck.
>Pixar fans should be excited for State Farm’s “Agents on a Mission” tour as Lightning McQueen, his best friend Mater and master British spy Finn McMissile appear at a free event at Great Lakes Crossing on Wednesday, April 6th between 2-7PM. There will be various activities including a video kiosk, e-photo opportunities, games and giveaways. For more information, you can go to Disney.com/cars.
Here are some upcoming shows you might like to check out this week:
Tuesday (3/29) – Amos Lee @ the Ark, Brett Dennen @ St Andrews Hall
Thursday (3/31) – English Beat @ Crofoot, Jeff Beck @ Michigan Theatre (Ann Arbor)
Friday (4/01) – Lupe Fiasco at Peace Corps Benefit @ Hill Auditorium (Ann Arbor)
Saturday (4/02) – Detroit by Detroit (see below) @ Magic Stick, Ohio Players and the Dazz Band @ Detroit Opera House, Drowning Pool w/Pop Evil @ Machine Shop
Sunday (4/03) – Raveonettes @ Magic Stick, Trans-Siberian Orchestra @ Caesar’s Windsor
While I have never seen them in concert, I do admit the Thin Lizzy show @ Motorcity Casino on Thursday does peak my interest as well as this month’s newest wacko, Charlie Sheen, at the Fox Theatre on Saturday (make sure to drink your Tiger Blood and a stripper for him to sign afterwards).
Detroit by Detroit seems like at interesting idea as various local bands will be playing the music of other local bands. For example, The Satin Peaches will be performing as Lightning Love, Citizen Smile will be acting like Macrame Tiger and the HandGrenades as Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr. Along with Illy Mack, Mick Bassett, the Ashleys and more, this could be an interesting night, esp for those that love and know the local music scenes here in Detroit. So basically, you will get an interesting night of music for only $5 or less that .50 cents a band. I like the math on that.
On a sadder not, we saw the passing of a great blues singer, Pinetop Perkins, at the age of 97. He recently won the Grammy for best Blues album this year (also won in 2008 and he is the oldest-ever Grammy winner) and had been doing some touring. His last Detroit performance was a couple years ago at the Detroit Boogie Woogie and Blues Festival when it was at the Music Hall and he put on a very wonderful performance for someone his age. It is a shame that someone who is an originator passes away just as they are starting to gain some attention. He was one of the last pure Mississippi Delta blues musicians and had been a personal friend to Robert Johnson as well as backing up Muddy Waters for 10 years before forming the Legendary Blues Band with frequent touring partner Willie “Big Eyes” Smith. He will be missed. Here is a performance with Muddy Waters and Pinetop on piano.
