January 12, 2004 - Baltimore, MD

We arrived in Baltimore around 7:00AM. Being in a familiar environment made me feel comfortable. We went straight to our hotel in the Inner Harbor. The hotel was very nice and my room was already up on the 23rd floor. I called my wife to see what time she was coming up. Then I went to sleep. I woke up around 9 and Toné was on her way up. When she arrived, I met her downstairs and we rode around to find a parking spot. We hung out in the hotel room for a while and then decided to go to the venue early. I think bus call was about 12:30. We drove down to the venue around 11:30. The Funk Box is in the Federal Hill area of Baltimore. We found a place in the Cross Streeet Market to get some breakfast sandwiches. After we ate we walked around the area. It seems like a nice area and the city is putting a lot of money into revitalizing. We walked over the venue and waited for the bus to pull up. The Funk Box is a very small place but it's very cool. It used to be the 8 x10 Club. I remember going to see bands there in the 90's. I went to see the Aquarium Rescue Unit at the 8 x 10 and I just remember the drum riser being almost up to the ceiling.

As usual the load in and set up went very fast. Because the stage is so small we didn't use a lot of our gear. I set up half of Victor's rig. And JD didn't set up the drum set at all. We had a very short sound check. Then it seemed like everybody disbursed. I stuck around and practiced a little bit on stage. While I was on stage practicing, I saw somebody at the front door waving at me. I just assumed that from a distance they might have thought I was Victor. I was just focusing on practicing. But every time I looked up I saw this guy waving at me from the front door. When he took off his hat I realized it was my friend Steve Hargrove. So I waved him in and we talked for a while while I was practicing. Then he asked me about our mutual friend Mike Montgomery. I told him he should give Mike a call. Steve recently gave me and Mike some live recordings of the Yellow Jackets that we just can't stop listening to. Steve stuck around for a little while, but he couldn't stay for the show.

Len Sitnick showed up. He is one of the original Bass/Nature campers. He along with Adam Nitti co-founded musicdojo. Len is a great bass player and technical wizard. He brought down some musicdojo shirts. I told him I would wear one during the gig. Speaking of musicdojo, the February 2004 issue of Bass Player magazine gives us a 'shout out' on page 14. Len said some of his band mates would be coming to the gig.

I noticed that the line started to form outside of the club so I walked out to see if anybody I knew was out there. At the very front of the line I saw two of my students, Chuck Scyphers and Rob Haynes. They are both incredible bass players, but more importantly they are very nice guys. They are part of a slew of my students who I refer to as bass geeks...computer geniuses who also play bass. They seem to have the perfect balance of left brain and right brain function so they 'learn' and 'create' very well. I have many students who fit into this category. I think the bass geeks are going to take over the world! If you're a 'bass geek' then you would enjoy Chuck's web site casperbass.com. My wife helped design his site. Rob Haynes has to be the nicest person I've ever met in my whole life!

People started to come in the door including tons of students and friends. I took 2 of my younger students on stage to check out Victor's rig. Nash Woods is about 13 and has been studying with me for a couple of years. There is a student profile of him on my web site. Andrew Plante is about15 and has been studying with me for a couple of months. His dad is a guy who tapes a lot of concerts. He's given me live recordings of Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Oteil and the Peacemakers and the Victor Wooten band. He was setting up to record tonight's show and said he would send me a copy. Victor's very much in favor of letting people make 'ambient' recordings and taking pictures. Long time student, Wayne Thomas, showed up. New student, Gary Ward, showed up with his wife. They were celebrating their anniversary. I'd lide to give thanks to all of my students. I can always count on them to support me and the Victor Wooten band.

Dennis Chambers came to hang out for the gig. He was on a break from the Carlos Santana band. Victor's brother 'Futureman' came to hang out. He brought along the Isaiah Williams Project. Isaiah is an amazing drummer. He's one of the best drummers I've ever heard and guess what?,....he's only 9 years old! His dad Drue is an amazing bass player. His feel is just amazing. He's been down for a couple of lessons and he wants to take regular lessons with me, but I'm trying to talk him out of it because the last thing he needs is a bass lesson. Isaiah's uncle, James Dudley plays keyboards for him. They sat in and played one song and it was smokin'!! You can find out more about Isaiah on his web site IsaiahWilliams.com. The show went really well. The band is even 'tighter' on smaller stages. Derico had never met his idol Dennis Chambers before. I think it's very cool when you get to meet your idol by performing for him. Derico showed no signs of nervousness and he played his ass off!!

When Victor introduced me to play my solo I decided to grab the 7 string. I felt that now was as good a time as any. I was going to be playing for a lot of friends and I was hoping that they would be very forgiving if I sucked at it! I got a big applause when Victor introduced me. I took a deep breath,...closed my eyes,...and started playing. I started by playin the melody to 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' really slow and with a lot of space. I know that I always solo better when I start slow and leave space, so I always have to remind myself to do that. When you're on stage with incredible musicians it's easy to overlook starting slow and pacing your solo. Especially with a short solo. I played very well, much better than I thought I would and got a lot of compliments afterwards. I thanked my wife Toné after the solo.

(.....and that was some of the most sugary, mushy, but incredibly kind words I've ever heard come out of his mouth...I think I even heard violins playing...he must be buttering me up for something - like he just ordered 5 more custom basses and hasn't told me yet...)

After the show we did our usual meet and greet with the audience. I chatted with some friends. We loaded up the bus and made our trip back to the hotel in Inner Harbor. I'd like to thank Tim Walther of Walther Productions for promoting the show. He's also the co-owner of the Funk Box. I've known him and his wife Jennifer for many years and I remember when he first told me that he was going to buy the club. Congratulations on a job well done.

I forgot to mention in yesterday's diary entry that I got an email from Steve Bailey. He told me he had been reading the tour diary and to tell everybody hello. I first met Steve in 1983 at the University of Miami where I was studying jazz and he was a grad student. He was an amazing bass player then and he's one of the most amazing and original bass players on the planet right now. I'll never forget that he was the one that took me to see Jaco at the Hollywood Bowl in 1983. Mike Stern was playing guitar and Kenwood Dennard was playing drums. I think what Steve Bailey does on bass is just incredible. And,...incredibly hard to copy! That's why nobody else sounds like him. And on top of that he has some of the funniest stories around! He's co-author of the Bass Extremes projects along with Victor Wooten. The latest one is called 'Just Add Water' and it's hot! You can find out more about Steve Bailey and his 'Bass at the Beach' on his website stevebaileybass.com. At the Bass Camp right after I got married, Steve handcuffed me to a metal bowl with a handle. He left it on all night and I had to sleep with it in the bed with my wife, which kinda' sucked (not being in bed with my wife, but being handcuffed to a bowl). But what was cool was that the campers started throwing money in the bowl and by the end of the day there was almost $100 in it!! Steve is a very cool guy. I wish there was some way we could spend more time together. I have a funny idea - Victor, Steve and I can start a project called 'Hair Extremes'. Steve has long blond hair (like a girl), Victor has dreadlocks, I have a shiny bald head. And we're all vertically challenged. Hey, that might be one of the best ideas I've had in a long time! I wonder if I can get them to agree with me.

peace & blessings

anthony