October 4, 2003 - Asheville, NC

So I guess this is it! The last day of the tour and the last entry in the tour diary. Most of the time these entries were made very late at night or very early in the morning. So first I want to give thanks to my wife for putting up with 3:00AM and 7:00AM phone calls. She's a good gal - I think I'll keep her!

(...and I'd like to thank you, Ant, for all of those phone calls and this tour diary. It helps me to feel like I'm there with you even when I can't be.)

There were so many interesting things that would happen throughout the day but I had to edit my entries so they wouldn't become novels. A lot of times I would forget interesting details that I wanted to put in the diary but when you get as tired as I was on tour you start to forget things very fast. There were also some things that I felt were very personal involving the band so I didn't want to mention those either. But at all times, I try to be as truthful as I can possibly be. I also want to say that I misspoke about something in the September 29th entry about Bloomington, IN and I have since made a correction to that entry.

At one point Victor and I had a conversation with a friend about how you immediately forget what city you were in the night before. It's definitely easier to remember where you're going the next day than to remember where you were the night before. I dealt with a chest cold, fatigue, long hours and very little sleep for about a month now. But I wouldn't trade our touring experiences for the world. I absolutely love to be on the road and I love living in hotel rooms. The only thing that makes it hard for me being on the road is knowing that my wife is home alone - I hope (hee hee)!

Toné and I slept late in Charlotte. We got on the road a lot later than we wanted to. We had heard that it was going to be a 4 hour trip to Asheville but we later found out that it was only about an hour and 45 minute trip. It is a very beautiful drive to Asheville. A lot of mountains and valleys. I like traveling in the car with my wife - it's seems that's one of the best ways we bond. We got to Asheville about 1:30PM and I called Danette and she said load in wasn't till 2:30. So we drove downtown to the shops. Asheville has a beautiful downtown area. We bought a couple of books and trinkets for the house. It seems I can't go out on tour without buying books.

When we got to the venue the bus was already there. The Orange Peel is a relatively new venue in Asheville and it's very nice. We loaded in and set up - no surprises there. We watched Joseph and Ted play their final game of duct tape basketball. We even got pictures that we'll post on the site soon. And the final score was....Ted Atwell 24 - Joseph Wooten 15. Joseph's already asking for a rematch on the next tour in January. I think I might have to get back into the game that I helped to invent.

For some reason my wife went around taking pictures of everybody's butt - wait till you see the picture of Ted!

Barron and Steve Mays showed up from Atlanta again. Barron is Victor's booking agent and Steve is a bass player from Atlanta who was also a bass camper. He also owns 2 basses that my wife's brother Joe Compito built. We'll be posting pictures of at least 5 of Joe's basses real soon. Steve also took some incredible pictures at the Work/Play in Birmingham and at the Orange Peel in Asheville. Look for those to be posted soon too. Robin, another person from the first bass camp showed up and the one and only Futureman from the Flecktones showed up. I was looking forward to hearing him play with the band that night. I love to watch him play a drum set. Also, Zach Newton, the monitor engineer and tech for the Flecktones brought his wife Kelly and his newborn son Quincy down to the venue. It was the first time we all had seen the baby. They are a very beautiful family - Zach couldn't take his eyes off his son - I knew he was going to be a great Dad.

After sound check, Victor, Toné, Paul Hargett, Steve Mays & I went for a walk into downtown Asheville. We stopped at a coffee shop and we introduced Steve Mays to Chai tea made with soy milk. When we were finished walking around, Danette called Victor and let him know that she and Vic's new entertainment lawyer, Dave Ehrlich were at an Asian restaurant and they wanted us to meet them there. Paul Hargett had to leave - he wasn't staying for the show, but the rest of us met them at the restaurant. Barron also showed up. After dinner we all walked back to the venue. Of course Victor got stopped by adoring fans a whole buncha' times on the way back. When we got back to the venue everybody went back to the bus but I went to the band's 'green room' at the venue. Kaki King came over and hung with me and Toné. We took some crazy pictures with Kaki and we called her roommate, Mitch Cohn. She was opening for us again and then she was heading off to San Francisco, I think.

Kaki's set was really good. Then Kurt, Ted and I prepped the stage for the last Victor Wooten show of the tour. It was an incredible show. Everybody was relaxed. We're becoming a very effective team. Futureman sat in with the band and they played 'Red Baron' by Billy Cobham. After the show we took our time breaking down the gear. I was originally scheduled to ride back with the bus to Nashville to help Victor break down the gear and Toné was going to drive back home alone the following day. But Victor said that he, Kurt and Ted could handle the gear so he told me to go ahead and drive home with my wife. That was very cool of him. So now I'll get home 1 day earlier than planned. Divinity was leaving from Asheville also. But before we headed back to the hotel for everybody to get cleaned up, we talked the bus driver into letting us watch the Evander Holyfield and James Toney fight. Sometimes when the bus is moving, the satellite loses it's signal so we convinced him to just sit at the venue until the fight was over. Joseph, Victor and I are huge fight fans, but everybody in the band loves boxing. Joseph and I even attended a heavyweight champion fight in Madison Square Garden. When we got back to the hotel I said good-bye to everyone and went to the hotel room where my wife was waiting.

The next morning my wife and I had a very beautiful and uneventful drive back to the DC area. Well at least it was uneventful until I got that speeding ticket in Virginia! I'm already getting emails and calls from students anxious to start lessons again. But right now all I can think about is sleeping. Funny thing is I got a million things to do when I get home. Vic will be in town Tuesday, Friday and Saturday with the Flecktones so I'll see him a couple more times before the tour in January. By the way, the tour in January & February should be off the hook. I'll give you more details on that on the website in the near future. Toné & I are also talking about maybe taking a drive up north before I go back to work and I have to finish up some more stuff for MusicDojo.com. How all that's supposed to happen in the next 4 days...yeah, right!

Right now I just want to take a little bit of time just to say thanks to 'Team Wooten'.

First of all I'd like to thank Bill Compton - he's a very good and safe driver and he got us everywhere on time. He was a very no-nonsense kind of guy and the ultimate professional.

I want to thank Danette Albetta - she's Victor's manager and tour manager - she definitely knows how to get the job done. She made sure that we were all taken care of at all times AND she has to be the funniest tour manager in the business...she's absolutely insane!

I'd like to thank Ted Atwell (the newest member of 'Team Wooten'). He's the lighting director. I never knew how much of a difference a good light show meant. It can really make the difference between a good show and a bad show. He's so masterful at his craft that I find myself watching the lights during the show. It's almost like he's a member of the band because he has to have good time and hit the cues just like everybody on stage.

I want to thank Kurt Storey - he's Victor's 'front of house' engineer. He's also Victor's personal recording studio engineer. Kurt's an audio whiz - he has perfect pitch and he has the hearing of a canine, elephant, dolphin and bat wrapped in one! He's also the genius behind Victor's rig. I get a lot of that credit but he actually designed the rig.

I want to thank Divinity - we have WAY too much fun up on stage. Plus what she does is incredible. It's amazing how she can rap and play the bass line that she plays without messing up on either one. I don't know anybody else that has that same skill. Her bass playing gets more solid every time we tour. She's definitely gonna' make it big.

I'd like to thank Derico Watson for laying down the most amazing grooves. He's featured in this month's Modern Drummer and now a lot of people are starting to find out why. Joseph calls him a 'force of nature' and that name truly applies. Derico also does pretty good impersonations of the people in the band.

I'd like to thank Regi Wooten. He's a man of very few words but whenever he says something, it's profound. There's not a more versatile guitarist in the business and he's an incredible guitar/bass teacher too. If you're ever in Nashville, you should definitely hook up with him for a lesson or two.

I'd like to thank Joseph Wooten for providing the funkiest keyboard playing in the business right now. You rarely find keyboard players with good time. He has good time and the chops to match. He's also one of my favorite song writers. I can sit and listen to him play and sing all day. He's one of the funniest people I know and I love his impersonations! It's cool to have somebody to talk boxing with 24/7.

Last but not least I'd like to thank Victor Wooten for taking me along for the ride and the experience. In a lot of ways I feel like I have an apprenticeship under him. I know most people think I'm talking about the bass, but I'm talking about everything BUT the bass. We got to spend a lot of time together this tour and the last tour. It's cool to be in the position to hear the ideas and dreams of a person that you admire greatly. It's been exactly 4 years since I've been touring with him and exactly 2 years since he introduced me to my wife. I can only imagine the other joys that knowing him will bring me. I hope he feels the same way about me and I hope that as 'Team Wooten' gets bigger that there will always be a place for me. He's truly one of a kind.

P.S. I'd like to thank all the people who've taken the time out to read the ramblings of this madman. I hope y'all have found this entertaining. And I hope that it's given you some kind of insight on what it's like to be out on the road. 'Till the next time,...

"SMELLS LIKE FUNK"

peace & blessings

Anthony