The 40th birthday surprise....

So what do you get your husband for his 40th birthday gift?  I wanted this gift to be momentous...after all, 40 is a pretty big birthday to celebrate!  Well, another bass, of course! So I started thinking about a bass that Anthony had ordered initially from Fodera over 3 years ago...I think it was right after we got married, when we took a trip to Brooklyn, NY, and Anthony began to design his 'version' of the Victor Wooten Yin Yang bass - a la' Anthony Wellington!  Then, I saw Vinny and Joey at one of the shows in NY and it hit me...NOW would be a great time to finish that bass!  So we started plotting and planning to get this done by his birthday, which was May 10th in case you didn't know.  Because of the uniqueness of the design they were unable to have it completed by the 10th, but I figured, that's OK...it will be worth the wait.  I had no idea...

 

So his birthday rolls around and I have no gift for him - we went out and had a nice Japanese dinner together and I told him that the gift I ordered for him had been 'backordered', so it would probably be there by the following week.  In the meantime, Anthony goes back out on the road for the next run of the tour.   I called Victor and spoke to him about this surprise and asked if he could help me out making this as memorable a surprise as possible, and we decided that it would be fun to present to him on stage. 

 

 

Now, check this out....this past Saturday, May 21, the band was playing at a Festival in VA and I had just gotten the shipment from Fodera that morning.  So, with brand new bass in my car, my daughter Shauna and our good friend Greg Blount, I set out to the gig.  First, we had to sneak it out of my car while Anthony wasn't looking and that was interesting in itself!  Victor managed to sneak it out of the back of my car and hide it (all tuned up and ready to go) on his bunk on the tour bus...then, this is how it went....

The band goes into the first tune, Natives (which is on the new 'Soul Circus' CD - if you haven't gotten it yet, you need to check it out - it's HOT!!), and everybody's up there, just groovin' and having a great time, as always.  When suddenly, Victor just stops the music...right in the middle of everything and starts talking about Anthony.  As you can see from this first picture, Anthony is totally baffled at this point.   Then Vic mentions that Anthony just had his 40th birthday...

Yeah!  Happy Birthday, Ant!! 

so then.......

  

 

Victor tells him to take his bass off....that he needed to play a different bass...

 

  so of course, he's getting confused again. (tee hee!) 

 

 

 

Vic asks Danette to bring out the bass for Anthony to play, and she hands him the bass that he's been talking about for 3 years...

 

That look was PRICELESS!!!!!

 

So they start playing the tune again - this time, with Anthony playing his new Fodera....he was 'smokin' and that bass was sounding great...

 

 

I think he liked it....what do you think?  I know that I had SO much fun planning this gift and then being able to watch the expressions on his face - that goes down in my book as one of those unforgettable moments!

 

Happy Birthday, Ant....I love you!

'da wife - 
Toné