Being in a band with family can be a blessing … or a curse. Thankfully, for Victor Wooten and the Wooten Brothers, family and music have long gone hand in hand—and things have been respectful, loving and productive.
Their funky grooves started in the 1980s when the group was called The Wootens. Each brother then went on to different things—but 40 years later, the band has reunited as Victor Wooten and the Wooten Brothers. Although the man often regarded as one of the best bass players ever is at the helm, Victor Wooten claims that, in this band, he’s back to being the baby brother and “just back in the bass-player role.”
The band is heading to Pappy and Harriet’s for a show on Wednesday, Jan. 24.
“It’s been decades since we’ve been able to do it, so it’s really exciting for us,” Victor Wooten said during a recent phone interview. “It’s great for me, because I’m the baby brother. It’s not like it’s my band; this is the way I grew up, and it’s great to be just back in the bass-player role, where I could just be a bassist for a great band.”
In recent decades, Victor Wooten became a seasoned music educator. He travels the world giving talks and lessons about his approach to music. He talked about how his time in the family band “was the best way to learn.”
“I really can’t imagine learning in any better way,” Wooten said. “If you think about how you learn to speak your native tongue … I learned to speak English in a family that spoke it. We were a team. No one ever treated me as a beginner. No one over corrected me when I said things wrong. You learn in what I call a natural way when we’re learning to speak, and I was fortunate enough to learn to play music the exact same way.
The Wooten Brothers avoided the trials that some family bands face; Victor credits his parents.
“My mom had a quote that said, ‘You either raise your kids, or wish you had,’” Wooten said. “Our parents were very hands-on, and they cared more about who we were as people, not who we were as musicians. They didn’t really care what else we would do, as long as we did it from a good person standpoint. We (weren’t allowed to) argue; we couldn’t fight—so it didn’t happen. We grew up really, really good at getting along with each other and respecting each other, and … we knew how to handle our disagreements, and we carry that on today.
To mark their reunion, the Wooten Brothers released a new single, “Sweat”—but instead of just releasing one version, they dropped “Version A” and “Version B,” with Version B having an extended funk jam section.
“It’s hard for the Wooten Brothers to do anything short,” Wooten said. “We understand that today, in music, people don’t even listen to a whole song anymore. They put on their playlist or whatever, and they listen to part of a song, and they switch to the next song. We wanted to make sure that there was a, quote unquote, ‘single’ version of the song ‘Sweat,’ but, of course, in the studio, when we are together, we’re playing for long periods of time, so we put a slightly longer version out at the same time. Since we hadn’t released anything as the brothers since the ’80s, we wanted to make sure that our first release was a positive one, something that everyone could get into, that adults and kids could sing.”
Including both positive lyrics and anthems in their music is a priority for the Wooten Brothers.
“As the brothers, we realized that if you put anything to a good beat, people will sing it,” Wooten said. “There are a lot of songs out there that have us singing things that may not be so good for us to sing and repeat. We wanted to make sure that we did not follow that model. When we grew up, you’d have Earth, Wind and Fire, who would sing, ‘You’re a shining star, no matter who you are,’ and, ‘Keep your head to the sky.’ Sly Stone would say, ‘We’re a family affair.’ Even when it wasn’t popular, James Brown would say, ‘Say it loud. I’m black, and I’m proud.’ There were a lot of songs out there that were really positive and uplifting, even though they were danceable, and we wanted to follow suit with that.”
Wooten discussed his philosophy on crafting music that will sell.
“We grew up in the era where you make and sell records— but now, it’s not about selling it,” Wooten said. “If we want to make a living doing this, we have to figure out how, because most people expect their music for free. We used to get television free, and we paid for music, and now we pay for television, and our music is free. It puts a lot of us in a weird place. … There’ll be some of us who say we don’t think about it, ‘I’m just going to put out my music,’ but even saying that proves that you’re thinking about it. It’s a different era these days, and we do have to figure out what we’re going to put out, and how we’re going to put that out, and for what purpose are we putting it out.”
Wooten’s music lessons are all over YouTube and TikTok. The musician shares great insights and shows how to thump and pluck the bass like him.
“I’m flying to D.C. for a ‘Music as Medicine’ conference with scientists and musicians, talking about the benefits of music,” Wooten said. “As a Western society, we’re starting to wake up to what our ancestors already knew about the power of music, and how it can heal and help, and refresh and wake up memories and all of that. The way it was taught to me was not ‘academic.’ It was not, ‘Here are your few notes; go practice your scales.’ I don’t think that’s the best way to learn music. It should be a part of music, but it should not be the main part. You don’t learn to read before you learn to talk; you talk for years before you ever learn to read, but in music, we reverse it. We try to teach you to speak through reading, and that’s a slow process, and in many cases, it robs you of your individuality and freedom of speaking your mind.”
If you go see Victor Wooten and the Wooten Brothers, you will be witnessing a performance from people Wooten describes as “complete musicians.”
“It’s very cool to be able to play with people of that caliber: Steve Bailey, Marcus Miller, John Patitucci, Stanley Clarke, Ron Carter and Ray Brown,” said Wooten. “It is so much fun, because I automatically know that these are complete musicians. In other words, they’re not just bass players; they’re musicians. These guys write symphonies and orchestras; they understand music from the bottom to the top. … That is why I’ve had such a long career with Béla Fleck, because his instrument is the banjo, or Howard Levy, whose instrument is the harmonica. They’re so much of a musician that they can cover all of the roles from that instrument—and it’s amazing to play with anyone like that.”
Victor Wooten and the Wooten Brothers will perform at 8 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 24, at Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Road, in Pioneertown. Tickets start at $45. For more information, call 760-228-2222, or visit pappyandharriets.com.