Photos By: Ed Hannigan and Markus Eliance

Usually, the library is not synonymous with loud rock music. Last week, that was forever changed by the L.A. Music Network and Victor Wooten, who brought the funk to several L.A. Public Library locations throughout the greater Los Angeles area. To say Victor Wooten’s been busy is an understatement; his L.A. Music Network-sponsored library appearances were on the heels of the release of his book “The Music Lesson” and a sold out residency at one of L.A.’s hottest Jazz clubs.

I have to say that the “LAMN Gets Loud in the Library” series is absolutely genius, it began a few years back in an effort to increase youth attendance at libraries. The program managed to increase library attendance by 400% among teens and young adults. Shameless plug: We talk about this in detail in my interview with Tess Taylor, president of LAMN. Please read it! Anyhow… LAMN and the L.A. Public Library decided to give “LAMN Gets Loud In The Library” a second go around with five-time Grammy award-winning bass player and author, Victor Wooten. Victor managed the impossible task of drawing a standing-room-only crowd despite intense rain and hurricane warnings. I was shocked to see Los Angelenos (whom are exceptionally phobic when it comes to rain) piling into the library in droves.

I had a chance to speak with Victor briefly before and after his performance. He was amazingly humble and unassuming for a man with his exceptional abilities, a quality that shines through in the way he plays bass. Man, can Victor play the bass! He took the stage, and ripped into an instrumental number that made Joe Satriani look like a 4-year-old kid; fingers, and arms flew across his bass, as rhythm, lead, percussion, and melody flew out of Victor’s bass amp like an LSD trip gone horribly right. I sat in awe, as I witnessed one man making a band’s worth of music.

Victor, in addition to being the world’s greatest bass player (if you don’t agree, please see this video of Victor playing “Amazing Grace“), he’s also an altruist, spiritualist, and excellent public speaker. He used the space between songs to answer questions, tell anecdotes, and enlighten the audience with tidbits from his book “The Music Lesson,” a book chronicling the Victor Wooten ‘anti-method.’ I’ll tell you all about the book in our review in a few days (I’m in the process of reading it as we speak).

All-in-All, I think LAMN Gets Loud in the Library is something I’d like to see more often.

Victor Wooten and Penguin Book were kind enough to give us two autographed copies of Victor’s new book “The Music Lesson” to give away to you, our fans. Please check the contest section for more details.