Right, most people, like me thought that jaco pastorius used goose fat on his fingers when playing.

Some people think he just liked to eat fried chicken and didn't wash his hands.

Anyone have proof of either?

I'd like lots of proof please :p

No proof what so ever . Just a small thing that has got blown up over the years. Sorry.

so he does actually use goose fat?

I doubt that he's using it actually... :D

ok, i'm confused, goose fat?? fried chicken?? what??

I doubt he used either: His bass would get disgusting.


There are some weird rumors about that cat because there are some weird truths to his life.

i thought he had a cloth with goose fat rubbed into it wich he used when playing live?

I also heard the rumor he would eat fried chicken (as you stated) so his fingers would be greasy.

I think it's pointless, I think it would screw you up more. He played a fretless bass, it's not that hard to slide around on a fretless bass.

I don't know, I think it's silly. I doubt having greasy hands would help that much.

Besides, where do you go to get bulk goose fat?

no one knows and we will never know. it isn't going anywhere with asking questions. ok. it's over. stop

Besides, where do you go to get bulk goose fat?

i have found goose fat in my local 'mart

where do you go to get bulk goose fat?


As much you want.

http://www.mastercaviar.com/caviar/customer/product.php?productid=17594&cat=356&page=1

Jaco was pretty good at self promoting himself, and he certainly never suffered from a lack of confidence.

Goose fat/chicken fat is probably something that jaco did once or twice and which was picked up by the press and blown out of proportion...I think if you look at Jaco's wifes website you will see her talking about how this story is probably a myth.

It aint the fried chicken, the hamburger, the fancy studio or even the bass guitar...its all about the player.

Wow, that's a new one to me. I do remember him saying frets slow him down. I remember him talking about how critically important it is to master you're rudiments and for that I'm ever grateful. Lubricant, well I've seen guitarists use it, maybe a more refined better smelling one. The punters would smell and take off to get something to eat!

By todays standards sure there is countless bassists that can do what he did, but then he pioneered, not mimicked.

I believe he's worth his dues.

I've heard about how he apparently used to eat fried chicken and then play without washing his hands...mustn't have been KFC though, as that is finger lickin' good.

I think it's just rubbish and blown out of all proportion on here - there are plenty of videos out there and his fingers don't look greasy - I know many people who saw him play live and never mentioned this.

So at his prime he looks very precise and clean - but of course he went into terminal decline and then he was living on the streets and wouldn't have been able to wash - maybe that's where it comes from - but would you want to emulate somebody who is suffering with an untreated and eventually terminal, mental illness...:hmm:

I just wouldn't like the feeling of getting the grease all over my hands...:hmm:

well obviously he would only use the goose fat for on his fingertips.

I think he used chicken grease only when playing "the chicken"

Seriously, I highly doubt that Jaco used any fat on his fingers. And if he did, so what?

Just the Facts:

While Jaco was sitting for an interview with Guitar Player magazine in the middle '70s, he was asked about his basses. He made the casual reply that he'd had them a long time and they "still had every bit of chicken grease that had ever been on them" (paraphrased, but very close). In the same interview he also revealed that he'd used Petit's Poly Poxy on his fretless fingerboard to seal it up, and that his sound came "from my hands and fingers", not from any effects or gimmicks. Please keep in mind that he was still very young in those days and tended to be full of "blue mud" All of Jaco's playing buddies and pals from Ft. Lauderdale could not only play great, but were all World Class B-Essers. In short, no grease, no goose, no way.

no one knows and we will never know. it isn't going anywhere with asking questions. ok. it's over. stop

I know. Jaco never, ever, rubbed chicken grease, goose fat, or any other substance on his hands or fingers, at least not before playing bass.

I have personal experience, as I heard him play in an intimate setting at the Univ of Miami in 1979, literally sat at his feet, met him afterwards and shook his hand immediately after he played. Hands dry as a bone, large, and quite soft. Also saw inside his open bass case...not a chicken bone or tub of goose fat in sight. Did see his hand-written charts to "Punk Jazz" though.

Can we please kill this "urban legend" once and for all? Please?

Thanks Craig - I thought I could remember you mentioning this before - as you say, let's hope this puts the myth to rest forever!

this is unfamiliar to me too! never heard about anyone using that on their fingertips before playing!

and btw, would the strings been completely useless with all that goose fat between the string wire?
he lived on the street for a while and i doesn't think he added fat to the strings, because i don't think that any person living on the street is buying new bass strings every week because the strings are useless with fat all over! haha

this is unfamiliar to me too! never heard about anyone using that on their fingertips before playing!

and btw, would the strings been completely useless with all that goose fat between the string wire?
he lived on the street for a while and i doesn't think he added fat to the strings, because i don't think that any person living on the street is buying new bass strings every week because the strings are useless with fat all over! haha

have you never heard of wiping your strings clean after playing?

have you never heard of wiping your strings clean after playing?

Bass Junkie, let it go. It's a myth. You might want to try it for yourself, though. Use both goose fat and fried chicken each for about 2 years and see if you end up playing like Jaco. You will also see how it affects your bass...whether or not you clean it afterwards.

:bassist:

I heard that Jaco could jump 500 feet in the air, no lie.

I saw him with Weather Report twice. Both times we were about 10 feet from the stage monitors. What stood out to me was how much energy he put into his performance and consequently, how much he perspired.

My guess is that, with that much sweat dripping off his arms and hands, even moly grease wouldn't have lasted past the first set.

It's pretty amazing how people create and perpetuate stories, probably in order to make sense out of sounds he made that they know they will probably never be able to create on their own.

While it all adds to the mystery of his life, it also points to the fact that not even the hype adequately captures what he was able to accomplish with a bass in his hands.

Anyone have proof of either?

I'd like lots of proof please :p

You have way too much time on your hands... :rolleyes: