Jaco Bass of Doom

[nothinglikesun9]

I was only just now reading about the Bass of Doom and the Guitar Store Owner who prevented to family from getting it. Was there any backlash or boycott of his store because of this?

 

[Deathblade Eric]

I was only just now reading about the Bass of Doom and the Guitar Store Owner who prevented to family from getting it. Was there any backlash or boycott of his store because of this?

Not aware of any backlash against the store outside of a few TB-ers frothing at the mouth, but Robert Trujillo's subsequent purchase of it seemed to raise a few eyebrows.

Bass of Doom... | TalkBass.com
Any new's on "bass of doom" | TalkBass.com
Robert Trujillo buys the "bass of doom" | TalkBass.com
Robert Trujillo Assists Pastorius Family In Recovering the Infamous Bass Of Doom | TalkBass.com

My take on it is this:

1. We'll probably never know the exact circumstances under which the Store Owner bought it, or who from.
2. Consequently we'll never know if he was the legal owner or not.
3. He offered it to the Pastorius family, but they couldn't afford his asking price.
4. Rob Trujillo could afford it & bought it.
5. RT has offered the Pastorius family access to it & the option to buy it off him if they can raise the price he paid.
6. It's not for sale to any other party & RT keeps it in a secure vault.

The outcome is probably as good as it could be. The Store Owner **could** have put it in a Christies' Auction & it'd have disappeared into a private collector's vault never to be seen (or played) again.

Since points 1 & 2 are unknown, any speculation is just that - speculation. As such, the store owner has to be presumed innocent unless someone can produce hard evidence to the contrary.
Jaco was in a very bad place mentally when the BoD went missing, so, in my opinion, the notion that it was stolen is only one possibility. I can think of two other scenarios that are just as plausible.

P.

 

[friendlybass]

One of those fun drama of the music world stories for sure. With so much unknown I'm not gonna make a judgement call on the store owner, but Robert Trujillo is pretty cool for making it available for sale only to jaco's family

 

[nothinglikesun9]

Thanks guys. I still remain curious about the motivation of the guitar store owner. Why wouldn't he want to return it to Jaco's family? Why try and exploit the mentally ill and their family members. You would think bad publicity would kill your business.

 

[bholder]

Thanks guys. I still remain curious about the motivation of the guitar store owner. Why wouldn't he want to return it to Jaco's family? Why try and exploit the mentally ill and their family members. You would think bad publicity would kill your business.

A quick $$ score is often ranked a higher priority than the long term good of the business. Not just small independent music store owners who make decisions like that. Typical CEO behavior as well - easily distracted by bright shiny $$$s.

 

[Deathblade Eric]

Why wouldn't he want to return it to Jaco's family?

As I understand it he did give them first option, but wanted full market value. Assuming he acquired it legitimately that's his choice to make. For all we know selling it to RT for $??,000 kept him in business at a bad time so he didn't have to lay off staff, go bust, lose his house & end up on Skid Row.

Why try and exploit the mentally ill and their family members.

If he didn't actually coerce Jaco into selling it to him, no-one got exploited in my book.
What if he had given it to Jaco's family & they decided to auction it at Christies & rake in $???,000. They'd have then been exploiting his goodwill.
Exploitation is a core part of Capitalism, it sucks but there doesn't seem to be a viable alternative - the other main brands - Communism & Theocracy - rely on it just as much. Given the choice, personally I'd rather be exploited under a capitalist system than either of the others. YMMV.

You would think bad publicity would kill your business.

It can, but you'd have to really overstep the line for that to happen.
Guitar Center gets a lot of flak on here, but I don't see them going bust just yet. Ditto Fender & Gibson. Plenty of new punters queuing up on all fronts just to get themselves a piece of the dream.

Also bear in mind that Jaco's name is not as universally known as many here assume it is. Next time you're in conversation with a random non-muso ask them if they've ever heard of him; then ask them if they've heard of James Jamerson, Bill Black, Willie Dixon, Cliff Burton or Paul McCartney. Odds are you'll only get one hit off that list, maybe none. Now ask them if they've heard of Beyonce, Kanye West, Lady Gaga & Britney - betcha it's 4/4.

P.