Dave Mail 105: The story of the '61 Shell Pink Jazz Bass

Dave, I was wondering about that story you mentioned, of how you helped Flea get his Fender Jazz Bass, and how it was a crazy one. I'd love to know it, can you tell me?



Dave Lee: "Kind of a long story.

Flea had somehow released on social media that he was looking for an old Fender Jazz Bass. Soon after, we were touring Australia. This guy shows up at the backstage door of one of the shows in Australia with a guitar case. Says he has a Jazz Bass for Flea. I don't want to be cruel, but the guy was somewhat "odd". Unusually soft spoken. And "different". But nice. He said he had bought this rare '61 Jazz Bass from a reputable dealer in Seattle (a dealer I was familiar with). He showed me the paperwork. I don't remember the exact price, but it was very expensive. I seem to recall well in excess of $20,000. I could tell right away it was the real deal.

I said, "You flew all the way to Australia to try to sell a bass to Flea?". He says "No. I just want to trade it for one of Flea's Modulus basses". I said "Do you realize Flea gets those basses for free, and you could just buy one for about 12 hundred dollars?". He said, "I don't care. I play in a band kind of like Gwar (yes, "Gwar") and this bass has the wrong sound. I want a Modulus that was Flea's. I'm also very rich. I started a website that I recently sold for millions of dollars. So the financial loss doesn't matter to me". Then he adds... "And can you give me backstage passes for the rest of these Australia shows?... as long as I'm here?"

I brought him and the bass to the dressing room. Flea obviously fell in love with the bass immediately. And although Flea had reservations about the deal because he felt like the guy wasn't getting a very good deal, the guy insisted. So. The guy took one of the Modulus basses and that was that.

He followed us around for the rest of that Australian leg. But kept to himself mostly. That's the story as I remember."

Information:

Flea with the signature version of his '61 Shell Pink.

In 2016, Fender released a Flea signature model inspired in his '61 Shell Pink Fender Jazz Bass. To know more, click here.

Question by:

- Pedro Tavares - Maceió, AL - Brazil

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