"Shooting Stars" Celebrity Interview
Featuring
Felix Pastorious

Check out an Exclusive Niteclubreviews.com Interview below with Felix Pastorius, son of the "the greatest bass player who ever lived", the late, great, Mr. Jaco Pastorius! Felix Pastorious is our Shooting Star!

Felix Pastorius (bass), Stanley Ingram (drums), Mark Strowbridge (guitar), Colin James (keyboards)...making up the band: Funktion. Feature Interview posted below!


What is Your Funktion in Life?

Interviewed & Written By: Tom House / Editor in Chief

NCR: Hey Felix…people in your age group probably don't even know who your father, Jaco Pastorius was…do they?
Felix: That is very true…the majority of kids do not know who my father is.
NCR: You're 21…right?
Felix: Yeah. But to tell you the truth, every once in a while I meet kids who weren't even born when my Dad passed away…well you were born Tom…but you know…I do meet kids every once in a while that are just huge fans of his!
NCR: When you say your last name to people…what happens? That's an unusual last name too!
Felix: Yeah yeah…for sure. Well…the people who do know who Jaco Pastorius was…no matter what age…are always definitely, 100% like units.
NCR: You totally look like Jaco. I saw a lot of pictures of your father when I was researching for this interview…also I have lived in South Florida since early 1970, so I was here when your father was alive and performing.
Felix: Yeah…yeah.
NCR: What about your Mom…is she around still?
Felix: Yes she is…she is totally 100% behind me whatever I do. She was around my father not when his career started, but right when he was huge. When she met my Dad she had no clue that he was as big as he was…and then she got a call one day that my Dad wanted her to come to Europe to be on tour with him. She got to see the music industry from behind the scenes, and during the major part of his career and then through the downfall a little bit too. She will let me make any levelheaded decision I want…she just wants to see me do well.
NCR: This interview is about you Felix, but your Dad is going to have to come up a few times. I grew up here in South Florida for the past 35 years, and I used to drink at the very same Ft. Lauderdale bottle-club off Commercial Blvd many, many times…it was a very popular place to party late at night in those days. This is where your father was tragically beaten, which was the cause of his death. This happened early one morning night in the street. Your father was five years older than me, and I was also born Dec. 1st…the same day as your father! I was hanging around Lauderdale at the same time as he was
Felix: That is awesome! The same birthday?
NCR: Isn't that weird? Something is going on here for sure…it is ironic that I would meet you Felix, because I knew of your father and I experienced time in Ft. Lauderdale then and now. I think I am the right guy to tell this part of your story to South Florida and the whole country.
Felix: What is very cool is that you and Niteclubreviews.com have a lot to do with what is going on in South Florida and Ft. Lauderdale. My Dad brought a lot of attention to Ft. Lauderdale too…there was so much good shit going on here that no one even knew until my father started making a scene about it. That's a cool thing…I really want to bring that kind of positive national attention back to this area.
NCR: Listen to this Felix…and you have already heard this probably. "Jaco was to the electric bass what Paul Bunyan was to the lumber industry, what Muhammed Ali was to boxing. Like Babe Ruth and Jimi Hendrix, like Charlie Parker and John Belushi, he was a larger-than-life figure who lived to excess and was worshipped by multitudes. Throughout the international music community, those two syllables--Jaco--still resound with authority, a testament to his musical genius and the power of his charisma".
Felix: …all very true. I have heard those words before.
NCR: That is a hell of a thing to live up to.
Felix: Definitely…it is difficult...it is. When I first started playing music ya know…it wasn't something I really thought about. Now I do…it started when I started showing up on and getting into the music scene down here.
NCR: How many years you been playing?
Felix: Um…you mean playing pro?
NCR: How many years you been playing period?
Felix: Period? Well, here's the thing…if you saw my house today, you would see instruments everywhere. I've had instruments at my disposal at all times. I mean I got a drum set when I was five years old. You know…I've had pianos in the house…just tons of different instruments. I played a concert in New York when I was eleven, but I didn't consider myself a bass player…I had just learned it! I fooled around on it continuously from then on, and did another gig when I was fourteen, and felt more into it. When I was fifteen I was asked to join a band, and that's when I began to take music more seriously.
NCR: You had a natural ability you think?
Felix: Yeah, pretty much…I never had a lesson.
NCR: Did you learn to play guitar or bass first?
Felix: Actually I learned piano first.
NCR: So you can read music?
Felix: Yeah…full music.
NCR: That's important! So you really want to pursue this career?
Felix: Yeah…yeah.
NCR: Are you sure? Your life is gonna change man.
Felix: Well…my life is going to change no matter what. (Here I sing… the winds of change are always blowin…) (Lots of laughter).
NCR: Is Funktion your steady band right now?
Felix: Funktion is not my steady band, but I have wanted to work with those musicians for a while now. We never even rehearsed for that Taste of the Nation charity event where you saw us play Tom. This is the band I'd like to focus on though…these guys are all amazing musicians for their age. They are doing really great shit on their own, and coming up with the great ideas…definitely the kind of musicians I want to work with.
NCR: What is your music…jazz? Acid jazz?
Felix: Well we all love jazz…it is definitely like funk and R & B influenced, but it all comes from a thinking style…an analytical type style of playing.
NCR: Were you guys just jamming when you played at the Taste of the Nation?
Felix: Actually that day was mostly covers, but the way we were playing it was almost like our own music. We used a very loose and open style...listening to each other the whole time.
NCR: Do you have a manager?
Felix: This man right here…Sean Kiely.
Sean: We were friends for a long time, and I was a friend with John, Felix's older brother first. I really care about what happens for these guys in the future, and plan on helping them succeed.
NCR: Thanks Sean…It has been a pleasure to meet all of you. Felix, I heard you were working with your brothers too.
Felix: Actually my other brother Julius is in the band called Groove that I play with too. He doesn't take it as seriously as I do though.
NCR: What are your personal musical aspirations.
Felix: I don't necessarily want be famous, I just want to play my music and the stuff I enjoy playing and writing too. I want to write some really great shit. I want to make money doing that…but I want my music to be liked by lots of people too. At this point people might just listen to my stuff because of who I am. I just don't want to do what others are doing. I don't want to be someone who is cool just because of who I am… I want to be famous sure, but be recognized for the true art behind what I do.
NCR: When did you get real serious about music? Why did you start playing?
Felix: One of my best friends who is also my Godfather is Bobby Thomas Jr. He played with Weather Report, 2nd Edition. He is a really great, amazing world-class percussionist, and he asked me to join his band. He is like an uncle to me basically… I said of course, because this guy would never do anything but steer me in the right direction. I was starting to fall into music at the time too, and that was basically it.
NCR: There must be a lot of other famous guys who want to help you too, right?
Felix: For sure…there are tons of guys like that, but there is a lot of bullshit behind a name sometimes. Just because someone is famous doesn't mean that they really want to help you out.
NCR: What is your earliest memory of your father Jaco Pastorius?
Felix: When my dad passed away, I was five years old. The earliest memory I have of him is being at one of his gigs.
NCR: Probably back stage?
Felix: Yeah but it wasn't that big. It was off Dixie Highway in Ft. Lauderdale somewhere, and there wasn't a lot of people there…but to me I remember that everyone was looking at him. I remember his attitude and the way he carried himself around.
NCR: What is the last memory you have of Jaco?
Felix: The last memories I have was eating some dinner…some Thai food I think. Hanging in the back yard. Just everyday growing up memories.
NCR: What kind of name is Pastorius?
Felix: It is Greek, and in Latin it means Shepard. My mother is German and Indonesian, and my father's side was Finish and German….
NCR: Do you currently have any CD's recorded? I'd like to try to help Funktion to get a gig or two.
Felix: My brother Julius and I have a demo.
Sean: Tom, I have that demo for you…you name the place and the time, and I will have the band there.
NCR: A lot of original stuff? What is the title of your favorite song that you wrote?
Felix: I have a lot of original songs, but I don't have names for them…I am bad at naming tunes or even bands! Sean helped us out with the band name.
Sean: It is true! I named the band…that came to me on a car ride home when I shouted out loud… "Funktion…with a "K"!

Felix Pastorius (bass), Stanley Ingram (drums), Mark Strowbridge (guitar), Colin James (keyboards)...making up the band: Funktion.

NCR: Felix, Is it hard to believe or imagine just how famous your dad was?
Felix: No, it isn't. I love the fact that he touched as many people as he did. I can meet someone anywhere in the whole world, who's totally like into this story. He left me with the gift of having the connection with these people…even if they never met my father, they know the kind of great musician and person he was.
NCR: What is your position today on all this sex, drugs and rock & roll…well in your case…jazz. You know it is all-available to you, and everyone for that matter. I mean you know what the worse case scenario can be in the music biz…you lived it!
Felix: Well my father wasn't a weak person by any means…but I think he might have felt a bit insecure more than anything.
NCR: He may have some mental illness too according to everything I read…he couldn't get the kind of help he needed. There is a lot of stigma surrounding any form of mental illness…especially twenty years ago.
Felix: True…he did…very true. A lot of times people who go into that direction are not fulfilled by their music, and they have to almost have a crutch. I have tried a lot of drugs, but to me…no matter how hard core the drug is, it depends on how much you think you need the drug. How you feel about the drug. A lot of musicians have to face this issue, and alcohol too, and it is not too important to me personally…this sounds weird, but there is a lot of great music out there that came directly from drug usage.
NCR: What is the biggest gig you ever played?
Felix: Well I did a big concert in Europe for my father (a benefit) for a couple thousand people. We all flew over there and played my father's original charts. It is amazing to me how many people loved my father across the world.
NCR: Do you play a fretless bass too?
Felix: Yes I do…and I was presented a $5,000 bass by this company called Federa…free!
NCR: What are your musical influences today? …Even from the past is cool too.
Felix: I listen to everything.
NCR: What radio station would you listen to? It wouldn't be Hip Hop, right?
Felix: I listen to Hip Hop, R & B, but what I listen to mostly depending on my mood is hard core jazz like Miles Davis or Felonious Smug… I love rock, I love Primus, and Chili Peppers…Flea is amazing man. The stuff I listen is like the new Nerds…I mean I can dig it all and I can understand it. My biggest influence is Herbie Hancock…and of course my father, Jaco Pastorious too.
NCR: Where can people go on the Internet to find out some more about you Felix?
Felix: www.Jacop.net, go to links and you will see a page called Felix Pastorious.
NCR: In closing Felix…what are your thoughts?
Felix: I want people to watch out for the new wave of where I think music is heading. I think music is going to become more important than the way it is right now. I think music has like an image, and not so much what the music is actually doing. Lots of times music just puts people in a certain direction and, and …it makes you want to feel different! Music now a days is like if you are a rocker then you are hard-core mother$%^er who doesn't give a shit about anything, and if you are a rapper, then you are a hard-core mother&**&er that doesn't give a shit about anything…hahaha! I think live music is going to be huge again soon.
NCR: Finally Felix…what do you want people to know about you right now, and it doesn't have to be only about music.
Felix: I want people to know that I am just here to make a statement, and even if you don't understand what my statement is, just check me out, and realize that I am just having fun like everybody else. I want to make my beautiful music…even if you don't love it, at least just listen and make your judgment. People try to hang up on things all the time…you know like focus too much on one thing. I know Victor Wooten personally, an electric bass player with Bela Fleck & the Flecktones…he is very cool. He has been one of the greatest influences on me, and told me many things musically. He always reminds me that as long as you are doing what you want to do and get paid for it…everything is good. I guess that is true about life in general too.

Tom House, Editor in Chief of Niteclubreviews.com Meets Felix Pastorious
~ Celebrity Picture of the Month ~

Peace!

~ Funktion is a Hot New South Florida Band Starring Felix Pastorius on Bass Guitar ~
Stay Tuned for More Info!
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In Memory of Jaco Pastorious, "The Greatest Bass Guitar Player Who Ever Lived"
December 1st, 1951 - September 21st, 1987
Click Here for Jaco Pastorious Chronology
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