- Name: Kathy
- Age: 31 yup. im 31.
- Male or Female? Female
- Location?: somewhere in California. My restless nature is kicking in tho..
- How long have you been a fan of Jeff? Since '91. I saw the Alive video.. My thoughts "Who's the guy with the funky floppy hat?!?!"
- Do you like Three Fish? YESSSSSSSS!!! ALL MESSED UP is my FAVOURITE SONG!!!
- Have you ever heard any of Jeff's pre-Pearl Jam work, ie. Deranged Diction, Green River, Mother Love Bone and Temple of the Dog? If so, please rank these bands in order of your preference... (1 = Favourite, 4 = Least favourite) I have heard Pre PJ work... My preference is MLB.. just because its fun and funky. I'd rather not rate each work because depending on my mood/vibe, TOD could be #1 today, while GR is #1 tomorrow 
- Have you ever seen Jeff play live? If so, when/where? YES!! I'd take up a page with details.
- What is your favourite Jeff solo composition (ie. Writing both the words and music)? Can be from any of his bands. NOTHING AS IT SEEMS. this song touches my SOUL..LOWLIGHT is a another favorite.  Actually WHY GO and GO are my favorites but these are not 100% Jeff.

- What are some of your favourite songs strictly in terms of Jeff's playing? SMILE!! All MESSED UP!!! GO! I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES
- Would you like to see Jeff do a solo album someday? Sure! Why not?
- What is your favourite photo taken by Jeff or piece of art he has created? So many are beautiful. I love the Yield cover just becuase it makes my Earthy nature happy.
- Have you ever met Jeff in person? If so, please describe your experience. If not, would you like to meet him? YES I've met him twice (NYC and LA 3 Fish shows) and had a run in @ Letterman in 1996? A friend and I hung out at the rear for Letterman and they walked by!! heheeh I just stared. My friend SCREAMED KATHY THERES JEFF! haahah

Finally *why* do you admire Jeff/his work? such a man of many talents, I admire his humble nature! His vibe is just so cool and his work is unique. Gotta love that.. Cmon you guys. There are so many things to admire/love about Jeff its impossible for me to narrow it down!

GREAT answers, guys! Ah, I can see I'm gonna love continuing to chat with you all on here! So nice to find other people who really appreciate/"understand" Jeff and his work.

Elusive One, I think I may have read your friend's account of that 3F show at one point, because I remember that "underwear" story. Gross!! What was that girl thinking?!!

To the first two posters in this thread, do I know you from somewhere?...

To those of you who play bass, I bow down to you! Not to take anything away from the non-musicians who post here, of course, but I'm always thoroughly intrigued to learn about Jeff's playing from the vantage point of someone who knows what it's like to pick up an instrument. I am completely and utterly ignorant about anything technical/playing-wise when it comes to music, and in turn, simply the idea of playing or making music completely blows me away.

Finally, if anyone wants to hear some Deranged Diction, I have about four or five songs in .mp3. To be honest, I don't know how "legal" it is to have them, since the place I got them from seems to have taken most of them down, but I have them nonetheless! I think they're too big to send over e-mail, and I think I "blew away" my copies of AIM and MSN Messenger, but if you guys would really like to hear them, I'd be more than happy to get hooked up again and send them out. Laura, if you want these for site purposes or anything, let me know.

Anyhow...

- Name: Sarah
- Age: 22
- Male or Female? F
- Location?: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

- How long have you been a fan of Jeff? I suppose I'm a bit of a "late-bloomer"... Been a Pearl Jam fan since July 17, 1998, from the moment I heard the opening lines of "Once". In terms of really taking a shine to Jeff on an individual level, I guess that first began in late '99-early '00.

- Do you like Three Fish? Yep, I think they're terrific!

- Have you ever heard any of Jeff's pre-Pearl Jam work, ie. Deranged Diction, Green River, Mother Love Bone and Temple of the Dog? If so, please rank these bands in order of your preference... (1 = Favourite, 4 = Least favourite) Yes, I've heard at least a few songs from all of those bands... It's really interesting to hear how far he's come since he started playing. In terms of ranking by preference, I'd have to say #1 = Temple of the Dog, #2 = Mother Love Bone, #3 = Deranged Diction and #4 = Green River.

- Have you ever seen Jeff play live? If so, when/where? I've been fortunate enough to see Jeff play thrice, all with Pearl Jam: Toronto 10/5/00, Toronto 6/28/03, and Montreal 6/29/03. Three of the greatest nights of my life, by far.

- What is your favourite Jeff solo composition (ie. Writing both the words and music)? Can be from any of his bands. I love all of his solo compositions, and without trying to sound weird, I'm always proud when one of his solo songs makes it out to the general public, but that said, my absolute favourite would have to be "Nothing As It Seems". That song means a great deal to me personally, and musically/lyrically, I just think it's gorgeously haunting.

- What are some of your favourite songs strictly in terms of Jeff's playing? I remember becoming very specifically attuned to Jeff's playing when listening to "WMA" one time in the spring of '99, so that song always sticks out to me. I also adore anything that involves him playing the standup bass, since that instrument is so unique in its style and sound. "Dead Man" is another one of my favourites since he's using the standup with a bow (something I honestly hope he does more of in the future). In terms of playing live, my faves are probably "Not For You" and "Indifference." With Three Fish, I'm a big fan of "Shiva And The Astronaut", "Found A Window" (again, standup with bow!) and "Laced". Like Monoxyde and others have been saying, it's hard to choose a favourite simply because his playing seems to fit each song so perfectly, and he's just so incredible at creating an atmosphere and mood.

- Would you like to see Jeff do a solo album someday? Definitely. I was thinking the other day that it would be interesting if Jeff one day released a completely instrumental album, like a film score, or something more along the lines of some of his idols like Brian Eno or Michael Nyman. That's not to say I don't want to hear him sing!

- What is your favourite photo taken by Jeff or piece of art he has created? Call me predictable, but my all-time fave is the "Harmony/Not A Through Road" shot from the tail end of the Yield booklet. I have a framed blowup of it hanging above my stereo.

- Have you ever met Jeff in person? If so, please describe your experience. If not, would you like to meet him? I went through a phase a few years ago when I really wanted to meet him, but that's certainly died down. He seems like a swell guy and I respect the hell out of him, but I can't think of what I could possibly say or do if I were ever to be in his presence that I wouldn't second-guess later, nor do I think that meeting him would be some giant positive spark in my life. I'm quite happy to keep that fan-artist distance.

 
- Finally *why* do you admire Jeff/his work? Jeez... I screwed myself by asking this question! Hehehe! I'm not sure how to put this into words!

I think I most admire him based on the passion he plays with -- how he seems to give himself over to the music and play from his heart and soul. I love what he is able to convey through his instrument, both in terms of how he seems to "channel" his own emotions and in turn, how his playing contributes to the vibe of a given song. I like how he pushes the boundaries compositionally in terms of what Pearl Jam is allegedly "supposed to" sound like, and no matter what band he's playing with, I always wonder how on earth he's able to come up with the things that he does.

As I've mentioned in other threads, I also really admire how much he seems to have "grown up" over the years, both as a person and a musician... I love his sincerity, his honesty, his humility, and his spiritual depth. I also find I identify a great deal with his lyrics, especially when it comes to themes like physical isolation or loneliness. And I wish in a lot of ways that I had his strength of character in terms of being able to find peace or calm within myself. As an anxiety sufferer, I've found Jeff's discussion of learning how to "find your centre" and practices of that nature, very helpful, in their own little way.  

Artistically, I've never been much interested in things like painting or photography since the visual arts always seemed so "inaccessible" to me. It was one of those cases where as a child, I was taken to a lot of museums and art galleries and told that what I was looking at was supposed to be grand and mean something to me. As lame as this sounds, Jeff's work is the first visual art that I really felt I could identify with; it was more "human" and "accessible" to me, in comparison to looking at things where I felt the artist or the work itself was trying to "lord over me" or whatnot. 

Finally, on a lighter note, I'm a sports nut, especially when it comes to basketball, so I always find it very refreshing and charming that Jeff is so up-front with his basketball obsession. It's great to see a so-called "celebrity", a grown man, who still retains that over-the-top, boyish enthusiasm about sports.