http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um6_SP3V0w0&search=frank%20zappa%20apostrophe

A quote from my father: "You know Dave, when you started listening to that Grateful Dead stuff that wasn't so bad but when you started listening to that Frank Zappa guy, well.....your mother and I were a little concerned!"

If they only knew......

[This message was edited by Dave Zirbel on 19 November 2006 at 09:15 AM.]

After the shows the Mothers would rehease for hours on end..sometimes we would stay and listen for an hour or so until we were just to blown out from the constant retakes..

Frank, what a genious, I'm sure glad I was around when he was...

t

[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 19 November 2006 at 09:51 AM.]

I favor his more serious exorations,
but love the humor too.

Oddley, to me, I am told on 3 continents,
that my jazz composing resembles Zappa.
It has happoened several times in N.Amaerica, Europe and Asia.
Out of the blue some one says it sounds like Zappa.
Of course I find that flattering,
but rarely think of frank when I write.

I got to see him fairly often back in the late 60s and early 70s with several Mothers lineups. He just played the blazes out of a Gold Top Les Paul or SG Special. I remember a quote about his guitar influences - he talked about Guitar Slim (Eddie Jones), and I could always hear that in his playing. But he generally downplayed his guitar ability, and I do think his compositional abilities overshadowed his guitar playing.

When they came to Atlanta for a show, Wolf called me up and invited me to come and watch the show from back stage. I got a chance to look at the music also--amazing, all written out by Zappa himself.

The future will be good for Zappa. His compositional skill will be celebrated. Lot's of his music is scored out in a form that can be studied by future generations of studious music types.

I personally prefer the early Verve recordings, but like about all of his work.

My favorite FZ albums are Freak Out, Mothermania, We're Only In It For The Money and Live at the Roxy & Elsewhere.

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Olli Haavisto
Finland
www.ollihaavisto.com

Truck Driver Divorce
It's very sad
steel guitars
usually weep all over it...

...oh go ride the bull
oh go ride the bull
Make it go up and down
and when you fall down you can even eat the mattress...

Truck Driver Divorce, it's very sad...
Bust your ass
to deliver some string beans
deliver some string beans
deliver a whole bunch of string beans
to Utah....

My favorites-

Sinister Footwear (Them Or Us, I think)
The Yellow Shark (Ensemble Modern)
Shut Up 'n Play Your Guitar vol 1-3
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore vol 2.
Mo N' Herb's Vacation (w/ London Symphony/Kent Nagano)

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http://www.johnmcgann.com
Info for musicians, transcribers, technique tips and fun stuff. Joaquin Murphey transcription book, Rhythm Tuneup DVD and more...

[This message was edited by John McGann on 20 November 2006 at 06:05 AM.]

I saw the Mothers at least 12 times in various incarnations and spoke to Frank a number of times. Even interviewed him for my college newspaper. He tried to pick up my girlfriend by offering her an osage orange.

Years later I was at a party and my daughter, now 21, was about 1. Both Jimmy Day and Jimmy Carl Black, the Indian of the groups, where at the party. I have a picture, buried in a box somewhere, of me and my kid with a Jimmy on either side of us.

I think We're Only In It For the Money is still one of the most brilliant records of its era, lyrically and musically.

'Peaches en Regalia' has indeed been recorded on steel, very well, I might add, by Joe Goldmark. You can find it on his CD, "All Over the Road".

[This message was edited by Jim Cohen on 20 November 2006 at 04:13 PM.]

A couple of years ago I was in Buenos Aires, and they were having a sort of Zappa film fest at a very prestigious arts center, and I went. The music of course was wonderful, and the musicianship impeccable, but I was the only one laughing (and some of the humor I find personally disgusting). I think that so much of Zappa's humor is very American idiomatic in-jokes. One of the films they showed was from his last concert in Germany. He looked pretty gaunt and didn't jump around the stage, but there was such an intensity in his guitar playing. He wasn't as flashy as a lot of other rock guitarists, but what he did was incredibly musical if you listen to the ideas and the little things he put in there.

Last summer Jimmy Carl Black and I were both in one of Eugene Chadbourne's ensembles (a Johnny Paycheck tribute) at a festival in Vandoeuvre, France. Jimmy is a real sweetheart and still talks fondly about Zappa. He's from West Texas which you can figure out as soon as he opens his mouth. He's living in Germany now and still plays quite a bit (often with Eugene Chadbourne and keyboardist Pat Thomas) throughout the continent. When he lived in Austin he had a housepainting business with Arthur Brown (the crazy world of).

OK, that's my Zappa trivia.

-- Susan

and "Zappa meets Wills" is not a bad description of the band that Howard plays in.

[This message was edited by Susan Alcorn on 20 November 2006 at 05:52 PM.]

Who are the Brain Police ?

Here is one of the youtube clips available.
While not really representative of the concert it is a cool clip of Steve and Dwezil.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_d3Ej3O6z8&mode=related&search=

[This message was edited by Mark Vinbury on 21 November 2006 at 10:27 AM.]

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Sho~Buds, Fender amps & guitars, Tut Taylor resos, and Twang to the bone!

Blow your harmonica, son!"