Frank Zappa

[Decadence]

The Mothers - Live in London (1968)

[melvin]

Sounds pretty bizarre

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/ne...others-w504727

But i guess FZ would have liked the idea of being "immortal", and going on tour forever ...

[rlg118]

What's there to live for?
Who needs the peace corps?
Think I'll just drop out...
I'll go to Frisco, buy a wig, and sleep on Owsley's floor

Walked past the wig store
Danced at the Fillmore
I'm completely stoned...
I'm hippy & I'm trippy - I'm a gypsy on my own
I'll stay a week and get the crabs and take a bus back home
I'm really just a phony, but forgive me 'cause I'm stoned

Every town must have a place where phony hippies meet
Psychedelic dungeons popping up on every street
Go to San Francisco!

[Decadence]

Originally Posted by melvin

But i guess FZ would have liked the idea of being "immortal", and going on tour forever ...

Maybe this is what it'll take to get his kids to quit pissing at each other. Some impressive names have signed on to this.

Seems to me they did something like this awhile back with Elvis, reuniting what was left of his 70s touring band while he sang (on a screen, I think). Dio?

Originally Posted by rlg118

Who needs the peace corps?

Thanks for that.. from "We're Only In It For the Money" (late 60s) as I recall. Hadn't thought about this in years. Off to youtube to find this gem.

[ballyhoo]

Originally Posted by Decadence

Maybe this is what it'll take to get his kids to quit pissing at each other.

those damn Zappa kids! the more I think about it, the more I think it’s
only fitting that they’d be feuding over their Dad’s name and his music.

Originally Posted by Decadence

Some impressive names have signed on to this.

an impressive list for sure! I’d go see it in a heartbeat. IF they play in LA.

[Engine-X]

I remember back about '77 or '78 when we were in junior high school and a friend of mine was showing me the Apostrophe/Overnite Sensation album he just got. It was right before school and his sister came in and looked at the lyrics sheet. She got this horrified look on her face and handed it back saying "These songs are filthy."

We laughed our asses off about that for years. It's still a great album.

[chip]

Looks like the Zappa hologram and tour is finally going to be a reality....


First Look At FRANK ZAPPA Hologram

Composer, musician, futurist and innovator Frank Zappa is facing censorship yet again over so-called "questionable content" in the ad artwork for the upcoming "The Bizarre World Of Frank Zappa" hologram tour which will make its debut this April in the U.S.

The tour artwork was curiously censored by Ticketmaster, which cited the image for so-called "questionable content," according to their Content Governance team, and wouldn't post it online. The censored image pays homage to FRANK ZAPPA & THE MOTHERS' 1974 song "Penguin In Bondage".

Now, in a first look at the Zappa hologram, Frank addresses these claims, saying exactly what he said in 1984: "I'm a person who likes to do what he wants to do... whether people like it or not. And what I do is designed for people who like it, not for people who don't."

Zappa — who always fought against censorship and for all artists' rights — appeared before Congress on September 19, 1985. He later famously, voluntarily labeled his albums with his "Warning Guarantee" in the mid-'80s.

Beyond the images in question, artwork for the tour gives clues to the kinds of fantastical holograms fans who purchase tickets for the tour will experience. Ahmet Zappa says: "If you're someone that can't enjoy the absurdity and humor of bringing Frank's music and lyrics to life via holograms — such as penguins in bondage, talking hot dogs and super natural dental floss — this show might not be your cup of tea. In response to Ticketmaster, I re-submit the poster artwork with our newly updated Warning Guarantee hiding the buttocks of the cartoon penguin. I mean, seriously, Ticketmaster?"

"The Bizarre World Of Frank Zappa" will kick off with nine U.S. shows on Friday, April 19, with seven European performances in May to follow. Produced by Eyellusion, the "Bizarre World Of Frank Zappa" hologram tour band is comprised of former Zappa bandmates for this monumental series of shows. The touring unit boasts guitarists Ray White and Mike Keneally, bassist Scott Thunes, multi-instrumentalist Robert Martin, percussionist Ed Mann, and drummer and Zappa archivist Joe "Vaultmeister" Travers.

I was not terribly excited when this was announced. After seeing the 10 second clip of the hologram...I'm still not excited. Anytime you get almost any mix of Zappa alumni onstage, the performance is going to be stellar. But I'd rather see old footage of Zappa with new arrangements, rather than a hologram. I'd also like to see free-form improv done around old footage of Frank too. Dream Theater did it on a tour a long time ago. Spectacular.

Now I'm to understand from reading above that the holograms will not only include Frank but visualizations of some of Frank's more colorful characters and scenes from his extensive catalog?! On first read, holographic dental floss doesn't sound all that bitchin' to me.

Also, after reading/watching what is basically the press teaser, I have to wonder if Ticketmaster and it's PC snowflakes in marketing really did have an issue with the penguin, or if this is just a thinly veiled attempt to put a new spin Frank's controversial history. Ahmet put an updated version of the same sticker on the poster that his Dad used for decades on his releases. No creativity there. I'm thinking that if Frank would have even acquiesced to Ticketamster, he would have done something like put up a sticker that said "Ticketmaster Sucks" or similar.

Dweezil still seems to have passed on an active role in this project. Wonder if the Zappa kids have mended fences or not?

I still think spending the money to go see Dweezil play his ass off in tribute to his Father, is probably a much better experience.

--

[Decadence]

Time to blow the dust off of this thread with a recommendation... a book.



Freak Out, My Life with Frank Zappa by Pauline Butcher.

A wonderful, fresh perspective of life in and around the world of FZ from the eyes of one of his trusted employees from the '67-71 period.

Ms. Butcher was a model and professional secretary in London when by chance she met Frank while he was visiting and needed someone to take dictation. They got on well together, and the next thing Ms. Butcher knows she's on a plane for Los Angeles where she would spend the next four years of her life living FZ all day, every day.. including a room at his house.

She goes into great detail about Frank and Gail, Moon as a baby, the original Mothers (she had a huge crush on Ian Underwood), the endless stream of "guests" to Frank's house (some may surprise you), discovering Alice Cooper, the GTOs, 200 Motels, tours (smoke on the water)... everything. It was one of those I had trouble putting down.

Suffice to say, I enjoyed it immensely as it was amazing how much new insight and information it contains as opposed to another recap of things most fans already know. The book is only for the 4 year period and stops when they part company.

I got the google e-book and read most of it in my office.. whilst giving the appearance of studiously looking at my monitor for the sake of the enterprise. I recommend it to you all.

[Decadence]

By chance, I stumbled across this earlier today...

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4881578/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1



A new documentary simply entitled "Zappa". It is the work of actor/director Alex Winter who most people know as "Bill" of "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" fame.

Details are still scant, but it looks to have been completed earlier this year. No release dates or other meaningful information is, as yet, available.

I'd be keen to see this.. we should all keep an eye out for its release.

[ballyhoo]

Originally Posted by Decadence

By chance, I stumbled across this earlier today...

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4881578/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1



A new documentary simply entitled "Zappa". It is the work of actor/director Alex Winter who most people know as "Bill" of "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" fame.

Details are still scant, but it looks to have been completed earlier this year. No release dates or other meaningful information is, as yet, available.

I'd be keen to see this.. we should all keep an eye out for its release.

that looks great, Dec!

I’m still waiting to see “Eat That Question“;
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eat_..._His_Own_Words



I’ve been meaning to post this here for a long time!