Frank Zappa

Submitted by redstarwraith on Mon, 07/09/2007 - 1:25am

So with it being summertime i am not teaching at WMU but instead have to scrounge my work from wherever i may. This summer that’s amounted to odd painting jobs, weeding gardens for little old ladies, etc. One such little old lady had doing some work at her house for a couple weeks now. Her husband (Robert, a man in his 80’s) is confined to a wheelchair and she (Elizabeth) is in her 70’s but recovering from hip replacement surgery. Anyway, as my own parents are senior citizens, Elizabeth and i were playing a game of “do you know so-and-so”. She had asked me if i knew Bobby Davidson (WMU jazz legend). Yes, of course i did i told her, and what’s more, he and my father have been good friends since they were teenagers. After dropping a few more names, she hits me with this: “Do you know Frank Zappa?” I kind of stammered because. . you know, he ain’t exactly a local musician and he certainly isn’t a likely candidate for some 70 year old lady to be “down with”. “Well, i certainly know OF Frank Zappa” i said. “Oh, Robert was Frank Zappa’s band director when he taught at Mission Bay High School in California!” she says. She then produces a clipping from the Kalamazoo Gazette, Saturday, January 27, 2007 edition wherein Dave Person goes out and interviews Robert Kavelman about being mentioned in Zappa’s autobiography. Apparently Zappa credits Robert with exposing him to twelve-tone music. I thought this was about the coolest thing i’d heard in a long time. I went inside and engaged Robert in conversation. He said when the interview started he didn’t really know anything about Frank Zappa but as he went through his old school pictures and such was like, “Oh yeah! I remember that kid!” Robert’s a real great old guy. . naturally curious about things still. He even showed me that he went out and got two books on Zappa to read up on his former student. One was the Zappa autobiography, and another was Zappa: A Biography by Barry Miles. Robert Kavelman is mentioned in both books!

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We should send that guy a bouquet or something. What do you give a guy who unwittingly slightly twisted popular culture in an interesting way?

A big sloppy kiss. And a discount dinner coupon.

That’s a lovely story!

Yeah, i’m telling you, i nearly swallowed my teeth when i found this out. i will forever be in this guy’s debt … as will any Zappa fan i guess?

That’s a pretty great connection and influence - of course the Gazette would publish such an interesting article in a Saturday edition! Kalamazoo denizens’ influence on the music world just continues to expand. Someone oughtta write a book!

Zappa is one major artist I had difficulty finding an "in" to. In junior high, when I started visiting the local record store/head shop, I was endlessly fascinated by the artwork on the dozens of LP covers in the Zappa section (Weasels Ripped My Flesh and Uncle Meat were especially disturbing). When Sheik Yerbouti came out, I took the plunge - lyrically, it seemed designed for a thirteen-year-old my age, songs about baby snakes and exploding toilets and a wink nudge satire of Frampton’s "I’m In You". Zappa, the guitar god I’d always heard about, was certainly present on workouts like "Rat Tomago", but when he was singing it seemed as if the music was all goofy doo-wop pastiche (I learned later of Zappa’s true love of that music and his early doo-wop productions, including a late Penguins single). "Goofy" seemed to sum Zappa up for me for years - ‘70’s refugees’ worship of Apostrophe, accompanied by sudden outbursts of "Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow", didn’t exactly change my opinion. The Mothers’ Verve releases were out of print during my "buy anything the reviewers worship" phase - once the Old Masters sets were issued (followed by the Ryko reissues, some notorious for Zappa’s alleged remixing and possible rerecording of tracks), my disposable income was no longer disposable.

Fortunately, some years ago I came across a copy of Freak Out on cassette at the Friends of the Library - I discovered my Zappa in. More recently, our ace engineer on the New Real People project, Mike Sch**r, a major Zappa fanatic, gave me ALL of Zappa’s studio output, except Freak Out and Absolutely Free!, on a sizable stack of MP3 discs. I’ve managed to absorb We’re Only In It For the Money and Uncle Meat… it may take years for me to get deep into the rest. I know I’ll probably like Cruisin’ with Ruben and the Jets and Bongo Fury (with Captain Beefheart) - maybe some of you can make other Zappa recommendations?

Bongo Fury is a personal favorite of mine…i admit, the sillyness can get to be a bit much at times in other Zappa offerings but, dang, i sure liked his gee-tar plucking.

My favorite Zappa/Mothers album is Uncle Meat. It touches on most of Zappa’s musical loves (20th century avant-garde, doo-wop, out jazz) but does it all in a way that timh once described as ‘edgy’. I still need to see the Uncle Meat film though. BM promised me he would show it to me. I also really like Freak Out, Weasels, pretty much all of the original Mothers stuff as well as the Zappa solo stuff that came out as the original Mothers dissolved. Peaches en Regalia.

Bongo Fury is a good record. It came out when I was in like 10th grade and I am pretty sure it was the first Zappa (or Beefheart )record that I owned. I also got when I was a kid Overnite Sensation, Apostrophe, One Size Fits All, and Roxy/Elsewhere. I remember digging them a lot when I was in high school but they really don’t hit me now nearly as hard as the ’60s stuff does. I was fortunate to have at least heard Freak Out when I was a kid (although I think it was a little deep for my 15 year old mind), I babysat for these friends of my parents, the dad was kind of a wild ’60s dude and he had a pretty awesome record collection. He also invited me to partake of his herbal remedy but I was a little mortified…..

I have to take it in small, small doses, but Sheik Yerbouti has "Tryin’ To Grow a Chin" which is my fave track by him. Thanks unknown WIDR dj in the late 80’s!

Frank Zappa is dead. I don’t listen to dead music but mabe thats just me. punk is only made by the liveing. dead people want your brains, which is kind of punk but not really when its your brain they are coming after!!!! I need my brain because it does the heavy liftng for me. I dont know why the dead people need our brains because from what ive seen the zombie dead are already capible of doing the heavy lifting with their incredible super posthuman strength. Zappa sucks! Brains!

Calm down, buddy! We’re all friends here! Nobody’s trying to eat your brain, you crazy guy!

sorry to go off about brains. no, actually im not sorry. i just get to excited when i leave my crinkly bag and roll around town! My name is funyuns and i am delicious. the men love my texture and the ladies love my "o" shape and everybody loves my breath. you are all gay.

funyuns, if you’re going to flame, bait and troll, try to get more spelling errors in there.

Spell things in textchat and use numbers, 4 sho.

oh, sorry perfesser! i dint know i need a colege degree to have a opinion about music! isn’t this a music board? i’m just a working class snack with blue collar roots and papery skin! up yours, snooty mcbooty!

ramones!

[quote=funyuns] working class snack with blue collar roots and papery skin[/quote]

Can I get that to go?

only if you drive american!!!

you are a flaming bait troll!

I don’t think so, funyuns. You’re a corporate money-maker designed to rob working class people of pocket change and decent nutrients. Your "roots" are in higher ed for that matter:

University of North Texas Professor and Copywriter Jim Albright came up with the name "Funyuns" only after discovering that the original name, OnYums, had already been taken.

Don’t try to pass yourself off as something you’re not - you’re as working class hero as John Lennon (though you pull "bagism" off better than he did).

such illeetist liberal twattle! I provide cheap sustnance for poor people ALL THE TIME!

why are you attacking me?

im practicly a vegetable! And im brittle! whos the mean one now???

Toughen up, crum-chum. According to this article, you’re doin’ pretty well for yourself.

But I did want to say that Homework-First Nut Clusters are NOT my favorite snack. Also, excitement only for me, but I had no idea my employer’s web filter allowed access to the Onion!

I only "get" about 1 Zappa song. I can’t even remember what it is. I think I played the yellow snow one once on WIDR, and then hated myself instantly. Sorry, listeners of WIDR on the afternoon of November 16, 1990!

Player-hater. Cant stand to see an edible bulb go mod and clock dollers, huh? Am i too uppity a vegtible for you? cut me too deep and i will make you cry, Kapnuh!

Good morning, pretty lady! funyuns is new in town. funyuns wonders if you need a date.

Here we are, trying to have an informed, as well as educated, debate on the influence 20th century composers had on Frank Zappa, and we are disrupted by a boob.

Boob!

Funyuns contain a deadly combination of MSG, hydrogenated oils, and high fructose corn syrup. It is a genocidal food product marketed towards minorities and lower-class whites. funyuns was obviously raised on them. We should take pity, really.

I bet funyuns can’t name one 20th century composer of merit.

1. iannis xenakis

2. paul hindemith

3. steve reich

4. my ass

sorry your all ofended by a boob! personly i like boobs! are you a girl, azork?

I am just going on record that even though I enjoy the music of Reich, Hindemith, and Xenakis that I am not this funyon character. He (she? it?) did give me a hearty belly laugh though.

Even robots love boobs.

Is that anything special, our mammalian love for the most mammalian organ? By "boob" I meant common as well as unthinking. Ah, but the "nourishment" of your teat is sickly sweet, likely just non-dairy creamer and high fructose corn syrup.

now even i feel gross.

funyons ist spartacus

Ok back to Zappa,

My favorite is Freak Out, I kinda like Absolutly Free too. Never really got too deep into Zappa, he’s always been a little too avant guard for my taste.

"He (she? it?) did give me a hearty belly laugh though. "

im a popular pansexual spokes-snak with bluecollar toots!

Although I AM easily impressed by the yelling of "Good morning, pretty lady!" and have never let the whole marriage thing stop me from dating, I fear that I would laugh too hard and blow beer out my nose on date with you. Plus, I think that I know you already! Are we already dating? Perhaps, engaged to married? Hmmm?

Love, Ruffles

Wow, Funyons is crazy! Calm down, buddy! Whew! Hands off wizzy!

did that give it away for you? it did for me!

what are you giving away?

Your snack food attack is killing me. Funyuns appears to be scoring big with the ladies (are we all PMSing?) and not so much with the fellas. Pass me some pork rinds.

porkrind and funyuns go great together! hubba hubba! want to share my hubba bubba? doot-dee-doot-dee-doo!

Eggactly! when I saws the werds "toots"… I knows what I was thinking.

Back in the day … (I was vice -president of my high school, Kalamazoo Central, and in my senior year, instead of study hall, we would have student council. Well, back then I was very political. Radical, as always, and somewhat driven.) Anyway, one very warm afternoon after our council meeting ended early, I heard my first Frank Zappa. Right there in our council meeting room on the second floor of old central high school. Oh yeah. 1967. And it was “Suzy Cream Cheese … what’s got into you girl?” Holy shit! Here’s Zappa singing, “Suzy, what’s got into you girl?” And then “Suzy” is panting so heavily, she’s heaving. In rhythm of course, and a “melodick” phrase … I was freaked out. I loved the melody of her coming, if you will. So take that, “funyuns”. I’m just saying.

Viva Zapata! Mexico’s cool, and i like talking about it and that’s why i like this thread. in mexico they like zombies so much that they have something that youve probly never heard of called DAY OF THE DEADS (En Spangish: DELA DE DEADOH!) when zombies get free tacos anywhere they go. they sure like them tacos and it makes em forget all about human brain hunger for a litle bit. you should check it out its pretty cool! i went once and had a really rockin time exept nobody knew what a gordita was and that seemd kinda dumb! Eat MEXICAN, Mexicans! Geez!

Shutup, funyuns! Shutup! U r a noyin!

is that any way to treat a guest?

Wat r ewe, a sheep?

I am also the Principal of Shellville High! Respect my authority or I wool devour you, bag and all. I have the stomachs for it.

[quote=dingey]I am also the Principal of Shellville High! [/quote]

Givem what for, Principal Weavers!!!! Don’t take no guff from no one! Least of all this snack-baitin’ charlatan!

respectfully,

Michael Visnick

loose ball! Go for it!

[quote=Potato Stix]Shutup, funyuns! Shutup! U r a noyin![/quote]

I am not a noyin, Im a Italian uh!

I think Frank Zappa would find the humor in this.

—your radio friend, Bat Guano

AND ZANK YOU, TOO, BAT GUANO…..if that really is your name….

[quote=Mr. Jass]

[quote=dingey]I am also the Principal of Shellville High! [/quote]

Givem what for, Principal Weavers!!!! Don’t take no guff from no one! Least of all this snack-baitin’ charlatan!

respectfully,

Michael Visnick

[/quote]

Sorry, Vis, I didn’t really have time to reply in kind to you earlier today. Bummer Brannon was harassing the freshman yearlings and I had to break up the mmmmeeeeleeeeeee.

Thanks as always for your support, Vis. Your spirit and devotion to the true meaning of Shellville High has been an inspiration to us all. You are like a blade of grass, blowing in the wind like a blade of grass.

Good luck in all of your endeavors—I am shear that you have a great future ahead of you at the Doan plant!

Warmly,

Raoul V. Weavers

Yeah, this is exactly what i had in mind when i decided to relay this story to you … mock me will ya? *mutter, mutter* Just remember…you won’t have Richard Nixon to kick around any more…umm, I mean Steven Chamberlin…screw all ya’ll.

Richard nixon is dead too which means hold on to your brains if you see him coming!

Frank Zappa

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