November 15, 2004

• Or, I should say, "what seems to be a solid review," given that I haven't read the book. I will, though.
• Thanks for that. I can never get enough Zappa material. One thing though: the article says his family is Italian; I could have sworn they were Lebanese. I don't remember where I got that info though. Oh, if you're in the least interested in Zappa, you should pick up his autobiography. Funniest shit.
• Yeah I got his autobio. Sicillian/Italian, if memory serves. I am, of course, the Zappa fan from Hell.
• *waits for Nostril to enter the thread* *used to play in Zappa cover band, which was extremely hard work*
• Shit!
• *sighs, shakes head* You gotta work on that timing, Wolof.
• Huge fuckup. Rome, tremble!
• I can detect mention of Zappa from several blocks away, Wolof. It's like the batsignal for me. Be-Bop Tango (of the old jazzmen's church) is hard to play I miss him soooo much. We needed him, this last few months, I'm thinking.
• I can detect mention of Zappa from several blocks away, Wolof. It's like the batsignal for me. This I know, Nos. It wasn't like it was especially hard to play as such, but it did require a lot of rehearsal. Although we didn't do any of the really difficult stuff. Very fiddly.
• I used to have a few of his solos down note for note*, but trying to find other musos who would put the work in was impossible. And then, of course, nobody comes to see the band. (*now I can't even remember an F-chord) Disclosure: I can even do his voice. Yes, I was that geeked out on Zappa. He is my Elvis. Sad, really, but better than being into Duran Duran, which everyone else was, at the time, it seemed. Luckily, nobody bullied the little Aussie Zappa fan, cos he was always in his bedroom, practicing on his junior SG, & compulsively listening to Sheik Yerbouti over & over. (amusing that this post comes after 'ugly bands' -- some early shots of The Mothers spring to mind.. Jimmy Carl Black, mein gott)
• This wasn't a book review, it was an easy column written by lifting material from a book Paglia had just read. I do (heart) the Mothers, though, and will either name the two cats i want to bring home 'dweezil' and 'moon unit' (either that or 'ethyl' and 'julius')
• Wolof has pretty good timing, as I have experienced irl. Will send you the picture tomorrow.
• Nos- I was thinking the same thing regarding ugly bands. Pyrr- I agree. That autobiography is GOLD. That is a book you can open to any page at any time and find something hilarious or compelling or both. I never played in a Zappa cover band, far from it, but I *was* in a band that did a rip-snorting version of "Let's Make The Water Turn Black". Brought down the house every time, even though most folks probably didn't know from whence it came. Although I own just a few Zappa records I can say without reservation that he was one of the good guys, and we are all the poorer for losing him.
• What's the ugliest part of your body? What's the ugliest part of your body? Some say your nose, some say your toes, but I think it's your MIND.
• The Greatest Band You Never Heard In Your Life is IMO the best live album ever.
• Zappa was going for his physical in the process of getting drafted into the military. Being the jubilant prankster, he smears peanut butter in the crack of his ass. At the drop-your-pants-and bend-over stage the examiner reacts with a "eeeeew, what's that?" Zappa runs his finger over the glob of peanut butter, licks the finger and says..............."tastes a lot like peanut butter". Urban lengend or truth? Either way, adds to his cred.
• One of Zappa's that applies to today more than ever "It can't happen here!?"
• IIiiii am about as Eeeevil as a Zombiewoof can beeee! btw, why does it hurt when I pee?
• "The torture never stops!"
• Is this a real comment or a Sears comment?
• On a more topical note, that review does fall short of Ms. Paglia's usual standards. It seems like little more than a synopsis of the book. I do look forward to the book though; thanks for bringing it to our attention
• Yeah, you guys are right about the quality of the review. I was overly enamored of the way she didn't insert herself as a subject, I guess.
• I'm pretty sure the peanut butter story is an urban legend. There was no mention of it in the autobiog (but I haven't read it in a few years), but he does mention the other UL about him (or Captain Beefheart, or both of them, or Alice Cooper, depending on the story) having a 'gross out' competition on stage, & him winning it by 'eating a shit'. Frank vehemently denied ever taking a shit or eating one ever on stage or anywhere else for that matter. The other version of the peanut butter story has it actually squeezed up his ass, etc, not just in the butt crack. I can't remember how Frank avoided the draft. I have a niggling memory that he may have had a medical condition of some kind that excluded him.
• OK, it's that time again. In my Zappa-like band, I was one night in Melbourne doing a gig out Richmond way. I don't know what happened, it was a warm wet night, maybe a full moon. On the way to the gig, the percussionist and I got out of a tram somehow without either of us noticing that he'd left his trumpet under the seat ... anyhow, that kind of night. It was the only door deal of the tour, and I guess we were also hoping to make some bread ... whatever, only about fifty people showed up, mainly our friends. So I guess we just decided to really go for it. It was a fuck-it type of situation. We were playing really well, as you start to when you've done a gig a night for the last fourteen, and I guess we were each trying to show off more than the other. The (temporary) winner was the percussionist. When it came time for his solo, rather than banging away at his toys, he just flopped out his dick and pissed into a pint glass. Ta da! Massive applause, my guts hurting from laughing so much, etc. Not enough for one chap, name of "Happy", who took it upon himself to take the stage, lift said glass, and drain it in one long draught ... I could hardly play, I was weeping ...
• Truly disgusting. /applauds
• Wolof, thanks for making me laugh.
• Gargh!
• I saw Zappa back in '71 or so and was enthralled. My only regret is that someone stole the incredible pictures that my companion took that night. The most dramatic stage presence I'd ever encountered.
• Did you ever get to see Anthony Quinn play Zorba? Awesome. Of course, his solos can't compare.
• But those beatiful eyes...to die for.
• CNN weighs in
• What does Zorba the Greek have to do with Zappa?
• This reminds me--my friend Steve has my copy of Joe's Garage. Dammit. Have to get that back. Zappa was a genius, an artist, the real deal. I was just listening to Yellow Shark the other day. That version of G-Spot Tornado is amazing.
• Zorba/Zappa Just go with the flow here, Fedora. Wolof, I was soooo with you on the band thing till the pee story ... poodle bites
• Another review of the Zappa book, from this week's San Francisco Bay Guardian.
• For some reason when I try to read that article my CPU spikes. What the hell is going on on that webpage? Anyway - any monkeys reading this or planning to? I'm curious if it's worth the effort . . .