Frank Zappa Interviews

SteveFord · « **on:** 25 Nov 2012, 01:31 pm »

A coworker turned me onto someone on youtube who's put together a collection of FZ interviews.
They can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/barun432

medium jim · « **Reply #1 on:** 25 Nov 2012, 04:00 pm »

Sweet!

Jim

kevin360 · « **Reply #2 on:** 25 Nov 2012, 06:00 pm »

Few people interview like Frank Zappa. Honesty is probably the greatest character trait (or so I suspect). Frank spoke with pure candor - in his composition (in his music, in his lyrics, in his performance) and in his conversations. Well named was Frank. As an artist, he was fiercely uncompromising. One of my favorite FZ interviews on youtube is this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAHY7jNGT9c&feature=fvwrel

Rclark, please play this one. I'm not attempting to lessen your admiration for Jimi in any way - just trying to turn your head around slightly with respect to Frank Zappa - a true genius, indeed, a (as opposed to 'the') legend.

medium jim · « **Reply #3 on:** 25 Nov 2012, 06:42 pm »

Frank Zappa was more than a composer, songwriter, author, he was a true genius. Thanks to Dick Cavett for being brave enough to the several on air live interviews with FZ. Oh yeah, some amazing music as well. The irony is Frank and Jimi were practically neighbors and have no doubt they met or crossed paths.

Not to demean Jimi, he played by ear feel, Frank could sight read music, wrote every note of every song he composed, experimented with different time structures and different keys within individual compositions that literally opened doors for how music was made.

While his music is an acquired taste for some, it is true genius and was every bit as influential on today's music in several genres as was Jimi's.

Both are great and will leave it at that.

Jim

Devil Doc · « **Reply #4 on:** 25 Nov 2012, 06:58 pm »

Have to disagree. FZ was great. Hendrix was good.

Doc

SteveFord · « **Reply #5 on:** 25 Nov 2012, 07:27 pm »

In that link that Kevin posted Frank says that he was never quite sure what he was going to end up playing during a guitar solo.
This one seems a good illustration of what he meant:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyLYZcjlSXo&feature=related

For those who never saw FZ live, every show was different than the one previous. On night it would be all guitar/familiar songs, the next night it would be all instrumental with him conducting the band, you just never knew what you would get.

Sometimes you'd get this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWKZpIWhgMo

or this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzBNJvcbrCY

There was no way of telling when you walked in the door.

Rclark · « **Reply #6 on:** 25 Nov 2012, 09:43 pm »

Quote from: kevin360 on 25 Nov 2012, 06:00 pm

Few people interview like Frank Zappa. Honesty is probably the greatest character trait (or so I suspect). Frank spoke with pure candor - in his composition (in his music, in his lyrics, in his performance) and in his conversations. Well named was Frank. As an artist, he was fiercely uncompromising. One of my favorite FZ interviews on youtube is this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAHY7jNGT9c&feature=fvwrel

Rclark, please play this one. I'm not attempting to lessen your admiration for Jimi in any way - just trying to turn your head around slightly with respect to Frank Zappa - a true genius, indeed, a (as opposed to 'the') legend.

That was a great interview, loved it. I've also seen the documentaries on Netflix. I don't discount Frank's genius at all, how can you? But when it comes to my rock music, I like it a little less weird, a little more rockin'. Intricate and technical and with difficult beats, I like that. Improvised is also cool. But weird isnt so much my thing. Goofy lyrics and elements like xylophone and kazoo...and there's something very Cheech and Chong about his voice and delivery.. which grates on me a lot.. I get why he's so loved though. I'm 90% there, but I just can't get into him. When he rips on guitar though, it's quite something.

Tyson · « **Reply #7 on:** 25 Nov 2012, 10:08 pm »

Yes, it's hard for the same person to like Zappa and Kid Rock

SteveFord · « **Reply #8 on:** 25 Nov 2012, 10:56 pm »

I did get a laugh as on one of the sidebar youtube videos there was none other than Jim Dandy of Black Oak Arkansas fame (replete with fringed white bell bottoms and his trademark washboard).
I hadn't thought about him in 20 years and now he's everywhere.

jriggy · « **Reply #9 on:** 25 Nov 2012, 11:01 pm »

Now now, no sense in comparing a genius master to a junior high 'kid'

(I know why though)

"I don't want to spend my life explaining myself," Frank Zappa once said. "You either get it or you don't." So true.

Thanks for the links! I have been in a Zappa mood for a couple months now, while grabbing the recent 2012 mastered CD releases.

medium jim · « **Reply #10 on:** 25 Nov 2012, 11:06 pm »

And the good thing about the 2012 editions, is that the money is going to Gail Zappa.

Jim

Rclark · « **Reply #11 on:** 25 Nov 2012, 11:40 pm »

Quote from: Tyson on 25 Nov 2012, 10:08 pm

Yes, it's hard for the same person to like Zappa and Kid Rock

That's alright, you get teary eyed to Ani Difranco

dB Cooper · « **Reply #12 on:** 25 Nov 2012, 11:49 pm »

Quote from: medium jim on 25 Nov 2012, 06:42 pm

Frank Zappa was more than a composer, songwriter, author, he was a true genius. Thanks to Dick Cavett for being brave enough to the several on air live interviews with FZ. Oh yeah, some amazing music as well. The irony is Frank and Jimi were practically neighbors and have no doubt they met or crossed paths.

They did. FZ mentioned it in his autobiography. Hendrix was over at his house with Buddy Miles, who fell asleep on the couch as soon as they arrived and Hendrix woke him up when they left.
I also remember reading somewhere about FZ playing a Hendrix solo nobody had been able to figure out which greatly surprised Jimi.

I am a major FZ fan (saw him live 3 times) and confess that I have never owned a Hendrix record (never needed to, heard it everywhere) but I do appreciate his music. I think "both were great" is the right way to look at it. But everything Hendrix did, to me, is instantly recognizable as '60's rock, whereas a lot (ok, not all) of Zappa's stuff sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday (Grand Wazoo, Hot Rats). Neither had great vocal chops. Both were great improvisers. Only reason FZ is not better known is that a penchant for writing stuff like "Titties and Beer" and "Dinah-Moe Humm" kept him off the radio.

"Few people interview like Frank Zappa". Very true. Years ago Stereo Review (remember them?) did an interview with him by Steve Simels. In his intro, Simels said, "At one point he called me a pinhead and I'm sure he meant it." Despite this, his article was positive.

Rclark · « **Reply #13 on:** 26 Nov 2012, 12:06 am »

I contend with one point, Jimi had a great voice, for the genre. And to another point, Jimi's music hasn't grown stale either, like a lot of 60's music, which just sounds old, probably because most of Jimi's music flat out rocks and he didn't add a lot of frills.

dB Cooper · « **Reply #14 on:** 26 Nov 2012, 12:18 am »

By that I meant that neither was technically great, in the way that say, a Paul Rodgers (Bad Company) or a Burton Cummings (Guess Who) or a Roger Daltrey was. They were more guitarists than vocalists. FZ once said that as a vocalist, he wouldn't have been able to pass an audition for his own band.

Rclark · « **Reply #15 on:** 26 Nov 2012, 12:20 am »

Yeah, true to that, as far as ultimate singing ability. The Who (Daltrey), Sabbath, also bands that have stood the test and are still listenable by a large audience.

dB Cooper · « **Reply #16 on:** 26 Nov 2012, 12:21 am »

But I'll take expression over technical quality almost any day.

Rclark · « **Reply #17 on:** 26 Nov 2012, 12:22 am »

Me too. All day.

Rclark · « **Reply #18 on:** 27 Nov 2012, 09:56 pm »

....okay.. for some reason I felt compelled to listen to this one particular radio interview, complete with Zappa songs played, and cheesy radio commercials from the period it was recorded, kind of lulled me in.. and I might consider buying ONE Zappa album and see how it goes from there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PGgDv_BpJE&feature=watch-vrec

dB Cooper · « **Reply #19 on:** 27 Nov 2012, 10:41 pm »

Which leads to the question.... which one? They are so different from one another, sometimes even from one album to the next, hard to know which one to recommend. I'd have to venture that you can't go too far wrong with Hot Rats, We're Only In It For the Money, or One Size Fits All. If you want to test-drive some of his classical material, I suggest "Prime Meridian" by the Meridian Arts Ensemble. Brass quintet arrangements by first class musicians who really "get it". For hard rock, "Weasels Ripped my Flesh" or Chunga's Revenge".