Once, Robert Shelton wrote in The New York Times in December 1966, ‘the most original new group to simmer out of the steaming rock n'roll underground in the last hour and one-half is an audacious crew from the West Coast called The Mothers of Invention.’ It was Frank Zappa the leader of the band who led the band in to a totally different flow from the main stream of that time, precisely the hippies psychedelia. Along with The Mothers of Invention Zappa devoted his creativity into a wide scheme of music, from rock music, jazz ensembles, symphonic orchestra, to synthesizers as well as music works constructed from pre-recorded, synthesized or sampled sources.
To the Zappa’s Music attitude Frank Kofsky on The Age of Rock, Sounds of the American Cultural Revolution, in which he made an interview with Zappa, stated that what Zappa was trying to do in his music is not just play music, but also agitate and educate-and Zappa adding spontaneously, synthesizing. Zappa himself defined what he do as filling most of the gaps between so-called serious music and the so-called popular music.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 21, 1940, Frank Vincent Zappa is a son of a chemist and mathematician. Due to his father’s various jobs in American defense industry, in his childhood Zappa’s family often move from one country to another. Once, after a short period live in Florida, his family came back to Maryland where Zapa’s father got the job in the area. In this period, his father kept gas mask on hand because of the possibilities of the accidents. In fact, they are live near the Arsenal that stored mustard gas. This situation had an effect to young Zappa in relation of references to germs, germ warfare and other defense industry related things. These things would occur on Zappa’s work later on, such as Prelude to the Afternoon of a Sexually Aroused Gas Mask track on Weasels Ripped my Flesh album in1970. Another thing that would had influenced on Zappa musical theme is the treatments he got to his suffer of asthma and sinus problem (he got pellet radium inserted to each his nostrils).
Zappa’s interest on music began in 1952 when his parents bought a record player. The first music item that Zappa bought is R&B record, then he began to build his music collection soon after. Zappa actually highly interested in the sound of drum beat. Even, he got the snare drum in the age of twelve. After he read the LOOK magazine which told a story about Edgard Varèse’s music called "a weird jumble of drums and other unpleasant sounds," he seek out to found the record. His introduction with modern classical music was begun.
Therefore, what influenced Zappa on musical creativities are avant garde, R&B, doo woop, and also modern music. To this Zappa commented that “Since I didn't have any kind of formal training, it didn't make any difference to me if I was listening to Lightnin' Slim, or a vocal group called the Jewels . . ., or Webern, or Varèse, or Stravinsky. To me it was all good music.” (The Real Zappa Book, 1989).
The first Zappa’s experience on instrumental playing began in 50’s when he was at high school. In the high school he attended, Mission Bay High School in San Diego, he joined his first band, The Ramblers, on drum. By this era, Zappa also met Don Van Vliet, known as Captain Beefheart on later stages performance, and became a close friends as well as influencing each other on the music. On the same time, Zappa also played drum for a local band called The Balckouts in which he met Euclid James Sherwood who would became a member of The Mothers on later days.
Later, Zappa became interesting on guitar playing. In 1957, he got his first guitar. Among the musicians who influenced Zappa on guitar playing are Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Howlin' Wolf and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. He then developing the electric guitar playing of his own that would gaining the highly regarded electric guitar player reputation.
In 1959 Zappa met Kathryn J. "Kay" Sherman during his short stay at college. They got married in December 1960. By this time, instead of keep on playing with The Blackouts for some varieties of nightclub gigs he composed several soundtracks for some low budgeted films. He also wrote and producing some songs for local artists. With his income from this, Zappa managed to bought a studio and named it ‘Studio Z.’ Soon after his marriage began to broke, he started to worked on his studio 12 hours a day recording and experimenting music.
By 1965, Zappa jailed for ten days on the charge of pornography conspiracy relating action. Because of studio Z was rarely booked by other artists, Zappa accepted a $100 project to a customer’s stag’s party. On the project, Zappa with a female friend made a fake erotic recording jokingly. Unfortunately the customer was a member of Vice Squad in undercover. This brief imprisonment led him to become an anti authoritarian. His imprisonment also caused him no longer afford his studio Z.
Before Zappa went in to the massive music business, he was an employee at advertising and gave him a valuable insight on how the commercial works. As he wrote on ‘The Incredible History of The Mothers,’ his project was carefully planned. He spent for about four and a half year to find the right people to work with. The group that was to become The Mothers was The Giant Souls that played on a small bar in Pomona, California. The band called for Zappa for substitute after they were had a problem with their guitarist. Zappa thought that the band sounds good and began to tell his plan. After spending ten months playing the unpopular music on the area, the band was got in to insulting the audience habit. The habit was come from the fact that their audience could not identify their music. Soon after, they were famous for the insulting habit.
By 1966, with the band member going in and out, The Mothers were spotted by a producer while played The Watts Riot Song (Trouble Every Day). After they changed their name to The Mothers of Invention, the first album ‘Freak Out’ is released on MGM. From then on, Zappa’s creative journey raging on.
After Zappa and The Mothers success in New York performance, they were offered a contract at the Garrick Theatre during Easter 1967. Then, Zappa and his second wife, Adelaide Gail Sloatman, along with The Mothers of Invention move to New York. There, he and The Mothers performed a combination of improvised acts displaying the individual talents of the band and a performance of Zappa’s tight music.
In next two years Zappa with his 9 pieces band, that he considered ideal to play his music with a lot of instrument, produced 4 albums, Absolutely Free (1967), Lumpy Gravy (1967), We’re Only in it For the Money (the album that considered as the peak of the band )(1968), and Cruising with Ruben & the Jets (1968).
Zappa also developed his business in the late sixties. Along with Herb Cohen he formed the Bizarre Records and Straight Records labels which the distribution were handled by Warner Bros. Records. In this time, Zappa also produced the double album ‘Trout Mask Replica’ for Captain Beefheart, and other releases by several artists, which among them is Alice Cooper. But, in this time Zappa also disbanded The Mothers of Invention because of financial strain. After collecting remained recording from this era, which were released as Weasels Ripped My Flesh (1970) and Burnt Weeny Sandwich (1970), his creative journey keep going on.
On his solitary he developed jazz-rock fussion and became popular in England. Zappa also composing symphony music and made a performance in May 1970 with Los Angeles Pillharmonic which conducted by Zubin Mehta.
Later, in 1970 Zappa reinventing The Mothers with some new members. After made some album and collaboration with some artist and performer, among of them are London Pillharmonic Orchestra, Zappa got two serious problems. First, while Zappa and The Mothers made a performance at Casino de Montreux in Switzerland, an audience member who set a fire that burned down the casino destroyed the Mothers’ equipment. This happening appears on the Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water. Second, Zappa pushed by an audience member into the concrete-floored orchestra pit that caused him in injury in Rainbow Theatre London while he was performing with the rented gears.
Zappa’s story keep move on. Though his creativity and productivity is still in no doubt, several things happen on his following years. By 1973 Zappa and Cohen discontinued Bizarre and Straight labels and created new one called DiscReet Records, which still distributed by Warner Bros. But Zappa relationship with Cohen ended up in 1976. Zappa and Cohen are in the law court against each other concerning the money and some signing acts. Next, Zappa also in law suit against Warner Bros. due to disagreement of the release of an album called Lather (a Zappa’s quadruple LP project).
In the late of 1980’s Zappa took a big attention on American politic. On September 19, 1985, Zappa testified before the US Senate Commerce, Technology, and Transportation committee, attacking the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). On his statement, Zappa argued that censorships are infringing the liberty of people who are not children. He added that PMRC's demands are the equivalent of treating dandruff by decapitation.
There was nothing could take Zappa from his creativity and movement but his illness. In 1991, he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. Soon, Zappa devoted most of his energy to modern orchestral and synclavier works. He still made some of performance in Europe during his last day until the cancers take him forever in December 4, 1993, on age 52.
Source: Wikipedia.org, zappa.com
Frank Zappa: Hot Rat
play list:
1. Peaches En Regalia
2. Willie The Pimp
3. Son of Mr. Green Genes
4. Little Umbrellas
5. The Gumbo Variations
filefactory
01 - For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitch-Hikers)
02 - The Grand Wazoo
03 - Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus
04 - Eat That Question
05 - Blessed Relief
file factory
To the Zappa’s Music attitude Frank Kofsky on The Age of Rock, Sounds of the American Cultural Revolution, in which he made an interview with Zappa, stated that what Zappa was trying to do in his music is not just play music, but also agitate and educate-and Zappa adding spontaneously, synthesizing. Zappa himself defined what he do as filling most of the gaps between so-called serious music and the so-called popular music.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 21, 1940, Frank Vincent Zappa is a son of a chemist and mathematician. Due to his father’s various jobs in American defense industry, in his childhood Zappa’s family often move from one country to another. Once, after a short period live in Florida, his family came back to Maryland where Zapa’s father got the job in the area. In this period, his father kept gas mask on hand because of the possibilities of the accidents. In fact, they are live near the Arsenal that stored mustard gas. This situation had an effect to young Zappa in relation of references to germs, germ warfare and other defense industry related things. These things would occur on Zappa’s work later on, such as Prelude to the Afternoon of a Sexually Aroused Gas Mask track on Weasels Ripped my Flesh album in1970. Another thing that would had influenced on Zappa musical theme is the treatments he got to his suffer of asthma and sinus problem (he got pellet radium inserted to each his nostrils).
Zappa’s interest on music began in 1952 when his parents bought a record player. The first music item that Zappa bought is R&B record, then he began to build his music collection soon after. Zappa actually highly interested in the sound of drum beat. Even, he got the snare drum in the age of twelve. After he read the LOOK magazine which told a story about Edgard Varèse’s music called "a weird jumble of drums and other unpleasant sounds," he seek out to found the record. His introduction with modern classical music was begun.
Therefore, what influenced Zappa on musical creativities are avant garde, R&B, doo woop, and also modern music. To this Zappa commented that “Since I didn't have any kind of formal training, it didn't make any difference to me if I was listening to Lightnin' Slim, or a vocal group called the Jewels . . ., or Webern, or Varèse, or Stravinsky. To me it was all good music.” (The Real Zappa Book, 1989).
The first Zappa’s experience on instrumental playing began in 50’s when he was at high school. In the high school he attended, Mission Bay High School in San Diego, he joined his first band, The Ramblers, on drum. By this era, Zappa also met Don Van Vliet, known as Captain Beefheart on later stages performance, and became a close friends as well as influencing each other on the music. On the same time, Zappa also played drum for a local band called The Balckouts in which he met Euclid James Sherwood who would became a member of The Mothers on later days.
Later, Zappa became interesting on guitar playing. In 1957, he got his first guitar. Among the musicians who influenced Zappa on guitar playing are Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Howlin' Wolf and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. He then developing the electric guitar playing of his own that would gaining the highly regarded electric guitar player reputation.
In 1959 Zappa met Kathryn J. "Kay" Sherman during his short stay at college. They got married in December 1960. By this time, instead of keep on playing with The Blackouts for some varieties of nightclub gigs he composed several soundtracks for some low budgeted films. He also wrote and producing some songs for local artists. With his income from this, Zappa managed to bought a studio and named it ‘Studio Z.’ Soon after his marriage began to broke, he started to worked on his studio 12 hours a day recording and experimenting music.
By 1965, Zappa jailed for ten days on the charge of pornography conspiracy relating action. Because of studio Z was rarely booked by other artists, Zappa accepted a $100 project to a customer’s stag’s party. On the project, Zappa with a female friend made a fake erotic recording jokingly. Unfortunately the customer was a member of Vice Squad in undercover. This brief imprisonment led him to become an anti authoritarian. His imprisonment also caused him no longer afford his studio Z.
Before Zappa went in to the massive music business, he was an employee at advertising and gave him a valuable insight on how the commercial works. As he wrote on ‘The Incredible History of The Mothers,’ his project was carefully planned. He spent for about four and a half year to find the right people to work with. The group that was to become The Mothers was The Giant Souls that played on a small bar in Pomona, California. The band called for Zappa for substitute after they were had a problem with their guitarist. Zappa thought that the band sounds good and began to tell his plan. After spending ten months playing the unpopular music on the area, the band was got in to insulting the audience habit. The habit was come from the fact that their audience could not identify their music. Soon after, they were famous for the insulting habit.
By 1966, with the band member going in and out, The Mothers were spotted by a producer while played The Watts Riot Song (Trouble Every Day). After they changed their name to The Mothers of Invention, the first album ‘Freak Out’ is released on MGM. From then on, Zappa’s creative journey raging on.
After Zappa and The Mothers success in New York performance, they were offered a contract at the Garrick Theatre during Easter 1967. Then, Zappa and his second wife, Adelaide Gail Sloatman, along with The Mothers of Invention move to New York. There, he and The Mothers performed a combination of improvised acts displaying the individual talents of the band and a performance of Zappa’s tight music.
In next two years Zappa with his 9 pieces band, that he considered ideal to play his music with a lot of instrument, produced 4 albums, Absolutely Free (1967), Lumpy Gravy (1967), We’re Only in it For the Money (the album that considered as the peak of the band )(1968), and Cruising with Ruben & the Jets (1968).
Zappa also developed his business in the late sixties. Along with Herb Cohen he formed the Bizarre Records and Straight Records labels which the distribution were handled by Warner Bros. Records. In this time, Zappa also produced the double album ‘Trout Mask Replica’ for Captain Beefheart, and other releases by several artists, which among them is Alice Cooper. But, in this time Zappa also disbanded The Mothers of Invention because of financial strain. After collecting remained recording from this era, which were released as Weasels Ripped My Flesh (1970) and Burnt Weeny Sandwich (1970), his creative journey keep going on.
On his solitary he developed jazz-rock fussion and became popular in England. Zappa also composing symphony music and made a performance in May 1970 with Los Angeles Pillharmonic which conducted by Zubin Mehta.
Later, in 1970 Zappa reinventing The Mothers with some new members. After made some album and collaboration with some artist and performer, among of them are London Pillharmonic Orchestra, Zappa got two serious problems. First, while Zappa and The Mothers made a performance at Casino de Montreux in Switzerland, an audience member who set a fire that burned down the casino destroyed the Mothers’ equipment. This happening appears on the Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water. Second, Zappa pushed by an audience member into the concrete-floored orchestra pit that caused him in injury in Rainbow Theatre London while he was performing with the rented gears.
Zappa’s story keep move on. Though his creativity and productivity is still in no doubt, several things happen on his following years. By 1973 Zappa and Cohen discontinued Bizarre and Straight labels and created new one called DiscReet Records, which still distributed by Warner Bros. But Zappa relationship with Cohen ended up in 1976. Zappa and Cohen are in the law court against each other concerning the money and some signing acts. Next, Zappa also in law suit against Warner Bros. due to disagreement of the release of an album called Lather (a Zappa’s quadruple LP project).
In the late of 1980’s Zappa took a big attention on American politic. On September 19, 1985, Zappa testified before the US Senate Commerce, Technology, and Transportation committee, attacking the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). On his statement, Zappa argued that censorships are infringing the liberty of people who are not children. He added that PMRC's demands are the equivalent of treating dandruff by decapitation.
There was nothing could take Zappa from his creativity and movement but his illness. In 1991, he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. Soon, Zappa devoted most of his energy to modern orchestral and synclavier works. He still made some of performance in Europe during his last day until the cancers take him forever in December 4, 1993, on age 52.
Source: Wikipedia.org, zappa.com
Frank Zappa: Hot Rat
play list:
1. Peaches En Regalia
2. Willie The Pimp
3. Son of Mr. Green Genes
4. Little Umbrellas
5. The Gumbo Variations
filefactory
01 - For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitch-Hikers)
02 - The Grand Wazoo
03 - Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus
04 - Eat That Question
05 - Blessed Relief
file factory
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