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Any Frank Zappa fans here?

Frank Zappa is in this illustration?

frank.png
 
Saw this tour also, at Lewis and Clark College, in the gym.
Very small venue, very cool :)

What was funny about it was this: A September 1970 issue of National Lampoon featured a parody of Archie Comics in which teenagers go to a Zappa concert. The artwork was provided by Michael Choquett, Sean Kelly, Joe Orlando, Henry Scarpelli and Peter Bramley.
51ccmZRJm5L._SX373_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg


I had that issue at the time and it was kinda like what they portrayed :)
national_lampoon_70_comix_00_cover_465_625_int.jpg

national_lampoon_70_comix_03.jpg


The only difference was the folks were very appreciative of Zappa :)

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National Lampoon
My first Zappa concert :)
original-frank-zappa-mothers_1_8702a520a9af4b9ce529d4de038420d6 (1).jpg

In here, with Flo & Eddie :)
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We did the Mud Shark that night :)
 
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This is the album I was thinking of...

Chunga's Revenge
is the third solo album by Frank Zappa, released on October 23, 1970. Zappa's first effort of the 1970s marks the first appearance of former Turtles members Flo & Eddie on a Zappa record, and signals the dawn of a controversial epoch in Zappa's history. Chunga's Revenge represents a shift from both the satirical political commentary of his 1960s work with The Mothers of Invention, and the jazz fusion of Hot Rats.

Frank_Zappa_-_Chunga's_Revenge.jpg


The material presented on Chunga's Revenge is eclectic: side one includes a guitar jam ("Transylvania Boogie"), a bluesy amble ("Road Ladies"), a jazz interlude ("Twenty Small Cigars") and an avant garde live improvisation ("The Nancy and Mary Music") drawn from "King Kong" from a July 1970 Mothers performance, released officially on Road Tapes, Venue 3. Several poppy numbers ("Tell Me You Love Me", "Would You Go All the Way?", "Rudy Wants to Buy Yez a Drink", "Sharleena") appear on the second side along with the improvisational title track and a percussion-only track ("The Clap").

"Twenty Small Cigars" was drawn from the Hot Rats sessions from summer 1969. "Transylvania Boogie" and "Chunga's Revenge" come from the early 1970 period where Zappa performed with a band informally known as "Hot Rats," including Ian Underwood, Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Max Bennett and Aynsley Dunbar. Also from this period is "The Clap," a short multitracked percussion piece with Zappa as the only musician. The vocal tracks all deal with the subject of sex and/or groupie encounters and as Zappa notes on the sleeve of both the vinyl and CD, are a preview of the then forthcoming Invalid Link Removed film/album, and date from the summer of 1970 after the formation of the new Mothers of Invention lineup.[4]
 
Wow! How many you reckon that place sits/sat?
How did the band elect to play to both sides of the room?
Didn't these shows result in a live album at the time?
Zappapsc (1).jpg

The band at left, black lines=rows of chairs. the stage was small and low.
The chairs on the main floor were eventually pushed up to the edge of the stage as I remember resting my head on the stage :)

First time I saw George Duke. I think the rest of the band was:
Frank Zappa guitar, vocals
Aynsley Dunbar drums
Don Preston keyboards
George Duke keyboards, trombone
Howard Kaylan vocals
Jeff Simmons bass, vocals
Ian Underwood alto saxophone or Motorhead?
Mark Volman vocals

The Pamplin Sports Center is a 2,300 seat basketball and volleyball arena in Portland, Oregon which serves as the home of the Lewis & Clark Pioneers. Pamplin Sports Center - Wikipedia

I recall it was packed on the floor, bleachers were mostly full.
I don't know of any bootlegs or any tracks showing up on any official releases. But a lot of material was from the soon to be released, Just Another Band from L.A. album.
 
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Seeing as my first two posts either offended someone or broke the forum rules, Id figured why not give it one last try.
Unfortunately my first exposure to Uncle Frank was Titties 'n Beer. Ha Ha... toilet humor, but not interested.
Luckily a few years later someone played me The Adventures of Greggery Peccary.....20 minutes and 40 seconds later I pick my jaw up off the floor and submerged myself in to a world of what Frank describes as "his ugly melodies" and I never looked back.
I know he's not a bassist but he's had some real Mothers (pun intended) play for him.



Big Zappa fan. Easier here in the NorthEast as he toured here frequently.

Nothing better that Frank conducting "I Am The Walrus" with Ike singing and the band hitting on 12 cylinders.

I preferred "Titties And Beer" and others originally, eventually started to listen to those "Jazz" tunes.

He always had a great band, saw him many times.

Sorely missed here.
 
View attachment 3544006
The band at left, black lines=rows of chairs. the stage was small and low.
The chairs on the main floor were eventually pushed up to the edge of the stage as I remember resting my head on the stage :)

First time I saw George Duke. I think the rest of the band was:
Frank Zappa guitar, vocals
Aynsley Dunbar drums
Don Preston keyboards
George Duke keyboards, trombone
Howard Kaylan vocals
Jeff Simmons bass, vocals
Ian Underwood alto saxophone or Motorhead?
Mark Volman vocals

The Pamplin Sports Center is a 2,300 seat basketball and volleyball arena in Portland, Oregon which serves as the home of the Lewis & Clark Pioneers. Pamplin Sports Center - Wikipedia

I recall it was packed on the floor, bleachers were mostly full.
I don't know of any bootlegs or any tracks showing up on any official releases. But a lot of material was from the soon to be released, Just Another Band from L.A. album.

Wow, what a lineup! And yeah "Just Another Band" is the album I owned and meant to reference; my first glance at it on Google today had me confusing it with Ruben and The Jets.

I liked "Eddie Are You Kidding" from JABFLA.

"I'm coming over shortly/Because I am a portly/You promised you could fit me in a fifty dollar suit." Referencing local TV ads I grew up with.

 
Wow, what a lineup! And yeah "Just Another Band" is the album I owned and meant to reference; my first glance at it on Google today had me confusing it with Ruben and The Jets.

I liked "Eddie Are You Kidding" from JABFLA.

"I'm coming over shortly/Because I am a portly/You promised you could fit me in a fifty dollar suit." Referencing local TV ads I grew up with.


Yep, they did that, that night. They did most of the LA stuff except the
Billy the Mountain suite :)
 
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I saw Zappa and The MOI in 1972 in a double bill with The Mahavishnu Orchestra, McLaughlin and the MO had just release Birds of Fire and performed that and Inner Mounting Flame, then Zappa and Co. came up and proceeded to perform all of Apostrophe; this was two years before its official release!

Killer concert that I had recorded on a small Sony cassette recorder I snuck in to the venue (Kent State Gymnasium) It was a real blast to watch Zappa "conducting the band. :hyper:
 
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I saw Zappa and The MOI in 1972 in a double bill with The Mahavishnu Orchestra, McLaughlin and the MO had just release Birds of Fire and performed that and Inner Mounting Flame, then Zappa and Co. came up and proceeded to perform all of Apostrophe; this was two years before its official release!

Killer concert that I had recorded on a small Sony cassette recorder I snuck in to the venue (Kent State Gymnasium) It was a real blast to watch Zappa "conducting the band. :hyper:
Still have it, the tape?
 
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Hey DJ? Can you please fix the typo in my quote where it's supposed to say "watch Zappa". Thanks!

I'd have to see if I still have that tape; we listened to it all the time in High School, so there's a good chance the tape is long gone, or, at least, in poor condition by now.
 
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He is keeping his father's legacy alive in a most sincere way. They really nail the music which, as you well know, is not an easy task. More than that, they are able to recreate some of the stage antics in a way that doesn't feel contrived.
I guess in a way i’ve been keeping them at arms length because they aren’t their dad. But, that’s not being fair. It’s kind of like not giving Bonzo’s son Jason a chance, and look how good a drummer he is. I’ll promise here to go check them out next time they swing by the area. Thanks!
 
He is keeping his father's legacy alive in a most sincere way. They really nail the music which, as you well know, is not an easy task. More than that, they are able to recreate some of the stage antics in a way that doesn't feel contrived.
My first Zappa show in New Haven in 1970/71 with Flo & Eddie was so surrealistic, I guess it raised the bar pretty high. I need to relax and enjoy the show...
 
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