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Any Frank Zappa fans here?

no they were both actually playing.
That was probably the 78 shows. Patrick O'Hearn and Arthur Barrow. One fretless and one fretted I believe. You can hear it in 5:1 on the DVD Audio disk Halloween
Frank_Zappa_Halloween.jpg
 
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I think Frank was a brilliant composer and musician who fronted one of the most talented and accomplished bands of any genre that ever took the stage.

Unfortunately a lot of my admiration was was tempered by Frank’s sarcasm, his antisocial personality, and his juvenile lyrics. Like many self-confessed geniuses, he worked overtime to make himself difficult to deal with and hard to like. Almost as if it were some sort of cruel joke. Or maybe a test.

But Frank is now gone and it’ll be awhile before we’ll see his like again. So these days I try to ignore the man and just let his body of work speak for itself to me. And when it comes to the music of Frank Zappa I find myself in the same place as that audience member at the opera who famously said: “I love opera. But I’d love it even more if they could just do something about getting rid of the singers.”
 
I think Frank was a brilliant composer and musician who fronted one of the most talented and accomplished bands of any genre that ever took the stage.

Unfortunately a lot of my admiration was was tempered by Frank’s sarcasm, his antisocial personality, and his juvenile lyrics. Like many self-confessed geniuses, he worked overtime to make himself difficult to deal with and hard to like. Almost as if it were some sort of cruel joke. Or maybe a test.

But Frank is now gone and it’ll be awhile before we’ll see his like again. So these days I try to ignore the man and just let his body of work speak for itself to me. And when it comes to the music of Frank Zappa I find myself in the same place as that audience member at the opera who famously said: “I love opera. But I’d love it even more if they could just do something about getting rid of the singers.”

Many geniuses find it excruciatingly hard to suffer fools gladly.
Being confronted with such blatant cruelty and stupidity that passes for the majority of mans endeavors takes a toll. From their perspective mankind is in decline. Humor and sarcasm are the coping mechanisms by which depression is defeated.
 
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.
Could be the best TalkBass thread ever.
 
I was introduced to FZ in as a lad of about 15. A friend played me the Mothers Live at the Fillmore East. Amazing. I'd never heard anything like it.
I won't say I'm a die-hard fan, or have a collection of albums, but I've always had a great admiration for his work.
The "Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life" was wonderful. I'm a big fan of Mike Keneally, so it really worked for me.
 
Many geniuses find it excruciatingly hard to suffer fools gladly.
Being confronted with such blatant cruelty and stupidity that passes for the majority of mans endeavors takes a toll. From their perspective mankind is in decline. Humor and sarcasm are the coping mechanisms by which depression is defeated.

By the same token acting like a fool and adding to the negativity and cruelty only further guarantees the continuance of the very things you claim to find so hard to bear.

If you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the problem. You can either spread a little light - or feed the shadow. Just no getting around that. :)
 
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My one and only show seeing FZ was at the Front Row Theater in Ohio, one of those in the round revolving theaters....with the classic 80's lineup that included Ike and Ray, The Fowler Bros and Scott Thunes on bass...

The show left me with a lot of amazing memories and involved a lot of crazy interactions between FZ and the Audience including the crowd passing up a string of 50 bra's to Frank allegedly sourced from the women in the room which he draped across the stage. Also, someone handed Frank a strap-on dildo which he immediately mounted on his head and cinched the strap during Why Does It Hurt When I Pee? Without missing a beat, the band started ad-libbing and substituting words to that song with references to "dick-head ca ca ca cuss," and other quips. Clearly this situation was far from the first time Frank & Band had experienced this...


Front Row Theater, Highland Heights, OH
11/14/1984
Zoot Allures
Teen-Age Wind
Truck Driver Divorce
City of Tiny Lites
You Are What You Is
Mudd Club
The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing
Bamboozled by Love
(With "Owner of a Lonely Heart" vamp)
Cocaine Decisions
Nig Biz
He's So Gay
Bobby Brown
Keep It Greasey
Advance Romance
Trouble Every Day
Penguin in Bondage
Hot Plate Heaven at the Green Hotel
Let's Move to Cleveland

Encore:
Joe's Garage
Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?
Stink‐Foot
The Illinois Enema Bandit
 
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I don't know if I can be considered a real Zappa fan yet. I've been sloooowly checking out his stuff over the last 2 years or so and I like most of what I hear. I always enjoy watching the various live stuff (including Zappa Plays Zappa) on YouTube. I have not bought any albums yet. I think I'll change that with buying Roxy & Elsewhere.
 

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