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How did you discover Frank Zappa?
- Thread starter Bassist4Eris
- Start date
Waka/Jawaka (named after the sound of a wah-wah pedal) and Grand Wazoo were the works that sparked recent (2010) re-surgence. Brilliant stuff. Ever notice how the first guitar solo in Grand Wazoo (~2-3 minutes in) has a very similar chord center (Bmin) and groove to the instrumental break in Pink Floyd's Money? They came out within months of each other and were likely recorded around the same time.
I'm not pointing any fingers...but maybe something leaped from one to the other????
Edit: 2:50 - 3:18 of Grand Wazoo and 3:06 - 3:38 of Money (both studio versions).
I'm not pointing any fingers...but maybe something leaped from one to the other????
Edit: 2:50 - 3:18 of Grand Wazoo and 3:06 - 3:38 of Money (both studio versions).
My Brother, aged 16, was working at a lodge in the Rockies and my Dad & I, aged 12, visited him while I tagged along on my Dad's business trip.
My brother and his room-mate had a copy of Sheik Yerbouti...
My brother and his room-mate had a copy of Sheik Yerbouti...
I heard Joe's Garage, thought it was an awesome song, bought Hot Rats that I found on sale and I was sold.
I went to a sleep over camp in NH for a month between 5th and 6th grade. The CIT had a copy of Live in NY. By the time I got home I could recite Titties and Beer verbatim. Much to my parents horror.
I guess I had heard "Montana" and "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow" some on our local rock station as a pre-teen. Pretty hip stations in Houston back then.
And then it happened.
Shortly after my 12th birthday Zappa hosted Saturday Night Live and played "I'm The Slime".
Hooked ever since.
And then it happened.
Shortly after my 12th birthday Zappa hosted Saturday Night Live and played "I'm The Slime".
Hooked ever since.
A high school friend had been raving about "Sheik Yerbouti" one day at school.... I put it in the back of my mind and forgot about it.
Some time later, my brother played the entire Yellow Snow suite for me, from start to finish. That's when I told myself that this was some serious stuff here.
I remembered my earlier friend's recommendation, so I went and bought Sheik Yerbouti, sight unseen. My interest had also been perked up when I discovered that Terry Bozzio was involved in that project. To this day it's probably the greatest single blind music purchase I've ever made. I also bought the Strictly Commercial compilation the same time. This was during my freshman year in college, so the humor also clicked pretty well.
Over the years I've kind of grown in and grown out.... I go through periods of obsession followed by periods of apathy. I'm certainly not a fan of everything in his catalog, but that's what makes him so interesting.
I think the "Sheik" era of the band, with Terry Bozzio, Patrick O'Hearn and Adrian Belew, is his best and the one incarnation that I personally can't get enough of. I recently picked up the Hammersmith Odeon (Feb 1978) set and was blown away.
Some time later, my brother played the entire Yellow Snow suite for me, from start to finish. That's when I told myself that this was some serious stuff here.
I remembered my earlier friend's recommendation, so I went and bought Sheik Yerbouti, sight unseen. My interest had also been perked up when I discovered that Terry Bozzio was involved in that project. To this day it's probably the greatest single blind music purchase I've ever made. I also bought the Strictly Commercial compilation the same time. This was during my freshman year in college, so the humor also clicked pretty well.
Over the years I've kind of grown in and grown out.... I go through periods of obsession followed by periods of apathy. I'm certainly not a fan of everything in his catalog, but that's what makes him so interesting.
I think the "Sheik" era of the band, with Terry Bozzio, Patrick O'Hearn and Adrian Belew, is his best and the one incarnation that I personally can't get enough of. I recently picked up the Hammersmith Odeon (Feb 1978) set and was blown away.
Best Zappa band ever! There is a great live recording from that tour:
http://www.amazon.com/Humor-Belong-Music-Frank-Zappa/dp/B0000E2W05
That concert change my life when I first saw it in 85!
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My best friend's dad gave him a copy of Joe's Garage, my dad gave me a copy of Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch when we were kids. Wore those both out.
Someone posted something on Facebook about something happening to Justin Bieber every time someone discovers Frank Zappa, so I pulled up his stuff on Spotify. All great for listening to once, but nothing I would ever go back to. Maybe I just tried the wrong albums...
My stoner friends turned me on to him.
Also and old radio station in Boston use to spin him late at night.
WBCN & Charles LaQuadara
Also and old radio station in Boston use to spin him late at night.
WBCN & Charles LaQuadara
My dad was always listening to Zappa when I was little. Back then I always thought it was weird as hell. Now I still do, but I enjoy it/respect everything he did for music.
My dad was telling me one day when i was about 14 about this crazy guy that had a song called titties and beer and that he named his daughter moon unit and son dweezil. I think he meant to show me how horrible of a person zappa was but that just made me interested. About a year or so later i discovered napster and something triggered me one day to find some zappa on the old napster. The song by him that i really like and could enjoy listening to multiple times is "mooving to montana". Zappa is great stuff.
Frank kept showing up at my front door asking if he could play his music for me, so I finally let him in. He was so great that I had to introduce him to my record-industry friends.
That's how I discovered Frank Zappa. And the rest is history.
Oh, wait, that's not what you meant.
That's how I discovered Frank Zappa. And the rest is history.
Oh, wait, that's not what you meant.
Yes, it's one of my favorites as well. One of my other obsessions is jazz, and where Zappa intersects with jazz (Grand Wazoo, Hot Rats, Sleep Dirt, Waka/Jawaka) I am a very happy listener.
You might want to check out "Wazoo", which is a double-live CD from the Grand Wazoo tour.
