Zappas Bass players

I love all of Zappa's bass players. Yes it was Tom on O.S. I don't think there is a slack bass player on any of his disks, but I really don't understand your question.

 

Check out Tom's tone on "Carolina Hardcore Extacy". I had NEVER heard anything like that in my life.

And don't forget Scott Thunes.

 

Tom Fowler is definately one of the great under-known bassists. Carolina Hardcore Ecstasy is marvelous. Also check out Be-Bop Tango (of the Old Jazzman's Church) from Roxy & Elsewhere by Frank.

A couple of other great FZ bass moments:

Patrick O'Hearn on The Purple Lagoon/Appoximate from Zappa in New York . Also Rubber Shirt on Sheik Yerbouti .

And yes, from what I have heard and read, Scott Thunes is an a-hole.

If you want to read what it was like touring with FZ on the last tour ('88), check out Mike Keneally's writings on playing with Frank.

www.keneally.com

 

Scott Thunes is probably my over-all favorite Zappa bassist, as he is a complete and utter monster of a player (and a complete dick..). It's sad that he's no longer playing music.

A close second is Tom Fowler, his playing is brilliant on so many albums and songs (dig "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore vol. 2" and "One Size Fits All" for good starting points on his playing).

Patrick O'Hearn does absolutely amazing things on the "Sleep Dirt" album as well as his tasty little grandstanding solo in "The Purple Lagoon". His best moment is probably "The Ocean is the Ultimate Solution".

Arthur Barrow was great, I enjoy his work on Joe's Garage probably the most (probably because he gets to do spaztic rhythmic things with Vinnie Colaiuta).

 

Don't forget Roy Estrada, some of his lines on the early disks were incredible.

My Guitar wants to kill your MaMa
Help I'm a rock.
Flower Punk.

 

How about Jack Bruce on Apostrophe?

That was great

Also Erroneous was a great player hard hitting and in your face (weird name) real name Alex Dmochowski


Zappa Rules!


S

 

the last record he played on was fear's 1997 album "have another beer with fear". brilliant.

apparently most of the last zappa band was trying to boot thunes out and get him replaced because they thought he "sucked". in reality, according to zappa, they didn't like the fact that fz had put him in a position of high responsibility (i forget exactly what) backstage. apparently someone in the band hated him so much that when one promoter had a cake with all the band members' names written on it in icing backstage, someone scraped scott's name off.

so after the european leg of the tour, zappa, who still believed in thunes and presumably didn't think he was a dick, put thunes' future to a vote. everybody in the band except mike keneally voted against him. zappa then cancelled the rest of the tour, fired everyone except thunes and keneally, and kept the two of them on the payroll until the day fz died.

fz's defense was justified when one of the horn players ran into fz during a rare outside excursion and said something along the lines of, "i heard one of the live albums from the last tour, i was all wrong about scott's playing." to which fz's response to the guy was something to the effect of, "too late."

aber beklecker nicht mein sofa, cj

 

Frank Zappa: a freakin' uber-genius, one of the most important American musicians of the 20th century, and one of the toughest and most challenging bandleaders ever.

I had heard that Scott Thunes and Chad Wackerman were always at odds, but I was 12 years old and trapped in suburbia at the time. What the hell do I know?

My favorite FZ bassist: Patrick O'Hearn - the only one I've heard double on DB.

Sentimental favorites: the Fowlers - gotta love them North Texas alums!

 

I really enjoyed Art Barrow and Tom Fowler. Personally I never "got" Scott Thunes. I would have been with the group that voted to boot him, would have gotten fired and would have been off the payroll. That, even without having any interpersonal dealings with the guy. His playing just never did much for me. Guess I'll have to give the live stuff another listen, but IMO One Size Fits All and Joe's Garage are the Zappa recordings for the ages. Tom did some nice playing on one of Jean Luc-Ponty's recordings after JLP left the Zappa band, too. "Renaissance," I think, with Patrice Rushen and Darryl Struemer.

 

Tom Fowler - my favorite Zappa bassist- i believe he played an Alembic

 

Why don't you ask about Zappa in Jeff Berlin's forum???

Jeff played with the madman/genius. He told Jeff to get a tone unlike anything that had gone down before.

 

What exactly happened there? The forum was there.. Now its not... Just curious.

 

Thanks, cruise, I haven't been around much lately and am behind what's going on here.

I wonder if a particular person precipitated their exits???

Being close to Jeff's age, I didn't have much to ask him directly. But it sure is a shame for the younger guys. His independent thinking was refreshing.

 

In my opinion....

Thunes was hardly the jerk in that situation. Abrasive? Yes. He is (from what I have gathered) a no B.S. kind of guy. I think certain people were bitter that he was in charge of rehersals and might not have liked having someone in their face when they screwed up.

I also read somewhere that certain horn players were lobbying to get their brother back in the bass seat.
Read into that what you will.....

 

here's what i read into it.... thunes got screwed without vaseline.