The Real Frank Zappa Book by Frank Zappa

I wasn't crazy about most of the food my mother made - like pasta with lentils. More Important Information for People Who Wonder What I Eat I said, 'I never ate shit on stage.' He looked really depressed - like I had just broken his heart.įor the records, folks: I never took a shit on stage, and the closest I ever came to eating shit anywhere was at a Holiday Inn buffet in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1973. When I heard about you eating that shit on stage, I thought, 'That guy is way, way out there.'' A member of a group called the Flock, recording for Columbia at the time, came over to me and said: I was in a London club called the Speak Easy in 1967 or '68.

I had a 'gross-out contest' with Alice Cooper and he stepped on baby chickens and then I ate shit on stage, etc. I had a 'gross-out contest' (what the fuck is a 'gross-out contest'?) with Captain Beefheart and we both ate shit on stage. The other fantasy is that I once 'took a shit on stage.' This has been propounded with many variations, including (but not limited to): Green Genes' on the Hot Rats album in 1969, people have believed for years that the character with that name on the Captain Kangaroo TV show (played by Lumpy Brannum) was my 'real' Dad. Here are two popular 'Frank Zappa Legends'.īecause I recorded a song called 'Son of Mr. To answer Imaginary Question Number One, let me begin by explaining WHO I AM NOT. This book exists on the premise that somebody, somewhere, is interested in who I am, how I got that way, and what the fuck I'm talking about. It was always other people who called me weird.'įrank Zappa (Baltimore Sun, October 12, 1986) Of course, the chapter titles speak for themselves and include such Zappa winners as 'All About Schmucks,' 'Marriage (As a Dada Concept),' and 'America Drinks and Goes Marching.' Excerpt. If you're familiar with the man, you will be able to hear his distinctive enunciations (aided by the bold-facing of certain words and Zappaisms) as you read the assorted road stories, his views on making music for a living, and scenes from two-count them, two-organized hearings on obscenity in music. Zappa takes the opportunity to dispel some of the most pervasive rumors that surrounded him right up to (and even persist after) his death in 1993 (no he didn't do drugs, or sleep with all those groupies). The Real Frank Zappa Book faithfully captures this side of its author, composed of essays on everything from his background and upbringing, to politics, capitalism, and raising children. He was known for his ability to expound at great length (and to hilarious effect) on any number of topics. In addition to being an idiosyncratic American composer of some degree of controversy, Zappa was an orator of no small ability or scope. This is the second-best way to expose yourself to the particular genius of Frank Zappa (music is the best, after all)-through his own words.

The Real Frank Zappa Book by Frank Zappa