Zappa?

[Bob]

I thought I'd digitize some of my Zappa vinyl, but couldn't find a couple of titles at first. I looked on iTunes and there was surprisingly little Zappa. I looked at Amazon.com and the prices of some of those titles were extremely high. The last I knew, you could go to any CD store and buy Zappa CDs at a regular price, but not anymore, apparently. Look up Zappa on Amazon or CD Universe and you'll see what I mean.

I did find the rest of my Zappa collection. I have so many they're on 2 different shelves. I did find Over-nite Sensation, but not Aprostrophe. I guess I'll have to live without that one.

So what happened to Zappa's music as far as availability? Doesn't it sell anymore?

The oddest thing is the few contractual obligation albums he once made, basically garbage, like Studio Tan and Sleep Dirt. Those ARE available! Just not the most popular albums. Weird.

[Enaitz]

Why don't you try eBay?

I use to find almost everything there.

[Bob]

Why don't you try eBay?

I use to find almost everything there.

The point is that a major portion of his music is no longer readily available. I found what I wanted, it's just strange that one can't just go to Amazon and buy one of his CDs at a "regular" price. They seem to have become very scarce.

CDs by SRC are more available.

BTW, I once met Frank Zappa and talked with him for a while. He was playing a concert in town that night and he came by the radio station where I worked for an interview. He had a disdain for radio people because his music wasn't played on the air much (I played his stuff), but he and I had a friend in common. When I lived in El Paso I hung out with Jimmy Carl Black, the original drummer for the Mothers of Invention. Frank and I talked about him for a bit. We got along well. Frank was wearing purple bell-bottoms and python boots and had a very large bodyguard.

[Tonto1967]

In the summer of 67 I was working for the SRC and we took a trip to New York City to buy clothes. We were walking around Greenwich Village and we passed a place called the Absolute Zero Coffee House. The marque said now playing The Mothers Of Invention. I don,t think any of us knew who Zappa was at that point. Sure would have been fun to see him in that venue.

[scl second guitar]

A little side-note about Zappa (not really related to this discussion): Frank Zappa (and I assume The Mothers of Invention) did a show at Ann Arbor's Fifth Dimension club, I presume in the autumn of 1967. We would have been present to go to their performance, but had some gig of our own scheduled for that evening, thus missing what would have been a memorable experience. We did however stop-by the club briefly during the afternoon, being able to see their equipment which was already arranged on the stage. What really struck me as innovative, if I am recalling correctly, is that there was no centralized drum-kit, but instead a variety of percussion instruments spread-out all across the stage. I was really taken aback by what I saw, because virtually all bands had a drummer whose function was partially to serve as a band's timekeeper. Here I was seeing something which appeared to be quite different, insofar as timing concepts.

[Bob]

if I am recalling correctly, is that there was no centralized drum-kit, but instead a variety of percussion instruments spread-out all across the stage. I was really taken aback by what I saw, because virtually all bands had a drummer whose function was partially to serve as a band's timekeeper. Here I was seeing something which appeared to be quite different, insofar as timing concepts.

Didn't Jimmy Carl Black play drums for the original Mothers of Invention? I hung out with Jimmy Carl Black in the 1970s when I lived in El Paso. A few years later, after moving to Tucson, I met Zappa when he came to the radio station where I worked for an interview. He had a disdain for radio people because radio stations didn't play his music (I did), but I had a pleasant conversation with him because we had that friend in common. Frank was wearing purple bell-bottoms and python boots at the time.

[Joe]

I've always liked Zappa.

[floyd6451]

Don't pass on a chance to see Dweezil when he brings the band to town. Excellent cover of Frank and his tunes