p 104. [...] Were you still playing a Ludwig kit with Retaliation?
Yes I used Ludwig all the way up until I joined Zappa.
How did that come about?
I was playing with Retaliation at a big outdoor festival and Zappa was doing the announcing. A friend of mine brought him over to the stage where we were playing, and asked if he could sit in. I said “sure” and he sat in on a couple of songs. Afterwards, he came back and told me I could make a lot of money being a session man in LA but, again, I was still being mother to the band and felt I couldn’t do it. Later on, when I was with Blue Whale, I went down to the Speakeasy one night and there was a message on the door for me saying Zappa was there and he wanted to talk to me. He asked me to join Hot Rats and I turned it down but, within a week, I had changed my mind. I spoke to the guys in Blue Whale and said “Whatever I think, I’ve passed up too many gigs to be passing up this one.” So Zappa “imported” me over and I joined Hot Rats and later the Mothers and continued playing with him until ’72. After that, I was with Flo and Eddie and did the Alice Cooper tours in Europe and the States. [...]

p 117. Uncle Frank goes secretive. For some reason, he has chosen not to tell us who plays with him on this album. (In fact, the very ugly sleeve carries more information about who designed it than about the who, where and when of the recording within.) Perhaps this is intended to concentrate our minds on to listening to the music without any preconceptions, which is rather a pity because it’s the worst thing Frank has recorded in recent years. (read more)

Source: worldradiohistory.com

This article appeared first in UK Febrary issue.

Source: slime.oofytv.set 

This ad for Maxima Gold Strings appeared in several International Musician And Recording World issues.

Source: worldradiohistory.com

p 20. "Peaches III" from Frank Zappa's Tinseltown Rebellion album
(Barking Pumpkin Records CBS88516.)
IA: That's Frank Zappa. He is one of two people who are really meaningful and totally original in the sense that they are 100% American artists. The other artist is Captain Beefheart. They are untainted by the British groups. Over-Nite Sensation was the best album he's done. The songs are really songs. I also think Frank got braver with his singing. The only other problem I have with Zappa is that he's afraid to ever get serious. He's terribly afraid of being honest and ever saying anything from the heart. He waves his comedy like a shield.

Source: worldradiohistory.com

Well, there are certain people who have ears and enough background so that they can hear something and understand what's happening, and there are other people who are baffled by it. I like to experiment, and most Americans don't like to listen to experimental things. Plus, the climate today is very dance oriented; everybody's been told to jog a lot and be healthy and live forever, and things that fit into that lifestyle are the things that are accepted. That's not what I do. So I just do what I do for the people who like it. (read more)