i just went to a memorial service for one of my best friends from highschool. i wore my frank zappa t-shirt (i had given him one a few years before). we are/were zappaholics beginning with “trouble every day”. we used to call each other to ask a simple question, “any trouble?” the spoken answer was always, “yes, trouble every day.” i miss my friend.

@pbrooks4040 Awe sorry about your friend. Cool you wore the FZ shirt. You guys sound like a lot of fun. He will be irreplaceable that's for sure. Just try to remember to be thankful for the good times you had. As we age, we have to learn how to accept losing people. I hope you will find some peace. Sleep well tonight friend.

@@trianafoxwood7525 thanks for the kind words. his music has united us! if we were in the same town, i’d buy you a coffee.

@pbrooks4040 I don't drink coffee but for you I would make an exception. I'm in San Diego, CA. FZ actually attended two high schools here. There's a rumor about him setting off stink bombs in class. Don't know if he really did. Lol. Take care of yourself. Let the music heal your soul :)

If I ever write my last will, this will be played at my funeral… I don’t think there is a song that matches my true personality as much as this.

Settle down, Beavis. He was a brilliant musician and musical mind.'Genius' is a word that loses more and more meaning every year. I've seen where people call Adam Sandler, Kevin Hart, and Nicholas Sparks geniuses, too.

@@kevinlakeman5043 not when his IQ is reported at 172. So my man simply forgot actual genius

Yes ... Frank was a wonderful musician. One of my favorite. A scornful disdain for politics. It would shock so many to realize he vacillated between libertarianism and being a Republican.

​@@acemodez3169reported by whom? He Vinnie Furnier and Glen Cambell were all good friends.

The 1:35 mark on the album Lumpy Gravy.

Every version of black napkins is an emotional rollercoaster

Frank made a speech before the house on Freedom of Speech it's on u twobee

Yes, Inca Roads might be his best live guitar solo as far as popularity goes. I have some wonderful Frank stories. One of them definitely changed my life. When I was 16 and ran into him in a hotel elevator. That nights show was out of control.

​@@Frunobulax74Zappa's music polarizes. You will love it or you will hate it. If you love it you will loose some friends, but the ones that you will still have, will make the difference.

The whole shit Zappa family, you can throw in the trash 😂

I was working on the 818 pumpkin hotline when Frank died. The machine was in the BARFKO-SWILL office, (down the street from Joes Garage, which was a real place,) not the studio, so there was no way around the digital "chop" to separate the scrutinizer. It became a tradition to play that song every year on Franks birthday. Not sure how long that went on, but played it in 1999 which is the last year I was there. We would try and change albums every week or so, and it still brings a tear to my eye remembering how many times people would call up from as far away as Europe, and just ask to be put on hold for awhile so they could hear some Zappa. No Spotify, no you tube, no toll free. MUSIC IS THE BEST.

I played this at the end of my Cousin Frank's funeral.

Zappa was trash

@kosta380 thanks for your analysis. 💩

@kosta380 What's the ugliest part of your body? Some say your nose. Some say your toes. But I think it's your mind.

It could be a beautiful thing...people waltzing to this song at your funeral.

*"Playing a solo with this band is like trying to grow a watermelon in Easter hay."* All the written parts of his intricate music went to his band. Frank played guitar solos, and they were almost always completely improvised. In that way, Frank had it easier but, at the same time, more challenging. When it came time for him to strap the guitar on, he had no idea where he was going, or where he was going to take the audience. This particular solo was very likely written and rehearsed, especially because, unlike the bulk of solos on Joe's Garage, which were culled from live performances and used in the songs, this was a studio recording and very important to the story. This was Joe's last "imaginary" guitar solo, as music had been outlawed and Joe had to hock his imaginary guitar (a bizarre notion in itself, but that's Frank) and get a good job. His statement about playing a solo with this band is like... was because his solos were improvised, and he had to work within the parameters of what the rhythm section would allow him. If, like all the big rock bands, the solos were well rehearsed and played the same night after night, of course there would be no problem matching tempo, etc. with the band.

@@Royale_with_Cheeze- Yeah, I always do it on a regular basis. Thanks for the reminder

@@Royale_with_Cheeze - The log cabin was abandoned at the time. Some people had a party on the property on Halloween night 1981. They were probably using one of those dope fiend devices.

@@Royale_with_Cheeze - Am I reaching you?

@@Frunobulax74 You just reached my now. Were you trying earlier?

@MarcosElMalo2 - Or lyrics with both a social message and humor.

I totally agree, Peaches in Regalia is a great place to get into Zappa.

Better yet, check out the entire "Hot Rats" album. I think it's his best stuff.

FZ wrote much more than "social messages and silly lyrics:" he wrote symphonies, big band music, music for string quartet, avant guard, and so on down the list of styles and genres. The worst part is how many people dismiss his music because they believe lyrics are the be all end all when the real depth of almost any composition is more than just words.

Away with that shit pathetic Zappa He has no buisiness there His music without sense sounds like diarrhea

P.S. and as a composer, even shorter

He doesn't die, he submits to big brother, and gives up music forever. Gets an assembly line job at UMRK. Arrogantly twisting the snout of a supercharged icing annointment utensil - making little green rosettas.

Shut Up N' Play Yer Guitar

The narration at the beginning is part of the narrative that goes through the whole album, so unless you heard the whole album, it feels a bit silly. But it's fun otherwise.

That’s my favourite! I cherish every single note. Ruth Underwood is amazing

If you know about Zappa you would obviously know he never did drugs and neither did the band!!

@@johnlane2395 I do indeed know Zappa and the "what he was on" part was what people call a figure of speech.

Actually, the percussion on Joe's Garage is in the hands of Ed Mann. Ruth Underwood's left the touring band in 1975 (although she did play a series of shows with Frank in New York City towards the tail end of 1976). Ed Mann has been on almost everything ever since.

@@marcribe6483 Oops! Thanks for the correction

This was released as Act 1 in Sept. of '79 and Acts 2 & 3 in Nov. of '79. He was playing Watermelon in Easter Hay in the '80 tour for sure.

@@Frunobulax74, "romantic" *includes* "dramatic and sad."

@@slatvatfatcat - If you say so. I always want romantic music to make the woman happy and excited. Sad is a guarantee to ruin the mood.

It's not typical, believe me.

That's not Ruth. It's the great Ed Mann. Ruth didn't play with Frank since the end of '76 run of shows in NYC that produced the Zappa In New York album.

@@Royale_with_Cheeze thanks. Looked it up. You are correct indeed

​@@billyskinner9382 Best to go back to your original post and edit it there. Arf

Little Feat’s Lowell George was in Frank Zappa’s band.