By Fabian Veron
Frank Vincent Zappa (1940-1993) was a prolific and controversial music composer influenced by avant-garde composers, rhythm & blues, jazz, pop, global ethnic sounds and rock. Zappa’s peculiar legacy was his unrestrained and offbeat musical philosophy and resolute personal convictions.
Zappa’s scandalous sense of humour was tempered with an acute intellectual honesty that fuelled his confronting lyrical prose. His wry wit and unbridled tendency for musical improvisation led to a great number of musical collaborations that offered artistic mayhem with a twist.
He was an ardent advocate for freedom of expression and artistic integrity. The man had a resounding distaste for conformity and the role big music labels played in sanitising creativity in favour of profits.
Zappa was an inspired phenomenon, not interested in accommodating monetary gain for fame; obsessed with compositional perfection. His musical genius and satirical undertones will inspire many generations to come.
Monday Conference Australia 1973
Frank Zappa takes centre stage at a panel discussion in zany attire, a cigarette by his side and displaying his sharp intellect. Zappa calmly engages in discussions dealing with his personality, music, drug, sex, rock, politics, his outlook on society and what motivates him.
Guitarist Steve Vai shares his experiences with Zappa
Legendary guitarist Steve Vai played with Zappa, started his musical career at the tender age of 18 years old, from 1980 till 1983. An exceptional American guitarist, Vai is interviewed by Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips about a Zappa documentary released in 2021.
Frank Zappa on the iconic fire at Montreux Casino
Frank Zappa told a French TV journalist about how the 1971 fire started in the casino. “Apparently somebody in the audience had shot a sky rocket into the rafters and it stuck in there and I didn’t see when the thing went off,” Frank said. “We were playing you know and this guy runs into the stage and he goes ‘look up there’ and there was smoke coming out.”
The casino was hosting its last gig before it was scheduled to be closed down for an upgrade. As Zappa and the Mothers of Invention were playing, members of Deep Purple were in the crowd and witnessed the toasting of the venue. The event inspired Deep Purple’s classic Smoke on the Water.
Frank Zappa on censorship
In the mid 1980’s, during the height of Ronald Reagan’s tenure as a conservative US President, the culture wars of the religious right stormed across the US. A group of high-powered conservative Washington wives petitioned the Government to have warning labels on records that made references to drugs, violence and sex.
The women formed the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) to lobby for their cause and in September 1985 the US Senate held hearings to consider the PMRC’s proposal. Frank Zappa was one of three musos testifying against the proposals.
Featured image: Frank Zappa thrilled fans and terrified conservative America. Photo: Heinrich Klaffs/CC/flickr
