1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 3 00:00:20,107 --> 00:00:24,111 [cheers and applause] 4 00:00:26,896 --> 00:00:30,421 Announcer: [speaking indistinctly] 5 00:00:31,466 --> 00:00:33,076 Uh, I'll just show you a chord. 6 00:00:33,250 --> 00:00:34,599 Man: Yes. 7 00:00:34,773 --> 00:00:36,123 And we just set up a rhythm on one chord 8 00:00:36,297 --> 00:00:39,474 and I'll start doing something. Make it up. 9 00:00:39,648 --> 00:00:40,823 Man: That's good. 10 00:00:40,997 --> 00:00:42,303 Tell me a little bit about the stage. 11 00:00:42,477 --> 00:00:43,956 Yeah. It's-- look, it's not going to-- 12 00:00:44,131 --> 00:00:46,698 it won't be professional. It'll just be music. 13 00:00:46,872 --> 00:00:47,873 Man: Okay. 14 00:00:48,048 --> 00:00:49,484 Homemade hoopla. 15 00:00:49,658 --> 00:00:51,051 Man: [laughs] 16 00:01:00,364 --> 00:01:04,716 [cheers and applause] 17 00:01:22,212 --> 00:01:25,955 Announcer: [speaking in Russian] 18 00:01:26,129 --> 00:01:28,436 [cheers and applause] 19 00:01:40,709 --> 00:01:43,799 This is the first time that I've had a reason 20 00:01:43,973 --> 00:01:47,063 to play my guitar in three years. So... 21 00:01:47,237 --> 00:01:50,675 [cheers and applause] 22 00:01:56,203 --> 00:02:00,076 I'm sure you already know it, 23 00:02:00,250 --> 00:02:01,991 but this is just the beginning 24 00:02:02,165 --> 00:02:04,602 of your new future in this country. 25 00:02:05,037 --> 00:02:09,738 [cheers and applause] 26 00:02:11,043 --> 00:02:15,265 And I hope that your new future will be very perfect. 27 00:02:15,439 --> 00:02:16,701 Very perfect. 28 00:02:16,875 --> 00:02:20,488 [cheers and applause] 29 00:02:23,665 --> 00:02:26,102 And as you confront the new changes 30 00:02:26,276 --> 00:02:27,625 that will take place, 31 00:02:27,799 --> 00:02:31,455 please try and keep your country unique. 32 00:02:31,629 --> 00:02:33,979 Don't change into something else. 33 00:02:34,154 --> 00:02:35,503 Keep it unique. 34 00:02:35,677 --> 00:02:39,811 [cheers and applause] 35 00:02:43,119 --> 00:02:46,383 And now, I will try and tune my guitar. 36 00:02:46,557 --> 00:02:48,429 Man: [speaks Russian] 37 00:02:54,957 --> 00:02:59,179 [tunes guitar] 38 00:03:03,008 --> 00:03:07,578 [cheers and applause] 39 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:19,111 Lardner: Many have always considered Frank Zappa 40 00:03:19,286 --> 00:03:20,678 a rock legend. 41 00:03:20,852 --> 00:03:22,114 And one of his friends tonight told me 42 00:03:22,289 --> 00:03:23,986 that he wrote and composed music 43 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:25,683 to the very end. 44 00:03:26,075 --> 00:03:27,598 He was known for elaborate, unconventional songs, 45 00:03:27,772 --> 00:03:29,165 often with raunchy lyrics. 46 00:03:29,339 --> 00:03:30,949 The social commentary in his songs 47 00:03:31,123 --> 00:03:32,516 targeted the music industry, 48 00:03:32,690 --> 00:03:34,779 the educational system, and politics. 49 00:03:34,953 --> 00:03:37,173 Reporter: In America, Zappa was denounced by the Church, 50 00:03:37,347 --> 00:03:39,088 had his concerts broken up by the police, 51 00:03:39,262 --> 00:03:41,308 and his records banned by radio stations. 52 00:03:41,482 --> 00:03:43,266 Lardner: His wife and all four children were with him. 53 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:45,094 They are together tonight 54 00:03:45,268 --> 00:03:47,357 at their Laurel Canyon area home with friends. 55 00:03:47,531 --> 00:03:49,838 Frank Zappa, dead at 52. 56 00:03:50,012 --> 00:03:51,143 Back to you. 57 00:03:55,583 --> 00:03:59,021 Children: [shouting indistinctly] 58 00:04:15,298 --> 00:04:16,560 Zappa: Rolling? 59 00:04:16,734 --> 00:04:18,083 Man: And... yes. 60 00:04:19,389 --> 00:04:21,783 Zappa: Okay. This aisle here 61 00:04:21,957 --> 00:04:24,786 is where some of the best-known titles lurk. 62 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:27,005 Here's stuff from the Hot Rats. 63 00:04:28,746 --> 00:04:32,663 Here's the original 24-track masters of "Dinah-Moe Humm," 64 00:04:32,837 --> 00:04:37,233 "Dirty Love," "Montana," "Inca Roads," "RDNZL." 65 00:04:37,973 --> 00:04:40,671 Shut Up n' Play Yer Guitar, Joe's Garage. 66 00:04:42,325 --> 00:04:44,022 Here's Sheik Yerbouti. 67 00:04:46,286 --> 00:04:49,593 Tinsel Town Rebellion, Drowning Witch, Utopia. 68 00:04:49,767 --> 00:04:51,334 ["Valley Girl" playing] ♪ She's a valley girl ♪ 69 00:04:51,508 --> 00:04:52,683 ♪ Valley girl ♪ 70 00:04:52,857 --> 00:04:54,163 ♪ She's a valley girl ♪ 71 00:04:54,598 --> 00:04:56,687 Oh, here's Eric Clapton when he came over to my house. 72 00:05:00,082 --> 00:05:01,518 Wild Man Fischer. 73 00:05:02,171 --> 00:05:03,433 Captain Beefheart, 74 00:05:03,607 --> 00:05:05,740 a little jam in the basement. 75 00:05:07,959 --> 00:05:09,526 And around here, 76 00:05:10,614 --> 00:05:12,529 down this darkened aisle, 77 00:05:13,008 --> 00:05:15,576 is a collection of videotapes 78 00:05:15,750 --> 00:05:19,188 from when I borrowed my father's 8mm camera 79 00:05:19,362 --> 00:05:20,885 and made a bunch of movies. 80 00:05:21,886 --> 00:05:26,021 [growling] 81 00:05:44,039 --> 00:05:46,868 Zappa: I became obsessed with editing. 82 00:05:47,216 --> 00:05:50,350 And I would edit just because I liked to edit. 83 00:05:51,873 --> 00:05:55,616 I would splice any 8mm film that was in the house 84 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:57,574 to anything else. 85 00:06:06,757 --> 00:06:08,411 When I was little... 86 00:06:08,933 --> 00:06:11,675 I didn't have too much interest in music at all. 87 00:06:11,849 --> 00:06:14,504 When I was about, say, five or six years old 88 00:06:14,678 --> 00:06:17,028 up until the time I was about 13, 89 00:06:17,202 --> 00:06:19,509 I was interested in chemistry 90 00:06:20,423 --> 00:06:22,469 and especially in explosives. 91 00:06:23,818 --> 00:06:26,603 I-- I learned how to make gunpowder when I was six. 92 00:06:28,388 --> 00:06:30,955 At that time, my father was working 93 00:06:31,129 --> 00:06:33,218 at a place on the East Coast 94 00:06:33,393 --> 00:06:35,395 called the Edgewood Arsenal. 95 00:06:35,786 --> 00:06:37,962 Edgewood Arsenal is where they made poison gas 96 00:06:38,136 --> 00:06:39,486 during World War II. 97 00:06:40,574 --> 00:06:42,314 Presenter: At Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland, 98 00:06:42,489 --> 00:06:44,926 the Army Chemical Corp developed the machinery 99 00:06:45,100 --> 00:06:46,971 for producing the nerve gas GB, 100 00:06:47,145 --> 00:06:49,321 which had been developed by Nazi Germany. 101 00:06:49,496 --> 00:06:53,543 And the nerve gas VX, which was developed in England. 102 00:06:54,892 --> 00:06:58,505 Man: There is enough gas there and enough gas coming 103 00:06:58,679 --> 00:07:00,332 of the nerve gas variety 104 00:07:00,898 --> 00:07:06,556 to cause the death of 681,481,000 persons. 105 00:07:09,690 --> 00:07:11,343 Everybody that lived in the project 106 00:07:11,518 --> 00:07:14,956 had to have gas masks in their house 107 00:07:15,130 --> 00:07:17,785 in case the tanks of mustard gas broke. 108 00:07:18,002 --> 00:07:20,788 So the-- the toys that I remember growing up with 109 00:07:20,962 --> 00:07:25,227 were the little chemical beakers that my father would bring home 110 00:07:26,010 --> 00:07:29,231 and the gas masks that were hanging in the hall closet. 111 00:07:29,492 --> 00:07:30,972 And I used to wear that out in the yard 112 00:07:31,146 --> 00:07:32,408 and run around in it. 113 00:07:32,582 --> 00:07:33,757 And I thought it was a space helmet. 114 00:07:33,975 --> 00:07:35,759 [alarm blaring] 115 00:07:36,325 --> 00:07:38,806 ♪ Any way the wind blows ♪ 116 00:07:40,024 --> 00:07:43,941 ♪ Is-a fine with me ♪ 117 00:07:44,115 --> 00:07:46,074 ♪ Any way the wind blows ♪ 118 00:07:47,684 --> 00:07:51,122 ♪ It don't matter to me ♪ 119 00:07:52,036 --> 00:07:53,734 ♪ 'Cause I'm through with-a fussin'... ♪ 120 00:07:54,386 --> 00:07:55,866 Zappa: I had a lot of asthma. 121 00:07:56,563 --> 00:07:57,912 I was very ill. 122 00:07:58,478 --> 00:08:00,784 Almost cacked out a few times from the climate back there. 123 00:08:01,176 --> 00:08:02,743 And so, he was looking for a place 124 00:08:02,917 --> 00:08:04,701 where I wouldn't be constantly folding up 125 00:08:05,049 --> 00:08:07,095 and a place where he could earn a better income. 126 00:08:07,269 --> 00:08:10,098 And so, he took a position at the Naval Postgraduate School 127 00:08:10,272 --> 00:08:13,057 in California, teaching metallurgy. 128 00:08:15,799 --> 00:08:18,628 The last experimentation that I did with explosives 129 00:08:18,802 --> 00:08:20,630 was when I was about 15 years old. 130 00:08:21,501 --> 00:08:24,460 I'd mixed up this quantity of powder 131 00:08:24,982 --> 00:08:27,768 which consisted of, uh, regular black powder 132 00:08:27,942 --> 00:08:30,161 and then flash powder, 133 00:08:30,335 --> 00:08:33,904 which is 50 percent zinc and 50 percent sulfur, 134 00:08:34,078 --> 00:08:35,689 mixed with sugar, 135 00:08:35,863 --> 00:08:38,343 and attempted to set fire to the high school 136 00:08:38,518 --> 00:08:39,693 that I was attending. 137 00:08:39,867 --> 00:08:44,567 [dramatic music playing] 138 00:08:47,483 --> 00:08:50,268 Zappa: It always seemed to me that if you could get a laugh 139 00:08:50,442 --> 00:08:51,879 out of something, that was good. 140 00:08:52,053 --> 00:08:53,707 And if you could make life more colorful 141 00:08:53,924 --> 00:08:55,839 than it actually was, that was good. 142 00:08:56,013 --> 00:08:58,233 So, any artist or individual who worked 143 00:08:58,407 --> 00:09:01,236 in those two directions was doing something good. 144 00:09:04,413 --> 00:09:06,720 My family was really poor. 145 00:09:07,416 --> 00:09:08,939 Not only that, they didn't like music too much. 146 00:09:09,157 --> 00:09:11,638 So I didn't really come into contact 147 00:09:11,812 --> 00:09:15,859 with musical expression until 14 or 15 years old. 148 00:09:16,164 --> 00:09:20,821 And my parents were opposed to any involvement in music 149 00:09:20,995 --> 00:09:22,953 that I might be interested in. 150 00:09:23,258 --> 00:09:26,957 But I remember this magazine article about Sam Goody. 151 00:09:27,131 --> 00:09:29,917 Was saying what a wonderful merchandiser he was 152 00:09:30,091 --> 00:09:31,875 because he could even sell an album 153 00:09:32,049 --> 00:09:34,051 that had this ugly music on it. 154 00:09:34,225 --> 00:09:36,314 The writer described this as, like, 155 00:09:36,488 --> 00:09:38,229 literally the most frightening thing 156 00:09:38,403 --> 00:09:39,970 that a human being could listen to. 157 00:09:40,231 --> 00:09:43,278 This evil, vile album. 158 00:09:44,148 --> 00:09:46,107 The description was something that stuck with me, 159 00:09:46,281 --> 00:09:47,804 and then a few months later, 160 00:09:48,109 --> 00:09:51,547 I actually saw the album in a store and bought it. 161 00:09:53,505 --> 00:09:55,159 It was because of that Varèse album 162 00:09:55,333 --> 00:09:56,857 that I read about in a magazine. 163 00:09:57,031 --> 00:09:58,728 And hearing "Ionisation," 164 00:09:58,946 --> 00:10:01,339 that I-- writing orchestra music. 165 00:10:04,952 --> 00:10:07,041 I had no interest in Beethoven, Mozart, 166 00:10:07,215 --> 00:10:08,651 or any of that kind of stuff. 167 00:10:08,869 --> 00:10:10,305 It just didn't sound interesting to me. 168 00:10:10,479 --> 00:10:12,046 I wanted to listen to the man 169 00:10:12,220 --> 00:10:15,266 who could make music that was that strange. 170 00:10:15,919 --> 00:10:17,573 Because the role of the percussion 171 00:10:17,747 --> 00:10:20,141 in most classical music is you wait a long time, 172 00:10:20,315 --> 00:10:22,534 and then somebody goes ping with a triangle. 173 00:10:23,231 --> 00:10:25,712 To me, that was all boring. 174 00:10:26,277 --> 00:10:28,105 But in Varèse's music, 175 00:10:28,279 --> 00:10:31,369 the percussion was playing an integrated melodic part. 176 00:10:31,543 --> 00:10:32,849 And it was in the foreground. 177 00:10:33,023 --> 00:10:34,634 And since I liked drums, 178 00:10:34,808 --> 00:10:36,940 it was a pleasure for me to listen to it. 179 00:10:37,158 --> 00:10:39,639 [drums playing, cymbal crashes] 180 00:10:39,987 --> 00:10:41,379 Zappa: I thought it was fantastic. 181 00:10:41,728 --> 00:10:43,338 I couldn't understand why people just didn't love it 182 00:10:43,512 --> 00:10:44,644 the minute they heard it. 183 00:10:50,127 --> 00:10:51,825 High school in Lancaster 184 00:10:51,999 --> 00:10:54,262 wouldn't be equivalent to high school any place else 185 00:10:54,436 --> 00:10:56,525 because Lancaster was a small town, 186 00:10:56,699 --> 00:10:58,919 and very few people in the area 187 00:10:59,093 --> 00:11:00,921 liked rhythm and blues music. 188 00:11:01,095 --> 00:11:03,880 [blues guitar playing] 189 00:11:04,054 --> 00:11:05,839 Zappa: And the rest of 'em were kind of white-bread, 190 00:11:06,013 --> 00:11:07,884 Elvis Presley fanatic types. 191 00:11:09,277 --> 00:11:11,714 And I don't even remember how I met Don. 192 00:11:11,888 --> 00:11:15,457 But he had dropped out of school by that time 193 00:11:15,631 --> 00:11:18,112 and spent most of his time staying at home 194 00:11:18,286 --> 00:11:20,331 listening to rhythm and blues records. 195 00:11:21,028 --> 00:11:23,857 So, I used to hang out over there after school 196 00:11:24,205 --> 00:11:27,164 and listen to Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown 197 00:11:27,338 --> 00:11:29,776 and Guitar Slim, 198 00:11:30,515 --> 00:11:31,908 Elmore James, 199 00:11:32,953 --> 00:11:34,215 Lowell Fulson, 200 00:11:34,824 --> 00:11:37,740 and Johnny "Guitar" Watson R&B records 201 00:11:37,914 --> 00:11:39,699 till three o'clock in the morning. 202 00:11:41,570 --> 00:11:43,050 Went out of my way to get ahold 203 00:11:43,224 --> 00:11:44,660 of the rhythm and blues records. 204 00:11:44,834 --> 00:11:46,488 And it was very hard to obtain 205 00:11:46,836 --> 00:11:48,882 because most of the white music stores didn't stock it. 206 00:11:49,056 --> 00:11:50,274 And, uh... 207 00:11:50,710 --> 00:11:52,581 I just heard that music and I liked it 208 00:11:52,755 --> 00:11:54,235 and couldn't understand why other people didn't like it 209 00:11:54,409 --> 00:11:55,540 as much as I did. 210 00:11:55,715 --> 00:11:58,456 [rhythm and blues playing] 211 00:11:58,630 --> 00:12:00,458 Zappa: When I first picked up the guitar, I said, 212 00:12:00,632 --> 00:12:04,332 "How in the world could anybody get any sound out of this thing 213 00:12:04,506 --> 00:12:06,900 other than the open string sound?" 214 00:12:07,074 --> 00:12:08,684 I couldn't conceive of what the frets were for. 215 00:12:08,858 --> 00:12:10,991 But when rhythm and blues came along 216 00:12:11,165 --> 00:12:13,471 and I heard examples of blues guitar playing, 217 00:12:13,645 --> 00:12:15,735 I thought that it was something I really wanted to do. 218 00:12:15,909 --> 00:12:17,824 So, I just taught myself how to do it. 219 00:12:17,998 --> 00:12:19,739 Once I figured out that the pitch changed 220 00:12:19,913 --> 00:12:21,392 when you put your finger down on the fret, 221 00:12:21,566 --> 00:12:22,916 I was hell on wheels. 222 00:12:23,917 --> 00:12:26,920 ♪ You're probably wondering why I'm here ♪ 223 00:12:27,181 --> 00:12:28,878 ♪ And so am I ♪ 224 00:12:29,052 --> 00:12:30,880 ♪ So am I ♪ 225 00:12:39,759 --> 00:12:41,978 ♪ You're probably wondering ♪ 226 00:12:42,239 --> 00:12:45,329 - ♪ Why I'm here ♪ - ♪ Not that it makes ♪ 227 00:12:45,503 --> 00:12:47,288 ♪ A heck of a lot of difference to ya! ♪ 228 00:12:50,378 --> 00:12:53,294 Zappa: I had my first group playing other people's material 229 00:12:53,468 --> 00:12:55,862 when I was about 16 or 17. 230 00:12:56,036 --> 00:12:57,167 It was called The Blackouts. 231 00:12:57,341 --> 00:12:59,866 A racially mixed ensemble. 232 00:13:00,910 --> 00:13:04,653 Which did not go down well with the, uh, cowboys 233 00:13:04,827 --> 00:13:06,742 and other bigots who lived in this area. 234 00:13:06,916 --> 00:13:09,963 And, uh, we managed to play several jobs, 235 00:13:10,137 --> 00:13:12,617 but the school and the city authorities 236 00:13:12,835 --> 00:13:15,098 were against having it performed because it was regarded 237 00:13:15,272 --> 00:13:17,622 as a threat to the decency of the community. 238 00:13:17,884 --> 00:13:22,018 [rock and roll music playing] 239 00:13:25,630 --> 00:13:27,502 Zappa: I started writing orchestra music 240 00:13:27,676 --> 00:13:30,026 before I ever wrote a rock and roll song. 241 00:13:30,592 --> 00:13:33,290 And then didn't try writing any rock and roll 242 00:13:33,464 --> 00:13:34,944 until I was in my 20s. 243 00:13:36,598 --> 00:13:39,514 And as long as a person has to earn a living 244 00:13:39,688 --> 00:13:42,430 and if he happens to be a person who makes music, 245 00:13:43,823 --> 00:13:46,521 he's going to have to do something to generate an income. 246 00:13:48,653 --> 00:13:51,091 And the more humiliating the conditions 247 00:13:51,265 --> 00:13:53,963 under which the income is generated, 248 00:13:54,398 --> 00:13:56,313 the more the music suffers. 249 00:13:58,750 --> 00:14:00,404 I did earn my living as a commercial artist 250 00:14:00,578 --> 00:14:03,059 for a little while. I did greeting cards. 251 00:14:03,233 --> 00:14:06,236 I wrote advertising copy for the place I was working for, 252 00:14:06,410 --> 00:14:09,544 called the Nile Running Greeting Card Studio. 253 00:14:10,545 --> 00:14:13,374 I talked 'em into letting me do my own line of greeting cards 254 00:14:13,548 --> 00:14:15,028 on an experimental basis, 255 00:14:15,202 --> 00:14:17,639 and one of 'em was, uh, 256 00:14:17,813 --> 00:14:20,381 "Captured Russian photo shows evidence 257 00:14:20,555 --> 00:14:22,905 of Americans' presence on Moon first." 258 00:14:23,471 --> 00:14:24,864 And you open it up, and there's a picture 259 00:14:25,038 --> 00:14:27,040 of a lunar crater with "Jesus Saves" 260 00:14:27,214 --> 00:14:28,258 inscribed on it. 261 00:14:28,432 --> 00:14:29,564 [laughs] 262 00:14:30,608 --> 00:14:33,002 Man: You are to hang by the neck until you are dead. 263 00:14:33,220 --> 00:14:35,222 I'll see you in hell. 264 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:40,314 God: And they don't take me seriously, do they? 265 00:14:40,488 --> 00:14:43,012 They're only reporters. They're all the same, God. 266 00:14:43,186 --> 00:14:45,928 Zappa: I had scored a couple of films about that time. 267 00:14:46,102 --> 00:14:48,191 The one that I got paid for, 268 00:14:48,365 --> 00:14:50,237 I went out and bought a good guitar and, uh, took over 269 00:14:50,628 --> 00:14:53,588 the debts and the assets of a recording studio 270 00:14:53,762 --> 00:14:56,765 in a town called Cucamonga, California. 271 00:14:59,202 --> 00:15:00,987 Zappa: I'm living in this studio. 272 00:15:01,161 --> 00:15:03,163 It doesn't have a bathtub. It doesn't have a shower. 273 00:15:03,337 --> 00:15:04,991 Doesn't have hot water. 274 00:15:05,165 --> 00:15:07,123 I don't have anything to eat except peanut butter, 275 00:15:07,297 --> 00:15:09,865 instant mashed potatoes, and coffee. 276 00:15:10,039 --> 00:15:11,780 I go around gathering up pop bottles 277 00:15:11,954 --> 00:15:13,521 so I can buy cigarettes. 278 00:15:13,782 --> 00:15:15,175 But I've got all the electronic stuff I need 279 00:15:15,349 --> 00:15:17,003 to make recordings. 280 00:15:19,657 --> 00:15:21,094 Well, I've had long hair. 281 00:15:21,311 --> 00:15:23,096 It was shorter than Beatle hair. 282 00:15:23,923 --> 00:15:26,142 So, there was a certain amount of resentment 283 00:15:26,316 --> 00:15:28,928 in the community for my presence there at the studio. 284 00:15:29,406 --> 00:15:34,194 And this mysterious 13.50 an hour recording studio 285 00:15:34,368 --> 00:15:36,674 was, uh, bad for their community. 286 00:15:37,110 --> 00:15:40,374 So, they designed to, uh, get me out of there. 287 00:15:42,071 --> 00:15:44,769 Eventually this guy came to me and said 288 00:15:44,944 --> 00:15:48,251 that he was a used car salesman and that he and the boys 289 00:15:48,425 --> 00:15:50,558 were having a party next Wednesday 290 00:15:50,732 --> 00:15:53,430 and they would like to have a stag film made. 291 00:15:53,604 --> 00:15:55,215 And I said, "Are you kidding?" 292 00:15:55,389 --> 00:15:57,695 He said, "Well, we have about 100 dollars." 293 00:15:57,869 --> 00:15:59,523 And I said, "Well, I can't make you a movie 294 00:15:59,697 --> 00:16:02,613 for 100 dollars, but how would you like a nice tape?" 295 00:16:03,179 --> 00:16:06,269 So, that night, we manufactured a tape, 296 00:16:06,443 --> 00:16:09,446 which was supposed to be sex on tape, 297 00:16:09,620 --> 00:16:12,449 but there's absolutely no sex involved in this thing. 298 00:16:12,797 --> 00:16:15,409 But suddenly, the next day, 299 00:16:15,626 --> 00:16:18,760 the door swings open and vice squad officers 300 00:16:18,934 --> 00:16:21,589 from the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department 301 00:16:21,763 --> 00:16:22,851 come blasting in there. 302 00:16:23,112 --> 00:16:24,722 Pictures. Flash bulbs, 303 00:16:24,896 --> 00:16:26,724 and it was right out of a bad movie. 304 00:16:26,986 --> 00:16:28,813 They took every tape, 305 00:16:28,988 --> 00:16:32,817 every piece of film in the studio as evidence. 306 00:16:33,688 --> 00:16:34,994 And I went to jail. 307 00:16:42,436 --> 00:16:44,612 They sentenced me to six months in jail 308 00:16:44,786 --> 00:16:46,701 with all but ten days suspended 309 00:16:46,875 --> 00:16:48,659 plus three years' probation. 310 00:16:51,184 --> 00:16:53,360 ♪ It can't happen here ♪ 311 00:16:53,534 --> 00:16:56,711 ♪ Can't happen here, can't happen here... ♪ 312 00:16:57,277 --> 00:17:03,065 Zappa: 313 00:17:10,942 --> 00:17:13,554 That's the kind of stuff I had to put up with 314 00:17:13,728 --> 00:17:16,165 living in small-town environments. 315 00:17:17,862 --> 00:17:19,690 I don't have anything against small towns. 316 00:17:19,864 --> 00:17:22,302 I think they're wonderful if you like that kind of stuff. 317 00:17:23,129 --> 00:17:25,566 But it's very difficult to do the kinds of things 318 00:17:25,740 --> 00:17:28,047 that I do in a small-town situation. 319 00:17:29,178 --> 00:17:33,269 And the only thing I wanted to do was write music. 320 00:17:33,965 --> 00:17:37,099 And so, if I was ever going to hear what I wrote, 321 00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:39,232 I would have to put a band together. 322 00:17:41,756 --> 00:17:43,584 ♪ Motherly love ♪ 323 00:17:45,455 --> 00:17:47,370 ♪ Motherly love ♪ 324 00:17:48,415 --> 00:17:51,722 ♪ Forget about the brotherly and other-ly love ♪ 325 00:17:52,027 --> 00:17:55,161 ♪ Motherly love is just the thing for you ♪ 326 00:17:55,335 --> 00:17:57,076 ♪ You know your mother's gonna love ya ♪ 327 00:17:57,337 --> 00:17:59,078 ♪ Till ya don't know what to do ♪ 328 00:18:03,299 --> 00:18:04,387 ♪ Nature's been good ♪ 329 00:18:04,561 --> 00:18:06,346 ♪ To this here band ♪ 330 00:18:06,781 --> 00:18:09,262 ♪ Don't ever think we're shy ♪ 331 00:18:10,306 --> 00:18:11,829 ♪ Send us up some little groupies ♪ 332 00:18:12,003 --> 00:18:13,657 ♪ And we'll take their hands ♪ 333 00:18:13,831 --> 00:18:16,617 ♪ And rock 'em till they sweat and cry ♪ 334 00:18:16,791 --> 00:18:18,227 ♪ What you need is ♪ 335 00:18:19,272 --> 00:18:20,708 ♪ Motherly love ♪ 336 00:18:20,969 --> 00:18:22,144 ♪ Get it now ♪ 337 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:24,146 ♪ Motherly love ♪ 338 00:18:25,887 --> 00:18:28,237 ♪ You know I've got a little motherly love for ya, honey ♪ 339 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:31,153 ♪ You know it doesn't bother me at all ♪ 340 00:18:31,327 --> 00:18:33,068 ♪ That you're only 18 years old ♪ 341 00:18:33,373 --> 00:18:34,591 ♪ 'Cause I've got a little motherly love for you, baby ♪ 342 00:18:38,769 --> 00:18:43,774 [scatting] 343 00:18:45,124 --> 00:18:48,039 All right. This is a song that we've been work-- working on 344 00:18:48,214 --> 00:18:51,304 in secret for a... a while now. 345 00:18:51,478 --> 00:18:53,088 Going to make an attempt to record it. 346 00:18:53,262 --> 00:18:54,568 If we mess it up, we'll just stop 347 00:18:54,742 --> 00:18:55,786 and do it over again. 348 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:57,484 It doesn't have a name yet. 349 00:18:57,962 --> 00:19:01,575 But, uh, doesn't really need one. 350 00:19:03,925 --> 00:19:05,535 Johnny: He was a such a genius in his writing, 351 00:19:05,709 --> 00:19:07,233 and he knew so much about all the old music. 352 00:19:08,059 --> 00:19:10,018 He was able to marry all of that together, man. 353 00:19:10,192 --> 00:19:13,152 It was-- I... I haven't heard anything like it 354 00:19:13,761 --> 00:19:15,328 before or since. 355 00:19:17,460 --> 00:19:19,375 Zappa: Whatever brought you to Hollywood? 356 00:19:20,463 --> 00:19:23,031 I came in search of Bob Dylan. 357 00:19:23,423 --> 00:19:26,556 And, uh, I came to see the Lovin' Spoonful. 358 00:19:26,730 --> 00:19:29,559 And I came to get away from my father, mainly. 359 00:19:29,733 --> 00:19:31,518 And then we started living on the streets here 360 00:19:31,692 --> 00:19:34,347 because he wasn't too happy about the overall situation. 361 00:19:35,174 --> 00:19:39,787 [band playing] 362 00:19:44,052 --> 00:19:45,662 Pamela: So, one night we came in there, 363 00:19:45,836 --> 00:19:47,186 expecting to see our favorites, 364 00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:48,883 the Grassroots and Billy Preston, 365 00:19:49,100 --> 00:19:50,189 and lo and behold, after two weeks, 366 00:19:50,363 --> 00:19:51,799 they changed the bill. 367 00:19:51,973 --> 00:19:53,583 And there was a group called Mothers playing. 368 00:19:53,757 --> 00:19:56,760 [band playing] 369 00:19:59,285 --> 00:20:01,025 Pamela: The main thing I remember 370 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:03,158 is that they played a song that was 20 minutes long. 371 00:20:03,637 --> 00:20:07,467 And everybody was getting tired dancing in the middle of it. 372 00:20:09,077 --> 00:20:11,688 And on the second set that you played, 373 00:20:11,862 --> 00:20:14,561 you played a song called "How Could I Be Such a Fool?" 374 00:20:14,735 --> 00:20:16,302 And I remember listening to that song 375 00:20:16,476 --> 00:20:17,955 and thinking I'd never heard it before. 376 00:20:18,129 --> 00:20:19,827 And I was really surprised. 377 00:20:20,001 --> 00:20:22,656 I started thinking to myself, "God, did he write that?" 378 00:20:22,830 --> 00:20:24,484 And when I figured out that you had, 379 00:20:24,658 --> 00:20:26,007 'cause I asked you after you came off stage, 380 00:20:26,181 --> 00:20:27,530 I was going, 381 00:20:27,835 --> 00:20:29,315 "My god, he's got talent. I don't believe it." 382 00:20:29,489 --> 00:20:31,621 ♪ When I won your love ♪ 383 00:20:31,926 --> 00:20:33,841 ♪ I was very glad ♪ 384 00:20:34,711 --> 00:20:36,322 ♪ Every happiness... ♪ 385 00:20:36,583 --> 00:20:38,149 Interviewer: Do you think that perhaps you might, uh, 386 00:20:38,324 --> 00:20:40,282 in a year or two be the new musical messiah? 387 00:20:40,456 --> 00:20:42,328 As in the Beatles and Presley 388 00:20:42,502 --> 00:20:45,156 ten years ago and ten years before that? Whoever it was. 389 00:20:45,331 --> 00:20:48,421 Zappa: I can honestly say that I do not think so. 390 00:20:48,725 --> 00:20:52,251 [band playing] 391 00:20:52,860 --> 00:20:54,905 Announcer: The Mothers of Invention. 392 00:21:06,439 --> 00:21:10,007 Bunk: I... I don't remember, in all the years with Frank, 393 00:21:10,225 --> 00:21:13,010 hearing too many bands that had horns. 394 00:21:13,707 --> 00:21:16,144 Guitar players, you know, all over the place. 395 00:21:16,318 --> 00:21:19,408 Not too many, uh, bands had horns. 396 00:21:20,975 --> 00:21:22,759 But, you know, at the same time, 397 00:21:22,933 --> 00:21:25,371 I didn't hear any other bands 398 00:21:25,849 --> 00:21:29,113 playing Stravinsky or classical music or anything. 399 00:21:29,288 --> 00:21:31,986 So, uh, that was fairly unique. 400 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:34,031 And that made me feel good 401 00:21:34,205 --> 00:21:36,904 about what we were doing musically. 402 00:21:41,300 --> 00:21:44,651 I'm not a weirdo or any of these other things. 403 00:21:44,868 --> 00:21:47,262 But when you get around other people 404 00:21:47,436 --> 00:21:51,701 that are just naturally funny and do weird things, 405 00:21:52,267 --> 00:21:56,097 I ended up just feeling very comfortable. 406 00:21:56,489 --> 00:21:59,056 It was exciting in the beginning. 407 00:21:59,230 --> 00:22:00,536 It truly was. 408 00:22:01,058 --> 00:22:05,715 But of course, it was musically difficult. 409 00:22:07,238 --> 00:22:09,632 Some nights, Frank would jump up into the air 410 00:22:09,806 --> 00:22:12,809 and come down, and he would expect us 411 00:22:12,983 --> 00:22:15,595 to know what song he was gonna go into. 412 00:22:16,378 --> 00:22:18,249 You know, a perfectionist here, you know. 413 00:22:19,642 --> 00:22:22,863 That made an impression that, jeez, well, you know... 414 00:22:23,037 --> 00:22:27,433 So, it became our duty... 415 00:22:28,129 --> 00:22:31,262 to engage in, uh, these kind of things 416 00:22:31,437 --> 00:22:33,830 that-- that-- that would make him laugh. 417 00:22:36,224 --> 00:22:38,661 Ian: The band wasn't specifically 418 00:22:39,009 --> 00:22:42,143 anything other than Frank's ideas. 419 00:22:43,100 --> 00:22:46,669 And each show was like a composition. 420 00:22:47,540 --> 00:22:50,194 And they happened because the band 421 00:22:50,369 --> 00:22:52,762 is following his direction. 422 00:22:55,939 --> 00:22:57,158 Ruth: You know, I used to think, 423 00:22:57,332 --> 00:22:58,725 "Okay, he's called me here," 424 00:22:58,899 --> 00:23:00,422 and I don't mean in the early days, 425 00:23:00,596 --> 00:23:02,076 I mean in full flower of playing with him. 426 00:23:02,381 --> 00:23:04,295 We'd talk for a minute, and then there isn't even 427 00:23:04,470 --> 00:23:06,907 a "Thanks for coming by" or "Okay, see you later." 428 00:23:07,081 --> 00:23:08,778 He would just turn the other way, 429 00:23:08,952 --> 00:23:10,867 and I would be waiting for him to turn back to say, 430 00:23:11,041 --> 00:23:13,522 "Oh." But if he turned back, it would be, "You still here?" 431 00:23:13,696 --> 00:23:15,350 You know, it's like, I was dismissed 432 00:23:15,524 --> 00:23:17,221 without even being dismissed. 433 00:23:17,396 --> 00:23:19,528 And you could interpret that as being, you know, 434 00:23:19,702 --> 00:23:22,444 what a fucking self-centered asshole. 435 00:23:22,792 --> 00:23:26,274 But I think that he was just so single-mindedly 436 00:23:26,448 --> 00:23:28,798 needing to get his work done. 437 00:23:31,497 --> 00:23:33,890 Bunk: In the four years I was with Frank, 438 00:23:34,064 --> 00:23:37,590 he shook my hand once and said, "Good job." 439 00:23:39,635 --> 00:23:44,597 I don't ever remember Frank embracing somebody. 440 00:23:46,425 --> 00:23:50,211 Maybe that was his environment when he was growing up. 441 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:55,999 So, I kind of accepted that as... 442 00:23:58,088 --> 00:24:00,961 "Don't get too close, okay?" 443 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:03,267 And, uh, I didn't. 444 00:24:05,531 --> 00:24:08,708 Zappa: I must say, this is a rather unprecedented response 445 00:24:08,882 --> 00:24:10,449 for the bullshit that we do, so sit down 446 00:24:10,623 --> 00:24:12,407 and we'll do some more if you like it. 447 00:24:20,197 --> 00:24:22,852 Gail: So... so, it was in April of 1966. 448 00:24:23,505 --> 00:24:26,203 It was at Los Angeles Airport, actually. 449 00:24:26,595 --> 00:24:30,251 I was working as a secretary at the Whisky, 450 00:24:30,425 --> 00:24:32,949 and there was another girl doing filing. 451 00:24:33,123 --> 00:24:34,908 And little did I know 452 00:24:35,082 --> 00:24:37,127 that she actually lived with Frank. 453 00:24:37,301 --> 00:24:38,607 She shared a house with him. 454 00:24:38,781 --> 00:24:40,609 And she got a phone call. 455 00:24:40,957 --> 00:24:42,350 And it was Frank. 456 00:24:42,524 --> 00:24:45,353 And he said, "Come pick me up." 457 00:24:46,267 --> 00:24:48,095 The night that I went to pick you up at the airport, 458 00:24:48,269 --> 00:24:49,705 and when I told you that I was bringing 459 00:24:49,879 --> 00:24:51,098 this lovely young thing with me 460 00:24:51,272 --> 00:24:53,143 because she was a lovely young thing. 461 00:24:53,317 --> 00:24:54,493 And you needed to get some action. 462 00:24:54,667 --> 00:24:56,233 And you said, "No, come alone." 463 00:24:56,407 --> 00:24:57,844 And so, I said, "Okay." 464 00:24:58,018 --> 00:24:59,802 So, I took her with me to the airport. 465 00:24:59,976 --> 00:25:01,717 And then we brought you home. We went and got those steaks, 466 00:25:01,891 --> 00:25:03,937 and I gave her my black slip to sleep in. 467 00:25:04,111 --> 00:25:05,591 And you guys slept in my room 468 00:25:05,939 --> 00:25:07,244 'cause I had the only double bed in the house. 469 00:25:07,418 --> 00:25:09,029 - Zappa: Mm. - And I slept on the couch. 470 00:25:09,203 --> 00:25:10,421 And you waited and took her to work at the Whisky 471 00:25:10,596 --> 00:25:11,858 in the morning. 472 00:25:12,467 --> 00:25:14,556 It was that weekend, and... and she called 473 00:25:14,730 --> 00:25:16,079 on the phone. You said, 474 00:25:16,340 --> 00:25:17,733 "Tell her if she wants to fuck to come over." 475 00:25:17,907 --> 00:25:19,387 And I said, "Huh, I can't say that to her. 476 00:25:19,561 --> 00:25:21,215 You'll have to say it yourself." 477 00:25:21,389 --> 00:25:23,130 And so you did. And then she came over 478 00:25:23,304 --> 00:25:25,872 and you guys were on the couch fucking. 479 00:25:26,046 --> 00:25:29,136 [opera music playing] 480 00:25:36,796 --> 00:25:41,278 [rock music playing] 481 00:25:47,328 --> 00:25:49,896 Gail: One thing that I'm very clear about 482 00:25:50,070 --> 00:25:51,941 is I married a composer. 483 00:25:52,115 --> 00:25:54,248 I don't know about whatever he is to anybody else, 484 00:25:54,422 --> 00:25:57,425 but to me he was a composer. 485 00:25:57,686 --> 00:26:01,081 And you have to be out of your mind 486 00:26:01,298 --> 00:26:04,780 to begin with to take it on. 487 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:07,304 There's no guarantee that you're ever going to be 488 00:26:07,522 --> 00:26:08,958 able to earn an income. 489 00:26:09,132 --> 00:26:11,874 No one cares about what composers do. 490 00:26:12,048 --> 00:26:14,442 And everything is against you. 491 00:26:14,616 --> 00:26:18,968 Absolutely everything is against you, 492 00:26:19,142 --> 00:26:21,710 which makes the odds pretty fantastic. 493 00:26:23,277 --> 00:26:25,801 Zappa: The guy who came to see us, Tom Wilson, 494 00:26:25,975 --> 00:26:28,456 was having a good time with some girls. 495 00:26:28,848 --> 00:26:31,459 And he was dragged to the Whisky a Go Go 496 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:33,330 to witness one of our songs, 497 00:26:33,504 --> 00:26:36,203 which happened to be a blues kind of a number. 498 00:26:37,117 --> 00:26:40,076 He said, "Oh. White blues band. Okay, we'll sign them," 499 00:26:40,599 --> 00:26:42,470 and signed the group 500 00:26:42,644 --> 00:26:44,733 and then went right back to the girls. 501 00:26:46,430 --> 00:26:48,432 Bunk: I don't think Wilson 502 00:26:48,607 --> 00:26:50,739 heard a lot of the other things 503 00:26:50,913 --> 00:26:54,134 because when we went into the studio, 504 00:26:54,308 --> 00:26:56,397 he was totally surprised. 505 00:26:56,571 --> 00:26:58,399 And I'm sure he wasn't sure 506 00:26:58,617 --> 00:27:01,141 whether this was going to sell or not. 507 00:27:01,750 --> 00:27:03,317 And we were out there. 508 00:27:11,934 --> 00:27:13,588 Zappa: This is a number we always play 509 00:27:13,762 --> 00:27:15,764 when people ask us to play more. 510 00:27:15,938 --> 00:27:17,418 Because we know that after we play this, 511 00:27:17,592 --> 00:27:20,726 they couldn't possibly ever want to hear us again. 512 00:27:22,336 --> 00:27:25,165 Crowd: [cheers, applauds] 513 00:27:25,339 --> 00:27:26,688 Zappa: We're going to play a piece of music 514 00:27:26,862 --> 00:27:28,603 that was written by Edgar Varèse, 515 00:27:28,908 --> 00:27:30,518 called "Octandre." 516 00:27:31,519 --> 00:27:35,349 [band plays] 517 00:27:43,749 --> 00:27:45,228 Interviewer: Do you consider that your group 518 00:27:45,402 --> 00:27:47,056 is just as talented and as skilled as, say, 519 00:27:47,230 --> 00:27:48,884 men from a symphony orchestra? 520 00:27:49,058 --> 00:27:50,886 Zappa: Oh, I... I think there are definitely things 521 00:27:51,060 --> 00:27:53,454 that this group of musicians can do that you... 522 00:27:53,759 --> 00:27:56,457 you wouldn't be able to find symphony musicians to do. 523 00:27:56,631 --> 00:27:58,067 Because not only do they manipulate 524 00:27:58,241 --> 00:27:59,678 their instruments with great skill, 525 00:27:59,852 --> 00:28:01,244 but they have to do it all from memory. 526 00:28:01,418 --> 00:28:03,943 And they have to do it with choreography. 527 00:28:04,508 --> 00:28:05,858 Interviewer: You insist on very high 528 00:28:06,032 --> 00:28:07,555 and exacting standards. 529 00:28:08,034 --> 00:28:09,426 Yeah. I have to insist on them. 530 00:28:09,862 --> 00:28:11,167 I don't always get them, but I have to insist on them. 531 00:28:11,341 --> 00:28:12,734 I think if you shoot any lower than that, 532 00:28:12,908 --> 00:28:14,475 you're going to wind up with something sleazy. 533 00:28:14,649 --> 00:28:15,868 So, we try and-- like, 534 00:28:16,042 --> 00:28:17,347 the parts are real complicated, 535 00:28:17,521 --> 00:28:18,740 so if you don't stay on it 536 00:28:18,914 --> 00:28:20,437 and make sure everything is right 537 00:28:20,786 --> 00:28:22,701 you don't get an accurate performance. 538 00:28:23,919 --> 00:28:25,486 Bunk: Man, we would go in 539 00:28:25,660 --> 00:28:28,794 for a minimum eight, ten, twelve hours. 540 00:28:28,968 --> 00:28:31,144 I mean, you know, drinking black coffee. 541 00:28:31,318 --> 00:28:33,015 [stammers] He wouldn't stop. 542 00:28:33,189 --> 00:28:35,757 I mean, it was, you know, it's like, "God." 543 00:28:36,453 --> 00:28:38,238 It didn't matter if it was Christmas 544 00:28:38,412 --> 00:28:39,848 or Thanksgiving or whatever, man. 545 00:28:40,022 --> 00:28:42,024 We were going to rehearse and, you know, 546 00:28:42,677 --> 00:28:45,332 make sure that we were ready to-- to play the music 547 00:28:45,506 --> 00:28:49,466 because he was just writing all the time. All the time. 548 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:52,426 So, we were always introducing stuff. 549 00:28:52,948 --> 00:28:54,428 It was, uh, 550 00:28:54,602 --> 00:28:57,300 a very unusual approach, I think. 551 00:28:58,214 --> 00:29:00,303 ♪ Ooh, I remember ♪ 552 00:29:00,826 --> 00:29:05,918 ♪ Those wonderful dances in El Monte ♪ 553 00:29:06,092 --> 00:29:09,530 ♪ Ba-da-da-da Der-duh-duh-duh-duh ♪ 554 00:29:10,836 --> 00:29:17,059 Interviewer: 555 00:29:17,712 --> 00:29:22,804 Zappa: 556 00:29:26,286 --> 00:29:28,767 [whirring] 557 00:29:32,596 --> 00:29:35,643 ♪ It can't happen here ♪ 558 00:29:44,391 --> 00:29:46,915 Zappa: But we were never that popular in Los Angeles. 559 00:29:47,220 --> 00:29:50,701 Our market really wasn't the peace, love, hippie type people. 560 00:29:51,050 --> 00:29:52,573 That wasn't our market. 561 00:29:52,747 --> 00:29:55,402 Hippies did not like us because we didn't do 562 00:29:55,576 --> 00:29:57,099 the things that they approved of. 563 00:29:59,449 --> 00:30:00,973 Compared to New York, 564 00:30:01,147 --> 00:30:03,149 Los Angeles is a very conforming community. 565 00:30:04,541 --> 00:30:05,978 When we moved to New York 566 00:30:06,152 --> 00:30:07,631 there was virtually no scene at all. 567 00:30:07,806 --> 00:30:09,372 There was no long-haired anything there. 568 00:30:09,546 --> 00:30:11,722 People looked at us like we were from Venus. 569 00:30:13,159 --> 00:30:15,117 ♪ Freedom, freedom ♪ 570 00:30:15,291 --> 00:30:17,119 ♪ Kindly loving ♪ 571 00:30:17,293 --> 00:30:21,297 ♪ You'll be absolutely free ♪ 572 00:30:21,471 --> 00:30:23,560 ♪ Only if you want to be ♪ 573 00:30:23,734 --> 00:30:26,085 Interviewer: A lot of people have associated you, 574 00:30:26,259 --> 00:30:28,435 rightly or wrongly, with the drug culture 575 00:30:28,609 --> 00:30:30,916 that came into being in the '60s about the same time 576 00:30:31,090 --> 00:30:32,787 as your music first became prominent. 577 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:35,572 Zappa: First of all, I have nothing to do with the drug culture. 578 00:30:35,746 --> 00:30:37,270 I don't use drugs, 579 00:30:37,531 --> 00:30:39,489 and I don't advise other people to use drugs. 580 00:30:39,881 --> 00:30:41,752 And a lot of the things that I think are wrong 581 00:30:41,927 --> 00:30:43,363 with the society today 582 00:30:43,580 --> 00:30:46,540 are a direct result of people using drugs. 583 00:30:47,933 --> 00:30:50,065 It's so prevalent that if you don't use drugs, 584 00:30:50,239 --> 00:30:51,632 people think you're weird. 585 00:30:52,546 --> 00:30:55,418 [song continues] 586 00:30:55,636 --> 00:30:57,464 Gail: The Beatles played in Hamburg, 587 00:30:57,638 --> 00:30:59,858 and they had their way with this club 588 00:31:00,032 --> 00:31:01,468 for months on end. 589 00:31:01,642 --> 00:31:03,818 And in a similar way, Frank had the Garrick. 590 00:31:03,992 --> 00:31:05,472 You get to work out what you want to do. 591 00:31:05,646 --> 00:31:07,430 You get to experiment with the audience. 592 00:31:07,604 --> 00:31:10,651 You get to really be intimate with an audience. 593 00:31:12,305 --> 00:31:14,742 That really helped Frank to perfect 594 00:31:14,916 --> 00:31:17,701 what he could get away with on stage. 595 00:31:19,529 --> 00:31:21,792 Zappa: The attention to the theatrical side grew 596 00:31:22,097 --> 00:31:23,490 when we moved to New York 597 00:31:23,664 --> 00:31:25,753 and had to do a show every night. 598 00:31:26,797 --> 00:31:29,104 The bulk of what could be classified 599 00:31:29,278 --> 00:31:31,628 as theater of cruelty took place at the Garrick Theater 600 00:31:31,802 --> 00:31:33,065 in '67. 601 00:31:33,717 --> 00:31:37,721 And that was a unique situation because it was the same people 602 00:31:37,896 --> 00:31:40,028 who kept coming back to the theater all the time. 603 00:31:40,986 --> 00:31:43,597 It was part of, uh, this little routine that we had 604 00:31:43,771 --> 00:31:45,251 with the two or three hundred people 605 00:31:45,425 --> 00:31:47,557 that made up the audience at the Garrick. 606 00:31:48,994 --> 00:31:50,517 Bunk: We'd get out and play, 607 00:31:50,691 --> 00:31:53,085 and Frank would start abusing people in the audience, 608 00:31:53,259 --> 00:31:55,217 you know, or calling people up. 609 00:31:55,391 --> 00:31:58,264 Or turning his back on the audience, saying, 610 00:31:58,568 --> 00:32:01,484 "You know, let's run through this," and ignoring them. 611 00:32:01,658 --> 00:32:02,921 And they-- they loved it. 612 00:32:07,708 --> 00:32:11,538 Gail: For Frank, his measure of success 613 00:32:11,755 --> 00:32:15,020 is how close did you get 614 00:32:15,846 --> 00:32:17,631 to the realization 615 00:32:17,805 --> 00:32:23,419 of the idea that you first heard the first time you heard it? 616 00:32:23,767 --> 00:32:27,467 If you get anywhere near that, you can call it a success. 617 00:32:27,641 --> 00:32:29,686 But most of the time, you never even get close. 618 00:32:29,948 --> 00:32:31,558 'Cause you have to rely on all these other people 619 00:32:31,906 --> 00:32:33,647 to do all this other stuff. 620 00:32:34,648 --> 00:32:37,085 You know, people like musicians and things like that. 621 00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:42,525 Zappa: To do the kind of music theater that we were doing, 622 00:32:42,699 --> 00:32:44,397 you needed people who weren't afraid 623 00:32:44,571 --> 00:32:47,661 to act up on a stage and do ludicrous things. 624 00:32:48,488 --> 00:32:50,794 'Cause that was part of what the music was saying 625 00:32:51,012 --> 00:32:52,709 that the whole world was absolutely absurd, 626 00:32:52,883 --> 00:32:55,103 and so, here it is. We're giving it back to you. 627 00:32:55,538 --> 00:32:58,411 In fact, if we hadn't left Los Angeles, 628 00:32:58,672 --> 00:33:01,240 we would have just evaporated after the first album. 629 00:33:01,849 --> 00:33:03,503 Band member: One, two, three. 630 00:33:03,851 --> 00:33:06,854 ♪ Oh no, I don't believe it ♪ 631 00:33:07,028 --> 00:33:11,728 ♪ You say that you think you know the meaning of love ♪ 632 00:33:14,601 --> 00:33:17,604 ♪ You say love is all we need ♪ 633 00:33:17,778 --> 00:33:21,173 ♪ You say with your love you can change ♪ 634 00:33:21,347 --> 00:33:24,350 ♪ All of the fools, all of the hate ♪ 635 00:33:24,524 --> 00:33:28,006 ♪ I think you're probably out to lunch ♪ 636 00:33:32,836 --> 00:33:35,491 Ruth: I was a percussion major at Juilliard. 637 00:33:35,665 --> 00:33:37,145 I mean, this was back in the... 638 00:33:37,885 --> 00:33:40,453 the times of dynasties in music. 639 00:33:41,802 --> 00:33:43,586 I thought that I would love it, 640 00:33:44,065 --> 00:33:46,459 and all of that derailed for me, 641 00:33:46,633 --> 00:33:48,113 it just crashed and burned, 642 00:33:48,461 --> 00:33:51,290 when I heard my first Frank Zappa concert. 643 00:33:51,855 --> 00:33:53,553 I just suddenly realized, 644 00:33:53,727 --> 00:33:55,729 "I don't want to be a timpanist in an orchestra. 645 00:33:56,251 --> 00:33:57,948 And I don't want to be a triangle player 646 00:33:58,123 --> 00:33:59,298 in an orchestra." 647 00:33:59,515 --> 00:34:01,561 To have to sit in the back row on stage 648 00:34:01,735 --> 00:34:03,693 to play my three triangle notes. 649 00:34:03,954 --> 00:34:06,087 That was not anything that appealed to me 650 00:34:06,261 --> 00:34:09,177 from the moment I heard Frank's music. 651 00:34:09,351 --> 00:34:12,137 And it's not that I was inexperienced as a listener 652 00:34:12,702 --> 00:34:16,054 with other popular music or music theater or any of that. 653 00:34:17,707 --> 00:34:19,709 Frank embodied everything. 654 00:34:19,883 --> 00:34:24,540 Everything that showed me in that one concert 655 00:34:24,801 --> 00:34:26,586 that I wanted to do that. 656 00:34:28,979 --> 00:34:31,852 I would sit in my orchestration classes at Juilliard 657 00:34:32,113 --> 00:34:33,941 in my baroque history. 658 00:34:34,115 --> 00:34:37,771 These classes taught by the greatest people on Earth. 659 00:34:38,380 --> 00:34:41,079 One day, I was in one of the piano practice rooms 660 00:34:41,253 --> 00:34:43,690 and I was absolutely not even allowed to be there 661 00:34:43,907 --> 00:34:45,866 because "That's just for the pianists." 662 00:34:47,041 --> 00:34:50,392 And there I would be, trying to recall the melody 663 00:34:50,566 --> 00:34:52,438 or the melodic shape of "Oh No." 664 00:34:53,569 --> 00:34:55,093 Nobody was there. 665 00:34:55,267 --> 00:34:57,660 And on this fabulous grand piano, 666 00:34:57,834 --> 00:35:01,055 I played that piece to the best of my recollection. 667 00:35:01,229 --> 00:35:04,450 And I can't tell you, probably within 30 seconds, 668 00:35:04,624 --> 00:35:07,322 an officer of the school came in. 669 00:35:07,496 --> 00:35:08,802 "What are you doing?" 670 00:35:09,107 --> 00:35:11,370 "I'm just playing this beautiful music." 671 00:35:11,674 --> 00:35:13,720 "Doesn't sound like any music you're supposed to be playing here." 672 00:35:14,416 --> 00:35:16,201 And I said, "It's 20th-century music. 673 00:35:16,418 --> 00:35:18,116 What are you talking about? It's by a living composer." 674 00:35:18,942 --> 00:35:19,943 "Get out." 675 00:35:22,946 --> 00:35:25,601 And if you were to hear that piece on the piano, 676 00:35:25,775 --> 00:35:27,777 it could live in a concert hall. 677 00:35:27,951 --> 00:35:30,867 It was that type of music that he could produce 678 00:35:31,041 --> 00:35:34,262 that was a product of everything that was in him. 679 00:35:34,567 --> 00:35:36,525 But you couldn't really categorize it. 680 00:35:37,178 --> 00:35:39,311 You couldn't say, "Oh yeah, that's rock and roll,"'cause it wasn't. 681 00:35:39,485 --> 00:35:41,051 "It's jazz." No. It really wasn't. 682 00:35:41,226 --> 00:35:42,662 "It's pop music." No. Not at all. 683 00:35:43,141 --> 00:35:44,490 Well, what the hell is it? 684 00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:46,535 It's Zappa. 685 00:35:46,709 --> 00:35:52,019 Zappa: [harmonizing] 686 00:35:52,759 --> 00:35:54,978 Ruth: And I knew that it had changed my life. 687 00:35:55,153 --> 00:35:56,676 That's the thing. 688 00:35:57,155 --> 00:35:58,808 I didn't live my life and then look back on it and go, 689 00:35:58,982 --> 00:36:01,550 "Yeah. That was the life-changing moment." 690 00:36:01,724 --> 00:36:05,075 I walked out of that theater, and I was actually disoriented. 691 00:36:05,250 --> 00:36:08,470 I... my whole world had been shaken up. 692 00:36:08,644 --> 00:36:10,255 [laughter] 693 00:36:10,472 --> 00:36:13,649 And Frank recently came back from a town near Brussels 694 00:36:13,823 --> 00:36:16,652 where they had a kind of a European pop festival. 695 00:36:16,826 --> 00:36:19,046 How did you communicate with these kids 696 00:36:19,220 --> 00:36:21,527 who speak Walloon, who speak Flemish, 697 00:36:21,701 --> 00:36:24,007 who speak, uh, sort of a dialect of French? 698 00:36:24,182 --> 00:36:26,836 - What did... - I only talked to them once. 699 00:36:27,185 --> 00:36:28,490 Murray: What did you say? 700 00:36:28,664 --> 00:36:30,318 I said, "I'm really glad that you... you guys 701 00:36:30,492 --> 00:36:32,929 had a pop festival in spite of the French government." 702 00:36:33,887 --> 00:36:35,149 It's really very square. 703 00:36:35,323 --> 00:36:36,672 It's just very depressing, you know, 704 00:36:36,846 --> 00:36:39,066 to think of what Paris used to be famous for... 705 00:36:39,327 --> 00:36:42,069 - [censored] - [laughter] 706 00:36:42,287 --> 00:36:43,549 [sighs] 707 00:36:43,723 --> 00:36:44,854 Zappa: Go ahead, bleep it. 708 00:36:45,028 --> 00:36:46,682 Oh, Frank. 709 00:36:46,856 --> 00:36:49,250 [applause] 710 00:36:49,685 --> 00:36:51,905 Well, in the past Paris was famous for its... [censored] 711 00:36:52,079 --> 00:36:53,341 But now it... [censored] 712 00:36:53,646 --> 00:36:55,300 Audience: [laughs] 713 00:36:55,604 --> 00:36:57,389 Frank, you're going to kill the tourist business 714 00:36:57,563 --> 00:36:58,999 as far as the French are concerned. 715 00:36:59,173 --> 00:37:00,522 I hope so. 716 00:37:00,914 --> 00:37:02,829 Fr-- France ought to get its... [censored] ...together. 717 00:37:05,962 --> 00:37:08,400 Bunk: You know, when you look at stuff now, 718 00:37:08,574 --> 00:37:10,445 I mean, e... everything goes. 719 00:37:10,619 --> 00:37:12,099 And it also brings to mind, 720 00:37:12,273 --> 00:37:14,841 because we played with Lenny Bruce, 721 00:37:15,102 --> 00:37:20,455 you know, how difficult it was in terms of your language, uh, 722 00:37:20,629 --> 00:37:23,023 that people would not accept. 723 00:37:24,024 --> 00:37:25,939 Mike: Lenny Bruce had a-- an incredible impact, 724 00:37:26,113 --> 00:37:27,593 an incredible influence. 725 00:37:28,376 --> 00:37:31,858 But, you know, Frank's influence was really, really strong. 726 00:37:32,162 --> 00:37:36,036 And-- and it instantly just, like, made a beeline 727 00:37:36,210 --> 00:37:40,040 for the most influential archetypes and figureheads 728 00:37:40,214 --> 00:37:44,000 in rock music. You know, if you listen toSgt. Pepper. 729 00:37:44,174 --> 00:37:45,698 It was obvious that the Beatles knew 730 00:37:45,872 --> 00:37:47,743 what... what was going on with Frank. 731 00:37:47,917 --> 00:37:51,399 They've explicitly said that Sgt. Pepperwas our attempt 732 00:37:51,573 --> 00:37:53,009 to make our own Freak Out! 733 00:37:54,707 --> 00:37:56,535 And the inner spread of the album, 734 00:37:56,709 --> 00:37:59,233 whether Frank liked it or not, was powerful and iconic, 735 00:37:59,407 --> 00:38:01,322 and... and, you know, the... the record company 736 00:38:01,496 --> 00:38:03,585 were not wrong in terms of making an impact. 737 00:38:03,759 --> 00:38:04,978 It definitely made an impact. 738 00:38:05,152 --> 00:38:07,415 But Frank didn't think of it. 739 00:38:07,589 --> 00:38:09,765 So there's a part of him that just bristled 740 00:38:09,939 --> 00:38:12,333 because it wasn't his baby, you know. 741 00:38:12,507 --> 00:38:15,162 And the second album, he put his foot down. 742 00:38:15,336 --> 00:38:17,425 Not only was he in charge of... of the artwork 743 00:38:17,599 --> 00:38:20,385 and he did his own collage on the back cover, 744 00:38:20,733 --> 00:38:22,996 but if he had had the time and inclination, 745 00:38:23,170 --> 00:38:26,652 he could have continued on doing his own album artwork. 746 00:38:26,826 --> 00:38:28,393 And... and it would have been fascinating. 747 00:38:29,568 --> 00:38:33,615 But I think when Cal Schenkel crossed his path 748 00:38:33,963 --> 00:38:36,314 and he saw somebody that got what he was doing 749 00:38:36,618 --> 00:38:39,317 and could capture it and could also focus on it 750 00:38:39,491 --> 00:38:41,580 exclusively while, you know, Frank would look 751 00:38:41,754 --> 00:38:43,799 over Cal's shoulder and say, "Try that, try that." 752 00:38:44,365 --> 00:38:46,672 Frank just hands him his head, and you get just amazing cover 753 00:38:46,846 --> 00:38:48,021 after amazing cover. 754 00:38:48,326 --> 00:38:49,849 And that-- it's beautiful 755 00:38:50,066 --> 00:38:51,633 'cause they built a world together. 756 00:38:52,025 --> 00:38:55,681 Those album covers plays into that thing of feeling 757 00:38:55,855 --> 00:38:58,248 like you're part of an alternative movement. 758 00:39:12,393 --> 00:39:15,309 Zappa: There had already been two otherSgt. Pepper parodies 759 00:39:15,483 --> 00:39:18,312 by the time that our package was ready. 760 00:39:18,486 --> 00:39:22,185 And MGM was panic stricken 761 00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:24,623 that they would be sued by The Beatles 762 00:39:25,188 --> 00:39:26,755 and wanted legal assurance 763 00:39:26,929 --> 00:39:28,714 that The Beatles weren't going to harm them 764 00:39:28,888 --> 00:39:30,455 for putting this package out. 765 00:39:30,803 --> 00:39:34,197 And all the legal gyrations took about 13 months. 766 00:39:43,381 --> 00:39:45,034 Zappa: I know I talked personally 767 00:39:45,208 --> 00:39:46,906 to McCartney at one time and said that, you know, 768 00:39:47,080 --> 00:39:48,777 "The record company is panic stricken over this, 769 00:39:48,951 --> 00:39:51,040 and can you do anything to help me?" 770 00:39:51,693 --> 00:39:53,521 And it was like he was on the other end of the line, taking the phone and going, 771 00:39:53,782 --> 00:39:56,394 "You mean, you talk about business?" 772 00:39:57,786 --> 00:40:00,746 Like, "Oh, we have lawyers who do that." 773 00:40:01,355 --> 00:40:04,750 He just had no interest in participating in a discussion 774 00:40:04,924 --> 00:40:06,534 of the legal ramifications 775 00:40:06,708 --> 00:40:08,536 of a parody of theSgt. Pepper cover. 776 00:40:09,102 --> 00:40:11,670 That was at a time when it was very, very unfashionable 777 00:40:11,844 --> 00:40:14,063 to be a businessman or even to have any contact 778 00:40:14,237 --> 00:40:15,717 to the world of commerce. 779 00:40:16,283 --> 00:40:18,328 I mean, people were living in a dream world. 780 00:40:18,503 --> 00:40:20,069 How did they expect to earn a living 781 00:40:20,243 --> 00:40:23,333 doing their music if they didn't have some idea 782 00:40:23,508 --> 00:40:24,987 that the people who were distributing it 783 00:40:25,161 --> 00:40:26,946 were only there to steal from them? 784 00:40:28,338 --> 00:40:31,559 Most of the artists that I knew were too busy getting ripped. 785 00:40:33,039 --> 00:40:34,823 If you just got high and went out 786 00:40:34,997 --> 00:40:38,174 and did your groovy music and, you know, then there were 787 00:40:38,348 --> 00:40:40,786 business people who took care of that other stuff. 788 00:40:47,836 --> 00:40:49,969 It's time for a revolution but probably not in the terms 789 00:40:50,143 --> 00:40:51,536 that people imagine it. 790 00:40:53,407 --> 00:40:55,365 The thing that's wrong today is that the... the people 791 00:40:55,540 --> 00:40:59,108 who are in control of the media and the government 792 00:40:59,282 --> 00:41:01,937 and, you know, things that... that run the lives 793 00:41:02,111 --> 00:41:04,244 of the average person in the street, 794 00:41:04,766 --> 00:41:06,028 they aren't doing a good job of it 795 00:41:06,202 --> 00:41:07,726 'cause they don't really care. 796 00:41:08,204 --> 00:41:09,858 Man: Why don't you run for president? 797 00:41:10,032 --> 00:41:11,817 I thought about it a number of times before. 798 00:41:11,991 --> 00:41:14,167 And then the thing that always holds me back 799 00:41:14,384 --> 00:41:16,952 is that what would it feel like to actually be the president, 800 00:41:17,126 --> 00:41:19,215 you know, and have to stay in Washington DC 801 00:41:19,389 --> 00:41:22,480 in a house for four years? That'd be pretty grim. 802 00:41:22,915 --> 00:41:27,441 - [singers vocalizing] - [tambourine playing] 803 00:41:33,403 --> 00:41:37,973 Zappa: A lot of what we do is designed to annoy people 804 00:41:38,147 --> 00:41:40,498 to the point where they might, just for a second, 805 00:41:40,672 --> 00:41:42,587 question enough of their environment 806 00:41:42,761 --> 00:41:44,110 to do something about it. 807 00:41:47,679 --> 00:41:49,332 As long as they don't feel their environment, 808 00:41:49,507 --> 00:41:50,943 they don't worry about it. 809 00:41:51,117 --> 00:41:53,249 They're not going to do anything to change it. 810 00:41:53,423 --> 00:41:54,903 And something's got to be done 811 00:41:55,077 --> 00:41:58,211 before America scarfs up the world and shits on it. 812 00:41:58,472 --> 00:42:01,170 ♪ We are the other people We are the other people ♪ 813 00:42:01,344 --> 00:42:04,260 ♪ We are the other people You're the other people too ♪ 814 00:42:05,523 --> 00:42:07,046 ♪ Found a way to get to you ♪ 815 00:42:08,090 --> 00:42:10,789 ♪ We are the other people We are the other people ♪ 816 00:42:10,963 --> 00:42:13,879 ♪ We are the other people You're the other people too ♪ 817 00:42:15,271 --> 00:42:16,969 ♪ Found a way to get to you ♪ 818 00:42:18,405 --> 00:42:20,799 ♪ Do you think that I love you... ♪ 819 00:42:21,060 --> 00:42:22,757 Zappa: I wasn't in the United States 820 00:42:22,931 --> 00:42:25,151 when Moon was born. I was on the road. 821 00:42:25,325 --> 00:42:26,892 As I walked out the door to get on the bus, 822 00:42:27,066 --> 00:42:30,548 I said, "Well, if it's a girl, name it Moon, 823 00:42:30,722 --> 00:42:32,027 and if it's a boy, name it Motorhead." 824 00:42:34,769 --> 00:42:39,295 ["Final Hymn" from Stravinsky's The Firebirdplays] 825 00:43:42,228 --> 00:43:44,143 Reporter: In California, actor Ronald Reagan 826 00:43:44,317 --> 00:43:46,058 and Mrs. Reagan arrive to cast their votes 827 00:43:46,232 --> 00:43:47,929 in the state's primary election. 828 00:43:48,321 --> 00:43:50,584 He's the Republican nominee for governor. 829 00:43:50,758 --> 00:43:52,891 It's his first political contest. 830 00:43:57,635 --> 00:44:00,246 Gail: Reagan was the governor of California. 831 00:44:01,116 --> 00:44:06,687 And there was a freak contingent starting in LA at the time. 832 00:44:07,253 --> 00:44:11,605 And in those days, if you had long hair in this town 833 00:44:11,953 --> 00:44:13,476 and you were driving a car, 834 00:44:13,651 --> 00:44:15,522 it was such an infrequent occurrence 835 00:44:16,131 --> 00:44:18,046 that people would actually wave to each other. 836 00:44:18,307 --> 00:44:20,570 That's how... what a tigh-- what a small 837 00:44:20,745 --> 00:44:22,616 and tight community it was. 838 00:44:23,965 --> 00:44:25,706 Pamela: Well, Frank was considered 839 00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:28,274 by everyone on the strip and all the people in the clubs 840 00:44:28,448 --> 00:44:31,843 to be sort of the-- I mean, the ersatz Pied Piper 841 00:44:32,017 --> 00:44:33,366 of Laurel Canyon. 842 00:44:33,671 --> 00:44:35,585 He was right in the center of it in the log cabin, 843 00:44:35,760 --> 00:44:37,892 which was Tom Mix's old cabin 844 00:44:38,197 --> 00:44:40,416 with his horse buried under the bowling alley. 845 00:44:40,590 --> 00:44:41,940 People can't believe these kind of things. 846 00:44:42,114 --> 00:44:44,029 With Houdini's house right across the street. 847 00:44:44,203 --> 00:44:47,510 And he... he was this centrifugal force 848 00:44:47,902 --> 00:44:49,251 of Laurel Canyon. 849 00:44:49,904 --> 00:44:51,558 Any kind of rock star, 850 00:44:51,732 --> 00:44:53,168 especially the British guys who came to town, 851 00:44:53,342 --> 00:44:56,345 wanted to meet Frank. So, we would, 852 00:44:56,519 --> 00:44:58,217 you know, meet these rock stars, 853 00:44:58,391 --> 00:44:59,609 and they right away would say, 854 00:44:59,784 --> 00:45:01,524 "C... can we meet Zappa?" 855 00:45:01,699 --> 00:45:03,657 So, of course, Jagger was there, the Stones, 856 00:45:03,831 --> 00:45:05,659 and all the local bands too. 857 00:45:05,833 --> 00:45:07,139 But Jeff Beck, I mean. 858 00:45:07,443 --> 00:45:09,097 Any... anybody you can think of at that time. 859 00:45:09,271 --> 00:45:13,101 It was the center of the world at that point. 860 00:45:13,623 --> 00:45:15,364 ♪ A brown felt top hat♪ 861 00:45:15,538 --> 00:45:17,105 ♪ Wrapped with a bow♪ 862 00:45:17,279 --> 00:45:19,020 ♪ Yellow wrap-around girl-watchers ♪ 863 00:45:19,281 --> 00:45:20,761 ♪ That never show ♪ 864 00:45:20,935 --> 00:45:22,328 ♪ His blue eyes, his blue eyes ♪ 865 00:45:22,502 --> 00:45:24,243 ♪ What a fantastic disguise ♪ 866 00:45:24,417 --> 00:45:27,463 ♪ He's so grand and fantastic, so wonderful ♪ 867 00:45:27,899 --> 00:45:31,163 Pamela: Frank suggested, since he had started a record label, 868 00:45:31,337 --> 00:45:35,123 that we actually become our own group. 869 00:45:35,471 --> 00:45:37,038 It was very ra-- unusual. 870 00:45:37,212 --> 00:45:38,866 I mean, there were no rock-- girl rock bands at all 871 00:45:39,040 --> 00:45:41,956 or rock groups. We didn't play any instruments. 872 00:45:43,001 --> 00:45:46,395 And he wanted us just to capture our lives in Laurel Canyon, 873 00:45:46,569 --> 00:45:47,962 on the Strip. 874 00:45:48,180 --> 00:45:49,572 He thought we had something to say. 875 00:45:50,269 --> 00:45:53,707 He always liked to preserve moments in time. 876 00:45:54,752 --> 00:45:57,667 Man: Uh, what kind of, uh, girls are these groupies? 877 00:45:57,972 --> 00:45:59,931 Zappa: Well, not all of 'em are groupies, you know. 878 00:46:00,105 --> 00:46:02,411 Some girls that will readily admit that they are groupies 879 00:46:02,585 --> 00:46:04,936 have a very special sort of mentality, you know, 880 00:46:05,110 --> 00:46:07,721 and they... they aspire to that position. 881 00:46:07,895 --> 00:46:10,855 But there are other girls who would never admit that they are groupies, 882 00:46:11,029 --> 00:46:13,335 but who function in that capacity anyway. 883 00:46:13,509 --> 00:46:15,511 Man: And the... what about, uh, your wife? 884 00:46:15,685 --> 00:46:17,731 I mean, does she like it? 885 00:46:17,905 --> 00:46:19,515 Well, she's become accustomed to it 886 00:46:19,689 --> 00:46:21,126 over a period of years. 887 00:46:24,259 --> 00:46:25,608 Pamela: Well, early, early days, 888 00:46:25,870 --> 00:46:28,611 I did not notice any messing around. 889 00:46:29,482 --> 00:46:31,266 When... when Moon was a little baby, 890 00:46:31,440 --> 00:46:32,833 and then she got pregnant with Dweezil, 891 00:46:33,007 --> 00:46:35,009 and she insisted they leave that scene. 892 00:46:35,183 --> 00:46:36,271 I remember that. 893 00:46:36,489 --> 00:46:37,664 Okay, that's it. 894 00:46:37,882 --> 00:46:39,492 She... she was having another kid. 895 00:46:39,709 --> 00:46:43,365 And, uh, you know, I don't think she liked it. 896 00:46:43,975 --> 00:46:45,759 She didn't. In fact, I know she didn't like it, 897 00:46:46,281 --> 00:46:48,022 but she knew about it. 898 00:46:48,675 --> 00:46:50,633 Zappa: I'm a human being, you know. 899 00:46:51,199 --> 00:46:52,679 I like to get laid. 900 00:46:53,985 --> 00:46:56,639 I mean, is... you have to be realistic about these things. 901 00:46:56,814 --> 00:46:59,425 You go out on the road, you strap on a bunch of girls, 902 00:46:59,599 --> 00:47:00,730 you come back to the house, 903 00:47:00,948 --> 00:47:02,210 you find out you've got the clap. 904 00:47:02,732 --> 00:47:04,082 What, you're going to keep it a secret from your wife? 905 00:47:04,256 --> 00:47:06,345 You know. So, I come back there, I said, 906 00:47:06,519 --> 00:47:08,564 "Look, I got the clap. Go get a prescription." 907 00:47:08,738 --> 00:47:11,263 So, she goes out and gets some penicillin tablets. 908 00:47:11,437 --> 00:47:13,482 We both take them, and that's it. 909 00:47:14,832 --> 00:47:17,182 She grumbles every once in a while, but, you know, 910 00:47:17,835 --> 00:47:19,314 she's my wife. 911 00:47:19,793 --> 00:47:23,579 Pamela: And he did include her in... in almost everything 912 00:47:23,753 --> 00:47:25,016 that... that he was doing. 913 00:47:25,233 --> 00:47:27,409 She was right there at all times. 914 00:47:27,583 --> 00:47:29,107 All right. Now what do you want to do about... 915 00:47:29,281 --> 00:47:30,630 Gail: I'll tell you the secret 916 00:47:30,804 --> 00:47:32,371 to keep maintaining a relationship, 917 00:47:32,545 --> 00:47:36,549 apart from the hideous uh, occupational hazards 918 00:47:36,723 --> 00:47:39,639 that in-- that are specific to rock and roll, 919 00:47:39,857 --> 00:47:43,599 um, which can throw you for an-- take you 920 00:47:43,773 --> 00:47:48,213 on an emotional rollercoaster if you let it from time to time. 921 00:47:48,387 --> 00:47:49,431 But... 922 00:47:50,258 --> 00:47:53,044 the main thing is don't have those conversations. 923 00:47:54,219 --> 00:47:57,048 So, Frank does what he does, and I do what I do. 924 00:48:00,181 --> 00:48:03,271 You know, I used to-- had an expression in my own mind about it. 925 00:48:03,489 --> 00:48:05,186 A polarity of passions. 926 00:48:06,579 --> 00:48:08,102 Two different worlds there, 927 00:48:08,276 --> 00:48:10,365 and it's sometimes very uncomfortable 928 00:48:10,539 --> 00:48:13,325 because he couldn't fucking wait to get out of the house 929 00:48:13,499 --> 00:48:14,761 and go on the road. 930 00:48:15,327 --> 00:48:17,895 But then, he was also very happy to come home 931 00:48:18,069 --> 00:48:19,635 just to feel safe again. 932 00:48:24,727 --> 00:48:26,120 Gail: One of the reasons why I said, 933 00:48:26,294 --> 00:48:27,861 "Let's get the fuck out of here," 934 00:48:28,209 --> 00:48:31,082 because Manson had set up shop in the mountain behind us 935 00:48:31,256 --> 00:48:32,648 at the log cabin. 936 00:48:34,128 --> 00:48:36,957 There was this trail that was maybe ten feet 937 00:48:37,131 --> 00:48:38,306 from the bedroom window, 938 00:48:38,741 --> 00:48:41,048 and every morning, I would see their feet 939 00:48:41,527 --> 00:48:43,007 cruising around the neighborhood. 940 00:48:43,833 --> 00:48:45,226 They were creepy. 941 00:48:47,315 --> 00:48:48,969 I mean, the thing about the '60s, 942 00:48:49,665 --> 00:48:51,798 you just know stuff. 943 00:48:52,320 --> 00:48:54,322 You don't know why you know it, but you just know it. 944 00:48:54,496 --> 00:48:56,890 You feel it. It's... it's just in the air. 945 00:48:57,064 --> 00:48:58,761 And I remember that. 946 00:48:59,066 --> 00:49:01,286 Reporter: The family's leader, Charles Manson, 947 00:49:01,460 --> 00:49:03,549 denied that they were a violent group. 948 00:49:04,028 --> 00:49:06,769 Gail: I don't know if previous generations felt that. 949 00:49:07,422 --> 00:49:09,033 But I know we did. 950 00:49:09,903 --> 00:49:12,036 Whoever was alive then did. 951 00:49:12,558 --> 00:49:15,256 [sinister music playing] 952 00:49:28,791 --> 00:49:30,837 Alice: The way we met was that I met Miss Christine 953 00:49:31,011 --> 00:49:32,404 from the GTOs. 954 00:49:32,752 --> 00:49:34,580 And they knew we were looking for a contract, 955 00:49:34,754 --> 00:49:36,843 and... and they knew Frank was just starting his own label. 956 00:49:37,452 --> 00:49:41,152 And we were this little band coming to LA to try to make it. 957 00:49:41,717 --> 00:49:44,285 Not knowing that he was going to be our savior. 958 00:49:44,851 --> 00:49:47,071 Every record company turned us down 959 00:49:47,245 --> 00:49:48,594 except for Frank. 960 00:49:49,160 --> 00:49:50,291 It was weird. 961 00:49:50,552 --> 00:49:52,163 He had the freaks, 962 00:49:52,424 --> 00:49:54,992 and he had the very, extremely intelligent 963 00:49:55,427 --> 00:49:57,995 and the very artsy people behind him. 964 00:49:58,256 --> 00:50:00,562 And then there was the whole middle that didn't get it. 965 00:50:01,041 --> 00:50:05,393 [band playing] 966 00:50:12,879 --> 00:50:17,797 Man: You formally disbanded the Mothers in 1969. Why? 967 00:50:19,277 --> 00:50:21,061 Zappa: Because it was a disaster. 968 00:50:21,453 --> 00:50:22,628 We were doing a tour. 969 00:50:22,802 --> 00:50:24,847 The tour wasn't successful. 970 00:50:25,370 --> 00:50:28,851 At the beginning, I took 400 dollars out of my bank account 971 00:50:29,026 --> 00:50:30,201 so I could eat. 972 00:50:31,202 --> 00:50:32,768 And by the time the tour was over, 973 00:50:32,986 --> 00:50:34,466 after paying everybody and everything, 974 00:50:34,640 --> 00:50:36,816 I was 10,000 dollars in debt. 975 00:50:37,121 --> 00:50:39,514 And it just seemed to me that this was not the-- 976 00:50:40,167 --> 00:50:42,256 a lifestyle I wished to continue. 977 00:50:42,909 --> 00:50:45,738 Hey. That sounds like shit. 978 00:50:48,523 --> 00:50:51,396 Want to get a level on this before we actually make it? 979 00:50:54,051 --> 00:50:56,749 Bunk: When we first went out to play, after the concert, 980 00:50:56,923 --> 00:50:59,752 we wanted to know if we were actually going to get paid. 981 00:51:00,970 --> 00:51:03,103 There was always that kind of, 982 00:51:03,277 --> 00:51:06,150 "Wow. What's going on financially?" 983 00:51:06,976 --> 00:51:09,979 So, we didn't even get a two-week notice. 984 00:51:10,154 --> 00:51:12,025 And... and I remember saying, 985 00:51:12,243 --> 00:51:14,245 "I just bought a new Chevy," whatever. 986 00:51:14,419 --> 00:51:15,942 You know. So, no. 987 00:51:16,116 --> 00:51:18,423 It was totally out of the blue. 988 00:51:19,119 --> 00:51:20,425 Totally. 989 00:51:23,428 --> 00:51:25,952 Mike: I think that Frank realized, "Wow. 990 00:51:26,126 --> 00:51:27,910 I just wanted to create something, 991 00:51:28,085 --> 00:51:29,825 and I wanted to make a statement artistically," 992 00:51:29,999 --> 00:51:32,176 but there's people relying on you. 993 00:51:32,350 --> 00:51:34,395 There's people expecting paychecks. 994 00:51:34,569 --> 00:51:37,529 And then Frank is like, "This isn't fun for me anymore. 995 00:51:37,703 --> 00:51:40,271 I don't want to feel as though I'm responsible 996 00:51:40,445 --> 00:51:41,881 for the-- the happiness and livelihood 997 00:51:42,055 --> 00:51:43,578 of... of a bunch of other people." 998 00:51:45,406 --> 00:51:47,452 "All I want to do is... is make statements 999 00:51:47,626 --> 00:51:50,107 and see how they sound." 1000 00:51:52,152 --> 00:51:55,329 Zappa: The new format that I'm working with now is... 1001 00:51:55,634 --> 00:51:57,723 that if I want to form a group called The Mothers of Invention 1002 00:51:57,897 --> 00:51:59,768 I'll stick anybody in it that I want to. 1003 00:51:59,942 --> 00:52:03,337 It's just whoever happens to be right for the type of work 1004 00:52:03,511 --> 00:52:04,860 that we're doing. 1005 00:52:05,209 --> 00:52:06,819 Like, for instance, if I'm going to do a concert 1006 00:52:06,993 --> 00:52:08,734 with a symphony orchestra and I don't necessarily 1007 00:52:08,908 --> 00:52:11,389 want to do a lot of vocals with the orchestra, 1008 00:52:11,563 --> 00:52:13,042 then I don't bring the vocals. 1009 00:52:13,434 --> 00:52:16,176 Or I... I have, uh, occasion to play a job 1010 00:52:16,350 --> 00:52:18,004 with a small group, like four or five pieces, 1011 00:52:18,178 --> 00:52:19,571 where I'm just going to play the guitar, 1012 00:52:19,745 --> 00:52:21,442 I'll bring along an instrumentation 1013 00:52:21,616 --> 00:52:23,270 - likeHot Rats. -Man: Uh-hmm. 1014 00:52:23,444 --> 00:52:25,490 So, I-- it gives me a little bit more 1015 00:52:25,664 --> 00:52:27,753 artistic flexibility, you might say. 1016 00:52:28,362 --> 00:52:30,408 Most of what occurred after that, 1017 00:52:30,669 --> 00:52:33,019 the groups were not as permanent. 1018 00:52:33,889 --> 00:52:36,065 They didn't have the same kind of personality 1019 00:52:36,240 --> 00:52:37,241 as the early Mothers. 1020 00:52:38,764 --> 00:52:42,202 The one that followed on after that 1969 batch 1021 00:52:42,376 --> 00:52:44,030 was the group with Mark and Howard. 1022 00:52:44,204 --> 00:52:45,597 And it had an identity. 1023 00:52:45,771 --> 00:52:48,339 - Oh, you're so professional. - Oh, okay. 1024 00:52:48,513 --> 00:52:51,864 The way you get to travel to all those exotic places. 1025 00:52:52,343 --> 00:52:56,085 Do you really have a hit single on the charts with a bullet? 1026 00:53:00,916 --> 00:53:03,615 ♪ Imagine me and you, I do ♪ 1027 00:53:03,789 --> 00:53:07,271 ♪ I think about you day and night, it's only right ♪ 1028 00:53:07,445 --> 00:53:11,013 ♪ To think about the girl you love and hold her tight ♪ 1029 00:53:11,188 --> 00:53:14,800 ♪ So happy together ♪ 1030 00:53:15,931 --> 00:53:19,805 ♪ I can't see me lovin' nobody but you ♪ 1031 00:53:19,979 --> 00:53:22,851 ♪ For all my life ♪ 1032 00:53:23,025 --> 00:53:26,899 ♪ When you're with me, baby, the skies'll be blue ♪ 1033 00:53:27,073 --> 00:53:30,424 ♪ For all my life ♪ 1034 00:53:31,208 --> 00:53:32,992 Zappa: They had been in a group called The Turtles, 1035 00:53:33,166 --> 00:53:34,863 but I guess The Turtles had broken up. 1036 00:53:35,255 --> 00:53:36,735 And I had done a concert 1037 00:53:36,909 --> 00:53:38,302 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, 1038 00:53:38,476 --> 00:53:40,391 and they came to the concert. 1039 00:53:40,782 --> 00:53:42,393 And we decided that I would put together 1040 00:53:42,567 --> 00:53:44,177 another touring band called the Mothers 1041 00:53:44,351 --> 00:53:46,571 and go out and do amusing things. 1042 00:53:50,357 --> 00:53:51,402 Hey! 1043 00:53:58,278 --> 00:54:00,715 ♪ Call any vegetable ♪ 1044 00:54:01,281 --> 00:54:02,978 ♪ Call it by name ♪ 1045 00:54:05,807 --> 00:54:07,548 ♪ Call one today♪ 1046 00:54:08,419 --> 00:54:10,595 ♪ When you get off the train♪ 1047 00:54:13,554 --> 00:54:15,817 ♪ Call any vegetable♪ 1048 00:54:15,991 --> 00:54:21,954 ♪ And the chances are good!♪ 1049 00:54:25,044 --> 00:54:26,393 Zappa: We were redefining 1050 00:54:26,567 --> 00:54:28,308 the expectations of entertainment. 1051 00:54:28,482 --> 00:54:29,962 But it seemed to me there was no reason 1052 00:54:30,136 --> 00:54:31,790 why that audience shouldn't experience 1053 00:54:32,007 --> 00:54:33,531 some of the things that had already happened 1054 00:54:33,705 --> 00:54:36,360 since 1920 in musical development. 1055 00:54:36,534 --> 00:54:38,362 Things that they were completely unaware of 1056 00:54:38,536 --> 00:54:41,365 just because they were a "rock audience" 1057 00:54:41,539 --> 00:54:44,193 and therefore deprived of musical experience. 1058 00:54:44,368 --> 00:54:46,587 It wasn't being presented to them in any kind 1059 00:54:46,761 --> 00:54:49,024 of music appreciation class in school. 1060 00:54:49,677 --> 00:54:51,897 Unfortunately, there were some people 1061 00:54:52,071 --> 00:54:55,770 who thought that it was bad because nothing should change 1062 00:54:55,944 --> 00:54:57,816 real rock and roll. 1063 00:54:57,990 --> 00:55:00,862 And anybody who would interfere with that kind of aesthetic 1064 00:55:01,036 --> 00:55:04,518 was viewed as a threat and needed to be disposed of. 1065 00:55:05,214 --> 00:55:08,348 And basically, my career has been... 1066 00:55:09,480 --> 00:55:12,178 year after year, waiting to be disposed of. 1067 00:55:41,425 --> 00:55:43,383 Man: How do you know about success? 1068 00:55:44,036 --> 00:55:45,559 Zappa: How do I know about success? 1069 00:55:45,733 --> 00:55:46,952 I don't know. 1070 00:55:48,693 --> 00:55:50,172 I watched The Beatles in the '60s. 1071 00:55:50,347 --> 00:55:51,739 I guess that's success. 1072 00:55:52,131 --> 00:55:53,872 [cheers and applause] 1073 00:55:54,133 --> 00:55:56,222 Hey. Sit down and cool it for a minute 1074 00:55:56,396 --> 00:55:57,963 so I can hear what we're going to do. 1075 00:55:58,267 --> 00:56:00,661 And for-- and for those of you in the band who have no idea 1076 00:56:00,835 --> 00:56:03,577 what's about to happen, this is in A minor. 1077 00:56:03,751 --> 00:56:04,926 And it's not standard... 1078 00:56:05,100 --> 00:56:06,580 Mike: You pretty much couldn't find 1079 00:56:06,798 --> 00:56:08,843 a... a more pristine example of somebody 1080 00:56:09,017 --> 00:56:10,845 at the absolute pinnacle 1081 00:56:11,019 --> 00:56:13,021 of mainstream musical success... 1082 00:56:13,979 --> 00:56:16,634 who decides, "Wow. This is bullshit." 1083 00:56:17,504 --> 00:56:19,114 I'd just like to say hello. 1084 00:56:20,028 --> 00:56:24,990 Mike: And so, when Lennon and Zappa finally crossed paths... 1085 00:56:27,688 --> 00:56:32,301 in some ways, it gave John and Yoko's artistic expression 1086 00:56:32,476 --> 00:56:35,740 a framework that they never really enjoyed 1087 00:56:36,044 --> 00:56:37,829 in any other context. 1088 00:56:38,003 --> 00:56:40,179 And in some ways, makes more sense 1089 00:56:40,353 --> 00:56:43,051 when the imprimatur of Frank and the Mothers 1090 00:56:43,225 --> 00:56:44,357 are surrounding them. 1091 00:56:44,618 --> 00:56:45,837 ♪ Stupid♪ 1092 00:56:46,968 --> 00:56:48,405 ♪ Stupid♪ 1093 00:56:49,971 --> 00:56:51,408 ♪ Stupid♪ 1094 00:56:53,061 --> 00:56:54,323 ♪ Stupid♪ 1095 00:56:55,847 --> 00:56:57,414 ♪ Stupid♪ 1096 00:56:58,719 --> 00:56:59,764 ♪ Stupid♪ 1097 00:57:00,895 --> 00:57:04,986 Alice: I really think Frank was afraid to have a hit record. 1098 00:57:06,248 --> 00:57:08,816 Because I think Frank could have written hit records all day. 1099 00:57:09,948 --> 00:57:13,560 And he purposely sabotaged a lot of his records. 1100 00:57:15,344 --> 00:57:16,868 It was interesting 'cause everybody 1101 00:57:17,042 --> 00:57:18,913 was going for the hit record, and he never did. 1102 00:57:20,915 --> 00:57:23,527 Ian: That makes absolutely no sense to me. 1103 00:57:25,267 --> 00:57:28,923 But I don't disagree with it because I... I think 1104 00:57:29,097 --> 00:57:31,186 that that's probably correct, but I don't think Frank was-- 1105 00:57:31,404 --> 00:57:36,627 had any interest whatsoever in writing an-- any hit tunes. 1106 00:57:37,802 --> 00:57:40,239 That's not even on his radar. 1107 00:57:42,720 --> 00:57:43,895 Ruth: This man... 1108 00:57:44,461 --> 00:57:47,376 was just a walking mass of contradictions, 1109 00:57:47,638 --> 00:57:50,467 and yet... now I'm going to contradict myself. 1110 00:57:50,641 --> 00:57:52,120 At the same time, 1111 00:57:52,338 --> 00:57:54,340 he was very consistent with those contradictions. 1112 00:57:56,298 --> 00:57:58,823 [orchestra plays] 1113 00:58:02,783 --> 00:58:05,264 Man: Do you see any commercial potential in it? 1114 00:58:05,525 --> 00:58:08,441 I sure as hell hope so. [laughs] 1115 00:58:11,662 --> 00:58:14,403 From 200 Motels he expects the worst reviews 1116 00:58:14,578 --> 00:58:16,667 of any movie ever put out. 1117 00:58:17,798 --> 00:58:22,063 His intention is to create a piece of film so bizarre 1118 00:58:22,324 --> 00:58:25,937 and parts of it so full of bullshit 1119 00:58:26,894 --> 00:58:29,941 and other parts of it so technically perfect 1120 00:58:30,115 --> 00:58:32,465 that the people are going to leave the theater, going... 1121 00:58:32,639 --> 00:58:35,076 "I didn't understand it at all. What's he doing? 1122 00:58:35,250 --> 00:58:37,470 What's-- what's the message? What's he trying to say?" 1123 00:58:37,644 --> 00:58:39,864 Well, that's the message. 1124 00:58:40,342 --> 00:58:41,996 Martin walks over in here. 1125 00:58:42,170 --> 00:58:44,172 You just come over and stand near the side of the organ 1126 00:58:44,433 --> 00:58:46,044 and watch from the background. 1127 00:58:46,218 --> 00:58:47,872 Mark: Just the whole idea that it is Frank Zappa 1128 00:58:48,046 --> 00:58:49,569 and The Mothers of Invention 1129 00:58:49,874 --> 00:58:51,528 has always given us something to talk about. 1130 00:58:51,745 --> 00:58:55,923 You know, Frank is, you know, our boss, and so there's always 1131 00:58:56,097 --> 00:59:00,058 that kind of management/worker relationship. 1132 00:59:00,754 --> 00:59:02,756 It's all very temporary. 1133 00:59:02,974 --> 00:59:06,760 And, uh, that's the way it works. 1134 00:59:06,934 --> 00:59:09,371 And you just-- you just never know. 1135 00:59:09,546 --> 00:59:11,852 I mean, like, it isn't the final stay 1136 00:59:12,026 --> 00:59:13,637 for any of us. 1137 00:59:13,811 --> 00:59:14,725 You know, like, this isn't the final Mothers 1138 00:59:14,899 --> 00:59:16,291 Frank will have. 1139 00:59:16,596 --> 00:59:19,120 It's hard to say how long we will be together. 1140 00:59:20,513 --> 00:59:22,950 So, they see that you're getting Martin back there and everybody. 1141 00:59:23,124 --> 00:59:24,561 You're waking them all up. 1142 00:59:25,692 --> 00:59:29,391 Steve: My perspective of it has changed through the years. 1143 00:59:30,131 --> 00:59:32,525 Because when I was in it, 1144 00:59:33,352 --> 00:59:36,094 I was a tool for the composer 1145 00:59:36,268 --> 00:59:38,444 and... and as-- is all of his musicians. 1146 00:59:38,662 --> 00:59:42,927 And he used his tools, uh, brilliantly. 1147 00:59:43,884 --> 00:59:46,887 It's like, whatever you can do that's interesting and unique, 1148 00:59:47,061 --> 00:59:48,802 it's going to be exaggerated 1149 00:59:49,455 --> 00:59:54,286 and used as he deems fit for his music. 1150 00:59:57,202 --> 01:00:01,902 Ruth: Frank would often appear to be cold, aloof, 1151 01:00:02,076 --> 01:00:06,864 and not personally involved with his trained monkeys 1152 01:00:07,038 --> 01:00:09,040 as once he joked about. 1153 01:00:09,214 --> 01:00:11,085 We're just all trained monkeys, right? 1154 01:00:11,259 --> 01:00:14,262 He's the circus ringleader or whatever. 1155 01:00:14,959 --> 01:00:21,139 But I want to tell you that he had great feelings for us. 1156 01:00:21,879 --> 01:00:24,316 He was-- he was human. 1157 01:00:24,490 --> 01:00:27,406 There were times when I didn't feel 1158 01:00:27,624 --> 01:00:28,973 that he was so much. 1159 01:00:29,147 --> 01:00:31,758 And I did feel he was cruel at times. 1160 01:00:31,932 --> 01:00:34,674 But he was a passionate man. 1161 01:00:34,848 --> 01:00:37,851 And he developed real love, 1162 01:00:38,025 --> 01:00:40,245 I'm not going to say equally for everybody. 1163 01:00:40,419 --> 01:00:45,076 But the people that he loved, he kept bringing back 1164 01:00:45,816 --> 01:00:49,036 over and through many of the bands. 1165 01:00:49,210 --> 01:00:50,864 Many of the tours. 1166 01:00:53,084 --> 01:00:55,608 [speaking indistinctly] 1167 01:00:56,043 --> 01:00:57,958 Gail: Frank was very loyal to the people 1168 01:00:58,176 --> 01:00:59,960 that had helped him along the way 1169 01:01:00,134 --> 01:01:02,267 even if they were the worst motherfuckers. 1170 01:01:02,833 --> 01:01:06,358 He would, um, go out of his way to help them. 1171 01:01:07,272 --> 01:01:11,493 And I can count on one hand the friends that he truly 1172 01:01:11,668 --> 01:01:13,539 would spend time with. 1173 01:01:14,714 --> 01:01:18,587 He was pretty forgiving for someone that he knew, 1174 01:01:18,762 --> 01:01:20,677 but if he didn't know you, 1175 01:01:21,416 --> 01:01:22,809 one chance, that's it. 1176 01:01:22,983 --> 01:01:24,115 Done. 1177 01:01:24,506 --> 01:01:26,900 You know, so he could be hardcore as well. 1178 01:01:36,301 --> 01:01:37,998 First of all, he was not injured. 1179 01:01:38,259 --> 01:01:40,087 He was attacked. 1180 01:01:43,961 --> 01:01:46,398 This myth about him falling off the stage, 1181 01:01:46,572 --> 01:01:48,356 that didn't happen. 1182 01:01:48,530 --> 01:01:52,883 Some idiot attacked him and threw him off the stage. 1183 01:01:53,144 --> 01:01:54,972 - [people screaming] - [indistinct chatter] 1184 01:02:01,021 --> 01:02:03,632 Man: And I know a lot of people know something happened to you, 1185 01:02:03,807 --> 01:02:05,460 and essentially, it was that 1186 01:02:05,634 --> 01:02:09,029 a person of somewhat demented condition, apparently, 1187 01:02:09,203 --> 01:02:10,814 had pulled you off the stage 1188 01:02:10,988 --> 01:02:12,772 at a place called the Rainbow Theatre in London. 1189 01:02:13,991 --> 01:02:16,210 And you were knocked unconscious and pretty seriously injured. 1190 01:02:16,384 --> 01:02:17,603 And I know you were in a wheelchair 1191 01:02:17,777 --> 01:02:19,257 a long time after that. 1192 01:02:19,518 --> 01:02:21,694 Uh, there's been a lot of talk about some of things 1193 01:02:21,868 --> 01:02:24,653 that happened to the Mothers as a result of that accident, 1194 01:02:24,828 --> 01:02:27,526 but I'm wondering what, if anything, it did to you. 1195 01:02:27,700 --> 01:02:28,962 Did it affect your thinking? 1196 01:02:29,223 --> 01:02:30,834 Did it change any of your perspectives? 1197 01:02:31,008 --> 01:02:32,444 Oh, certainly. Of course. 1198 01:02:32,618 --> 01:02:34,359 It helps you to find out who your friends are. 1199 01:02:34,533 --> 01:02:35,490 [chuckles] 1200 01:02:36,361 --> 01:02:38,537 Try sitting in a wheelchair for nine months. 1201 01:02:38,711 --> 01:02:40,321 You'll find out who your friends are. 1202 01:02:43,498 --> 01:02:44,978 The point that I was in the hospital, 1203 01:02:45,239 --> 01:02:46,632 you have a bunch of guys 1204 01:02:46,850 --> 01:02:48,547 who earn their living from touring. 1205 01:02:48,721 --> 01:02:50,114 And I was unable to tour for the bulk of that year. 1206 01:02:50,679 --> 01:02:52,594 So, I'm used to being active and traveling around 1207 01:02:52,769 --> 01:02:54,553 and having a good time. 1208 01:02:54,901 --> 01:02:57,512 And so, if you're sitting there and you are an invalid 1209 01:02:57,774 --> 01:03:00,602 against your will, uh, it does change your outlook 1210 01:03:00,777 --> 01:03:01,908 a little bit. 1211 01:03:32,330 --> 01:03:34,854 Bruce: The nose is the important part 1212 01:03:35,986 --> 01:03:38,597 when you're making a Zappa head. 1213 01:03:39,946 --> 01:03:42,427 'Cause no one else has one like it. 1214 01:03:45,691 --> 01:03:49,260 It doesn't have ears, but that's because 1215 01:03:49,434 --> 01:03:52,263 they wouldn't be seen once you get the hair on. 1216 01:03:55,005 --> 01:03:58,530 But the hair is actually the... the simpler part 1217 01:03:58,704 --> 01:04:00,575 of this whole thing. 1218 01:04:01,228 --> 01:04:06,625 You can see here how easily the hair goes on. 1219 01:04:11,108 --> 01:04:13,850 Man: How did you find the animator, Bruce Bickford? 1220 01:04:14,241 --> 01:04:16,548 Zappa: I was sitting here with a broken leg, 1221 01:04:16,722 --> 01:04:18,463 and he climbed over my fence 1222 01:04:18,637 --> 01:04:20,813 with two reels of film under his arm. 1223 01:04:21,335 --> 01:04:22,641 Now, this is tough 'cause the fence 1224 01:04:22,815 --> 01:04:25,470 used to be pretty high, but he made it. 1225 01:04:28,255 --> 01:04:30,823 Bruce: I hitchhiked up to Laurel Canyon 1226 01:04:30,997 --> 01:04:33,043 and then found his house. 1227 01:04:35,001 --> 01:04:38,526 We looked at the stuff, and he was impressed 1228 01:04:38,700 --> 01:04:41,529 by the number of figures that I could sustain 1229 01:04:41,703 --> 01:04:44,141 in animation in one shot. 1230 01:04:45,882 --> 01:04:48,928 Zappa: As far as I can tell, he's the best ever. 1231 01:04:49,711 --> 01:04:51,539 And he wanted to know if I could help him. 1232 01:04:51,713 --> 01:04:53,846 I was sitting in the basement, and here's this guy 1233 01:04:54,020 --> 01:04:55,152 with this footage. 1234 01:04:55,979 --> 01:04:57,719 And he's been on my payroll ever since. 1235 01:05:00,853 --> 01:05:02,942 Mike: Motherfucker throws Frank off the stage, 1236 01:05:03,116 --> 01:05:04,770 and whether Frank likes it or not, 1237 01:05:04,944 --> 01:05:07,207 that's a huge marker for a new phase. 1238 01:05:07,381 --> 01:05:08,992 He's got to convalesce. 1239 01:05:09,166 --> 01:05:10,950 And what do you do if you're Frank Zappa 1240 01:05:11,124 --> 01:05:13,997 with that brain and you can't move? 1241 01:05:14,171 --> 01:05:15,520 And you can't get up? 1242 01:05:15,868 --> 01:05:17,739 He's got a restless, creative mind, 1243 01:05:17,914 --> 01:05:19,219 so he's going to start creating. 1244 01:05:20,046 --> 01:05:22,135 Zappa: Ladies and gentlemen, I suppose you've noticed 1245 01:05:22,309 --> 01:05:23,702 that this is a clay forest, 1246 01:05:23,876 --> 01:05:25,312 and the forest has been manufactured 1247 01:05:25,486 --> 01:05:26,705 for your edification 1248 01:05:26,879 --> 01:05:29,186 by none other than Bruce Bickford. 1249 01:05:29,360 --> 01:05:31,405 Bruce, would you please tell us what's going on 1250 01:05:31,579 --> 01:05:32,972 on this table over here? 1251 01:05:33,233 --> 01:05:35,801 Bruce: Well, all you have to do is just move it 1252 01:05:35,975 --> 01:05:37,585 a very slight amount. 1253 01:05:38,673 --> 01:05:40,371 And then you take the picture. 1254 01:05:40,588 --> 01:05:43,896 And you move it again. And just keep going. 1255 01:05:44,070 --> 01:05:46,290 And you can pick up speed after a while. 1256 01:05:46,464 --> 01:05:49,597 On making sure each time that you get your fingers out 1257 01:05:49,771 --> 01:05:53,297 from in front of the lens before you take the picture. 1258 01:05:54,037 --> 01:05:56,256 That's all you got to know. 1259 01:05:58,867 --> 01:06:01,958 Uh, at times, he... he was stubborn. 1260 01:06:03,002 --> 01:06:04,612 We were gonna make a movie, 1261 01:06:04,786 --> 01:06:10,488 and all he could think about was control. His control. 1262 01:06:11,837 --> 01:06:15,884 He had some emotions that ran deep 1263 01:06:16,363 --> 01:06:18,626 that he wouldn't express. 1264 01:06:20,802 --> 01:06:25,764 Bunk: I just accepted everything rather than questioning 1265 01:06:25,982 --> 01:06:28,114 why are you like you are? 1266 01:06:28,288 --> 01:06:31,204 But I could see the workaholic, 1267 01:06:31,813 --> 01:06:35,687 and that was where his joy was coming from. 1268 01:06:37,297 --> 01:06:40,387 Mike: I think that Frank didn't, like, express himself 1269 01:06:40,605 --> 01:06:43,564 as directly in terms of his own emotions. 1270 01:06:44,826 --> 01:06:48,004 I don't think he saw that as his purpose. 1271 01:06:50,180 --> 01:06:52,486 Bruce: He had so much talent. 1272 01:06:53,009 --> 01:06:55,707 It defied everything. 1273 01:07:00,668 --> 01:07:03,889 Mike: When something cataclysmic happens in your life, 1274 01:07:04,803 --> 01:07:07,066 there's any number of ways you can deal with it. 1275 01:07:07,240 --> 01:07:08,937 You can just go, "Oh, my god, why me?" 1276 01:07:09,155 --> 01:07:11,244 and be capsized. 1277 01:07:11,418 --> 01:07:14,813 Or you can say, "Well, I got no choice in the matter here. 1278 01:07:14,987 --> 01:07:16,597 Something has changed." 1279 01:07:16,902 --> 01:07:18,991 He's not going to continue employing a group 1280 01:07:19,165 --> 01:07:20,688 while he's convalescing, 1281 01:07:20,862 --> 01:07:23,648 so that version of the Mothers scatters, 1282 01:07:24,257 --> 01:07:25,650 starts doing their own things. 1283 01:07:25,824 --> 01:07:28,827 And as soon as he's able to write, 1284 01:07:29,610 --> 01:07:32,004 wheel to the rehearsal studio, get some of the horn players in there, 1285 01:07:32,178 --> 01:07:34,441 put the charts in front of him, hear what things sound like, 1286 01:07:34,963 --> 01:07:37,792 end up with a stack of new compositions, 1287 01:07:37,966 --> 01:07:41,057 go out on the road, surprise people yet again. 1288 01:07:42,232 --> 01:07:44,321 Let me tell you something. Do you like monster movies? 1289 01:07:44,843 --> 01:07:46,062 Anybody? 1290 01:07:46,671 --> 01:07:49,326 I love monster movies. 1291 01:07:50,501 --> 01:07:53,895 I simply adore monster movies and the cheaper they are, 1292 01:07:54,113 --> 01:07:56,420 the better they are. All right? 1293 01:07:58,117 --> 01:07:59,814 And this is "Cheepnis" here. 1294 01:08:00,076 --> 01:08:01,773 One, two, three, four. 1295 01:08:09,694 --> 01:08:11,391 ♪ I ate a hotdog♪ 1296 01:08:11,565 --> 01:08:13,263 ♪ It tasted real good♪ 1297 01:08:16,396 --> 01:08:18,703 ♪ Then I watched a movie from Hollywood ♪ 1298 01:08:22,837 --> 01:08:24,274 [cheers and applause] 1299 01:08:39,463 --> 01:08:41,726 I want to tell you one more time. 1300 01:08:42,292 --> 01:08:43,771 I want to thank you 1301 01:08:43,989 --> 01:08:45,860 because I really appreciate this. 1302 01:08:46,557 --> 01:08:49,037 [guitar wailing] 1303 01:09:05,097 --> 01:09:08,579 Thank you, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 1304 01:09:08,753 --> 01:09:11,973 Thank every one of you. And good night. 1305 01:09:19,155 --> 01:09:22,419 Scott: I think at every point in his life, 1306 01:09:22,593 --> 01:09:24,638 he was trying to do the best thing 1307 01:09:24,986 --> 01:09:27,989 that he could to have no regrets. 1308 01:09:28,903 --> 01:09:35,301 But what was Frank honestly trying to do? 1309 01:09:35,867 --> 01:09:40,698 He didn't give a shit about the immediate... 1310 01:09:41,046 --> 01:09:44,615 world of his-- of his attempting to function 1311 01:09:44,789 --> 01:09:46,660 in the way that he chose to function, which was 1312 01:09:46,834 --> 01:09:49,228 "If I'm alive, I've got to be in the studio. 1313 01:09:49,402 --> 01:09:52,188 I've got to be at the music paper." 1314 01:09:53,058 --> 01:09:54,364 Zappa: My desires are simple. 1315 01:09:54,538 --> 01:09:55,887 All I want to do is get a good performance 1316 01:09:56,061 --> 01:09:57,323 and a good recording 1317 01:09:57,715 --> 01:09:59,369 of everything that I ever wrote so I can hear it. 1318 01:09:59,543 --> 01:10:00,848 And if anybody else wants to hear it, 1319 01:10:01,022 --> 01:10:02,198 then that's great too. 1320 01:10:03,808 --> 01:10:05,853 Sounds easy, but it's really hard to do. 1321 01:10:07,072 --> 01:10:09,988 Steve: Frank was a slave to his inner ear. 1322 01:10:10,206 --> 01:10:12,164 So, he heard things a particular way, 1323 01:10:12,338 --> 01:10:14,340 and then he tried to manifest them in the world, 1324 01:10:14,558 --> 01:10:15,950 but there were limitations. 1325 01:10:16,124 --> 01:10:18,997 And... there's financial limitations to a degree 1326 01:10:19,171 --> 01:10:21,652 when you're dealing with orchestra pieces. 1327 01:10:21,826 --> 01:10:24,437 And there's performance limitations, you know? 1328 01:10:24,611 --> 01:10:27,875 You can just write something that somebody can't play, you know. 1329 01:10:28,311 --> 01:10:31,531 But the music needed to resemble what he was hearing 1330 01:10:31,705 --> 01:10:33,011 in his head. 1331 01:10:33,707 --> 01:10:36,667 So, this led to a lot of... I think suffering on his part 1332 01:10:36,841 --> 01:10:39,191 due to the inadequacies and limitations of others, 1333 01:10:39,365 --> 01:10:41,585 you know. Sorry, Frank. 1334 01:10:41,889 --> 01:10:43,674 [laughter] 1335 01:10:44,327 --> 01:10:46,024 Zappa: We rehearse all the time. 1336 01:10:46,894 --> 01:10:49,288 Every day before we play, we rehearse. 1337 01:10:49,506 --> 01:10:51,116 We'll... we'll rehearse, uh, 1338 01:10:51,290 --> 01:10:54,337 before this tour, we rehearsed for three weeks 1339 01:10:54,989 --> 01:10:58,297 four days a week, five hours a day. 1340 01:10:58,950 --> 01:11:01,605 Steve: A lot of people think, "Oh, he was very demanding." 1341 01:11:02,083 --> 01:11:03,824 No more demanding than anybody 1342 01:11:03,998 --> 01:11:06,218 that has a job that they need to do. 1343 01:11:06,392 --> 01:11:10,048 But it would be really difficult for a musician in Frank's band 1344 01:11:10,222 --> 01:11:12,964 if he was asking you to do things that you couldn't do. 1345 01:11:13,399 --> 01:11:15,271 But he always asked you to do things 1346 01:11:15,445 --> 01:11:18,448 that he believed you can do, but maybe you didn't. 1347 01:11:21,146 --> 01:11:24,323 "Black Page" was a piece of music that Frank wrote. 1348 01:11:25,411 --> 01:11:28,980 It's probably, um, at the foref... 1349 01:11:29,154 --> 01:11:30,590 forefront of innovation 1350 01:11:31,199 --> 01:11:34,507 in regard to rhythmic polymetric notation. 1351 01:11:36,074 --> 01:11:39,164 No doubt. No doubt. Because there's certain rhythmic 1352 01:11:39,338 --> 01:11:41,253 situations in that piece 1353 01:11:41,862 --> 01:11:44,865 that are extraordinarily complex, 1354 01:11:45,344 --> 01:11:46,780 but the important thing 1355 01:11:46,998 --> 01:11:48,956 is it sounds like a beautiful piece of music. 1356 01:11:49,130 --> 01:11:50,567 It's unique. 1357 01:11:50,871 --> 01:11:52,003 It's a comp-- and it's nothing like anything else 1358 01:11:52,177 --> 01:11:54,832 in his catalog. This is Frank, you know. 1359 01:11:55,006 --> 01:11:58,749 And so, the "Black Page" is this piece of music 1360 01:11:58,923 --> 01:12:00,533 that was like this, um, 1361 01:12:00,707 --> 01:12:03,319 phenomenon to me and to many others. 1362 01:12:19,160 --> 01:12:22,903 Ruth: There was no doubt that there was a person 1363 01:12:23,077 --> 01:12:26,864 who could write music, fantastic music, 1364 01:12:27,081 --> 01:12:29,388 who cared that it be played properly. 1365 01:12:31,390 --> 01:12:33,305 And what I'm hearing 1366 01:12:34,045 --> 01:12:36,264 was put on this earth for me. 1367 01:12:36,482 --> 01:12:37,614 It was for me. 1368 01:13:06,904 --> 01:13:08,427 Ruth: That music is there 1369 01:13:09,907 --> 01:13:12,692 for as long as we have any kind of, uh, 1370 01:13:12,866 --> 01:13:14,607 appreciation for the arts. 1371 01:13:15,695 --> 01:13:17,958 The music that Frank made I think will last. 1372 01:13:27,141 --> 01:13:28,447 Producer: You guys fucking nailed that. 1373 01:13:30,057 --> 01:13:31,363 [laughs, cheers] 1374 01:13:31,537 --> 01:13:33,278 Yeah. That was good. 1375 01:13:36,281 --> 01:13:38,805 Man: Now that you are becoming a successful man 1376 01:13:38,979 --> 01:13:42,156 on-- in the music scene, what consequences 1377 01:13:42,418 --> 01:13:44,071 could this probably have for you? 1378 01:13:44,245 --> 01:13:45,682 Zappa: I don't think about it. 1379 01:13:45,856 --> 01:13:47,074 A lot of times, the people... 1380 01:13:47,988 --> 01:13:50,034 like what you do for the wrong reasons. 1381 01:13:51,514 --> 01:13:53,777 Live from New York, it's Saturday Night. 1382 01:13:54,038 --> 01:13:56,257 [cheers and applause] 1383 01:13:57,433 --> 01:13:59,609 No, I don't do drugs. 1384 01:13:59,783 --> 01:14:03,526 I just don't like the effects it has on some people. 1385 01:14:06,398 --> 01:14:07,617 What do you mean, man? 1386 01:14:07,834 --> 01:14:09,227 What do you mean you don't do drugs? 1387 01:14:09,401 --> 01:14:11,098 Frank Zappa doesn't do drugs? 1388 01:14:11,272 --> 01:14:12,360 I don't believe it. 1389 01:14:13,144 --> 01:14:14,319 Zappa: Uh, well, that was their idea 1390 01:14:14,493 --> 01:14:16,190 of something funny. 1391 01:14:16,452 --> 01:14:17,888 I think they actually did it just to make fun of me, 1392 01:14:18,149 --> 01:14:19,411 you know, because you know 1393 01:14:19,585 --> 01:14:21,152 what their orientation is all about. 1394 01:14:21,979 --> 01:14:24,242 You didn't get high with the original Mothers? 1395 01:14:24,416 --> 01:14:26,157 - No. - What about Freak Out!,man? 1396 01:14:26,374 --> 01:14:28,507 You mean, you were straight when you wrote Freak Out!? 1397 01:14:28,725 --> 01:14:30,466 Oh my, God! Oh, my God! 1398 01:14:30,683 --> 01:14:35,253 Ah, wow, man, that's such a mind blower. 1399 01:14:35,645 --> 01:14:38,648 Zappa: I thought the whole skit sucked myself, and, uh, 1400 01:14:38,822 --> 01:14:40,519 I was just stuck doing it. 1401 01:14:40,693 --> 01:14:42,565 They wouldn't let me write anything for the show. 1402 01:14:42,782 --> 01:14:44,392 What is your function on this planet? 1403 01:14:44,567 --> 01:14:46,612 I am a musician. 1404 01:14:46,917 --> 01:14:48,092 One, two, three, four. 1405 01:14:50,529 --> 01:14:54,359 Don Pardo: Ladies and gentlemen. Frank Zappa. 1406 01:14:54,620 --> 01:14:56,274 ♪ I don't know much about dancing♪ 1407 01:14:56,448 --> 01:14:58,232 ♪ That's why I got this song♪ 1408 01:14:58,406 --> 01:14:59,625 ♪ One of my legs is shorter than the other♪ 1409 01:14:59,886 --> 01:15:01,409 ♪ And both my feet's too long♪ 1410 01:15:01,584 --> 01:15:03,063 ♪ Course now right along with them♪ 1411 01:15:03,237 --> 01:15:04,587 ♪ Got no natural rhythm♪ 1412 01:15:04,761 --> 01:15:06,284 ♪ But I go dancing every night♪ 1413 01:15:06,458 --> 01:15:08,242 ♪ Hoping one day I might get it right♪ 1414 01:15:08,416 --> 01:15:11,594 ♪ I'm a dancing fool♪ 1415 01:15:11,985 --> 01:15:15,075 ♪ I'm a dancing fool♪ 1416 01:15:15,336 --> 01:15:18,601 ♪ I'm a dancing fool♪ 1417 01:15:18,775 --> 01:15:21,038 ♪ He's a dancing fool♪ 1418 01:15:21,386 --> 01:15:22,909 ♪ I may be totally wrong, but I'm a...♪ 1419 01:15:25,129 --> 01:15:26,696 ♪ I may be totally wrong, but I'm a...♪ 1420 01:15:28,872 --> 01:15:30,526 ♪ I may be totally wrong, but I'm a...♪ 1421 01:15:32,353 --> 01:15:35,748 ♪ I may be totally wrong, but I'm a fool, yeah♪ 1422 01:15:36,401 --> 01:15:37,794 Mike: There was a part of him 1423 01:15:38,272 --> 01:15:39,665 that even though he had a lot of people's attention, 1424 01:15:39,883 --> 01:15:41,885 of feeling cynical about the fact that, 1425 01:15:42,059 --> 01:15:43,539 yeah, all these people are... are looking, 1426 01:15:43,713 --> 01:15:45,149 but they don't know what they're seeing. 1427 01:15:51,198 --> 01:15:53,331 Ray White: Sometimes truth, when you put truth up, 1428 01:15:53,505 --> 01:15:55,768 really quickly, like "Here's the truth," 1429 01:15:55,942 --> 01:15:59,250 uh, it's like, uh, uh, um, daylight to a vampire. 1430 01:15:59,424 --> 01:16:00,730 You know what I'm saying? 1431 01:16:00,904 --> 01:16:02,732 Some people are used to avoiding truth. 1432 01:16:02,993 --> 01:16:05,430 When someone puts it right on the table, 1433 01:16:06,039 --> 01:16:07,824 don't bring that plate out here again. 1434 01:16:08,041 --> 01:16:10,087 And don't play the music that the guy that eats off 1435 01:16:10,304 --> 01:16:11,654 that plate on the radio. 1436 01:16:12,698 --> 01:16:14,613 He don't-- not only thinks, he discerns. 1437 01:16:15,440 --> 01:16:18,225 We got to keep this guy under check, you know? 1438 01:16:18,399 --> 01:16:19,531 'Cause he can't be out there. 1439 01:16:19,705 --> 01:16:21,707 And that's just my eyes seeing it 1440 01:16:21,881 --> 01:16:23,753 as a Black man in America. 1441 01:16:24,057 --> 01:16:25,624 Anybody that comes from the outside, 1442 01:16:25,798 --> 01:16:29,672 or so-called outside, with ideas and new thoughts, 1443 01:16:30,324 --> 01:16:33,240 and you see this unknown hand just go like this 1444 01:16:33,458 --> 01:16:34,677 and brush you aside. 1445 01:16:36,679 --> 01:16:38,419 Gail: In those days, record companies 1446 01:16:38,594 --> 01:16:41,292 had a lot more control over artists. 1447 01:16:41,858 --> 01:16:44,904 Typically, what a record company would do is like sort of, 1448 01:16:45,122 --> 01:16:46,645 they would get it-- they were getting closer 1449 01:16:46,906 --> 01:16:49,430 and closer to 360 deals, which means they own 1450 01:16:49,648 --> 01:16:51,824 all the parts of you around your asshole 1451 01:16:52,085 --> 01:16:54,740 and everything else that goes with. 1452 01:16:55,219 --> 01:16:57,177 So, Frank wanted to do a box set. 1453 01:16:57,395 --> 01:17:00,180 They said, "No, nobody can do box sets. That's insane." 1454 01:17:00,398 --> 01:17:02,487 So then he took the box set apart 1455 01:17:02,661 --> 01:17:04,445 and made four albums out of it. 1456 01:17:04,620 --> 01:17:06,491 He went over to Warner's, and he just handed them over 1457 01:17:06,665 --> 01:17:08,624 and said, "Okay, we're-- I'm done. 1458 01:17:08,841 --> 01:17:10,974 That's the end of my contract. Here's your four albums." 1459 01:17:11,670 --> 01:17:16,414 And that changed everything from that point on. 1460 01:17:16,632 --> 01:17:19,286 But more than that, he's the first artist to go 1461 01:17:19,504 --> 01:17:20,853 completely independent. 1462 01:17:21,375 --> 01:17:22,855 You know, we set up our own label. 1463 01:17:23,769 --> 01:17:27,207 Mike: As Frank and Gail get into the Zappa Records phase, 1464 01:17:27,381 --> 01:17:29,601 and you know, one of the first albums that come out, 1465 01:17:29,949 --> 01:17:33,431 Sheik Yerbouti, which is a very successful album. 1466 01:17:33,605 --> 01:17:36,434 And it's got crowd-pleasing, really filthy shit on it. 1467 01:17:36,695 --> 01:17:39,393 But-- you get into the subject matter on that record, 1468 01:17:39,567 --> 01:17:42,353 and it's still dark. He's still in that dark place. 1469 01:17:42,614 --> 01:17:44,268 Almost every song on that record 1470 01:17:44,442 --> 01:17:47,271 is just like attacking a specific group of people. 1471 01:18:24,482 --> 01:18:28,921 Man: You always were a renegade against the music business. Why? 1472 01:18:29,139 --> 01:18:30,793 Zappa: Because most of what the music business does 1473 01:18:30,967 --> 01:18:32,490 is not musical. 1474 01:18:32,882 --> 01:18:33,883 Man: How many lawsuits do you have out now, Frank? 1475 01:18:34,057 --> 01:18:35,623 Zappa: Probably about nine. 1476 01:18:35,972 --> 01:18:37,451 Man: Nine lawsuits against some of the most famous 1477 01:18:37,713 --> 01:18:39,323 record companies in Los Angeles. 1478 01:18:39,627 --> 01:18:40,890 Zappa: That's true. 1479 01:18:41,238 --> 01:18:42,456 Man 2: What do you think is the reason 1480 01:18:42,674 --> 01:18:44,197 that Warner Brothers didn't pay you? 1481 01:18:44,763 --> 01:18:46,634 They're a bunch of assholes, of course. 1482 01:18:49,812 --> 01:18:52,466 Steve: Besides the incredible freedom 1483 01:18:52,640 --> 01:18:54,991 of his creative perspectives, 1484 01:18:55,731 --> 01:18:58,864 his business perspectives were very independent. 1485 01:18:59,212 --> 01:19:00,736 I mean, he started his own label 1486 01:19:01,432 --> 01:19:04,827 back in the day when this was relatively new 1487 01:19:05,001 --> 01:19:06,916 and he was sort of at the forefront in a sense, 1488 01:19:07,090 --> 01:19:09,222 and that was very vital to their, you know, 1489 01:19:09,527 --> 01:19:11,094 organization and their income. 1490 01:19:12,617 --> 01:19:16,839 Gail: By 1982, we had started a small mail-order company, 1491 01:19:17,056 --> 01:19:18,492 and we did, like, 1492 01:19:18,666 --> 01:19:20,277 a million dollars' worth of sales. 1493 01:19:20,886 --> 01:19:23,497 For us, that was good business because you only had to sell 1494 01:19:23,671 --> 01:19:25,717 a quarter as many records really to make 1495 01:19:25,935 --> 01:19:27,414 the same amount of profit. 1496 01:19:27,632 --> 01:19:29,286 This is where all the fan mail comes in. 1497 01:19:29,460 --> 01:19:31,201 This is where I read it, and if you don't believe me, 1498 01:19:31,418 --> 01:19:33,420 look around you. There's boxes, and I read everything. 1499 01:19:36,336 --> 01:19:38,121 Gail: In retrospect, people think you're a genius. 1500 01:19:38,295 --> 01:19:40,950 But while it's happening, you're just, 1501 01:19:41,602 --> 01:19:43,082 "Okay, now what?" 1502 01:19:43,561 --> 01:19:46,869 And it's just an-- an idea comes to you, 1503 01:19:47,043 --> 01:19:48,522 and then you go for it. 1504 01:19:50,481 --> 01:19:51,395 Good evening. 1505 01:19:52,004 --> 01:19:54,615 I'm here tonight to announce my intention 1506 01:19:54,833 --> 01:19:56,487 to seek the Republican nomination 1507 01:19:56,661 --> 01:19:58,402 for President of the United States. 1508 01:19:58,619 --> 01:20:00,273 Mike: With the onset of Reaganism 1509 01:20:00,447 --> 01:20:02,014 and what was happening in the country at that time, 1510 01:20:02,188 --> 01:20:04,364 in some ways, I think that drew Frank out 1511 01:20:04,538 --> 01:20:07,019 of the more solipsistic darkness 1512 01:20:07,237 --> 01:20:09,413 of what was happening in his career. 1513 01:20:10,153 --> 01:20:11,981 Zappa: This is the dawning of the dark ages again 1514 01:20:12,242 --> 01:20:13,547 as far as I'm concerned. 1515 01:20:14,070 --> 01:20:16,072 Never have the arts been in such bad shape 1516 01:20:16,289 --> 01:20:17,508 in the United States. 1517 01:20:20,119 --> 01:20:25,081 Man: [whispering] This is the Central Scrutinizer. 1518 01:20:26,038 --> 01:20:27,735 As you can see, 1519 01:20:27,953 --> 01:20:32,044 music can get you pretty fucked up. 1520 01:20:33,916 --> 01:20:38,311 Take a tip from Joe, and get a good job. 1521 01:20:42,838 --> 01:20:46,580 Zappa: The business of music is all about this fake list 1522 01:20:46,754 --> 01:20:49,366 of who sold what. 1523 01:20:50,497 --> 01:20:54,023 The whole idea of selling large numbers of items 1524 01:20:54,197 --> 01:20:56,329 in order to determine quality to it 1525 01:20:56,503 --> 01:20:58,549 is what's really repulsive about it. 1526 01:21:00,986 --> 01:21:03,162 Adam Curry: MTV's Top 20 Video Countdown is sponsored 1527 01:21:03,336 --> 01:21:05,730 by Burger King and by Three Musketeers. 1528 01:21:09,386 --> 01:21:10,648 Zappa: The record industry decided 1529 01:21:10,822 --> 01:21:12,650 this is the wave of the future. 1530 01:21:13,346 --> 01:21:16,523 And they started signing only groups who look good. 1531 01:21:17,133 --> 01:21:21,093 And the whole idea was making picture music. 1532 01:21:22,573 --> 01:21:25,750 When the music business was still sort of about 1533 01:21:25,924 --> 01:21:27,534 recording songs, 1534 01:21:27,708 --> 01:21:29,406 you could have a hit record 1535 01:21:29,623 --> 01:21:33,236 if it caught on in one of 10,000 1536 01:21:33,410 --> 01:21:35,325 different radio stations in America. 1537 01:21:36,326 --> 01:21:40,591 Now, instead of having 10,000 chances to make a hit, 1538 01:21:41,635 --> 01:21:43,159 you got one. 1539 01:21:43,724 --> 01:21:45,988 Neil Armstrong: That's one small step for man, 1540 01:21:47,641 --> 01:21:50,427 one giant leap for mankind. 1541 01:21:54,692 --> 01:21:57,651 ♪ And may the Lord♪ 1542 01:21:57,913 --> 01:22:03,440 ♪ Have mercy On the fate of this movie♪ 1543 01:22:03,701 --> 01:22:06,747 ♪ And God bless the mind♪ 1544 01:22:07,009 --> 01:22:12,275 ♪ Of the man in the street♪ 1545 01:22:12,666 --> 01:22:15,756 Steve: Even in the most ugliest chord he ever wrote, 1546 01:22:16,540 --> 01:22:19,238 there's always a ray of hope in there, you know. 1547 01:22:21,284 --> 01:22:24,940 As an entertainer, I'm responsible for delivering 1548 01:22:25,114 --> 01:22:27,812 the best of what I can do to the audience 1549 01:22:27,986 --> 01:22:29,640 that has bought a ticket to see it 1550 01:22:29,814 --> 01:22:31,424 or buys a record to hear it. 1551 01:22:31,642 --> 01:22:32,817 And what about your friends? 1552 01:22:32,991 --> 01:22:34,688 Your neighbors? Your family? 1553 01:22:34,950 --> 01:22:36,473 Zappa: Well, I don't have any friends. 1554 01:22:36,690 --> 01:22:39,128 I have a wonderful wife and four children. 1555 01:22:39,345 --> 01:22:40,825 I like them. They're my friends. 1556 01:22:40,999 --> 01:22:42,087 Sandi: So, your wife is your friend? 1557 01:22:42,261 --> 01:22:43,262 Right. 1558 01:22:43,784 --> 01:22:46,352 When you're not working, do you just sort of 1559 01:22:46,874 --> 01:22:48,702 cut yourself off from the rest of the world 1560 01:22:48,876 --> 01:22:51,096 and you're with your family? 1561 01:22:51,270 --> 01:22:52,924 Zappa: Well, when I'm not touring, I'm at home. 1562 01:22:53,098 --> 01:22:55,535 I have a studio in my house. I do my recording there. 1563 01:22:55,709 --> 01:22:57,885 And when I'm done doing that part of my work, 1564 01:22:58,060 --> 01:23:00,018 I go off on the road and travel around 1565 01:23:00,192 --> 01:23:01,367 and do this kind of stuff. 1566 01:23:04,849 --> 01:23:06,416 They're here. 1567 01:23:06,677 --> 01:23:08,157 ♪ And we need a new burden♪ 1568 01:23:11,899 --> 01:23:14,250 It's coming at you. 1569 01:23:17,209 --> 01:23:19,995 ["Sofa" by Frank Zappa plays] 1570 01:23:47,674 --> 01:23:50,025 Pamela: The kids didn't get to see that much of him. 1571 01:23:50,982 --> 01:23:52,505 Just the way it goes. 1572 01:23:52,723 --> 01:23:55,508 He was on a mission, and he was going to accomplish 1573 01:23:55,682 --> 01:23:57,119 that mission no matter what. 1574 01:23:58,120 --> 01:23:59,599 Mike: Well, the sweet thing about "Valley Girl" 1575 01:23:59,773 --> 01:24:01,340 is that it was Frank and Moon in the studio. 1576 01:24:01,558 --> 01:24:02,950 Them, you know, connecting. 1577 01:24:03,125 --> 01:24:05,170 Undoubtedly having a good time 1578 01:24:05,388 --> 01:24:08,565 even though it was the result of Moon, you know, 1579 01:24:08,739 --> 01:24:11,220 putting a note under, you know, Frank's studio door, saying, 1580 01:24:11,394 --> 01:24:13,874 "Hi, my name's Moon. I live in the same house as you. 1581 01:24:14,745 --> 01:24:16,877 Uh, j-- just in case you're-- you're interested, 1582 01:24:17,139 --> 01:24:18,575 I do this Valley Girl voice." 1583 01:24:22,318 --> 01:24:24,102 Mike Douglas: It was nearly 15 years ago 1584 01:24:24,276 --> 01:24:26,061 when the Beach Boys brought national attention 1585 01:24:26,235 --> 01:24:27,758 to California girls. 1586 01:24:27,932 --> 01:24:30,108 These days, another kind of California girl 1587 01:24:30,369 --> 01:24:32,371 is being immortalized on record. 1588 01:24:32,763 --> 01:24:34,243 There's a song getting heavy airplay 1589 01:24:34,417 --> 01:24:36,506 on Southern California rock stations 1590 01:24:36,680 --> 01:24:38,160 called "Valley Girl." 1591 01:24:38,551 --> 01:24:41,641 ♪ Valley girl She's a valley girl♪ 1592 01:24:41,902 --> 01:24:45,384 ♪ Valley girl She's a valley girl♪ 1593 01:24:45,732 --> 01:24:48,387 ♪ Okay, fine, fer sure Fer sure♪ 1594 01:24:48,648 --> 01:24:51,042 ♪ She's a valley girl in a clothing store♪ 1595 01:24:51,260 --> 01:24:53,262 Hi. You're probably wondering what we're doing right now. 1596 01:24:53,436 --> 01:24:55,568 Well, you see, we have this problem. 1597 01:24:55,742 --> 01:24:57,222 We have this record called "Valley Girl," 1598 01:24:57,396 --> 01:24:58,832 and all these assholes keep calling up 1599 01:24:59,006 --> 01:25:00,834 and asking for interviews and photographs. 1600 01:25:01,008 --> 01:25:02,401 So, in the middle of the night, 1601 01:25:02,619 --> 01:25:05,448 we have to sit on the roof and stand out here 1602 01:25:05,622 --> 01:25:07,276 and move around and do dumb things 1603 01:25:07,450 --> 01:25:10,322 so that the world's most famous photographer, 1604 01:25:10,496 --> 01:25:14,065 Norman Seeff, can take pictures of this crap for Lifemagazine. 1605 01:25:14,239 --> 01:25:15,849 That's what we're doing here. 1606 01:25:16,023 --> 01:25:18,722 ♪ Valley girl She's a valley girl♪ 1607 01:25:18,896 --> 01:25:20,376 ♪ Okay, fine♪ 1608 01:25:20,767 --> 01:25:22,769 Zappa: "Valley Girl" was a very unusual accident 1609 01:25:22,943 --> 01:25:24,336 in the US. 1610 01:25:24,728 --> 01:25:27,774 We were a small label distributed through CBS. 1611 01:25:28,035 --> 01:25:29,602 Nobody at CBS had any idea 1612 01:25:29,776 --> 01:25:32,083 that that thing would catch on the way it did. 1613 01:25:32,779 --> 01:25:35,434 The way it happened was my daughter took 1614 01:25:35,608 --> 01:25:37,915 an acetate of "Valley Girl" to a station in Pasadena 1615 01:25:38,176 --> 01:25:40,483 called KROQ, and as soon as they played it, 1616 01:25:40,657 --> 01:25:43,094 the phone started ringing, and it became an instant hit. 1617 01:25:43,268 --> 01:25:44,574 People loved it right away. 1618 01:25:44,835 --> 01:25:46,489 Like, oh, my God. 1619 01:25:47,098 --> 01:25:48,969 Zappa: Meanwhile, I'm in Europe on a tour. 1620 01:25:49,144 --> 01:25:51,450 I don't even know I've got a hit record. 1621 01:25:51,885 --> 01:25:55,019 In 1982, you couldn't walk around in the United States 1622 01:25:55,193 --> 01:25:57,369 without hearing something about "Valley Girl." 1623 01:25:57,717 --> 01:25:59,284 Next on Channel Five, it's awesome 1624 01:25:59,458 --> 01:26:00,677 'cause we're going to, like, 1625 01:26:00,851 --> 01:26:02,113 crank with the whole Zappa family. 1626 01:26:02,287 --> 01:26:03,506 For sure. Totally on evening news... 1627 01:26:03,680 --> 01:26:04,898 Pamela: And that was his first big hit. 1628 01:26:05,290 --> 01:26:06,639 His only big hit. 1629 01:26:08,119 --> 01:26:11,862 But it really came out of Moon 1630 01:26:12,341 --> 01:26:14,125 wanting to spend time with her dad. 1631 01:26:16,910 --> 01:26:18,564 Man: What's happening in the future now? 1632 01:26:18,738 --> 01:26:20,175 Have you-- Are you planning a follow-up right away 1633 01:26:20,349 --> 01:26:22,046 to cash in on the, uh, 1634 01:26:22,264 --> 01:26:23,613 the audience's receptivity, or... 1635 01:26:23,787 --> 01:26:25,354 No. As a matter of fact, the next thing 1636 01:26:25,528 --> 01:26:28,618 that I'm going to do is go out to, um, Cal-Arts tonight 1637 01:26:28,835 --> 01:26:31,011 and hear a couple of piano players give a performance 1638 01:26:31,273 --> 01:26:33,971 of some of my orchestra music. 1639 01:26:40,847 --> 01:26:44,634 Mike: So, there's "Valley Girl." A success, mainstream success. 1640 01:26:44,808 --> 01:26:47,680 But to Frank, it's like, "Okay, what can I do now? 1641 01:26:47,854 --> 01:26:49,116 I've got people's attention." 1642 01:26:49,334 --> 01:26:52,032 One. Two. Three. 1643 01:26:56,776 --> 01:26:58,648 David: From everything I'd heard, 1644 01:26:58,822 --> 01:27:00,998 and heard about Zappa, 1645 01:27:01,868 --> 01:27:05,655 it just seemed like he should write for Kronos. 1646 01:27:05,916 --> 01:27:08,005 Yeah. So, if we can play those longer, 1647 01:27:08,179 --> 01:27:09,659 I think that will be more effective. 1648 01:27:09,833 --> 01:27:11,530 David: How l-- uh, what length? 1649 01:27:11,704 --> 01:27:13,967 Hank: I have a quarter note tie into... 1650 01:27:14,141 --> 01:27:16,535 - Oh, I see. - It's very strange sheet music. 1651 01:27:16,709 --> 01:27:19,016 David: I think the first time we spoke 1652 01:27:19,190 --> 01:27:20,757 was after a concert. 1653 01:27:21,323 --> 01:27:25,240 I'm thinking '82, '83. 1654 01:27:25,588 --> 01:27:28,373 Shortly after that is when he began to write, 1655 01:27:29,635 --> 01:27:31,507 uh, the new piece for us. 1656 01:28:04,235 --> 01:28:08,500 I always appreciated the fact that he taught himself. 1657 01:28:09,414 --> 01:28:11,155 He went to the library as a kid, 1658 01:28:11,329 --> 01:28:14,201 and he just checked out books and stayed there and learned. 1659 01:28:14,376 --> 01:28:16,900 For me, that's been a big inspiration. 1660 01:28:17,857 --> 01:28:19,685 When I think of Zappa's life's work, 1661 01:28:20,077 --> 01:28:23,036 I'm reminded of Charles Ives, 1662 01:28:23,210 --> 01:28:25,561 Harry Partch, Sun Ra. 1663 01:28:26,170 --> 01:28:28,955 These are American experimentalists 1664 01:28:29,129 --> 01:28:32,132 that totally reimagined the way music 1665 01:28:32,307 --> 01:28:34,918 might be heard, might be composed. 1666 01:28:36,311 --> 01:28:38,922 And Zappa belongs in that tradition. 1667 01:29:37,676 --> 01:29:39,069 Zappa: I still write orchestra music. 1668 01:29:39,243 --> 01:29:40,505 But, you know, nobody will ever hear it. 1669 01:29:42,028 --> 01:29:43,029 Interviewer: You sure? 1670 01:29:43,203 --> 01:29:45,249 Well, I don't wanna say never, 1671 01:29:45,423 --> 01:29:47,643 but, uh, the chances of the music being played 1672 01:29:47,817 --> 01:29:51,037 are not very good because every time we start negotiating 1673 01:29:51,211 --> 01:29:53,039 with somebody about having a performance of it, 1674 01:29:53,213 --> 01:29:55,390 all these problems arise, and it always comes down 1675 01:29:55,564 --> 01:29:58,044 to how much money they're willing to spend to do it. 1676 01:29:58,218 --> 01:30:00,873 Because it-- we've had some offers from orchestras who say, 1677 01:30:01,047 --> 01:30:02,309 "Yeah, we'd love to play it, 1678 01:30:02,484 --> 01:30:03,963 but we'll give you two rehearsals." 1679 01:30:04,137 --> 01:30:05,878 And it's impossible to play it in two rehearsals. 1680 01:30:06,052 --> 01:30:07,358 You just can't do it. 1681 01:30:07,532 --> 01:30:08,925 And I would rather not have it played 1682 01:30:09,099 --> 01:30:11,449 than to have somebody play it wrong. 1683 01:30:11,667 --> 01:30:13,799 Reporter: Tomorrow night, the London Symphony Orchestra 1684 01:30:13,973 --> 01:30:16,454 are giving a concert at their home at the Barbican Centre. 1685 01:30:17,194 --> 01:30:19,109 The program of orchestral music they'll be playing 1686 01:30:19,283 --> 01:30:21,241 is music written by the celebrated 1687 01:30:21,416 --> 01:30:23,156 American rock star Frank Zappa. 1688 01:30:23,635 --> 01:30:25,898 Robin Denselow has been looking at the least known 1689 01:30:26,072 --> 01:30:28,684 and the least commercial side of Zappa's art. 1690 01:30:29,249 --> 01:30:31,774 Robin: Frank Zappa has been quietly writing pieces 1691 01:30:31,948 --> 01:30:35,342 for a full orchestra alongside his rock work for years. 1692 01:30:35,604 --> 01:30:37,170 For their first ever performance, 1693 01:30:37,344 --> 01:30:39,434 he's using the London Symphony Orchestra. 1694 01:30:39,608 --> 01:30:43,133 The conductor, Kent Nagano, was chosen by Zappa. 1695 01:30:43,307 --> 01:30:45,701 Interviewer: Do you expect to actually make any money 1696 01:30:45,875 --> 01:30:47,572 out of the concert and the recordings 1697 01:30:47,746 --> 01:30:48,921 that you've come here to make 1698 01:30:49,139 --> 01:30:50,575 - with the LSO? - No. No. 1699 01:30:50,749 --> 01:30:52,316 Interviewer: Why then do you do it? 1700 01:30:52,534 --> 01:30:55,493 Well, I think that any artistic decision that is based on 1701 01:30:55,667 --> 01:30:57,756 whether or not you're going to make money is not really 1702 01:30:57,930 --> 01:31:00,977 an artistic decision. It's a business decision. 1703 01:31:01,630 --> 01:31:03,762 And there are a lot of things that I can do 1704 01:31:03,936 --> 01:31:05,285 to earn a living 1705 01:31:05,460 --> 01:31:07,026 and a lot of things that I have already done 1706 01:31:07,200 --> 01:31:09,333 to earn a living, which have produced the amount 1707 01:31:09,507 --> 01:31:11,944 of, uh, capital needed to do this project. 1708 01:31:12,118 --> 01:31:15,382 I came here to spend money on an English orchestra 1709 01:31:15,557 --> 01:31:18,081 to record my music so I can take it home 1710 01:31:18,255 --> 01:31:19,865 and I can listen to it. 1711 01:31:20,039 --> 01:31:22,912 And if somebody else likes that kind of stuff, 1712 01:31:23,086 --> 01:31:24,783 I will make it available on a record 1713 01:31:24,957 --> 01:31:26,742 so that they can hear it. 1714 01:31:26,916 --> 01:31:29,484 That is my part of the public service of spending the money 1715 01:31:29,658 --> 01:31:31,355 to make this event happen. 1716 01:31:31,529 --> 01:31:33,183 No foundation grant, 1717 01:31:33,357 --> 01:31:35,011 no government assistance, 1718 01:31:35,185 --> 01:31:36,578 no corporation, 1719 01:31:36,752 --> 01:31:38,014 no committee. 1720 01:31:38,188 --> 01:31:41,191 Just a crazy guy who spent the money 1721 01:31:41,365 --> 01:31:45,369 to hire English musicians to do a concert at the Barbican 1722 01:31:45,543 --> 01:31:48,764 and make an album for Barking Pumpkin Records. 1723 01:31:49,155 --> 01:31:52,245 How do you get the London Symphony Orchestra 1724 01:31:52,419 --> 01:31:53,333 to do your stuff? 1725 01:31:53,508 --> 01:31:55,771 - You pay them. - Yeah. 1726 01:31:56,119 --> 01:31:58,556 But isn't this a really prestigious organization? 1727 01:31:58,730 --> 01:31:59,862 Of course. 1728 01:32:00,079 --> 01:32:01,298 So, you pay them a lot of money. 1729 01:32:01,472 --> 01:32:03,169 - Yeah. - [laughter] 1730 01:32:03,343 --> 01:32:06,433 It's just as serious to write a song like "Valley Girl" 1731 01:32:07,217 --> 01:32:10,437 as it is to write the ballet called Mo 'N Herb's Vacation. 1732 01:32:10,612 --> 01:32:13,571 To me, they're equally serious problems in music. 1733 01:32:15,965 --> 01:32:18,228 Unless they have sufficient time to rehearse it, 1734 01:32:18,402 --> 01:32:20,273 the chances of an absolutely perfect performance 1735 01:32:20,447 --> 01:32:21,884 are not good. 1736 01:32:22,232 --> 01:32:23,886 David Letterman: Now, uh, how close did you get? 1737 01:32:24,060 --> 01:32:26,541 Zappa: I would say that we're up to about 75% on this record. 1738 01:32:26,715 --> 01:32:29,805 Conductor: So, you could you take a look, please, at 159? 1739 01:32:31,589 --> 01:32:34,984 Robot: The inhabitants here do not have the intelligence 1740 01:32:35,158 --> 01:32:37,160 to be utilized anymore. 1741 01:32:37,813 --> 01:32:39,815 So, man built me. 1742 01:32:40,946 --> 01:32:42,687 Zappa: Human beings are expensive. 1743 01:32:43,383 --> 01:32:46,778 If given the choice between not making music at all 1744 01:32:46,952 --> 01:32:49,781 or making music in a medium that a person can afford, 1745 01:32:49,955 --> 01:32:52,392 I will make music in a medium I can afford. 1746 01:32:53,132 --> 01:32:55,091 Ergo, the machine. 1747 01:32:57,310 --> 01:33:00,357 I had bought the Synclavier and started doing 1748 01:33:00,531 --> 01:33:02,620 all the composition in that medium 1749 01:33:02,794 --> 01:33:04,796 because you can write it the way you want, 1750 01:33:04,970 --> 01:33:06,842 and you get to conduct it also. 1751 01:33:07,016 --> 01:33:10,236 Even have it executed at any speed or any amplitude. 1752 01:33:10,410 --> 01:33:12,978 You can control all the nuances of the performance. 1753 01:33:13,849 --> 01:33:15,502 I would rather do it myself 1754 01:33:15,677 --> 01:33:17,853 than give it to somebody else to do. 1755 01:33:18,157 --> 01:33:22,205 [electronic music playing] 1756 01:33:33,433 --> 01:33:34,739 Man: Okay, Ahmet. 1757 01:33:35,914 --> 01:33:39,048 Stop the game, and I want to-- and have him get some 1758 01:33:39,222 --> 01:33:40,615 pictures of you with the clay. 1759 01:33:41,267 --> 01:33:43,530 I don't have any clay. Thanks. 1760 01:33:43,705 --> 01:33:45,532 Man: There's 1,000 pounds of it around here someplace. 1761 01:33:45,707 --> 01:33:47,665 Woman: There's 1,000 pounds right behind you, Ahmet. 1762 01:33:47,839 --> 01:33:49,101 Don't lie. 1763 01:33:51,930 --> 01:33:54,585 [laughter] 1764 01:33:58,110 --> 01:33:59,329 What do you want me to build? 1765 01:33:59,503 --> 01:34:00,591 Man: Whatever you want. 1766 01:34:19,305 --> 01:34:21,917 Zappa: It's not easy to keep converting capital 1767 01:34:22,091 --> 01:34:24,876 from doing other things and to reinvesting in it 1768 01:34:25,050 --> 01:34:26,922 to doing that kind of stuff because there's no way 1769 01:34:27,096 --> 01:34:28,837 that the music that I'm working on 1770 01:34:29,011 --> 01:34:30,752 is gonna pay its own way. 1771 01:34:33,580 --> 01:34:35,582 But I would rather do it this way than to rely on 1772 01:34:35,887 --> 01:34:39,282 a government or to rely on, uh, you know, 1773 01:34:39,456 --> 01:34:41,545 a king or a duke or somebody who, you know, 1774 01:34:41,719 --> 01:34:43,765 wants to take drastic action if he doesn't approve 1775 01:34:43,939 --> 01:34:45,201 of your work of art. 1776 01:34:45,549 --> 01:34:46,898 You know, forget that. 1777 01:34:47,986 --> 01:34:50,859 Do you still think that music students in universities 1778 01:34:51,033 --> 01:34:53,383 are studying a dead language in a dead institution 1779 01:34:53,557 --> 01:34:56,299 by dead professors, and would you explain why? 1780 01:34:56,473 --> 01:34:57,692 [laughter] 1781 01:34:57,866 --> 01:34:59,389 Well, yes. 1782 01:34:59,563 --> 01:35:02,131 [laughter] 1783 01:35:02,479 --> 01:35:05,612 Because a lot of times, uh, composers will come to me, 1784 01:35:05,787 --> 01:35:07,832 and they'll say, "Well, what do I do?" 1785 01:35:08,006 --> 01:35:09,704 And I tell them, "Get a real estate license 1786 01:35:09,878 --> 01:35:12,837 because if you expect to write music in the United States, 1787 01:35:13,011 --> 01:35:14,883 what are you gonna do for a living?" 1788 01:35:15,448 --> 01:35:17,842 If you want to be a composer in the United States, 1789 01:35:18,016 --> 01:35:20,192 you must write for the media. 1790 01:35:20,366 --> 01:35:22,238 You can't just write music because you're writing music. 1791 01:35:22,412 --> 01:35:24,414 You have to have some other kind of a job 1792 01:35:24,588 --> 01:35:25,937 to support your habit. 1793 01:35:26,111 --> 01:35:29,549 And, uh, it's a sad story, but it's true. 1794 01:35:30,115 --> 01:35:32,727 [applause] 1795 01:35:35,251 --> 01:35:37,775 ♪ Your mouth♪ 1796 01:35:37,949 --> 01:35:40,430 ♪ Is your religion ♪ 1797 01:35:42,127 --> 01:35:46,653 ♪ 'Cause what they do in Washington ♪ 1798 01:35:47,045 --> 01:35:49,569 ♪ They just takes care ♪ 1799 01:35:50,092 --> 01:35:52,790 ♪ Of number one ♪ 1800 01:35:53,138 --> 01:35:57,273 ♪ And number one ain't you ♪ 1801 01:35:59,666 --> 01:36:02,321 ♪ You ain't even ♪ 1802 01:36:02,495 --> 01:36:04,584 ♪ Number two ♪ 1803 01:36:14,594 --> 01:36:17,249 Man: This is ABC NewsNightline. 1804 01:36:17,641 --> 01:36:20,383 Reporting from Washington, Ted Koppel. 1805 01:36:20,557 --> 01:36:22,167 A lot of people, and they are becoming 1806 01:36:22,341 --> 01:36:23,647 increasingly vocal, 1807 01:36:23,821 --> 01:36:26,215 find the songs and the rock video performances 1808 01:36:26,389 --> 01:36:28,304 that go with them offensive. 1809 01:36:28,478 --> 01:36:30,436 Reporter: One group of parents has heard more than enough. 1810 01:36:30,610 --> 01:36:32,177 The Parents Music Resource Center 1811 01:36:32,351 --> 01:36:34,397 wants a labelling system for albums and tapes, 1812 01:36:34,571 --> 01:36:36,399 much like movies are rated today. 1813 01:36:36,573 --> 01:36:38,140 Later this month, a Senate committee 1814 01:36:38,314 --> 01:36:39,576 will hold hearings on the question. 1815 01:36:39,750 --> 01:36:41,534 A tribute to the clout of the center, 1816 01:36:41,708 --> 01:36:43,493 whose members include Susan Baker, 1817 01:36:43,667 --> 01:36:45,582 wife of Treasury Secretary James Baker. 1818 01:36:45,756 --> 01:36:47,627 Susan: "Guess you could say she was a sex fiend. 1819 01:36:47,802 --> 01:36:50,674 I met her in a hotel lobby, masturbating with a magazine." 1820 01:36:51,022 --> 01:36:52,763 Reporter: Frank Zappa is one of the few rock artists 1821 01:36:52,937 --> 01:36:54,983 to come out openly against the labeling effort. 1822 01:36:55,157 --> 01:36:57,072 I mean, if it looks like censorship 1823 01:36:57,246 --> 01:36:59,204 and it smells like censorship, it is censorship 1824 01:36:59,378 --> 01:37:01,119 no matter whose wife is talking about it. 1825 01:37:01,293 --> 01:37:02,425 It's censorship. 1826 01:37:02,642 --> 01:37:04,340 Ted: The analogy you draw is a... 1827 01:37:04,644 --> 01:37:07,169 Mike: Frank was being called upon by Ted Koppel and CNN 1828 01:37:07,343 --> 01:37:08,692 and Larry King 1829 01:37:08,866 --> 01:37:10,650 and a lot of mainstream news outlets 1830 01:37:10,825 --> 01:37:12,696 to come on and talk about this stuff. 1831 01:37:13,175 --> 01:37:15,612 Well, he had cleaned up his act sartorially so much 1832 01:37:15,786 --> 01:37:18,658 that he was no longer visually the freak from the '60s. 1833 01:37:18,833 --> 01:37:21,618 He was somebody that understood that "If I'm gonna do battle 1834 01:37:21,792 --> 01:37:23,446 with these people, I need to like, uh, 1835 01:37:23,620 --> 01:37:25,100 come to them on their turf." 1836 01:37:25,274 --> 01:37:26,753 And they're taking a right away from him. 1837 01:37:26,928 --> 01:37:30,148 Gail: Frank became the go-to person for comments 1838 01:37:30,322 --> 01:37:32,411 to deal with record rating because nobody else 1839 01:37:32,585 --> 01:37:34,326 in the record industry showed up. 1840 01:37:34,849 --> 01:37:36,633 I think that they're probably concerned about airplay, 1841 01:37:36,807 --> 01:37:38,504 and they're probably concerned about their careers, 1842 01:37:38,678 --> 01:37:40,593 and they're probably concerned about, uh, you know, 1843 01:37:40,767 --> 01:37:42,160 taking a chance and opening their mouth. 1844 01:37:42,334 --> 01:37:44,075 But I don't speak for them. 1845 01:37:44,249 --> 01:37:46,077 I don't speak for the rest of the record industry. 1846 01:37:46,251 --> 01:37:48,471 I speak as a private citizen, 1847 01:37:48,645 --> 01:37:52,518 as a middle-aged Italian father of four. 1848 01:37:52,692 --> 01:37:55,434 I got concerns here about what's gonna happen 1849 01:37:55,608 --> 01:37:58,568 to the right to have free speech and right to assemble 1850 01:37:58,742 --> 01:38:00,831 and the right to have somebody use your own words 1851 01:38:01,005 --> 01:38:03,399 against you in a legal situation. 1852 01:38:03,790 --> 01:38:05,880 And nobody is sticking their neck out to say 1853 01:38:06,054 --> 01:38:07,577 that it's all a bunch of crap. 1854 01:38:09,231 --> 01:38:11,581 Mr. Zappa, thank you very much for being with us. 1855 01:38:11,973 --> 01:38:13,191 Please proceed. 1856 01:38:14,062 --> 01:38:17,630 I've got an idea for a way to stop all this stuff 1857 01:38:17,804 --> 01:38:21,069 and a way to give parents what they really want, 1858 01:38:21,243 --> 01:38:23,680 which is information, accurate information, 1859 01:38:23,854 --> 01:38:25,856 as to what is inside the album. 1860 01:38:26,552 --> 01:38:30,165 I have no objection to having all of the lyrics 1861 01:38:30,861 --> 01:38:35,083 placed on the album routinely all the time. 1862 01:38:35,692 --> 01:38:38,260 I think your suggestion is, uh, is an intriguing one 1863 01:38:38,434 --> 01:38:39,957 and might really be a solution. 1864 01:38:40,218 --> 01:38:42,133 I think your suggestion is a good one 1865 01:38:42,307 --> 01:38:43,743 that they print those words. 1866 01:38:44,179 --> 01:38:45,528 That would go a long way 1867 01:38:45,702 --> 01:38:47,486 to satisfying everyone's objection. 1868 01:38:47,660 --> 01:38:49,445 Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Senator Hawkins. 1869 01:38:50,489 --> 01:38:52,056 Mike: Frank would say it was a failure 1870 01:38:52,230 --> 01:38:54,102 because it still ended up with the Parental Advisory sticker 1871 01:38:54,276 --> 01:38:55,799 on the thing. 1872 01:38:55,973 --> 01:38:57,757 But I think he made a difference there. 1873 01:38:58,019 --> 01:39:00,369 There were times that I wished that he could 1874 01:39:00,543 --> 01:39:02,371 modulate his approach a little bit 1875 01:39:02,545 --> 01:39:04,068 with a little bit less anger. 1876 01:39:04,242 --> 01:39:06,114 Sex equals sin. 1877 01:39:06,288 --> 01:39:09,247 Mike: But that anger resulted in some wonderful moments 1878 01:39:09,421 --> 01:39:11,380 like theCrossfire with James Lofton. 1879 01:39:11,554 --> 01:39:13,077 James: Do you think the founding fathers 1880 01:39:13,251 --> 01:39:15,340 really had the First Amendment, that they gave us 1881 01:39:15,514 --> 01:39:18,387 the First Amendment to defend songs that glorify Satanism 1882 01:39:18,561 --> 01:39:20,215 and incest and suicide? Do you really believe that? 1883 01:39:20,389 --> 01:39:21,956 - Absolutely. - You really believe that? 1884 01:39:22,130 --> 01:39:23,218 - Yeah, I believe it. - James: You're an idiot then. 1885 01:39:23,392 --> 01:39:24,784 - Yeah? - James: You're an idiot. 1886 01:39:25,002 --> 01:39:25,872 Well, I'll tell you what. Kiss my... [bleep] 1887 01:39:26,047 --> 01:39:27,222 How do you like that, buddy? 1888 01:39:27,396 --> 01:39:28,745 James: Well, take your teeth out. 1889 01:39:28,919 --> 01:39:31,182 I was surprised to see you heading the protest. 1890 01:39:31,617 --> 01:39:33,315 Why wasn't someone like Prince 1891 01:39:33,489 --> 01:39:35,056 involved with you in that? I mean... 1892 01:39:35,230 --> 01:39:36,753 He should have been involved in it, 1893 01:39:36,927 --> 01:39:39,190 but I think that it's his right to keep his mouth shut. 1894 01:39:39,451 --> 01:39:41,149 It's also Bruce Springsteen's right 1895 01:39:41,323 --> 01:39:43,586 to keep his mouth shut and anybody else 1896 01:39:43,760 --> 01:39:45,631 that they went after. They never attacked my lyrics. 1897 01:39:45,805 --> 01:39:47,024 They attacked those people. 1898 01:39:47,198 --> 01:39:48,460 They even went after Michael Jackson. 1899 01:39:48,634 --> 01:39:50,114 But you fought real hard for these people, 1900 01:39:50,288 --> 01:39:51,507 and it was never your music involved. 1901 01:39:51,681 --> 01:39:52,769 That's the thing that shocked me. 1902 01:39:52,943 --> 01:39:54,423 It's the principle of the thing. 1903 01:39:54,727 --> 01:39:56,207 We live in a country where we're supposed to be free. 1904 01:39:56,381 --> 01:39:57,904 Take a look at what happened in China. 1905 01:39:58,079 --> 01:39:59,732 You got a bunch of kids there who want democracy. 1906 01:39:59,906 --> 01:40:01,212 They don't even know what it is. 1907 01:40:01,386 --> 01:40:03,519 We supposedly have it here, what do we do? 1908 01:40:04,215 --> 01:40:06,391 Sit around and go, hmm, hmm. 1909 01:40:06,565 --> 01:40:08,698 "Let somebody else take care of it for me." 1910 01:40:25,932 --> 01:40:29,110 [cheers and applause] 1911 01:40:29,284 --> 01:40:30,850 Scott: From the very beginning, 1912 01:40:31,199 --> 01:40:33,331 there wasn't literally anything like it. 1913 01:40:33,897 --> 01:40:37,379 As musicians, that was the way that we spoke to each other. 1914 01:40:37,553 --> 01:40:40,382 Like, instead of quoting movies, we quoted Zappa. 1915 01:40:40,556 --> 01:40:41,774 ♪ It's about truth♪ 1916 01:40:41,948 --> 01:40:43,602 ♪ Truth♪ 1917 01:40:43,950 --> 01:40:45,604 Scott: And it wasn't until I started playing with him 1918 01:40:45,778 --> 01:40:49,956 that I realized that he was fucking with America 1919 01:40:50,131 --> 01:40:51,784 as much as he was fucking around with music. 1920 01:40:51,958 --> 01:40:54,918 Like, America was just another canvas 1921 01:40:55,092 --> 01:40:56,615 for him to do his shit on. 1922 01:40:56,789 --> 01:40:59,444 This is working here. Hello, which one's working? 1923 01:40:59,705 --> 01:41:00,706 None. 1924 01:41:05,798 --> 01:41:07,148 This is censorship. 1925 01:41:07,322 --> 01:41:09,889 [laughter] 1926 01:41:10,064 --> 01:41:12,588 Scott: How did he see himself in a world 1927 01:41:12,762 --> 01:41:14,764 that was literally going mad? 1928 01:41:15,112 --> 01:41:16,722 He saw the big picture. 1929 01:41:17,375 --> 01:41:20,161 I cannot imagine in any way 1930 01:41:20,335 --> 01:41:22,989 it could keep a man like him down. 1931 01:41:23,164 --> 01:41:25,949 If anything, he would battle up 1932 01:41:26,123 --> 01:41:29,692 until the last drop of his blood was shed. 1933 01:41:30,084 --> 01:41:32,086 Overrun by orcs, he doesn't give a shit. 1934 01:41:33,174 --> 01:41:36,177 You cannot live your life as if you are 1935 01:41:36,351 --> 01:41:39,441 about to not be able to do your life anymore. 1936 01:41:39,702 --> 01:41:40,572 You know? 1937 01:41:40,833 --> 01:41:43,836 Protesters: [chanting] 1938 01:41:46,839 --> 01:41:48,624 Man: Czechoslovakia today became the latest 1939 01:41:48,798 --> 01:41:50,713 of the countries of Eastern Europe once held 1940 01:41:50,887 --> 01:41:53,194 so tightly in the Soviet grip to throw off 1941 01:41:53,368 --> 01:41:55,283 its hardline Communist yoke. 1942 01:41:55,457 --> 01:41:59,025 [chanting] 1943 01:42:01,332 --> 01:42:02,855 Zappa: I guess it was about a year before 1944 01:42:03,029 --> 01:42:04,988 the Velvet Revolution, when I was visited here 1945 01:42:05,162 --> 01:42:07,164 by a Czech composer. 1946 01:42:07,730 --> 01:42:09,384 And through the interpreter, 1947 01:42:09,558 --> 01:42:13,605 he indicated that he wanted to play some of my music 1948 01:42:13,779 --> 01:42:16,652 and wanted me to come to Prague for the concert, 1949 01:42:16,826 --> 01:42:19,394 and I thought, well, the chances of me doing that 1950 01:42:19,568 --> 01:42:22,745 were pretty unlikely because Czechoslovakia was pretty grim. 1951 01:42:23,049 --> 01:42:25,443 And the next thing I knew, they had this revolution, 1952 01:42:26,052 --> 01:42:28,272 and this composer was a member of parliament. 1953 01:42:29,360 --> 01:42:31,971 And I'd already made four trips to the Soviet Union 1954 01:42:32,146 --> 01:42:34,583 and had been trying to develop some East-West 1955 01:42:34,800 --> 01:42:35,888 international trade. 1956 01:42:36,062 --> 01:42:37,673 Boy, is it cold here. 1957 01:42:37,847 --> 01:42:41,633 And I arranged to come to Prague on my way 1958 01:42:42,243 --> 01:42:44,593 back to the United States from Moscow. 1959 01:42:44,854 --> 01:42:47,204 And it was during my Prague visit, 1960 01:42:47,378 --> 01:42:49,250 I proposed to them that if they needed 1961 01:42:49,424 --> 01:42:51,339 some sort of representation in the West 1962 01:42:51,513 --> 01:42:55,995 to help them get investment or whatever they needed to do, 1963 01:42:56,170 --> 01:42:58,259 that I would be interested in doing that. 1964 01:43:01,218 --> 01:43:03,133 So, when I got off the plane, there was 5,000 people 1965 01:43:03,307 --> 01:43:05,396 waving at me. And, uh, you know, 1966 01:43:05,570 --> 01:43:08,051 never before in my life had I seen anything like that. 1967 01:43:08,312 --> 01:43:10,793 [chuckles] Get off the plane, 1968 01:43:10,967 --> 01:43:12,577 and, you know, there's a lot of people, 1969 01:43:12,751 --> 01:43:14,666 but there's no police, and there's no bodyguards. 1970 01:43:14,840 --> 01:43:16,755 There's no nothing. Just people waving at you. 1971 01:43:16,929 --> 01:43:19,628 That's nice until you go through the airport 1972 01:43:19,889 --> 01:43:21,412 and they start piling on you. 1973 01:43:21,804 --> 01:43:24,285 And to get from the door of the airport to the minibus 1974 01:43:24,459 --> 01:43:26,374 that was going to take us to the hotel 1975 01:43:26,548 --> 01:43:28,289 took about 40 minutes. 1976 01:43:30,421 --> 01:43:32,510 Gary: When Frank was there, it was like, Frank was 1977 01:43:32,815 --> 01:43:34,077 the President of the United States 1978 01:43:34,251 --> 01:43:35,339 coming to visit. 1979 01:43:37,036 --> 01:43:39,430 And Frank was trying to figure out 1980 01:43:39,604 --> 01:43:41,867 why was everyone there so happy to see him? 1981 01:43:43,086 --> 01:43:47,003 And evidently, in Czechoslovakia, 1982 01:43:47,177 --> 01:43:49,832 when young kids played rock music, 1983 01:43:50,006 --> 01:43:51,399 the police would tell them, 1984 01:43:51,573 --> 01:43:53,009 "Turn off that Frank Zappa music." 1985 01:43:54,663 --> 01:43:56,447 And all of a sudden, here's Frank Zappa. 1986 01:43:58,319 --> 01:44:01,147 He was a symbol of this freedom, 1987 01:44:02,540 --> 01:44:04,499 which is incredible when you think about it. 1988 01:44:05,151 --> 01:44:06,675 He had that kind of effect. 1989 01:44:08,720 --> 01:44:11,636 David: It was like the king of freedom had showed up. 1990 01:44:11,854 --> 01:44:14,160 I mean, Frank was shocked. 1991 01:44:15,074 --> 01:44:17,860 [cheering] 1992 01:44:19,775 --> 01:44:21,777 ♪ Freedom, freedom♪ 1993 01:44:21,951 --> 01:44:23,518 ♪ Kindly, loving♪ 1994 01:44:23,735 --> 01:44:25,171 Kathleen: Rock musician Frank Zappa, 1995 01:44:25,346 --> 01:44:26,869 who's always been something of a maverick, 1996 01:44:27,043 --> 01:44:29,001 has just returned from a trip to the Soviet Union 1997 01:44:29,175 --> 01:44:31,874 and Czechoslovakia. And in Prague, 1998 01:44:32,048 --> 01:44:33,571 he met with Václav Havel, 1999 01:44:33,745 --> 01:44:35,747 now the President of Czechoslovakia. 2000 01:44:35,921 --> 01:44:37,749 He also visited the Czech parliament 2001 01:44:37,923 --> 01:44:40,404 and was named the Czech Cultural 2002 01:44:40,578 --> 01:44:42,493 and Trade Representative to the United States. 2003 01:44:43,059 --> 01:44:44,278 And Frank Zappa joins us this morning. 2004 01:44:44,452 --> 01:44:45,757 - Good morning. - Good morning. 2005 01:44:45,931 --> 01:44:47,585 Twenty years ago, did you think that 2006 01:44:47,803 --> 01:44:49,674 - this would be your occupation? - No. 2007 01:44:49,848 --> 01:44:51,720 What are the job specifications? 2008 01:44:51,894 --> 01:44:54,549 I'm supposed to represent them for trade, 2009 01:44:54,723 --> 01:44:58,117 for tourism, and for cultural matters. 2010 01:44:58,988 --> 01:45:00,294 Only rock business? 2011 01:45:00,816 --> 01:45:02,121 Zappa: No, no, it's got nothing to do with rock and roll. 2012 01:45:02,992 --> 01:45:04,472 Kathleen: So, is this Frank Zappa the businessman 2013 01:45:04,646 --> 01:45:06,256 who's coming to the fore and not the rocker? 2014 01:45:06,822 --> 01:45:08,432 Well, let's say that Frank Zappa the rocker 2015 01:45:08,606 --> 01:45:11,957 has been pretty much excluded from US broadcasting. 2016 01:45:12,131 --> 01:45:14,917 So, Frank Zappa the rocker will now do something else. 2017 01:45:16,005 --> 01:45:18,877 David: It turns out that, uh, when he had testified 2018 01:45:19,095 --> 01:45:20,923 before Congress, uh, 2019 01:45:21,097 --> 01:45:22,794 our fine Secretary of State at the time, James Baker, 2020 01:45:22,968 --> 01:45:25,057 his wife had been involved in the, uh, 2021 01:45:25,231 --> 01:45:28,539 little Washington clubs going to save the world. 2022 01:45:28,844 --> 01:45:31,629 And James Baker went to Czechoslovakia, 2023 01:45:31,803 --> 01:45:33,457 and he had told the Czech government 2024 01:45:33,631 --> 01:45:35,067 that if they wanted anything to do 2025 01:45:35,241 --> 01:45:36,504 with the United States government anymore, 2026 01:45:36,895 --> 01:45:38,854 if they wanted aid or help or anything 2027 01:45:39,507 --> 01:45:41,335 that they would have to get rid of this association 2028 01:45:41,509 --> 01:45:42,727 with Frank Zappa. 2029 01:45:43,467 --> 01:45:47,515 [applause] 2030 01:45:47,689 --> 01:45:51,345 Woman: Our primary purpose is to educate and inform parents 2031 01:45:51,519 --> 01:45:53,172 about this alarming trend, as well as 2032 01:45:53,347 --> 01:45:56,175 to ask the industry to exercise self-restraint. 2033 01:45:56,524 --> 01:45:59,091 Some say there's no cause for concern. 2034 01:45:59,265 --> 01:46:00,745 We believe there is. 2035 01:46:04,227 --> 01:46:05,620 Thank you. 2036 01:46:05,837 --> 01:46:06,969 Mike: When we were on the road in '88, 2037 01:46:07,143 --> 01:46:08,840 he was already feeling poorly. 2038 01:46:09,014 --> 01:46:11,930 But, you know, he had been told it was various other conditions, 2039 01:46:12,104 --> 01:46:13,932 various and he was-- he was trying 2040 01:46:14,106 --> 01:46:15,673 different ways to deal with it. 2041 01:46:15,847 --> 01:46:18,023 But, you know, he was getting sicker all the time. 2042 01:46:18,633 --> 01:46:21,766 He retired from the concert stage 2043 01:46:22,114 --> 01:46:25,161 at the same time that his illness was coming on. 2044 01:46:27,076 --> 01:46:28,773 We sat in the-- in the control room, 2045 01:46:28,947 --> 01:46:29,992 and he... 2046 01:46:31,428 --> 01:46:32,647 he said, uh, 2047 01:46:33,169 --> 01:46:34,344 "Well, like, you know, I've got some news for you." 2048 01:46:34,518 --> 01:46:35,911 And I said, "What?" And he said, 2049 01:46:36,085 --> 01:46:37,565 "I've just been diagnosed with prostate cancer." 2050 01:46:37,739 --> 01:46:39,915 And he sat back and took a huge drag off 2051 01:46:40,132 --> 01:46:42,483 his cigarette and looked resolute 2052 01:46:42,657 --> 01:46:45,268 and, you know, and somewhat, you know, 2053 01:46:45,442 --> 01:46:48,402 like, you know, "Fuck that." You know, like it's, 2054 01:46:48,576 --> 01:46:49,925 uh, you know, "I've just been diagnosed 2055 01:46:50,099 --> 01:46:51,796 with prostate cancer." He knew the-- 2056 01:46:51,970 --> 01:46:53,972 what the effect of those words were going to be, 2057 01:46:54,146 --> 01:46:56,845 but he also gave off this attitude of... 2058 01:46:57,019 --> 01:46:59,413 "It's not gonna stop me from doing what I have to do." 2059 01:47:17,387 --> 01:47:20,390 Zappa: And politically, I am in the process of, uh, 2060 01:47:20,564 --> 01:47:24,612 doing what we call a feasibility study to see, 2061 01:47:25,177 --> 01:47:27,484 uh, if it's possible for me to run for President 2062 01:47:27,658 --> 01:47:29,834 of the United States against George Bush. 2063 01:47:31,749 --> 01:47:33,795 Interviewer: That's quite a comment. 2064 01:47:34,883 --> 01:47:36,058 You feel there's a chance? 2065 01:47:36,493 --> 01:47:39,322 Uh, yes. Not a good one 2066 01:47:39,496 --> 01:47:41,672 because, you know, he has more balloons than I do. 2067 01:47:41,846 --> 01:47:43,631 Interviewer: [laughs] Makes a lot of sense. 2068 01:47:43,805 --> 01:47:46,851 The next time I interview you, I may be calling you 2069 01:47:47,025 --> 01:47:49,463 Mr. President instead of Mr. Zappa. 2070 01:47:51,290 --> 01:47:52,466 Maybe. 2071 01:47:54,772 --> 01:47:56,165 Moon: Do any of these things work? 2072 01:47:58,167 --> 01:47:59,168 [sighs] 2073 01:48:00,822 --> 01:48:02,345 Uh, we're here to make a statement 2074 01:48:02,519 --> 01:48:03,999 on behalf of our family. 2075 01:48:05,304 --> 01:48:07,785 Although Frank was looking forward to being here 2076 01:48:07,959 --> 01:48:09,918 and really intended to be here, 2077 01:48:10,179 --> 01:48:12,529 unfortunately, he's not here. 2078 01:48:13,487 --> 01:48:15,837 As many of you know, he's been diagnosed 2079 01:48:16,011 --> 01:48:18,230 by journalists as having cancer. 2080 01:48:19,275 --> 01:48:22,191 We'd like you to know his doctors have diagnosed 2081 01:48:22,365 --> 01:48:26,456 prostate cancer, which he's been fighting successfully, 2082 01:48:27,152 --> 01:48:30,460 and he has been feeling well and working too hard 2083 01:48:30,634 --> 01:48:32,114 and planned to attend... 2084 01:48:34,464 --> 01:48:36,031 Jamie: You're a legendary workaholic. 2085 01:48:36,205 --> 01:48:37,554 -Are you able to work? - Not anymore. 2086 01:48:37,728 --> 01:48:39,948 Jamie: Not anymore. Tell me. 2087 01:48:40,383 --> 01:48:43,778 Uh, basically on a good day, I can go 9:30 to 6:30. 2088 01:48:45,214 --> 01:48:46,520 Jamie: It's really slowed you down. 2089 01:48:46,694 --> 01:48:49,653 - Yeah. - Has being sick affected 2090 01:48:49,827 --> 01:48:51,829 your music, what kind of music you're writing? 2091 01:48:52,003 --> 01:48:53,004 No. 2092 01:48:54,223 --> 01:48:57,661 Can you tell me a little bit about how you've been doing? 2093 01:48:58,444 --> 01:49:00,272 - Uh, fair. - Jamie: Fair? 2094 01:49:00,446 --> 01:49:02,057 Yeah. Good days, bad days. 2095 01:49:02,231 --> 01:49:04,189 Jamie: More bad days than good days? 2096 01:49:06,148 --> 01:49:07,149 Yeah. 2097 01:49:12,154 --> 01:49:14,243 Let's do it. Tell her to hurry. 2098 01:49:16,724 --> 01:49:18,421 Yeah, she's got to cover up the results 2099 01:49:18,595 --> 01:49:20,641 of my botched transfusion here. 2100 01:49:26,472 --> 01:49:27,430 Man: Ready? 2101 01:49:38,920 --> 01:49:41,400 Mike: He is diagnosed, and he really, 2102 01:49:41,575 --> 01:49:43,577 uh, started working in earnest. 2103 01:49:44,142 --> 01:49:47,581 And that in some ways, I think, was intentionally 2104 01:49:47,755 --> 01:49:50,932 a summing up while he was ill in the last couple years. 2105 01:50:34,062 --> 01:50:36,412 Steve: One of the things that Frank loved 2106 01:50:36,847 --> 01:50:40,372 was musicians that really loved what they were doing, 2107 01:50:40,546 --> 01:50:44,899 and enjoyed playing 2108 01:50:45,073 --> 01:50:48,119 to the best of their ability and took great pride 2109 01:50:48,424 --> 01:50:51,035 in the composer's music. 2110 01:50:51,862 --> 01:50:54,256 There was not enough through the years. 2111 01:50:54,473 --> 01:50:56,780 You know, Frank dealt with orchestras that were, 2112 01:50:56,954 --> 01:51:00,131 you know, basically paid and came in 2113 01:51:00,305 --> 01:51:03,091 and did their job just by, "Okay, here's another chart." 2114 01:51:03,265 --> 01:51:05,746 But then through the years, the-- his music 2115 01:51:05,920 --> 01:51:08,096 as it started touching more younger people 2116 01:51:08,270 --> 01:51:10,576 who were growing up and taking up instruments, 2117 01:51:11,403 --> 01:51:13,623 some of them had a deep desire 2118 01:51:14,015 --> 01:51:17,496 to play Frank's music that way. 2119 01:51:18,584 --> 01:51:21,849 So, when Frank discovered the Ensemble Modern, 2120 01:51:22,545 --> 01:51:26,984 this is a group of musicians that wanted to play his music 2121 01:51:27,898 --> 01:51:30,466 on a level that was yet to be achieved. 2122 01:51:34,035 --> 01:51:36,820 Zappa: When the final event is put together, 2123 01:51:37,168 --> 01:51:40,302 I will make some structure out of what worked 2124 01:51:40,476 --> 01:51:41,695 during the rehearsal. 2125 01:51:43,609 --> 01:51:45,568 At the end of the day, you'll have it on paper. 2126 01:51:46,003 --> 01:51:47,352 And you'll be able to read it. 2127 01:51:47,526 --> 01:51:48,440 Okay? 2128 01:51:51,182 --> 01:51:54,795 Okay, so watch, and I'll just move the pitch around the room. 2129 01:52:01,062 --> 01:52:05,022 [orchestra plays] 2130 01:52:13,378 --> 01:52:15,511 And instead of just playing your note, style the note. 2131 01:52:15,685 --> 01:52:18,166 Put some sort of different vibrato rates on it, you know, 2132 01:52:18,340 --> 01:52:20,211 your-- that's the one note you have in life. 2133 01:52:20,385 --> 01:52:22,213 You're really gonna play the shit out of it. 2134 01:52:22,648 --> 01:52:25,347 And your big chance to be a star with one note. 2135 01:52:25,521 --> 01:52:26,609 Here we go. 2136 01:52:29,046 --> 01:52:32,136 [orchestra plays] 2137 01:52:42,016 --> 01:52:44,018 Gail: He worked lots of different 2138 01:52:44,192 --> 01:52:45,802 projects simultaneously. 2139 01:52:46,194 --> 01:52:49,501 But that shifted when it was becoming more obvious 2140 01:52:49,675 --> 01:52:51,939 that he wasn't gonna have the time that he needed. 2141 01:52:52,113 --> 01:52:55,420 And then I think he set up priorities himself. 2142 01:52:55,986 --> 01:52:58,597 Went too fast. Da-da, da-da. 2143 01:52:58,772 --> 01:53:00,208 [coughs] 2144 01:53:00,425 --> 01:53:03,211 [indistinct chatter] 2145 01:53:03,385 --> 01:53:05,735 There's nothing weird about the tempo relations. 2146 01:53:05,909 --> 01:53:08,694 There's nothing science fiction about this tempo. 2147 01:53:11,872 --> 01:53:13,395 Yeah. 2148 01:53:13,787 --> 01:53:15,484 Gail: You make decisions about what you can finish, 2149 01:53:16,137 --> 01:53:17,878 what's really important to finish, 2150 01:53:18,574 --> 01:53:21,142 which, you know, 2151 01:53:22,012 --> 01:53:24,145 is another kind of composition. 2152 01:53:24,319 --> 01:53:28,323 [vocalizing] 2153 01:53:28,627 --> 01:53:29,977 I see what it is. 2154 01:54:00,746 --> 01:54:04,489 [music playing] 2155 01:55:44,372 --> 01:55:47,418 [cheers and applause] 2156 01:56:11,660 --> 01:56:13,836 Ruth: I had written a letter that I had hand-delivered 2157 01:56:14,010 --> 01:56:15,098 to the house 2158 01:56:15,881 --> 01:56:18,449 when I really thought I was not going to see him again. 2159 01:56:19,973 --> 01:56:21,713 It was essentially... 2160 01:56:22,323 --> 01:56:25,804 a letter of love and gratitude... 2161 01:56:31,158 --> 01:56:33,334 for everything he had done in the world. 2162 01:56:33,987 --> 01:56:35,858 And not just the world of music 2163 01:56:36,641 --> 01:56:38,513 and not just my little life 2164 01:56:39,253 --> 01:56:40,819 but the world. 2165 01:56:42,386 --> 01:56:43,344 And so... 2166 01:56:44,432 --> 01:56:47,565 I asked him to read it after I would leave. 2167 01:56:47,739 --> 01:56:49,785 Of course, he opened it right while I was there. 2168 01:56:50,829 --> 01:56:54,224 He read it, and he said, um, 2169 01:56:54,920 --> 01:56:56,487 he was not effusive. 2170 01:56:56,661 --> 01:56:58,185 I didn't expect him to be, but he said, 2171 01:56:58,359 --> 01:57:00,883 "That is really, really nice." 2172 01:57:01,623 --> 01:57:03,190 And he hugged me. 2173 01:57:03,364 --> 01:57:05,757 And he looked like he was in so much pain, 2174 01:57:05,931 --> 01:57:07,194 and he hugged me. 2175 01:57:20,511 --> 01:57:22,644 But nothing. It fucking sucked. 2176 01:57:27,431 --> 01:57:29,346 Gail: Before Frank died, he said, 2177 01:57:29,520 --> 01:57:31,087 "Sell everything, and get out of this business. 2178 01:57:31,261 --> 01:57:33,220 It's hateful, and take, you know, 2179 01:57:33,394 --> 01:57:35,700 go get a house at the beach, and have a good time." 2180 01:57:37,485 --> 01:57:40,792 So, there you have it in a nutshell. 2181 01:57:56,156 --> 01:57:59,202 [cheers and applause] 2182 01:58:04,425 --> 01:58:05,556 Zappa: Thank you. 2183 01:59:06,269 --> 01:59:10,273 [cheers and applause] 2184 01:59:32,121 --> 01:59:34,558 Jamie: You got an extraordinary reaction. 2185 01:59:34,732 --> 01:59:37,692 I mean, 20-minute standing ovation. 2186 01:59:38,736 --> 01:59:40,869 How do you feel about that? 2187 01:59:41,043 --> 01:59:42,914 Well, uh, there's no accounting for taste. 2188 01:59:43,088 --> 01:59:44,568 Oh, come on. 2189 01:59:44,742 --> 01:59:46,222 You must have been thrilled. 2190 01:59:46,614 --> 01:59:49,834 I was. I was happier that they did that 2191 01:59:50,008 --> 01:59:51,445 rather than throw things at the stage. 2192 01:59:51,619 --> 01:59:54,491 [cheers and applause] 2193 02:00:06,286 --> 02:00:10,290 [cheers and applause] 2194 02:00:35,228 --> 02:00:39,232 [music playing] 2195 02:01:36,941 --> 02:01:38,029 Zappa: We were loud. 2196 02:01:39,248 --> 02:01:40,380 We were coarse. 2197 02:01:41,990 --> 02:01:43,513 And we were strange. 2198 02:01:45,036 --> 02:01:48,257 And if anybody in the audience ever gave us any trouble, 2199 02:01:48,953 --> 02:01:50,433 we'd tell them to fuck off. 2200 02:01:51,086 --> 02:01:54,959 ["Watermelon In Eastern Hay" by Frank Zappa playing] 2201 02:07:17,891 --> 02:07:22,025 Zappa: This is the Central Scrutinizer. 2202 02:07:22,591 --> 02:07:25,420 Joe has just worked himself 2203 02:07:25,681 --> 02:07:28,205 into an imaginary frenzy 2204 02:07:28,379 --> 02:07:30,120 during the fade-out 2205 02:07:30,294 --> 02:07:32,601 of his imaginary song. 2206 02:07:33,558 --> 02:07:36,692 He begins to feel depressed now. 2207 02:07:36,866 --> 02:07:40,696 He knows the end is near.