Zappa - The End

And so the mystical, talented enigma that was Frank Zappa was taken away before he could ever complete all that he wanted to do. He claimed to have been "done", but given more time, given more technology who knows what treats Zappa could have churned out?

Zappa may have stated over and over again that he did not care to be remembered and yet, here we are. Tribute bands spring up all the time, courses are taught in which one analyzes his works, his albums continue to sell and the world has not forgotten about Frank. On the contrary, it may be safe to say they are just as fascinated by him now as they were when The Mothers first burst onto the scene. Perhaps even more.

Zappa was a talented guitar player, a talented composer of both satirical music and of more serious, classical compositions, he was a social historian and journalist and he always brought the best out in all of the musicians who had the honor to work with him.

And so, I end Evolution / Revolution , but not without a signature Zappa quote that personally puts a smile on my face and that perhaps perfectly encapsulates everything that was Frank Zappa: "People suck."

Zappa - The Last Years

In 1990 Zappa was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The tumor had gone undetected for 8 to 10 years and it was now clear he would never be cured. Unfortunately, he had to pass up a lot of opportunities due to his illness and it truly slowed him down. He had to be in bed early, some days he couldn’t work at all and he was forced to take drugs, the one thing he had opposed all his life.

In 1991 he felt better and wanted to run for office, but he soon got really sick again and also realized that most Americans didn’t know of him or didn’t like him. It wouldn’t have been a very successful campaign.

That same year he decided to bootleg the bootlegs of his albums, which were floating around. That way he would get his royalties. He released Beat the Boots Vol. 1 in eight CDs and Vol. 2 the following year in seven CDs. Unfortunately, the box sets were soon split up and the albums sold separately without as much as a notice that they were bootlegs. This resulted in fans thinking that Zappa’s attention to quality had finished and his reputation was tarnished.

In 1992 he was commissioned to write a piece for Germany’s Ensemble Modern and so came the pinnacle of his “serious” music career. They had played the work as precisely and accurately as no one ever had and Zappa was ecstatic. The audience loved it too and there was a twenty-minute applause session after the performance!

In his last years Zappa became more sociable. He reconciled with Don Van Vliet and Gail began to organize “Margarita Fridays” for him. Every Friday night there would be a social gathering at their house and all of Zappa’s favorite musicians and people would come by.

Civilization Phase III, the follow up to Lumpy Gravy, was his last work. He even told Gail that he had nothing more to do once it was done. Done mostly on the synclavier, he ensured that no one would ever be able to play it live because it was just too complex. The album came in funeral packaging and consisted of two black CDs. One of its greatest tracks – N ’ Lite – was described in the LA Times: “No piece of music in history contains so much densely packed, meticulously arranged, diverse sound. The composer described the work simply as “a frightening son-of-a-bitch.” [Miles p. 375] If Zappa was leaving, he was going out with a bang!

Zappa died on December 6th, 1993 and was buried with an espresso machine and cayenne pepper – two things he might find extremely handy. His grave is unmarked and shows that he wasn’t lying when he said that he didn’t care about being remembered.

The Entrepreneur – The ‘80s / ‘90s

In 1980 Zappa founded Barking Pumpkin Records and secured a distribution deal with CBS.

Zappa went on to take on, or try to take on, business endeavors in Russia making deals to release records, license products, be a consultant etc. His visit to Czechoslovakia in the ‘90s, where he was seen as a God, led to him being named their official Representative of Trade, Tourism and Cultural Matters. Openly insulting the U.S.A. lead to the U.S. becoming infuriated and posing an ultimatum: “Either do business with the United States or you can do business with Zappa. What’ll it be?” [Miles p. 361] He was demoted to an unofficial cultural emissary.

The Performer – The ‘80s / ‘90s

One of Zappa’s strangest and certainly most memorable performances came in July 1980 in Palermo, Sicily. With anti-American thoughts instilled in most Europeans he was regularly greeted with things being thrown on stage while in Europe, but Palermo took the cake. The military was there along with cops who began spraying teargas into the audience. The incident resulted in three deaths and turned Zappa off touring until 1984.

In 1988 he got another band together, made up of his favorite players. He made them learn 100 songs and they then hit the road and recorded their live performances so Zappa could have material for albums at a cheaper price than studio recording. The tour was a success and Zappa managed to get 11,000 people registered to vote at the booths propped up at his shows.

The band soon began having problems with their bass player, Thunes, who Zappa asked to lead rehearsals for him. Zappa liked him, but everyone else hated him. When someone finally brought it up, Zappa asked the band if they would continue touring if Thunes stayed on and everyone said “no” thinking Zappa would find a replacement. Instead he fired them all and that was it for the tour. The band couldn’t “win,” he was in charge! The material he had taped then lead to two albums Broadway the Hard Way and The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life.

Zappa never toured nor played guitar again after that. With two exceptions. In 1991, he visited Prague and Hungary to celebrate the retreat of Soviet soldiers from these countries and had to pick up the guitar once again to be part of the festivities.

The Composer – The Rest of the ‘80s

Zappa was introduced to the synclavier, which did away with his need for musicians. After having discovered an 18th C. Italian Cellist from Milan under the name of Francesco Zappa, he decided to test the limits of the synclavier by recording his classical music on it. The result sounds machine-made, there is no denying it.

Zappa then released Them or Us on which he involved his kids: Moon was on vocals and Dweezil is on guitar on Sharleena. Then came Thing Fish in 1984. Originally planned to be a film, the plans fell through and a three album set was released instead. Composed in a week over his Christmas break, the result is rather mediocre and not many found it appealing. All he had to say was: “Like hydrogen, stupidity is one of the building blocks of the universe. As you come to grips with the splendor of stupidity itself, the process of being alive not only becomes more tolerable, but can even be enjoyable.” [Miles p. 330]

Then came the idea to re-release his entire catalogue. Getting the master tapes from MGM (after the lawsuit had finished) he claimed that they had been badly stored and of bad quality. He never bothered to ask them to look for copy and safety masters, which they surely had, and instead decided to add new drums and bass tracks. Fans were outraged as the albums lost their character and ambiance and as Zappa freely replaced the work of the original Mothers members.

Jazz from Hell from 1986 was almost entirely done on the synclavier, and sounded like it. The instrumental album garnered two Grammy nominations. He won the Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

The Social Critic – Zappa vs. PMRC

In the ‘80s the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) waged a war on the music industry, wanting to introduce a labeling system for music similar to that used on films. Made up of wives of powerful politicians, the record companies soon agreed to print ‘Parental Guidance: Explicit Lyrics” stickers on albums. That was not enough. The PMRC wanted more drastic measures.

Never one to sit back and watch the right to free speech be challenged, Zappa decided to speak up. He fought the “cultural terrorists” head on, giving his testimony in court and trying to show the PMRC was out of line. Incidentally, the ordeal gave him fuel for a new album – Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Prevention. (We’re Turning Again, which put down the entire 60s youth movement, was found to be vicious and exposed Zappa as a “cold nihilist with no emotions and no feelings for anybody else” [Miles p. 339]

The Man – Early ‘80s

Zappa had an ongoing habit of sabotaging the beauty of his best music with ugly lyrics and titles. All because he firmly believed that music was not a vehicle for emotional expression. As his idol Stravinsky once said, and was something he deeply identified with; “Expression has never been an inherent property of music” [Miles p. 287]

Frank didn’t do love, and his wife Gail was the first to support that claim. They rarely spoke to each other and his kids were always taught not to disturb him. He never saw what all the fuss was about and commented: “Along with all the love and admiration that’s going to come from the people that would keep you from being lonely, there is an emotional freight you have to bear from people who are wasting your time, and you can’t get that back. So when you’re lonely and all by yourself, guess what you have? You have all your own time. That’s a pretty good fucking deal ... every time you’re out being sociable and having other people be “nice” to you so you don’t feel “lonely” they are wasting your time.” [Miles p. 298]

As Miles points out this strong stance against love and sociability, along with a workaholic attitude, is a common barrier used by those with low self-esteem.

When his kids were fifteen Zappa took them out of school and made them take equivalency tests. He thoroughly believed that the school system dumbed you down into conformity. Taking it one step further, he decided that he wouldn’t pay for their college education, thus deterring them from going. Moon became a respected writer (acting didn’t work out), but she could have benefited from a degree. Dweezil immersed himself in music.