The Monkees are often referred to as the “Pre-Fab Four” in reference to the fact that they were obviously a TV knock-off of the Beatles, recruited from a help wanted ad in Variety. Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Harry Nilsson all auditioned to become Monkees. Stills was even cast, but stepped aside over royalties issues, recommending his then-roommate Peter Tork for the role in instead.

Still, no matter how “uncool” they were supposed to be—and I think you’ll agree that the above trio were all pretty hip young guys— the Monkees casting was a rare example of stroke of genius by committee. It’s difficult to imagine anyone but the four of them having the same chemistry, both comedically and (eventually) musically. And to further refute their “uncool” rep, John Lennon called them “the Marx Brothers of Rock” and the Beatles even hosted a party for them in London when they toured England. (Furthermore, Mike Nesmith was at the Abbey Road recording sessions for “A Day in the Life” and Peter Tork played banjo on George Harrison’s Wonderwall soundtrack).

Even that most far-out of the really far-out musicians of the day, Frank Zappa himself, made not just one, but two onscreen appearances with the Monkees: First in a TV segment where Mike pretended to be Frank and vice versa (which certainly foreshadowed Ringo’s portrayal of Zappa in 200 Motels) before they destroyed a car with a sledgehammer to the tune of “Mother People,” and again in a brief cameo in Head..
 

 
Zappa’s Head cameo, offering Davey Jones some musical advice while walking a cow through the Screen Gems studio lot.
 

 
Hard to fathom that none of us has put together a Bruce Bickford post before now, but here ‘tis. Like most geeky nerds, I was first introduced to the entirely stupendous and obsessively detailed, not to mention extremely demented claymation of Bruce Bickford via his extended sequences in Frank Zappa’s late 70’s concert film Baby Snakes. There’s also an excellent doumentary film about the man, Monster Road  which I couldn’t more highly recommend. Here then is a batch of excerpts from Bickford’s huge and ever growing body of work. This stuff’ll inform your dreams after you see it for better or worse. The complexity herein is truly staggering and more than likely, highly unhealthy. But like most unhealthy things, it’s fucking fun !
 

 
Much more after the jump…

 
For years Captain Beefheart fans have salivated over the prospects of a proper release of the original Bat Chain Puller album. The original sessions were recorded for Frank Zappa’s DiscReet Records, and shelved due to legal issues, but have escaped over the years on shoddy sounding bootlegs and even a few semi-legit releases (like the not-so-great sounding Dustsucker CD).

The album that ultimately came out in 1978, Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) was a rerecording of these tracks, and of course, is considered a classic. However, even accounting for the layers of sonic muck added by generation upon generation of hand to hand tape transfers, the original versions have an edge on the released album. Especially the title track, which to me, sounds harder, bouncier, and just… more better.

Apparently there has been some good news on this front. at least according to the Wikipedia entry on the album:

There will be an official release in January 2011. This was stated during a Q & A session at the Round House Chalk Farm London, by Gail Zappa at the Frank Zappa 70th Birthday event 5th - 7th November 2010.

Hooray! Below, a fan-made animation by Geritsel for “Bat Chain Puller”:
 

 
H/T Mark

 
Here’s something to mull over music nerds: Did New Order blatantly cop the groove for “Blue Monday” from obscure minimalist Manchester new wave novelty act, Gerry & the Holograms?

Or what?

Championed by Frank Zappa during a 1980 BBC Radio 1 guest disc jockey stint (as well as 1979 radio spot on WPIX in New York and The Dick Cavett Show), Gerry & the Holograms (who consisted of a guy named John Scott, and CP Lee of Manchester-based 70s comedy-rock group, Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias) put out this Residents-influenced piss-take on the synthpop bands that would have been emerging then, like Soft Cell or The Human League.

Zappa referred to Gerry & the Holograms as “the hottest thing to come out of Manchester in at least 15 minutes.” The duo’s second record, “The Emperor’s New Music” came glued to the picture sleeve.

Gerry & the Holograms was later remixed by Diplo, in a manner, that somewhat amplifies the question about the “inspiration” behind a certain massive-selling worldwide dancefloor hit of 1983. Coincidence? You decide!
 

 
Thanks Nico!

 
Frank Zappa appears on “What’s My Line?” on September 23rd, 1971. This is truly weird: June Lockhart, Soupy Sales, Gene Rayburn and Arlene Dahl ask the questions. Soupy Sales, who was a super hip guy, of course, had a friend in common with Zappa and correctly guesses his identity with ease. Zappa was there promoting the 200 Motels.
 

 
I once saw an interview with The Mighty Boosh, where Noel Fielding described their comedy as being for people who grew up listening to Frank Zappa. Falling as squarely into that quite particular demographic as I do, maybe this is why I resonate so much with their work. Certainly, for me, the inventively choreographed musical production numbers on their three TV series—think bohemian Busby Berkeley—were the highlights of each show. Kinda like The Monkees, in that way. The best Boosh episodes always have great musical payoffs.

When I caught the live Boosh experience at the Roxy last year, a primarily musical event, I must say, in true Paul Crik-parlance, they fucking killed it.

This weekend in London, Fielding and his comedic/musical partner in crime, Julian Barratt, will be co-headlining what looks to be an incredible musical event, celebrating the life and music of Frank Zappa, along with the Dweezil Zappa-led Zappa Plays Zappa band at a festival at the Roundhouse:

The three-day series of events begins tomorrow with a discussion between Frank’s wife Gail Zappa, his musical assistant Ali N Askin (who worked with him on his classical piece ‘The Yellow Shark’), computer synclavier programming expert Todd Yvega, and recording engineer Frank Fillipetti, the first engineer to work with The Zappa Family Trust on reissuing unreleased Zappa material. This precedes a performance of ‘The Yellow Shark’ by the London Contemporary Orchestra – the last album to be released before Zappa’s death in 1993, it features some typically Zappa-esque song titles; ‘G-Spot Tornado’, ‘Dog Breath Variations’, ‘Get Whitey’ and ‘Be-Bop Tango’. This will be followed by ‘Wild Imaginings – The Music That Influenced Zappa’ also performed by the LCO, giving an insight into Frank’s influences that ranged from Stravinsky to 1950s doo-wop, grungy rock ’n’ roll and jazz icon Eric Dolphy. 



Yet it will be the Zappa Plays Zappa band that should provide the highlight of the celebrations on a double bill with cult British comedy duo The Mighty Boosh on Saturday. The ZPZ band have performed in the UK before but this should be particularly special as the band will feature original Zappa sidemen including Mothers of Invention singer / guitarist Jeff Simmons, anarchic bassist Scott Thunes and woodwind / keyboards player Ian Underwood. They’ll play Frank’s best selling album Apostrophe in its entirety as well as other selections from FZ’s vast repertoire. With The Mighty Boosh’s Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt providing their own take on Zappa’s music and a comedy sketch recreating actual dialogue from Zappa’s infamous Old Bailey obscenity trial, plus Frank himself making an appearance to ‘play’ live with son Dweezil, this will be an epic and aptly surreal tribute to this truly unique musical visionary.

Frank Zappa: 70th Birthday Celebration, Roundhouse, London NW1, November 5 to 7, 2010
 

 
A young Frank Zappa makes his TV debut playing the bicycle on The Steve Allen Show.
 

 
More Frank Zappa after the jump…
 

 
Filling in for an AWOL Keith Richards (who had visa problems at the time, stemming a recent drug bust in Toronto), Frank Zappa reads “The Talking Asshole” routine from William S Burroughs’ Naked Lunch. The occasion was the Nova Convention, a three-day celebration of Burroughs’s work that took place in New York City in December of 1978.

Others on the bill at the Nova Convention included Patti Smith, Robert Anton Wilson, Brion Gysin, Laurie Anderson, poet John Giorno, Timothy Leary, Philip Glass, John Cage and author Terry Southern, who can be heard at the beginning of the clip, introducing Zappa.
 

 

 
These are just stunning! Stunning! I certainly wouldn’t mind owning one of those fantastic Zappas. From the artist Lisa Brawn:

I have been experimenting with figurative woodcuts for almost twenty years since being introduced to the medium by printmakers at the Alberta College of Art and Design. Recently, I have been wrestling with a new challenge: five truckloads of salvaged century-old rough Douglas fir beams from the restoration of the Alberta Block in Calgary and from the dismantling of grain elevators. This wood is very interesting in its history and also in that it is oddly shaped. Unlike traditional woodcut material such as cherry or walnut, the material is ornery. There are holes and knots and gouges and rusty nails sticking out the sides.

To find suitably rustic and rugged subjects, I have been referencing popular culture personas and archetypes from 1920s silent film cowboys to 1970s tough guys. I have also been through the Glenbow Museum archives for horse rustlers, bootleggers, informants, and loiterers in turn-of-the-century RCMP mug shots for my Quién es más macho series. Cowgirl trick riders and cowboy yodelers in their spectacular ensembles from the 1940s led to my Honky-Tonkin, Honey, Baby series. Inspired by a recent trip to Coney Island, I have been exploring vintage circus culture and am currently working on a series of sideshow portraits including Zip the Pinhead and JoJo the Dog-faced Boy. There is also an ongoing series of iconic gender archetypes, antiheroes and divas, which includes such portraits as Sophia Loren, Maria Callas, Edith Piaf, Jackie Onassis, Steve McQueen, and Clint Eastwood.

Please visit Lisa Brawn’s website to view hundreds of amazing woodcuts.

(via Everlasting Blort)

 
This song, believe it or not, is actually a collaboration between Burt Ward, better known as “Robin” on the 60s Batman TV series, and Frank Zappa. Long circulated on variously titled bootlegs, “The Boy Wonder Sessions” were recorded in 1966 with Mothers of Invention (and Velvet Underground) producer Tom Wilson at the mixing desk. Mothers Jimmy Carl Black, Elliot Ingber and Roy Estrada are present, however Zappa doesn’t actually play on these sessions, although he arranged and wrote most of the material recorded. Note the bit that sounds like Zappa’s later “Duke of Prunes” composition near the end.

From Burt Ward’s autobiography, Boy Wonder, My Life In Tights:

I should have had the wisdom I now have when I signed a recording contract with MGM Records- I wouldn’t have signed it. MGM staffer Tom Scott [I think he means WIlson] was assigned as my producer. He brought in one of the visually wildest groups imaginable as my backup band, the Mothers of Invention. What a sight! Neanderthal. They had incredibly long, scraggly hair, and clothes that appeared not to have been washed in this century if ever. These were musicians who became famous for tearing up furniture, their speakers, their microphones and even their expensive guitars onstage. They were maniacs!

Of all the people in the world to team with this wild and crazy bunch, I can’t believe I was the one. The image of the Boy Wonder is all American and apple pie, while the image of the Mothers of Invention was so revolutionary that they made the Hell’s Angels look like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Even I had to laugh seeing a photo of myself with those animals.

Their fearless leader and king of grubbiness was the late Frank Zappa. (The full name of the band was Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention.) After recording with me, Frank became an internationally recognized cult superstar, which was understandable; after working with me, the only place Frank could go was up.

Although he looked like the others, Frank had an intelligence and education that elevated him beyond brilliance to sheer genius. I spent a considerable amount of time talking with him, and his rough, abrupt exterior concealed an intellectual, creative and sensitive interior.

For my records, the plan was to record four sides and then release two singles prior to producing an album. After listening to me sing, Frank got a wild idea to make use of my hideous voice to do a hilarious recording with a song that had some of the Batman feel to it. He picked “Orange Colored Sky.”

I can’t bear to think of this song. The memories are too embarrassing. Though the intent was to create comedy by putting my lousy singing to good use, the actual result was so disastrous that the studio thought the tape had been left out in the sun and warped. They insisted on re-recording.

But first, MGM took a radical step as an insurance policy that my next session would sound better. They sent me to an expensive vocal coach—and no doubt hoped for divine intervention. Back in 1966 they were shelling out about $1,000 a week for those lessons. That was a lot of money, more than three times what I was bringing home after working twelve hours per day in my monkey suit for an entire week. With the coach raking in that much, even I am surprised that after two weeks of training, the lady politely asked me not to come back. I’m not sure if she felt that having me as a student was damaging to her career or if listening to me sing was destroying her eardrums, or both.

In an attempt at self-preservation, the record company had me just talk on the second two sides I recorded. That I could do very well! The material for the song was a group of fan letters that had been sent to me. Frank and I edited them together to make one letter, which became the lyrics for the recording. Frank wrote a melody and an arrangement, and we titled the song, “Boy Wonder, I Love You!”

Among the lyrics was an invitation for me to come and visit an adoring pubescent fan and stay with her for the entire summer. She wrote, “I will even fix you breakfast in bed. I love you so much that I want you to stay the whole summer with me!” The lyrics ended with “I hope you know that this is a girl writing.”

There is a link to some further tracks from this session at the fab Never Get Out of the Boat blog. Lots more information can be found here.
 

 
Strange, but true, in the early 80s, Frank Zappa joined showbiz celebs like Nipsey Russell, Scatman Crothers, Erik Estrada, Henny Youngman, and One Day at a Time mom, Bonnie Franklin, to record radio PSAs for the American Dental Association. The spots admonished kids to brush, floss and go for regular dental check-ups. Here are three of them: “Dental Floss Tycoon,” “Trick Or Treat” and “Keep Your Teeth.”
 

 
Thank you Wilson Smith!

 

 
I really like these hand-painted vinyl records from artist Daniel Edlen. According to his web site, Daniel also does drawings of authors on their books. I’m partial to the Zappa, natch.

 

 
See more of Daniel’s work after the jump…

The Mudd Club (did I fuck anybody in this picture?)
 
Frank Zappa performing at New York City’s Mudd Club in May of 1980. From the German documentary Ein Leben als Extravaganza - Das Genie Frank Zappa.

This clip includes a brief interview with Mudd Club owner Steve Maas.

The video quality ain’t great, but it’s rare and and I know of no better quality copies anywhere.

I basically stopped listening to Zappa after the first couple of Mothers albums. But, as someone who spent many nights at The Mudd Club, I consider this a worthy contribution to the history of New York’s downtown music scene.

 
Wow ! I had never seen this animated/live action film for the mini-song Sleeping In A Jar from the epic 1969 double LP Uncle Meat before. If this was, as I suspect, created as a TV ad for the LP then it’s no wonder it was never shown (except this one time on Swedish TV in 1971), given the none-too-subtle 7-UP bottle fellatio seen in the clip. As always, FZ brought the wholesome family entertainment.
 

 
Thanks Tony Coulter !

 
Always the savvy marketer, Zappa sure knew how to reach his audience, eh? As seen in Daredevil #38.

And here’s another piece of obscure Zappa ephemera, a Clio Award-winning soundtrack for a Luden’s Cough Drops TV commercial that he did in 1967.
 

 
Via Little Green Footballs