d halfnote Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 Amazingly, it's w/ an unidentified MTV journalist / 12/8/1984 If yer an FZ fan, much may be known to you already, but as was the case w/FZ, his opinions weren't static (note how he ID's his fave guitarist as, "today it's..."). Points of particular note: 0:45~1:13 / influneces 1:15~1:27 / his best work 5:30~5:40 / his fave music video (you'll never guess) 5:45~7:35 / FZ defines progressive rock, w/examples 8:50~9:30/ FZ apparently forgets playing w/ Rahsaan Roland Kirk, John McLaughlin, Ravi Shankar & others 13:~15:55/ gtr heroe, his approach to soloing & which of his solos he likes [video:youtube] d=halfnote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipclone 1 Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Great find! his words ring even more true today, even without MTV itself in the picture. Same old surprises, brand new cliches- Skipsounds on Soundclick: www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandid=602491 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Iverson Posted April 25, 2018 Share Posted April 25, 2018 His point of playing spontaneously every night is interesting. Yes, a lot of leads are pretty much set in stone. The upside of that is that the quality is consistent, but I'm sure I'd hate to have to play the same exact thing every night. Talking about improvised solos; arrangement parts are OK. I guess it partly depends on the level of the improviser - for example, Wes and Charlie Parker and Django could play 3 or 4 takes of a tune with 3 or 4 DIFFERENT interesting solos, but not everybody can do that. I always admired Zappa's courage in saying what he thought, not that I always AGREED with him - but who says we have to agree with each other all the time?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Fraser Posted April 25, 2018 Share Posted April 25, 2018 Then again there are some solos which are so iconic & so seared into memory that they have to be played, more or less, note for note every night. Comfortably Numb comes to mind. Hotel California as well. Scott Fraser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d halfnote Posted April 25, 2018 Author Share Posted April 25, 2018 Even for those, however, there's an option of extending or interpolating variations...& in reality even FZ often used similar, em, designs for his improvs from event to event. Who heard something here that was a real surprise or thought changer ? d=halfnote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d halfnote Posted April 25, 2018 Author Share Posted April 25, 2018 Some complementary info... while these might seem counter to the FZ dictum of constant improv, remember, ya gotsta start somewhere & an idea new to you is still new as a way to widen yer pallette. [video:youtube] [video:youtube] d=halfnote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larryz Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 I really have not listened to Frank Zappa's music but I really liked the interview just the same. I agree with just about everything he said. When it comes down to practiced leads vs improvisational leads, I side with improvisation. Although I do appreciate both methods of play. Not listening to recorded leads and playing to the live audience that bought the ticket that night (to include the jokes and stage banter) is part of my philosophy. Along with taking a chance even if you make a mistake! I liked the way he talked about John and Yoko stealing King Kong LOL! Also, when the performance was over, only the audience that attended that night heard what was played. He said there were a lot of bootleg tapes out there that captured a lot of it, but you should not buy them! It reminded me of the early days of improvisational jazz, as so much great music was lost into thin air. Finally, someone got the great idea of recording it and jazz stations were born. His music (what little I have heard) is in the jazz world but like some other jazz, it's not for me. I think he is quite the artist and I liked it when he explained that his music is not rock and roll and progressive rock is not rock and roll either (it's everything else)... Anyway, I started earlier today listening from 13:00 on as I was interested in his solo improvisation philosophy. Tonight, I went back and watched the whole interview and am glad I did. I got a kick out of him having the gal list the bands a second time and giving them a yes or no on who should be in the progressive rock category. 5 or so got a no, but most of them got a "sometimes". His MTV commercial comments were also some cool history to listen to... Take care, Larryz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d halfnote Posted April 26, 2018 Author Share Posted April 26, 2018 Glad y'liked it, LarZ, & detailed comments are always more interesting than blanket " s". Maybe y'll even chk out some more FZ tracks ! There's actually a greater variety to his catalog & style than most ppl imagine. d=halfnote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larryz Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Yeah, I'll give him more of a listen...here's the type of FZ stuff I like from Steve Vai's story on the 3 little parts Frank showed him! [video:youtube] Take care, Larryz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d halfnote Posted April 27, 2018 Author Share Posted April 27, 2018 Here's an FZ interview from the time he issued THE FZ BOOK, w/virtually no musical content but still interesting...if y'listen carefully he makes several pointed comments abt the biz of music + some revelations abt his then studio set-up. Note that here, as in the OP, he cites Holdsworth as a fave. [video:youtube] d=halfnote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Iverson Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Steve Vai has a great MEMORY - at least in MUSIC. Zappa called him "my little Italian virtuoso." Vai's definition of "genius" is interesting, especially the term is way overused, IMHO. Especially by people who are indeed talented and good at what they do, but it's hard to see how they're "geniuses"....... One interviewer once FZ if he were an "eccentric genius" and he said "Eccentric? Yes. Genius?? [pauses] - Maybe......" It seems like most of the people who are often considered geniuses are not TRYING to be, they're trying to MAKE GOOD MUSIC, DO QUALITY WORK etc. Well, enough ranting and raving for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Fraser Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 I've had the privilege of working with a number of artists who are often considered geniuses. I would say from observing them very close up on an ongoing basis, what distinguishes them may not actually be the quality of their ideas, (though they unquestionably have great ideas) but the fact that they have the confidence in those ideas & drive to push them through to fruition. Equally good ideas from others are easily quashed when someone says 'that won't work'. The genius is the one who doesn't care that somebody thinks something won't work. Scott Fraser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred_C Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Excellent, insightful comments from Eric and Scott. I have always admired Zappa's creativity and musicianship. If you play cool, you are cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d halfnote Posted April 28, 2018 Author Share Posted April 28, 2018 I've had the privilege of working with a number of artists who are often considered geniuses. I would say from observing them very close up on an ongoing basis, what distinguishes them may not actually be the quality of their ideas, (though they unquestionably have great ideas) but the fact that they have the confidence in those ideas & drive to push them through to fruition. Equally good ideas from others are easily quashed when someone says 'that won't work'. The genius is the one who doesn't care that somebody thinks something won't work. Well said, SF ! d=halfnote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipclone 1 Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 I`m on day 4 of listing my top 10 most personally influential albums, a FB challenge that a friend passed to me. I`m not a fan of doing that without asking first but, anyway I accepted the challenge. As expected, it`s a LOT harder than it sounds. FZ should definitely be in there somewhere, but so far I don`t have a space for it. I know which album I would cite-that would be `Overnite Sensation`. I have made an effort to distinguish between records that I thought were really great, and those which changed the way I thought about music-that`s what personally influential should mean, yes? Maybe I`ll list a separate `if it were top 15` post. I was fortunate to see him live, at Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Same old surprises, brand new cliches- Skipsounds on Soundclick: www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandid=602491 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenji13 Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 Thank you so much for sharing the videos. I decided to learn the guitar when I saw the performance of Frank Zappa!! Wonderful inspiration! Kenji Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d halfnote Posted May 2, 2018 Author Share Posted May 2, 2018 Coolacious, new fellow muso ! Tell us more (do an intro thread, please). d=halfnote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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