Meeting Frank
My cousin called the
bookstore at the LA signing and told the store manager that I was in the
hospital and would really love an autographed copy of Frank's
autobiography. The guy did it. I've also got about 3 1|2 minutes on tape
with Frank and Larry King while he was promoting the book. I said that I
thought the press was way too sensational. Frank agreed. I asked him to
describe the concepts in the last chapter in the book called Liberal Media
Bias and Spin Control. That spawned some disagreement between King and
Frank on whether or not the claim by the right that the "liberal left"
were getting too much airplay. I told him I hoped it wasn't true that he
wouldn't tour anymore. Sadly...it was. He said he lost $400K on the last
tour. King commented that Zappa "had to eat". I said that I wished I could
give him the 400K. When I was very young my Pediatrician had a framed
letter of coorespondance between himself and Albert Einstein. Even as a
child I was impressed by this. This tape kind of feels like that to me.
Semble (semble@aol.com)
I came in late on this thread but I'd like to add that I had the pleasure
of meeting Frank in 1988 at a booksigning in NYC. Man was I nervous. FZ
was (and still is) one of the people that I most admire on this planet
(past and present) and considering his reputation and real stiff interview
on Larry King the night before, I just didnt know what to expect. Yet, he
signed my book, gave me a hearty handclasp and looked me right in the eye
smiling as we made some fairly benign chatter. The vibes were good! Truely
a highlight in my life so far.
JGuber (jguber@aol.com)
For anyone who cares, here's the story on my signed copy of Freak Out:
My wife, brother and I went to see FZ at Muhlenburg University in
Allentown, Saturday, March 19, 1988. We had reserved seats, but FZ was
displeased with the setup, so everyone was packed to the one side of the
arena and the stage was rearranged. I don't know what his reasons for the
alterations were, but it was one of the clearest-sounding FZ concerts I'd
seen since 1977. (check out ``Sinister Footwear, 2nd. mvt'' and ``Stevie's
Spanking'' on MAJNH and ``Zomby Woof,'' ``Andy'' and ``Inca Road'' on
TBBYNHIYL. Each, or parts of each, were formed in Allentown). Perhaps he
wanted to get all of his recording equipment set up properly. He certainly
culled plenty of material from the show.
As many will recall, Frank was big on getting people to register to vote,
and worked with the League of Women Voters at most venues to achieve his
goal. I sat through the show with my Freak Out album jacket (minus LPs)
and, after the show, we waited around by the tour bus for about a half
hour.
Nobody was there with us. Suddenly, Ike Willis came out, stinking like
beer. Then some guards came out and told us to move away. We moved about
10 feet back. Less than a minute later, Frank came out with two guys. We
approached and my wife yelled, ``Frank, I'm with the League of Women
Voters.'' Frank said, ``Oh really.'' He smiled and I asked if he would
please sign this. ( I handed him my black marker and the album sleeve).
Frank carefully signed ``Frank Zappa'' on the big furry coat he wore for
the cover art. He studiously avoided writing over his face. I said
``thanks,'' he said ``sure'' and he left for the nearby bus.
It probably was easy as hell to get his autograph at such small venues.
Bbsul (bbsul@aol.com)
Back to aff-z stories