May 1984 KCBS Newsmagazine interview Part 2
hans
May 20th 1984
part 2
JB: Why would that be... Why would it be thus though, if in fact new ideas
give them more time. And I agree with you that that's probably the most
valuable commodity any of us have. Why would it frighten people, it would
seem that they would embrace it.
FZ: Because most people in the United States have been educated by the
American educational system, which prepares them to be consumers not
thinkers and doesn't give them any exposure to logic or reality. It's
basically a wharehousing system that takes your children and sort of keeps
them out of your hair for a few hours a day and eh teaches them how to use
drugs. That's basically what American schools are for, and then after they
come out of a school like that if they.. if they can in fact get a job,
being unable to read and write and do arithmetic, then they wind up faking
their way through a profession and (shrughs) since they're really not to
good at what they're doing in that profession, since they weren't trained
for it, and probably don't wanna do it anyway, but it's just the job. On the
weekends they will go out and continue to do the same things they did in
high school. They just sort of revert back to that level of experience, get
the drugs and go for it.
JB: Kodachrome huh. I tell you what, when we come back. Why don't you tell
me why you're so angry, awright?
You're listening to KCBS. My guest is Frank Zappa, both of us'll be back in
just a moment.
Fragment: Sad Jane 1st Movement (LSO)
JB: A little calmer, a little closer to what people are using... are used to
hearing. Do you, does your music try to make people think or is it just what
you hear in your head. Is there any particular purpose to your music?
FZ: No, I write because it amuses me, and eh if somebody else is oriented
similar to the way I'm oriented then it'll amuse them and if they're not
they'll listen to Boy George.
JB: Or watch. Would you see yourself as an angry man.
FZ: Uhm, sure.
JB: Why?
FZ: Well, if you're a rational person then you're confronted with what
passes for civilisation today you could tend to become angry.
JB: Have you been angry your whole life? It seems like you have been.
FZ: I'm probably angrier now than I ever was before because I think that eh
the.. what we have come to especially during this particular election year
is, it's the lowest point in American history, I feel.
JB: Why?
FZ: Looking at the choices that will determine the future of eh.. the
political future of the United States the four jerks that are available for
you to chose from is made a mockery of the whole idea of having an election.
It's preposterous. And the whole business being so tied to television
merchandising. Vast quantities of money spend by behind the scenes
individuals to pay for that advertising and everybody who is involved in
politics litterary owing his life to some mysterious unknown force and these
forces eventually one of them is going to win out and sit in the White House
and eh take care of your business for you for the next four years, if there
is another four years. And I can't be too enthusiactic about that. I take it
as eh.. as a personal affront.
JB: You seem to take a lot as a personal affront.
FZ: Well I have a right to, because I'm a person, and things offend me. And
I don't keep my mouth shut about it. And I'm happy to talk about it to
anybody who asks me. You asked, that's the answer.
JB: I'm willing to listen.
You mentioned before that you felt that part of the problem with the way
people in the United States responded, was that they learn about drugs in
school. You at least have always been associated ehm with drugs, whether
it's true or not.
FZ: Only by ignorant people in the media. Maybe they look at me in the way I
appear and they say: Well that guy is so ugly looking that he must have used
so many drugs that he turned out that ugly. But I don't use drugs at all,
never did, and eh as a matter of fact I'm very much against people using
drugs I think that it's one of the worst things that happened to the United
States, and that's what I feel about it.
JB: Do you.. is.. how did.. how did we get so confused. I think some of your
music seems to.. to deal with eh.. with drugs.
FZ: No it doesn't. I tell.. I'll give you a very easy explanation of how
such a stupid thing could occur because like you.. Maybe music isn't your
field, probably isn't, you're in psychology or something like that. Okay, so
you listen to something and you draw a conclusion about it it doesn't sound
like your favorite record, so obviously it must be the work of a drug crazed
mind. And...
JB: No, no, no, those are assumptions.
FZ: I'm not accusing you personally of that assumption...
JB: Oh, good
FZ: ...but that is sort of the way it would work for a music critic
listening to something if what I make on a record doesn't sound like their
favorite kind of music rather than try and understand that a different point
of view is at work they would automatically ascribe it to something that
they can understand which is drugs, since most of them are using drugs
anyway.
JB: Do you think most people... Do your kids use drugs.
FZ: No they don't.
JB: What did you tell your kids about drugs?
FZ: I told them that they are very bad, and don't use them, and they don't.
JB: It's that simple?
FZ: Yeah.
JB: Would you like to take some calls from some listeners?
FZ: Not particularly.
JB: Well, we'll do it anyway, it's my program.
JB: Ron, you're on KCBS, good afternoon.
Ron: Hi, I had a three part question for Frank, I wanted to ask him how this
stuff went with that he had Pierre Boulez conduct and if and when it was
gonna be released for public consumption and also if he's gonna ever
release any of his scores for eh people to check out and to purchase and
study.
FZ: Okay, the three answers to your three part question are: The stuff that
Boulez conducted was recorded for Angel, EMI in Europe, Angel in the United
States. The tapes have been delivered to Angel and I'll expect that they
will be releasing them within the next couple of months. And as far as the
scores go they are available but since they're not published in the normal
way they're not lithographed and printed, I still I have to do them of
Ocelith if you know what that means. And eh it's..
JB: What does it mean?
FZ: It's a special type of page by page reproduction that they use for music
before it's gone on to a printing press and that means the individual page
cost is hight. You can get the orchestral scores, they're full scores and
they're very expensive, they're around a 120 to 200 dollars a piece and
they're available by mail order. From my mail order company which is called
Barfko Swill.
FZ: And the adress...
JB: (sniggers) Catchy title.
FZ: The adress for Barfko Swill is on the albums.
JB: Alright. We're gonna take a break, we'll be back with some more
questions and some more of the life and times of Frank Zappa, when we
return. You're listening to KCSB newsmagazine, it's 1:30
JB: KCEB newsmagazine my guest is Frank Zappa.
You were talking about some t-shirts that you are going to put out.
FZ: Yeah, I think about putting out two. These'll be two classics, one of
'em has this large word that sais 'DOPE' all over your chest and then eh in
small letters underneath of it sais: 'you are what you use'.
And the other one sais in large letters 'OLYMPIC URINE TEST' and then in
small letters: 'Should be given to doctors, lawyers, judges and politicians
because when they use drugs, you can die'.
JB: Cheery thought. Have you ever thought of getting involved in politics
FZ: Eh no.
JB: Why Not.
FZ: Well I don't think that it would be the right thing for me to do.
JB: Because you seem so angry about the system and feeling that we have four
people who are nincompoops running for president. Aren't you going to put it
out there on the line?
FZ: I'm putting it on the line when I talk about it on the air. The fact of
the matter is a person like myself could never even get into the electoral
proces because the amount of brown lipstick that a person have to wear, you
know what I'm talking about, just to get in there...
JB: TV Make Up I assume is what you're talking about.
FZ: Yes I'm sure you are. And eh I'm not about to wear the brown lipstick
for anybody. And I, I just don't think I would fit in. I don't...
JB: You heard it first on KCBS he will not wear brown lipstick under any...
Speaking about lipstick and eh eh... How do you feel about Michael Jackson,
do you feel like he's a positive. You talk about MTV and the fact that
there's no imagination involved and he seems somehow a product of that
system. How do you feel about him as a performer?
FZ: Well eh guy asked me a question last night on a interview. And the
question was. "You know, Are you a star, or what?" And I eh... and eh...
JB: Maybe the obvious answer is: or what
FZ: No, no no, he went on about eh... "You know what these people called up,
and they called up all the time before your coming here and you're a pretty
popular guy, and I said well I'm a popular guy because a star wears only one
glove and has a tiny nose.
JB: And I can tell you right now he has no gloves and does not have a tiny
nose.
Len, you're on KCBS, good afternoon
Len: Hi, how you're doing Frank
FZ: Hi there.
Len: I've got a two part question for you. I was wonderin' what you're gonna
be doin' between now and eh eh and eh I mean eh now meaning this weekends
activities and the ballet next month and what are your musical plans in the
near future right after that?
FZ: The rehearsals for my new band start on Monday and we're getting ready
for a tour which will begin around july 15th.
JB: What's the name of the new band?
FZ: Just called Zappa.
JB: Catchy, well it's better than the record company.
Randy you're on KCBS, good afternoon.
Randy: Hi, hi Frank I'd like a progress report on the Broadway musical
that'd be staged I guess this fall, I haven't heard much about it and I'd
like some information on it.
FZ: Okay what happened was, I wrote this thing, and I went round the country
tryin to raise money for it I only got about 400.000 dollars out of 5
million and I gave up. But just before I came up here I got a phonecall from
a guy who represents an organisation called Opera Today, and they're
interested. They're funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and they asked me
to write an opera, and I said, well I already did this thing so if you
listen to it maybe you guys wanna stage this so I'm sending them the tapes
of the show and maybe we will get some action there. And if not, it will be
available as a three record box set through MCA on Barking Pumpkin Records
within the next six weeks or so.
JB: You may want to stay around David Rockefeller will be here at three o
clock this afternoon, you could sort of pitch him in person.
FZ: Awright.
JB: You're listening to KCBS, we will be back with Frank Zappa and your
phonecalls in just a moment, it is currently 23 minutes before 2 my guest.
JB: KCBS newsmagazine my guest this afternoon for the first segment is Frank
Zappa. Ted, you're on KCBS, good afternoon.
Hello. First my name is Frits and I was just wondering when can we expect
Frank to be around here and who's gonna be in his rock band.
JB: Have we got good news for you.
FZ: Well I don't know when we're goin' to be booked into San Francisco but
we're definitely gonna play it on this tour, because the tour will run until
January the 1st and we'll be doing the entire country, and as far who's
gonna be in the group there are three guys from the Bay Area who are in it:
Scott Thunes on bass, Ray White on guitar and vocals and Napoleon Murphy
Block eh Murphy Brock on sax and vocals. And the other guys in the band are
Chad Wackerman on drums and Bobby Martin on keyboards and I'm still
auditioning for one more position. We'll have auditions for the rest of this
week for a second keyboard player who can also sing Rhythm and Blues
falsetto.
JB: Are you gonna do auditions in this area?
FZ: No, we only audition in Los Angeles.
JB: Okay, so if people in this area are interested in auditioning
(inaudible) they'll have to go to L.A.
Awright, Leonard, you are on KCBS, good afternoon.
Leonard: Hello
FZ: Hi there
Leonard: Frank? How do you spell your name
FZ: Z A P P A
Leonard: I'm sorry?
FZ: Z A P P A
Oh Z A P P A
Yah
Frank, can I write you or can I contact you, talk to you. I very much like
what you said and how you said and your viewpoint about being an individual
and this is the problem with this country we don't have enough individuals
and I've been preachin' this for forty years and I just recently retired and
it's nice to hear somebody speak openly cause everybody is afraid to talk,
because everybody is afraid to make waves, or rock the boat or something and
eh....
JB: Okay eh, well Frank you've got yourself a groupie, that's terrific. Look
if you get popular, what are you gonna do then. I mean if everybody agrees
with you. You're gonna be in real trouble.
FZ: Actually, what I'd like to do I wish I could tell a adress where that
man could contact me.
JB: Can you?
FZ: Well it's a post office box number that we've just got but I haven't
memorised it. Let me say this: we have a mystery phone number in Los Angeles
that if you want Zappa information or tour information you can call. The
number is 818 Pumpkin, 818 Pumkin.
JB: I tell you, the other thing you can do Leonard if you'll send a note
here to KCBS. Frank if you'll send me your adress I'll send it to Leonard,
if he writes here, is that fair?
FZ: Wait a minute, someone here just actually handed me an adress, okay here
it is: Post Office Box 5265 North Hollywood 91616.
There you go.
FZ: Okay.
JB: Listen there you know we've got a Democratic convention coming up
What if you're drafted, would you serve?
FZ: Would I serve, come on, I thought this was a serious radio station.
JB: Semi, Quasi occasionally , it's Friday afternoon after all.
Okay, Jim you're on KCSB, good afternoon.
Jim: Hey Frank, it's quite an honor to talk to you. I'm from New York
stomping ground (down in Arcadia?), right up there near El Monte I
believe...
FZ: Lotta Pachuco's down there.
Jim: Pardon?
FZ: Lotta Pachuco's down there.
Jim: Listen, I thought up one brief question and I have this one here
concerning 'Sleep Dirt'. Can you tell me, did you eh object to that being
released and if so why I love that album I think it's fantastic. What do you
say.
FZ: Well the thing about the Sleep Dirt album is, that and three other
albums is were part of a law-suit against my former manager and Warner
Brothers and the reason I objected to the release of that album is because
they didn't pay me for it. And that's why I spend five years on this
particular lawsuit. But I think there is nice music on that album and I'm
glad you enjoy it.
JB: Tell us what you're gonna be doing at the Exploratorium and you can
mention the Berkeley concert again if you'd like to.
FZ: Okay, on Sunday at eight o clock what is it the theatre of Fine Arts I
don't where it is, Palace of Fine Arts...
JB: Palace of Fine Arts, next to the Exploratorium
FZ: ...I'm doing a lecture with tape about music, and giving examples of
some of the most recent things that are unreleased, and we're having a
special digital playback system there, so if you wanna hear some new music
and hear me talk about music I'll be down there, there's still a few tickets
available for it and on the 15th and 16th of June the Berkeley Symphony and
the San Francisco Miniature Theatre will be putting on two evenings of my
ballet compostitions at (Sellabuck?) Hall and Berkeley and also the program
will be repeated on June the 20th in San Jose.
JB: Alright, got any statistics, our next segment is going to be concerning
a man who's written several books called: 'How do you rate' eh compiling
statistics.
FZ: Oh yeah. The most important statistic is most of the violent crime in
the United States is committed by Christians.
JB: How.. how do you know that? Wha.. what research...
FZ: Well, if you ever catch anybody who commits a crime no matter what their
religion is as soon as they go into a prison there is some kind of a
chaplain that gets them born again and then they get out and they commit
more crimes so the statistics just keep spiraling upwards. And also I think
it is inherent in the Christian Religion especially in the fundamentalistic
branches of it when they're preaching that fire and brimstone so much hate
is developped that you take an unstable personality expose them to that
kind of hate and that kind of rebble rousing and it causes peoples to go out
and commit violent crimes in the name of Jesus or whatever and it's sort of
like the way the muslim religion works where if you do it in the name of God
even if you get caught you'll go to heaven. So I think that there.. these
people are prone to violence and with proliferation of video religion in the
United States and all these fundamentalists organisations gathering up
millions of dollars having their own sattelites and everything you are
looking at a whole nation full of potential mutants who could be very
harmful. And now you have a president in there who's elected by these
people and at least one of the democrats with fundamentalist backing behind
him. This is pretty frightening situation.
JB: Are you religious at all?
FZ: I'm very religious and I take deep offense at video religion.
JB: Awright. That's Frank Zappa, he's going to be around in town for about
the next month. He'll be at the Exploratorium next Sunday and Berkeley on
the 15th and 16th.
(of course Eric)
Hanzo
Biffy the Elephant Shrew
>I still I have to do them of
>Ocelith if you know what that means.
This word is "ozalid."
>Jim: Hey Frank, it's quite an honor to talk to you. I'm from New York
>stomping ground (down in Arcadia?), right up there near El Monte I
>believe...
And he must be saying "near your stomping grounds," since he's talking
about the opposite side of the country from New York.
>(Sellabuck?) Hall
Zellerbach.
Your pal,
Biffy the Elephant Shrew
http://members.aol.com/biffyshrew/biffy.html
http://www.mp3.com/michaelpdawson
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas!
Kristian Kier
>
> Great transcription, Hans, thanks for doing this!
>
> >I still I have to do them of
> >Ocelith if you know what that means.
>
> This word is "ozalid."
Has this something to do with plumbum plates and engraving
those notes in 'em? ("Notenstechen", an old handicraft)
-Kristian
--
The Frank Zappa Singles FAQ:
http://fzsinglesfaq.w-i-s.net/index.html
Home Of Compilation Albums:
http://www.user.w-i-s.net/rocco/hoca.htm
Digital Larry
which got cancelled. Arrghh!
>... on the 15th and 16th of June the