ZAPPA = RESIDENTS????
Dan Rabin
A friend claims he knows one of the Residents and that this guy told him
the main mind behind the Residents is Frank Zappa himself!
Has anybody heard any rumour or seen any evidence of this?
I haven't heard the rumor, and I see plenty of evidence to the
contrary. Anyone can claim to know one of the Residents: we can't
verify the claim, because *we* don't know who the Residents are. Even
if Piero's friend *does* know one of the Residents, it seems likely
that someone has mistaken a claim of *influence* by Zappa for a claim
of *involvement* by Zappa.
Zappa's *influence* would not be too surprising, since many artists
with proclivities toward weirdness have found Zappa's unique work to
be an inspiration.
The musical styles of Zappa and the Residents are very, very
different--Zappa has a lot of tricky rhythms, the Residents use rather
simple rhythms, and so forth. The style of the lyrics differs
completely between Zappa and the Residents.
The connection is not even plausible geographically. The Residents
have lived in Louisiana and San Francisco during their musical career;
Frank Zappa has lived in the Los Angeles area during that entire
period. Although the Residents conceal their identities, their
numerous associates must know who they are--why haven't any interviews
with Fred Frith or Snakefinger mentioned a Zappa connection?
Zappa *has* half-heartedly concealed his identity on some projects:
Ruben and the Jets, Junier Mintz (see the Discoveries article), but
his known activities are simply too numerous to allow time for him to
have masterminded more than fifteen Residents albums.
Here we have another instance of the syndrome that identifies Frank
Zappa as the Source of All Weirdness (remember the `Christmas at
K-Mart' thread a few weeks ago?). And he's not nearly as weird as the
Residents or Michael Jackson :-)
-- Dan Rabin
Piero Scaruffi
the main mind behind the Residents is Frank Zappa himself!
Has anybody heard any rumour or seen any evidence of this?
Dan Rabin
I do recall reading an interview with the Residents in which they said
their only real influence was Captain Beefheart.
A friend of mine (introduced me to The Residents) suspects the
Beefheart is the Eskimo mentioned in one of their albums and
supposedly taught them the secret to music.
Would that be `the mysterious N. Senada' rather than the Eskimo? The
album `Eskimo' seems to be straightforwardly based on Eskimo life,
except for the ominous chant that turns out, on close listening, to be
`Coca-Cola adds life'.
N. Senada is mentioned in the liner notes to `Meet the Residents'; the
name may be a pun on Ensenada, Baja California Norte (a beach town
popular with Southern Californians).
But enough of this Residentialism...
-- Dan Rabin
Rob Francis
I do recall reading an interview with the Residents in which they said
their only real influence was Captain Beefheart.
A friend of mine (introduced me to The Residents) suspects the
Beefheart is the Eskimo mentioned in one of their albums and
supposedly taught them the secret to music.
I never bought the theory myself, but was a little amazed when I read
the interview and they stated Beefheart was their only influence...
-rob
---
Rob Francis Unix Systems Specialist, Indiana University
fran...@indiana.edu (812)855-0327
Jeffrey Patterson
I don't know...
Well, I guess there are some similarities.
1) The Residents do a cover of King Kong.
2) Both have been released on Ryko.
3) In the Zappalogue, someone who has performed with Zappa (I forget who,
and I don't have a copy of the Zappalogue, and it's been a long time
since I read about this) is mentioned as playing with the Residents.
4) They're both really weird.
That's about all I can think of. But, isn't it common knowledge that the
Residents are in fact the Beatles? ;)
Plus, I think if there was a connection, wouldn't there be some link
between Zappa and Snakefinger, Fred Frith, or Renaldo & the Loaf?
Actually, if you think about it, both have been getting into midi
and computer music quite a bit recently. Hmm. And the Residents rarely
tour, so that wouldn't be any added weight for Zappa.
If anyone knows who it was that played with the Residents from Zappa's
band and on what album(s), I would be very grateful for the info. I read
about this a long time ago, before I really ever listened to Zappa, and
can't seem to find a copy of the Zappalogue anymore. You can email
me at jp...@ocf.berkeley.edu if you don't think it's worth posting.
Thanks alot.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Jeff Patterson | "Eat exuding oinks upon and bleed
jp...@ocf.berkeley.edu | decrepit broken bones at caustic
| spells of hell." -The Residents
Kristian Martinsen
Records? And RYKO? What does the lable FZ 25 mean?
Can someone help me out?
Thanks in advance.
Kristian.
Mark A. Natola
>Subject: ZAPPA = RESIDENTS????
>Date: 4 Mar 93 19:53:39 GMT
As a big fan of both FZ and the Residents for many years, I find that hard
to believe. The Residents did a great cover of KING KONG, and I guess you
can see some similarities in their music, as far as FZ being the main
man.....
Mark
Gorm Sande
A messsage from Norway:
Barking Pumpkin Records is Zappa's own record company. In USA some of his CDs are relaesed on the Barking Pumpkin label. The rest are licensed to RYKO. In Europe all the CDs are released on the Zappa Records label.
In the late '70s and the early '80s the record were released by Zappa records in USA and by CBS in Europe. Still confused?
Gorm Sande (sa...@elkraft.unit.no)
PS: Does anyone want to start a Residents newsgroup?
-------------------------------------------------------
Keir Reavie
Don't be silly. Zappa was certainly a heavy influence on the Residents, but
it would be hard to say he was the Residents. How could one man, as prolific
as Frank, also be as prolific as the Residents? We all know that Frank has
not rested in over thirty years. The Residents article in the September '92
issue of Goldmine will also show that the Residents have not rested in
approximately 25 years. Such hypotheses can only lead to more ridiculous
rumors:
Frank is an alien
Frank really has an extra arm
Frank has a twin brother
Frank is descended from bigfoot
Frank is behind the Mightly Ducks hockey team
If you're familiar with the history of the Residents, you're familiar with
the rumors and stories.
When is someone going to start a Residents news group?
Dan Rabin
few Residents albums, and I don't recall one.
-- Dan Rabin
Malcolm Humes
> fran...@stupid.ucs.indiana.edu (Rob Francis) writes:
> A friend of mine (introduced me to The Residents) suspects the
> Beefheart is the Eskimo mentioned in one of their albums and
> supposedly taught them the secret to music.
>Would that be `the mysterious N. Senada' rather than the Eskimo? The
>album `Eskimo' seems to be straightforwardly based on Eskimo life,
>except for the ominous chant that turns out, on close listening, to be
>`Coca-Cola adds life'.
>N. Senada is mentioned in the liner notes to `Meet the Residents'; the
>name may be a pun on Ensenada, Baja California Norte (a beach town
>popular with Southern Californians).
I've actually seen a fairly plausible argument that N.Senada was Harry
Partch - The Fingerprince lp has a very Partch influenced sound, and
Partch was local to the area when it was recorded.
- Malcolm
Malcolm Humes
>If anyone knows who it was that played with the Residents from Zappa's
>band and on what album(s), I would be very grateful for the info. I read
>about this a long time ago, before I really ever listened to Zappa, and
>can't seem to find a copy of the Zappalogue anymore. You can email
>me at jp...@ocf.berkeley.edu if you don't think it's worth posting.
Eric Drew Feldman is an ex-Beefheart player who has collaborated with the
Residenst. I can't think of a Frank connection, though.
Beefheart, BTW, has slammed the Residents in print, in an interview in the
early 80's in some UK mag. He hates em.
- Malcolm
Malcolm Humes
>Where can I find the Residents' cover of `King Kong'? I have quite a
>few Residents albums, and I don't recall one.
The Residents are marketing maniacs - they've released so much that only
serious fans can keep up - hey, maybe that's another common point with Zappa.
But I don't buy the ZAPPA/RESIDENTS thing - I know too many people in
San Francisco who know the Residents ,or claim to, and the general consensus
is that it's two main folks. Besides, Zappa doesn't have a deep Louisiana
accent.
REgarding King King, try asking:
TEC TONES/RALPH RECORDS/NEGATIVMAILORDERLAND
P.O. Box 1477, Hoboken, NJ 07030 (former address was in SF, CA)
Phone 201/420-0238, Fax 201/420-6494
TEC TONES is the mailorder wing of Ralph Records, TEC Tones
releases, and Negativland products. They also carry some other
items like imports of Fred Frith and ESD Henry Cow releases. Mainly
it's the mailorder company for the Residents' releases and for
Frith, Snakefinger, Clubfoot and other releases on the Ralph label
and distribution for some other small labels from the US and other
parts of the world. - Malcolm
Malcolm Humes
>When is someone going to start a Residents news group?
There's a mailing list, but not much volume on it - days and weeks go by
without any posts to it.
subscribe by emailing to :
- malcolm
Dean Alaska
If FZ is behind the Residents, then he must have a split personality.
Although Zappa's music is art, it isn't "artsy" in the way the Mole Show
was.
--
==============================================================================
Dean Myerson (aka dingo in boulder) de...@vexcel.com
==============================================================================
Mark A. Natola
>From: ra...@CS.Yale.Edu (Dan Rabin)
>Subject: Re: ZAPPA = RESIDENTS????
>Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1993 11:24:10 GMT
>Where can I find the Residents' cover of `King Kong'? I have quite a
>few Residents albums, and I don't recall one.
> -- Dan Rabin
King Kong was released on a cassette compilation (I think it was called
th Residents Radio Show) by the Residents. If you are familiar with the
band, you've probably noticed that their "sound" has evolved over the
years. King Kong sounds like it was recorded in the early phase of their
career. Bye the way, for all of you that think FZ has a monopoly on
remixing his older material, check out the CD version of "Meet the
Residents" and compare it to the vinyl version (which was supposedly remixed
to begin with). Also included on the cassette was a bunch of narration by
somebody named Clem (I believe he was a Resident), and a Beatles cover
tune, "Blue Jay Way" (I think). I bought the tape mail order from RALPH
Records about 10 years ago. I'd be surprised if it's not still available.
Mark
KEEBLE C. GORDON
> approximately 25 years. Such hypotheses can only lead to more ridiculous
> rumors:
> Frank is an alien
> Frank really has an extra arm
> Frank has a twin brother
> Frank is descended from bigfoot
> Frank is behind the Mightly Ducks hockey team
*chuckle-chuckle*
Anybody remember about fifteen years ago or so, when some people claimed
that Leon Redbone was really FZ in disguise?
gordo
Keir Reavie
>> -- Dan Rabin
>Mark
The tape is called The Residents Radio Special, and it does contain King
Kong. It was still available in the last TecTones catalogue I saw... about a
year ago.
Patrick Buzby
Zappa Records existed from around 1978 to 1980, and released the
original LPs of Sheik Yerbouti and Joe's Garage. It ended when his
distributor, Mercury, refused to release the "I Don't Wanna Get Drafted"
single. FZ then set up Barking Pumpkin.
Rykodisc, at least in America, did most of the Zappa CD reissues up
to around 1990 (plus all six volumes of YCDTOSA). "FZ 25" is a logo
commemorating Zappa's 25 years in music.
Pat Buzby "Fried ice cream is a reality!"-George Clinton
Grove City, OH "Music is the best."-Frank Zappa
Patrick Buzby
> In article <RABIN.93M...@nuthatch.CS.Yale.Edu> ra...@CS.Yale.Edu (Dan R
It isn't. King Kong is now available on the CD Daydream B-Liver,
available only through the Residents' fan club, UWEB.
I suspect that this cover was mostly done by Snakefinger (who, BTW,
doesn't play the melody line correctly!), with the Residents in the
background. Incidentally, the Beatles cover was actually "Flying"
(available as a bonus on the Third Reich And Roll CD), and Clem was a
spokesman for the Residents, not a Resident himself, I believe.
Patrick Buzby
Feldman played with Snakefinger, not the Residents. The ex-FZ
sideman who played with the Residents was Don Preston, on "Eskimo." BTW,
the "UK mag" in question was Trouser Press.
Patrick Buzby
>
> I do recall reading an interview with the Residents in which they said
> their only real influence was Captain Beefheart.
>
> A friend of mine (introduced me to The Residents) suspects the
> Beefheart is the Eskimo mentioned in one of their albums and
> supposedly taught them the secret to music.
>
> I never bought the theory myself, but was a little amazed when I read
> the interview and they stated Beefheart was their only influence...
>
> -rob
An interview with the Residents themselves? I find that hard to
believe. They always have spokesmen represent them in interviews.
The Beefheart/N. Senada rumor is a fairly common one. All I can say
is: N. Senada's (alleged) sax playing sounds like Beefheart's, but his
(alleged) vocals don't. Besides, Beefheart would have been recording
Clear Spot around the time N. Senada and the Residents (allegedly)
collaborated. Hmm- maybe he needed to get in touch with his roots. :)
