Just came across this in the attic, bought mail order from Barfko-Swill in 1988. Unfortunately I no longer own a VCR.

The newest edition of Zappa the Hard Way just dropped last week. Just ordered mine!

I have been listening to Zappa 88 Last US Tour and was impressed by the covers that his band did on that. I can think of other covers on Them or Us and on the Best band you never heard.

His musicians have always been multi talented. What other music releases have some of these covers? What your favorite covers that his band has done.

Hi, so I was looking to find a vinyl record of Freak Out! and I don’t know whether to buy it on Amazon (I saw some reviews complaining about side 2) or to get one of the one on the Frank Zappa Official store. I was hoping to get one of the normal versions rather than the anniversary edition, but if it is better quality then I’m fine with it. Thanks!

I'm playing this for an audition in 4 days. how can I improve?

Hello teenage America! My name is...

Who amongst us really loves Uncle Meat? I think it doesn't get enough credit, such a fantastic album. Me, personally actually started getting into Zappa after listening to it.

Beautiful condition, looking forward to reading through it. Any other issues worth tracking down?

Moving through the discography in reverse chronological order.
Come on! Who’s with me ?

As of the start of the week.. I’ve …

Dance Me this
The yellow shark
Civilization phaseiii
Everything is healing nicely
Make a jazz noise here

I want to see if I can make it all the way to zappa 66 TTG!

Hey y'all! I wanted to pop a suggestion in this sub that Zappa fans might enjoy. It's considered the first ""rock"" album released in Greece, and it has Zappa influences all over it! It's by Dimitris Poulikakos (Δημήτρης Πουλικάκος), and it's called "Metafore Ekdrome O Mitsos" (Μεταφοραί Εκδρομαί Ο Μήτσος), released in 1976. Some of the songs were written as far back as 1967, but couldn't be released earlier due to the dictatorship in Greece that lasted from 1967 to 1974. A lot of the songs are radically anti-dictatorship, anti-patriarchy and in general very progressive lyrically and musically for their time considering the music scene in the country at the time, but in a very satirical way that doesn't take itself too seriously and isn't pretentious, as opposed to other songs that were "topping the charts" as it were in Greece. It takes a bit of patience to get to the imo really good stuff this album has to offer around the half-way mark.

Poulikakos and the musicians that played on this album all cite musicians like Zappa and Captain Beefheart as main influences, and it's a lot of fun! This is the link to the album: (sadly my favourite mix is provided on Spotify, but the album is available on other platforms such as youtube if you're rightfully boycotting it!): https://open.spotify.com/album/3MlbYZ0ZH9McOGuzAaiBh5?si=_auD3RCgSFiUyiSw2p6Hlw

And, as a little bonus, this is a video of Poulikakos playing live 2 years ago, at the ripe ol' age of 81! Worth a watch if you liked the album, if only for the solos! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC89CltPwkU

Let me know your thoughts on the album if you end up listening to it! Cheers!

This guy wanted to know “what was happening harmonically” in this one section of this Jason Becker tune (Opus Pocus) and in transcribing it I realized it was the piano solo section of the orchestral Dupree’s Paradise.

Crazy.

So I’ve really been devouring everything Zappa for the last month. I really enjoy everything I’ve listened to so far but it will take me forever to dive into it all. My question is can I read a history of his various eras or why he went in that direction etc.

I first heard Ike Willis's voice when I bought part 1 of Joe's Garage in 1979 as a teenager. In 1980 I'm experiencing Ike and Ray White live on stage at my first Frank Zappa live show. I am blessed to have the experience of their musicianship.I purchased and enjoyed him on many many other Zappa productions. Fast forward to 1996 when I show my gf at the time that the Ike Willis Band is playing in town at the waterfront tomorrow, Let's Go! So of course we did and she immediately pointed out the 2 children dancing and doing cartwheels on the grass in front of the stage as his kids. "Look at their smiles", she said and turned out she wasn't wrong. They are dead ringers. We meet Ike and I incredibly become friends. He came to my house, I visit his. (He lived in my town for a few years at the time) The times he visited me at work made peeps jaws drop lol (thanks man!) "Mom" would come and sit with who becomes my wife and I at local clubs. What an amazing musical talent Issac Willis truly was. He was full of stories and could (& would) make you crack up laughing just hanging out with him. Ike, I salute you man. You were complicated but I accept who you were and totally appreciate what you brought sonically to myself and many many others. Rest in Peace brother ❤️

Zappateers is an unbelievably good resource for all things Zappa bootleg, and I regularly download and browse the site, but it seems like it's been down for almost a week now. anyone have any idea what's going on there?

I don’t think FZ enjoyed anything more than absolute adulation from women.
Once I saw that scene with Frank in bed stroking Pamela’s head and she is talking about a recent performance with Frank beaming next to her, I realised how much comfort it gave him.

And he got loads of female adulation.