Frank Zappa Interview WZMF 1973 05 10

[@DummyAccount-f1q]

I’ve been hoping for some time that Zappa would have approved of Steely Dan.

[@pedrozappa]

Great interview and interviewer. Very inteligent an he knew what frank was all about

[@TheRudySchwartzProject]

Not many people were talking about digital audio processing in 1973.

[@TheBassmon]

I saw this band 3 days later May on 13, 1973 with John Mcglauflin supporting on Mother's Day May 13, 1973, in Cincinnati.

[@DummyAccount-f1q]

I saw them about a year later in St. Louis at the Fox Theatre. The opening act then was Tom Waits, who made a splash in Downbeat and elsewhere one or two years later-or so with “Small Change”. Zappa apparently still had McLaughlin on his mind, though. At one point in the concert he proclaimed that “this is all John McLaughlin does” then played a fast Mixolydian-Pentatonic scale on his guitar. That rather annoyed me.

[@ramzizzle]

Damn it cuts out right when he’s about to talk about mahavishnu

[@stankatic8182]

At 14:30 the interviewer asks an interesting question regarding his tech interests, he answered that he was in touch with people who were involved with digital processing of audio and Frank financed the construction of unique devices that do things he always wanted to hear . All this in 1973 ! Frank Zappa was a true genius and this is an example of why . Great interview and interviewer .

[@andrewcasey472]

Great interview!!! Would love to hear Franks thoughts on John McLaughlin!

[@famednacclaimed5336]

“ a person woud be a moron not to appreciate McLaughlin's technique. The guy has certainly found out how to operate a guitar as if it were a machine gun. But I'm not always enthusiastic about the lines I hear or the ways in which they're used. I don't think you can fault him, though, for the amount of time and effort it must have taken to play an instrument that fast. I think anybody who can play that fast is just wonderful. And I'm sure 90% of teenage America would agree, since the whole trend in the business has been "faster is better."

[@briannemeth9417]

​@famednacclaimed5336 what an egotistical arse! I guess Mclaughlin was good enough for Miles Davis.

[@lebeboper]

Who is surprised FZ recognized Steely Dan as a great band early in 1973 ?

[@DrMackSplackem]

Not I. Anybody else surprised by that? Anyone?

[@DummyAccount-f1q]

Not surprised exactly, but certainly pleased.

[@jcBurton2094]

Frank thought the lead singer in Steely Dan was Donald Fagen. Correct; he knew it even before Fagen himself

[@mayitriggeryou]

Where's the rest of the interview?

[@charleswinokoor6023]

It’s not a big deal, but the interviewer apparently didn’t get the correct information regarding the departure of Steely Dan’s original frontman. As everyone knows it didn’t hold them back one bit.

[@DummyAccount-f1q]

Well, the situation was a little murky. Zappa was right that Donald Fagin was the true lead singer. David Palmer was hired after Steely Dan had already completed much of their first album and was fired in the middle of making their second album. He was supposed to be a Daltry-esque kind of figurehead, but since he wasn’t nearly as accomplished a singer or as good-looking as Daltry and since Dan had already had two big hits with Fagin on lead, there really wasn’t all that much point.

[@charleswinokoor6023]

Very unfortunate how the tape cuts off just as he’s about to give his opinion about John McLaughlin. Was it intentional?

[@johnstallings4049]

The Beatles obstructed it anyway they could

[@jamescotner2459]

I wonder if Frank ever heard Tool?

[@DrMackSplackem]

I doubt it. It's possible, but it would've been a tight corner as Zappa died in late 1993. I think I had just heard Tool around November or December, and only because I was working at a record store and got an advance copy to play. "Opiate", I think it was. Obviously, Tool had heard a lot from Frank, but I don't think Zappa had the time left to return the favor.

[@windyhead7960]

​@@DrMackSplackemMr.Bungle's manager claimed that Frank called and claimed their Self-titled album was phenomenal. It makes sense.

[@DrMackSplackem]

@@windyhead7960 Nice. It does check out, but as I said, just barely. I'd just heard about Tool and then just as suddenly I learned Frank was gone. That was a cold December.

[@johnstallings4049]

"His Magic Mufflers "! 😅

[@DrMackSplackem]

@@johnstallings4049Captain Glasspack's, no less