How Vinnie Got The Zappa Gig - Vinnie Colaiuta

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[@thromboid]

"Comedy Central meets Juilliard meets boot camp" is such an evocative description!

[@peterdelaney7061]

I can listen to Zappa stories for hours. Vinnie is a true legend. God bless Dom Famularo. A fabulous ambassador for drums and the drumming community

[@TheSessionsPanel]

Be sure & check out the whole interview as well as the NAMM panel on our channel with Vinnie! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jamymqWbq5mBp80

[@alholds]

Sucks that Dom passed

[@BreezyandtheBlazers-vd3xw]

Vinnie had such a synergy with Frank. Franks solos were just so elevated with him

[@magetaaaaaa]

Someone said that anyone who came into his orbit was changed for the better. So many stories of people just going to his house to record or do work. It was like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory for music.

[@pierrebenoit-j1q]

Dude played with Frank Zappa who was notoriously difficult on choosing who was playing His music...Respect for Vinnie Colaiuta.

[@brutallyremastered4255]

State the fvcking obvious.

[@Jordan-h7x1u]

did ok with j beck as well

[@TreyPhillips19693]

"Ike Willis was over there...and he said to me: 'Did he ask you to wait, too?'" 😀

[@defaultusername123]

For Frank to even say: *“So, you CAN read.”,* is a big compliment lol.

[@gregmock6808]

Best drummer Frank and Jeff Beck ever hired. Vinnie can play anything and his dynamics are off the charts.

[@xxryder1]

Beck had Simon Phillips who ain't bad.

[@gregmock6808]

@@xxryder1 There's not a bad drummer that's played with either guy but Frank himself said Vinnie could play anything in time and few of his drummers could do what he did. Philips is great...Bozzio was great...Vinnie to me is just the best

[@xxryder1]

@@gregmock6808 I get it bro, you're right.

[@user-qg2uf8jp3h]

Aynsley Dumbar

[@dantean]

Substitute the word "worst" for "best" here and you've got something. Aynsley Dunbar was INFINITELY greater a drummer for both Frank AND Jeff Beck (look it up) than this soulless chops-meister could ever hope to be in his dreams. That's why DUNBAR was Frank's MOST recorded drummer, not this music school victim with infinite skills yet not a musical bone in his body.

[@Omega30t2RG]

Love hearing how such talented people get their break. Great story teller!

[@josephzummo9685]

Zappa loved Vinnie. He said he was his favorite drummer. That's high praise considering the list of top players! Bozzio,Thomson,Humphreys,Dumbar, Tripp, Mundi,Wackerman. All fantastic drummers.

[@tmm4461]

Incredible lineup.

[@chrismoller4272]

Don't forget wacky Jim Gordon

[@tmm4461]

Also I didn't remember that Art Tripp played with Zappa. Love Captain Beefheart!

[@-Finlander-]

​@@tmm4461 But Wackerman spent the longest period of time with the Maestro - Mr. FZ. Longer than anybody else, eh!

[@tmm4461]

@@-Finlander- His solo work is great too.

[@doctorsteve9476]

a cattle call audition. 3 lines of 150. can you imagine the talent that was in those lines. Frank had seconds to listen and plucked out Ike Willis and Vinnie. wow.

[@defaultusername123]

They did it the hard way too. Sat there and auditioned on talent and skill alone. Amazing

[@thepaulmacfarlane]

Ike Willis sat across the aisle from me in Biology class at Washington Univesity

[@TreyPhillips19693]

Okay, and? 🤓😎

[@tomstiel7576]

THEN WHAT HAPPENED ?

[@steveturner9468]

@@tomstiel7576 Once upon a time, The End.

[@johnned4848]

Wow love to hear more about this . He was so great and I have no idea about his early life and background

[@danender5555]

Yeah, Ike Willis is well known biologist.

[@psychlos21]

Vinnie Colaiuta's drumming is of another galaxy. This guy is a drum god. Every time I watch him, I want to throw down my sticks and say "I am done". But as musicians, we are constantly striving to improve and exceed our goals.

[@hansvandermeulen5515]

"I must have been up here a whole minute already! Wow!" Lol. Those auditions must have been so intense.

[@At.mos.fEarProduktionz]

Without a doubt…. Vinnie is one of the greatest to do it.

[@dougdrazga4461]

The pride of Brownsville, PA. He never forgot that either.

[@MrFchank]

Vinnie is otherworldly good!!

[@bjs1130]

Goosebumps! And....the REST IS HISTORY!! What a Player!!

[@phildirt3]

He tells stories a lot like Vai does!!😊

[@paulkelly154]

You should Google Vai's story about Vinnie, if you haven't seen it already. It's great.

[@ChuckSchickx]

Zappa surrounded himself with the very best artists.. He brought out the best in them. Beautiful, original music was the result. I'm forever grateful.

[@anniedarkhorse6791]

Wow. No pressure. Jeez.

[@tmm4461]

"Hey, Zap's looking for a rhythm section." Haha sounds like from a mob movie. Great stories these. Great guy too.

[@MichaelVLang]

Dom was such a good interviewer. RIP

[@NIKONGUY1960]

Some might call it luck. I call it destiny: where preparation meets opportunity. And he's such a great human being as well. Great story.

[@tdubveedub]

"Whirlwind" pretty much defines Frank Zappa's life and music (one and the same). Truly the paramount composer of the late Twentieth Century.

[@blobscott]

Wow. Edge of the seat retelling!

[@willicat44]

I love this story!! Not my first time... I did not know about the 'Fowler family', all I knew was that Tom Fowler is an amazing base player. I love listening to his work.

[@Royale_with_Cheeze]

Tom Fowler, Walt Fowler and Bruce Fowler all played with Frank on ROXY & Elsewhere. Walt & Bruce played with Frank during the '88 tour. Too bad Tom wasn't available (or not asked) to play bass on that tour. Scott Thunes, a very competent player to be sure, played in that band and they imploded over issues with him.

[@BreezyandtheBlazers-vd3xw]

@@Royale_with_CheezeI heard people in the band didn’t get along with Scott, but I never knew why

[@FrisellFan01]

As Vinnie telling his story of how it all started.....it reminds me of what my dad always said....no matter what it is you want in life, you have to want it bad enough it has to be a part of you... the desire of that 1 thing has to drive you to get it.....Vinnie wanted it that bad...and he got it after a lot of hard work....I have endless respect for his playing.....

[@the6ig6adwolf]

Kinda young, kinda WOW!! Edit: More Vinnie, please 🙏

[@Geraint3000]

Incredible story.

[@MrGordonGartrelle]

Great storytelling.

[@JRM---516]

What an incredible success story!

[@markaprill6501]

That is an amazing story.

[@sgg6927]

I love the Zappa tryout stories. Steve Vai's story was great as well.

[@tmage23]

"I hear Linda Ronstadt's looking for a guitar player"

[@yournamehere6719]

Adrian Belew's story is good, too. Adrian couldn't read, but Frank still hired him: speaks volumes about Adrian, and Frank recognizing the talent.

[@JosephPatrickMooreMusic]

Excellent! Total history here...

[@brunomartelli8163]

Good to know that there are still a few pros out there

[@brutallyremastered4255]

That was better than I expected.

[@phil85813]

This is the most inspiring thing I ever heard. Get good, get confident, don't give up, do what it takes. Thanks for the lesson Vinnie!

[@markgreene6349]

Amazing story... Vinnie is the real deal.. percussionist extraordinaire...

[@hawkrider88]

A great story...presented by two GREAT artists in their own riight. RIP Dom and thanks so much for posting.

[@patpagano]

Colaiiuta is a drum master

[@criticalmass613]

Joe's Garage has got to be one of THE MOST epic displays of drumming ever recorded. And Vinnie's a great story teller, too!

[@vanomaden]

R.I.P. Dom

[@JulianFernandez]

GOAT meets the GOAT

[@pangeaproxima3681]

Amazing story.

[@MatChew75]

What an incredible time to be able to go there with barely anything in your pocket and the clothes on your back and eventually become the drummer of one of the great musical composers musicians and Geniuses of all time and his career just went off from there and now he's revered is one of the greatest drummers of all time I would certainly put him in my top five easily even Terry Bozzio would be in my top five along with Neil Peart Bill bruford and Carl Palmer

[@elroyblackbean]

What a great interview and story. I love being a drummer...such a rich community of terrific people.

[@mjm5081]

Amazing!!! 🙏❤🌹 Frank & Dom 🌹❤🙏

[@jopberlin]

Great Story….wow….👏👏👏

[@trapkat8213]

Great story!

[@GrooveJuggernaut]

This is so incredible 🥺

[@johnned4848]

Saw him with Zappa in 81. Steve Vai on guitar; Arthur Barrow on bass. One of Zappa's better bands.

[@donaldanderson6604]

I saw those guys in London and it is still the best gig I have ever seen.

[@muddysludge7117]

Bravo!

[@MoodyWatters]

Bloody hell, this is superb!

[@loilt5091]

Man, thanks, such an amazing story. Vinnie’s such a cool guy & one of greats‼️

[@Zongroned]

AmaZing story & video thank you Dom & Vinnie

[@jp2246]

Fascinating stuff!

[@SimulacronX]

Incredible! Love it, thanks. It's like watching a movie

[@markw9512]

Man this was so interesting, was sad to see it get cut off… Is the entire interview available on here anywhere?

[@John-fc7wc]

The entire interview is available, I watched it about a year ago. Click on the Sessions Panel, I bet you can find it.

[@markw9512]

@@John-fc7wc i’ll give it a look, thanks!!

[@TheSessionsPanel]

Here it is! Be sure to check out the NAMM panel with Vinnie also & subscribe to our channel! Thanks! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jamymqWbq5mBp80

[@markw9512]

@@TheSessionsPanel Thanks so much!! Subscribed!

[@ryanand154]

Colaiuta in Modern Drummer magazine back in the 90s. Made drummers think they needed to be musicians.

[@ST-xg3gy]

Quite a story. Zappa sounds like a real task master. He drove around in a Rolls-Royce? He was successful early on?

[@AntiMyth]

Find the Steve Vai audition story.

[@yournamehere6719]

Zappa was very shrewd on the business end, owned all his music and the master tapes. Vai, Belew and Thunes all talk about the full education they got from their time with Frank.

[@jeffcrocker1078]

I remember seeing going down Ventura Blvd playing on the steering wheel with sticks in an old car

[@BreezyandtheBlazers-vd3xw]

Absolute legend right here

[@reidburns9166]

Saw Vinnie play a lot at The Flying Jib in Encino with the Dave Boroff band…very early 80’s. Great fun!

[@3rdmm]

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy, as the saying goes.

[@dinolisi9812]

And such a phenomenal drummer… he went on to play with Jeff Beck.

[@jrosner6123]

He's also one of the most recorded drummers of his era

[@dinolisi9812]

@@jrosner6123 love him

[@jrosner6123]

Me, too!

[@yohenson]

amazing

[@binkywarren21]

Wow! I want to hear more 😅

[@TheSessionsPanel]

Check out the full interview on our channel & 100's more! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jamymqWbq5mBp80

[@MrGiandrum]

Che storia ragazzi...Porcaro disse di se stesso che rifiuto' diverse audizioni per Frank perche' "sicuramente lo avrebbe fatto a pezzi"(sic).Grandissimo Vinnie

[@dboard9]

"Kinda young and kinda wow"

[@patrickmaline4258]

❤

[@eviloverlordsean]

This so ranks up there with Steve Vai's story about his Zappa audition... "Frank was BRUTAL to me! Just ask Vinnie!"

[@jeffersoncosgrove1910]

Omg, I remember as a drummer walking into a cattle call one time at B.B. Kings Blue Club in Orlando. 30+ drummers, one guitar player, I think one bassist and a keyboard player. Those three guys ended up being asked to stick around as the audition band for this ridiculous line of drummers and the audition went much like Vinnie's. 15 seconds and the producer said "Next" on most of them. A couple of guys actually got to play a full minute. I was one of only a couple who were asked to play more than one song. Unfortunately I still never got a callback. 😥 It was to put house bands on cruise ships but I think the project never got off the ground and now the clubs have closed.

[@ryanand154]

That is the fate of a working musician who is not a working musician.

[@pallhe]

Amazing. I would love to see this movie.

[@billyz5088]

~~ some things you hear over & over about FZ - he would audition a LOT of people - he’d make his decisions on the rejects almost immediately - you didn’t have long to impress FZ - those who made it into the band were expected to work practically around the clock - as FZ did - on a gig day, you didn’t just do one sound check lasting an hour or 2 in the middle of the day - you were sound checking ALL DAY long - right up until the gig - and during that time FZ might be composing new music and directing you on how to play it - you had to be familiar with his entire catalogue as you never knew until gig time what he'd put on the setlist - and he was recording absolutely everything ..

[@yournamehere6719]

Wow, hadn't realized that Frank "discovered" Vinny, basically gave him his 1st break.

[@Bassic778]

It seems like Frank Zappa was a proving ground for musicians!!! I'm not familiar with all of the musicians who played with Frank but the ones that I'm familiar with such as Vinnie, the late great George Duke, and Chad Wackerman went on to have stellar careers because they had to be impeccable!!!

[@AntiMyth]

Find the Steve Vai audition story.

[@Bassic778]

@@AntiMyth I thought Steve played with Frank too but wasn't sure.

[@yournamehere6719]

Find the Adrian Belew audition story. And the Ruth Underwood interview,

[@Bassic778]

@@yournamehere6719 I'll check these out!

[@johncopeland3826]

It was all meant to be ... everything was aligned in order from minute one ..probably in the womb !

[@frankrichards3089]

Incredible story. Thanks Dom!

[@mewsick5093]

I can imagine Zappa saying those exact works to Colaiuta. 😂

[@steveobrien9937]

How the great Vinny Colaiuta got a gig with the great Frank Zappa

[@muffinman4353]

Frank's favorite drummer....

[@pumkinbreath]

Dom. Please interview Prairie Prince. That would be great

[@andrewscher239]

Dom's dead...

[@TheSessionsPanel]

We will continue Dom's legacy with The Sessions & coming up with more interviews. Thank you for the suggestion & be sure to subscribe to our channel!

[@TheSessionsPanel]

Despite the tremendous loss of Dom Famularo, The Sessions is carrying on with Dom's mission, legacy & request to continue & we will have more interviews soon.

[@alexanderednie1205]

I miss Dom and his energy and enthusiasm

[@skipthompson2290]

ALL HAIL FRANK ZAPPA 🙌

[@hugolafhugolaf]

I’ll miss Dom’s interviews.

[@TheSessionsPanel]

We will too but will continue to honor his legacy & mission with more interviews, as he asked us to!

[@puturro]

01:11 RIP Tom Fowler

[@quogir1]

Seven days by Sting

[@MatChew75]

God bless George Duke and Ed Mann

[@MrJadePinwheel]

4:28 best

[@doublecutter]

Where are they now? Did they all take the vow?

[@leeDs718]

fascinating story. Can someone please fill in the blanks? Why was Terry's kit there?

[@yournamehere6719]

I think Frank owned the kit, but Terry was moving on, Vinny was his replacement.

[@GeorgeMalletteMusic]

Well where is the rest of it!?

[@bigtone1348]

He invented seal call fusion music.

[@andreasnewitsch59]

Joe's garage!!!

[@chadstruzynski]

The thumbnail 😂

[@Jordan-h7x1u]

tom fowler was a phenom on bass

[@yournamehere6719]

Son of Orange County, behind Frank soloing. Best bass work.

[@JeffHogue-em6zx]

I'd like to know how he got the Andrea Bocelli gig...

[@stylex19]

Can someone PLEASE help me find the Steve Lukather & Vinnie Colaiuta song 'Liqueur' which has vocals in Japanese? I'm sorry, but that's all that I have to go on. I've been trying to find it again for more than a decade now.

[@pedroberoes49]

Gosh... they dont make em like Zappa nowadays.

[@perfektno]

Tinseltown rebbelion it is...

[@greyjay9202]

And how did it end up that Vinnie worked with Jeff Beck?