JOHN CURRY'S MAIL ART

Quite a while ago, around 2014 (?), John Curry produced a series of mail art postage stamps.
The series, entitled the Trystero PX stamps, consisted of 4 different stamps.
Here's a picture of the Frank Zappa one :

JOE TRAVERS - - - FRANK ZAPPA VAULTERNATIVE RECORDS SERIES EPISODE #2

Frank Zappa - Vaulternative Records Series (Episode #2: Zappa '66 Vol. 1: Live At TTG Studios)

 

TOM WILSON

Here's an interesting article on Tom Wilson 
https://www.producertomwilson.com/the-music-factory/

Photo: PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The article also refers to Irwin Chusid's website:
https://www.producertomwilson.com/the-music-factory/

Tom Wilson's (1967-1968) radio show was called "The Music Factory".
Fun fact: The first episode had 'Help, I'm A Rock' as an opening theme and Tom briefly discussed going to Europe with The Mothers Of Invention. It starts at around 20 minutes into the show.

https://www.producertomwilson.com/the-music-factory/

-- info: J. M. Smig

LINUS HOFFMANN'S BOOK ON ZAPPA ALSO AVAILABLE AS PAPERBACK

I mentioned Linus Hoffmann's "Gegen Jede Schablone" book a little while ago.
It seems not only to be available as a hardcover book, but also as a paperback.

THE MIKE KENEALLY BAND - BAKIN' @ THE POTATO (DELUXE BANDCAMP EDITION)

I'm enjoying the Deluxe Bandcamp Edition of Mike Keneally's "Bakin' @ The Potato".
Originally released in 2011 as a CD / DVD set, the album is know being made available on Bandcamp.

Audio only, but with:
a 25-page digital booklet with rare stuff, each song appears in its unedited form in amazing sound quality, and you get two uncut commentary tracks from the band!

It has been quite a number of years since I've listened to this album and I feel a bit bummed about that.
This is such a great album.
Well, that's a good thing about these Bandcamp re-releases. You get to revisit some fine albums.

Adding to the melancholic mood: "Bakin' @ The Potato" includes '1988 Was A Million Years Ago', a piece that Mike wrote in remembrance of Frank Zappa, originally released on the 1995 “Boil That Dust Speck” album.

Play it loud !

FRANK ZAPPA BOOTLEG PICTURE DISCS

I recently got hold of 2 fine Frank Zappa picture discs.
The first one is a counterfeit of the "Greasy Love Songs" CD, the second one is the "Zappa World Tour 80" bootleg picture disc

NEW BOOK ON ZAPPA - - - FRANK ZAPPA - THE LIFE, MUSIC, AND LEGACY...

"Frank Zappa, The LIfe, Music, and Legacy of an Unconvnetional Artist - An Independent Biography"
by Susan M. Chloe

90 pages, hardcover.
It looks and reads like some sort of an AI supported introduction to FZ.

NEW BOOK ON FRANK ZAPPA'S DISSONANT PHILOSOPHY BY BEBO BEST

 Available in English and in Italian:
"Frank Zappa, The Dissonant Philosophy"
and
"Contro Ogni Autorita' - La Filosofia Dissonante Di Frank Zappa"
by Bebo Best

The different chapters discuss politics, dogmas and religion, technology, pop as parody, family man, the yellow shark, dweezil & the ZFT.

50 pages.
Nothing new, but nice to browse through.

THE HOLLYWOOD PERSUADERS - DRUMS A GO-GO

• The Hollywood Persuaders: Drums A Go-Go
      (2007, cd, Japan, amr)

Art Laboe’s Original Sound record label released a compilation album by The Hollywood Persuaders in 1965. 
An extended version of the album got issued on CD in Japan in 2007.
One of the bonus tracks was ‘Grunion Run’, written by Frank Zappa.

All songs were taken from early sixties Original Sound singles, plus two tracks that had been previously unreleased.

THE HEARTBREAKERS - EVERYTIME I SEE YOU / CRADDLE ROCK

I'm still lacking several of these old Cucamonga-era singles, but it's fun to add one to the collection every once in a while.
In the meantime, I keep on searching.

THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION - WOWIE ZOWIE

 

• The Mothers Of Invention: Wowie Zowie
      (1994, cd, Germany, charly)

In 1994, the German Charly record label re-released "Freak Out", 
They did mix up the order of the songs, used different artwork, and retitled the album "Wowie Zowie".
All for a good cause. Well, if the cause is misleading the buyers, that is...

MEMORIES OF EL MONTE

Frank Zappa wrote 'Memories Of El Monte' together with Ray Collins.
It got recorded by The Penguins and released in 1963.

Strange little fact: when the Chief record label combined The Five Discs' 'Never Let You Go' with The Penguins' 'Memories Of El Monte', the latter got (mistakenly) attributed to Cleve Duncan, one of the vocalists of The Penguins.

HENRY KAISER'S QUARTERLY SHOW

The latest edition of Henry Kaiser's Quarterly Show has some great topics, not to mention Henry's version of FZ's 'Outside Now' at the end.

0:00 INTRO True Temperament HK Partscaster with VEGA-TREM
1:22 HK TALK Koll Superior with HIPSHOT TREM
2:50 ENTER BLACK HOLE 
7:28 HK’S IMPRESSIONS OF RYPDAL’S TAKE ON LIGETI
9:24 KEEP IT LIKE THAT (TIGHT)
14:20 HK TALK
15:56 HOMAGE TO HENDRIX
19:25 EACH DAY WE GO TO OUR WORK IN THE HOPE OF DISCOVERING
23:21 HK REMEMBERS BOB WEIR + THE VALENTINES IN FUKUOKA 
31:36 TICKET TO ETERNITY FOR BOB WEIR
39:49 HK TALK ABOUT THE BAND MU
41:28 A’INT NO BLUES
47:25 WRITE IF YOU FIND WORK HK
52:43 THRENODY TO THE VICTIMS OF THE STRATOSPHERE BOOGIE
58:25 AROUND THE PLYNTH
1:05:54 GIACINTO SCELSI AT THE PLACE FOR FUN
1:11:21 IF HK’S BLUE KLEIN GUITAR COULD TALK
1:17:35 TRIO OF GHOSTS
1:22:15 LIVE BACKWARDS GUITAR WITH 1970’S L.A. COUNTRY ROCK
1:26:35 THE OLD VJP AGAIN
1:30:11 HK END TALK
1:31:25 OUTSIDE NOW

JEFF 'SKUNK' BAXTER

Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, who we know from Steely Dan and from The Doobie Brothers, is interviewed by Rick Beato.

Frank Zappa is mentioned coincidentally a couple of times during the first ten minutes of the interview, when Skunk talks about working in a NYC guitar shop.

-- info: Jan van Kemenade 

ANDREAS RAUSCH

 Checking out the latest entry in the Lambiek Comiclopedia !

"Andreas Rausch"

(by Kjell Knudde)

https://www.lambiek.net/artists/r/rausch_andreas.htm

BRENDA R. THOMPSON - FRANK ZAPPA

• Brenda R. Thompson: Frank Zappa
      (2025, book, --, private release)

Hardcover, 92-page neat-looking book. And that's all that's positive about it.

A strange picture / drawing on the cover... Horrendous.

Ten chapters / topics. Could have been fitted into 20 pages if the lay-out had been done in a normal way.

I'm not impressed.

LINUS HOFFMANN - GEGEN JEDE SCHABLONE - DE BIOGRAFIE ÜBER FRANK ZAPPA

• Linus Hoffmann: Gegen Jede Schablone - Die Biografie Über Frank Zappa
      (2025, book, Germany, private release)

"Gegen Jede Schablone" presents different aspects of Frank Zappa with a short text on the left page and a picture on the right page.
90 pages, larger format, and in the German language.

I like the concept. I'm just not really impressed by the execution.

HAPPY ZAPPAWEEN

The newsletter

Happy Zappaween, You Freaks!

This Zappaween, we have the ultimate treat for you... One with enough freak energy to wake the dead and melt your brain.

For the first time ever, the October 31st, 1978 show rises from the vault, newly mixed and mastered in a deluxe Halloween 78 box set. And because one is never enough… the box will also feature a bonus show; the opening show of the run from October 27th, 1978.

The 5CD super deluxe costume box set includes a mask of the maestro as the devil, a grimoire book featuring concert photos by Lynn Goldsmith, album information, and bespoke artwork. Plus, a pitchfork with UV light that illuminates hidden secrets within the packaging.

The madness doesn’t end there... Halloween 78 is also available to spin on 2LP blood splatter and candy corn color vinyl variants, plus CD.

HOTCHA

Most Zappa freaks have heard of Urban Gwerder, the late Swiss writer and publicist.
Urban issued the famous "Hot Raz Times" magazine (1973/1974) that resulted in the "Alla Zappa" book in 1976.
1998 saw the release of the "Im Zeichen des Magischen Affen" book, with material from "Hot Raz Times", "Alla Zappa", and more.

However, it all started with "Hotcha", the Swiss underground magazine that Urban published in the late sixties / early seventies.

I recently got hold of of Hotcha issues 37, 38 and 39 and they do look otherworldly.
8 to 12 pages, with lots of info on what was happening in the (musical) world at the time.
Really like "Hot Raz Times" & "Alla Zappa".
I never thought I would be able to browse through these.

Avo has a couple of nice scans of some of the other issues on his website.
https://www.afka.net/Mags/Hotcha.htm

VERONICA MAGAZINE

November 27, 1971, the Dutch VERONICA magazine had Frank Zappa on the cover.
I recently picked up a copy, so I'm happy to share the cover.

Next to having Frank on the cover, there's 4 pages inside discussing 200 Motels.

https://www.afka.net/Mags/Veronica.htm