KPFM-FM Radio Interview, 84/5
KPFA-FM Radio Interview
May 17, 1984
Frank Zappa interviewed by Charles Amirkhanian.
Source URL: http://www.archive.org/details/AM_1984_05_17
47:09 min.
"Charles Amirkhanian interviews Frank Zappa in anticipation of his appearance on Speaking of Music at the Exploratorium. Zappa discusses his digital re-mastering of his album "Lumpy Gravy" and other early works. The musical selections played during this program are not included in this recording.
This audio is part of the collection: Other Minds Archive
Charles Amirkhanian: Welcome to our program with Frank Zappa, who is visiting the Bay Area for performances with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra directed by Jean-Luis Lerue on Saturdday evening and also tonight, and, ah, they can be doing Dupree's Paradise along with the program of other classical music at the Herbst Theatre, then on Sunday, the main event, of course, Speaking Of Music, with Frank Zappa at the The Exploratorium's program at the Palace Of Fine Arts at 8 pm.
Frank's gonna be presenting a variety of recent music, all in digital sound on a special playback system made by John Myer's Sound Lab, and the the program begins with excerpts from Lumpy Gravy, remastered in digital sound, soon to be re-released in – as I understand – in a box set of records from the old days, and then there'll be excerpts from his classical pieces, works for Synclavier and orchestrations of music by his name-sake from the 18th century, Francesco Zappa, who flourished in the 18th century, but who is going to flourish again in San Francisco this Sunday night.
Frank, let's talk a little bit about the program at the The Exploratorium. First of all, because a lot of people are anxious to know what exactly you're planning for the evening. Ah, how did you arrive at this selection of hings? There is such a variety.
FZ: Well, that's the point, a lot of people don't know what kind of variety is available. But, ah, I think that they'll get a good whiff of that on Sunday … and also it's sequenced to – ah– give people some kind of insight into how the writing for instruments other than guitar, bass and drums has progressed since the days of Lumpy Gravy … and –ah – there's a lot of surprises in it, and … should be fun to listen to. I mean, I've listened to the tapes right through just to check it out to make sure they was ok, and so … interesting program.
CA: I walked up to the ticket office where they're selling tickets the other day in Union Square and a guy said, "Oh yeah, well, he's not playing anything, it's just a lecture."
FZ: He's so entirely too incorrect!
CA: [laughs] Yeah but, it was mind-blowing, that … ah … I, ah tried to straighten the young man out and then he bought a ticket so I … I think, he was convinced. I hope other people will be out there, because this is sort of a special opportunity to hear pieces in a … really incredible setting, because of the sound system you've been working with. Now, as I understand, you've been recording all of the orchestral things on 24-track-digital, which is sort of new …
FZ: Yeah, it's new, and … ah … we're one of the first people to … or first companies to attempt that, and I think the sound is … excellent.
CA: Now, tell me a little bit about the … ah … Lumpy Gravy remix. This album, it seems to me, is sort of seminal in a lot of ways, because it has the kind of tape slicing and collaging that … ah … Musique concrète and serious composers were doing, but it's done in a … wacky way, which later was imitated by a lot of composers in the serious music field as well as … ah …the Rock field. And now, that everybody in New Wave and Punk music is doing really ah … outstuff, this seems to me to be one of the key early pieces in this genre …
FZ: Yeah, I think it was probably the first of the outside Rock 'n' Roll albums, and has a special place in the repertoire because of that, hrm, it's one of my favorite albums, on a conceptional level. I don't think that it turned out very well musically, because there wasn't enough time to perfect the orchestral performances that were in there and all the other stuff, and it was all done with very crude equipment. It was recorded in 1966 and it was a 4-track recording …
CA: 4-track, aw …
FZ: Yeah. It was recorded at ah … the orchestra was recorded in Capitol Records Studio A, and the splicing and, … ah … location of all the little pieces of found objects that are glued together to make the stuff in between took about thirteen months. And that was all done on a … a Roberts, in … my house [laughs], and then the whole thing was put together and mastered with whatever they thought was the finest stuff of the day, which by today-standards wasn't very good.
And that's one the reasons why we've gone back and done a digital re-tweezement on it, to equalize it and … ah … clean up some of the things that can be cleaned up with digital technology, so that on all the selections in this first box set that's being released. If you have original albums, it's a drastic improvement over the originals, and a lot of people of … ah … written in ###, sayin', "where can they get another copy of Freak Out!, mine's worn out", well they, you'll be able to get a new copy of Freak Out!, Absolutely Free, Lumpy Gravy, We're Only In It For Money and Ruben And The Jets plus the Mystery Disc, that has little pieces of continuity and stuff that was left out o'those albums and other things that date from before Freak Out! included in that package. And that's set for release within the next couple o'months.
And, …
CA: Did you … did …
FZ: … and, this excerpt that we're gonna play, is part of the first that …
to be continued …
