Jeff Simmons
Jeff Simmons (May 1949, Seattle, Washington) is an American rock musician. Simmons provided bass, guitar, and backing vocals for the Mothers of Invention between 1970 and 1971, returning on rhythm guitar in 1974.
Jeff Simmons first came to the attention of Frank Zappa as a member of the Seattle-based group Easy Chair when they opened for the Mothers at the Seattle Center. Zappa suggested they move to Los Angeles and they were booked for the Bizarre/Straight records show on December 6 & 7, 1968 at the Shrine Exposition Hall in Santa Monica. Jerry Yester and Zal Yanovsky were to produce an album by Easy Chair but disagreements and delays led to the group breaking up before any recordings were made.
Simmons was then signed to Straight Records to record two albums: one a - mostly instrumental - soundtrack for the biker film "Naked Angels" (Straight STS 1056) and the other "Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up" (Straight STS 1057 / Straight/Reprise RS 6391, February 9, 1970). Zappa contributed generously to the second album, under the pseudonym LaMarr Bruister. (Zappa wrote the title track - which he later recorded for Joe's Garage Act I, co-produced the album - with engineer Chris Huston, played lead guitar on Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up and Raye, and co-wrote Wonderful Wino with Simmons).
Simmons played bass for a one-off "Hot Rats" band show at Thee Experience, and soon became a regular with The Mothers playing bass and guitar for:
Chunga's Revenge, Waka/Jawaka, Roxy & Elsewhere, You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 1, You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 6, and Playground Psychotics; also for the Beat The Boots series discs Freaks & Motherfuckers, Unmitigated Audacity, Piquantique, Disconnected Synapses, Tengo Ná Minchia Tanta, & At The Circus.
Simmons can be seen in the Zappa movie The True Story Of 200 Motels, even though he "left the group just before the movie started"[1]. Zappa played Simmons' "I'm In The Music Business" during the Star Special radio show.
Streams
Easy Chair first self financed album (YouTube)
Naked Angels soundtrack on AppleMusic and Spotify
Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up on Apple Music and Spotify
Notes
- ↑ To quote Mark Volman during the Mystery Roach section of 200 Motels
