Frankie's Greatest Hits #5

Hello,
Did I hear you say you wanted some more archived morsels?
Seek no more!
Thanks for reading,
Frankie

Montreaux Acoustics
Posted by Ruth Reese on 8/2/2000, 9:25 am.
When I first heard the story of Smoke On the Water years ago, I heard that Zappa was playing at the Montreaux Casino because it had the best acoustics in Europe; I mean this is how he knew about it from his classical background.
True or false!

Posted by Frankie on 8/2/2000, 9:27 am, in reply.
Ladies & Gentlemen,
This is Ruth. All thru the forum so far Ruth has been thinking, "What question could I ask that will amaze everyone". I think Ruth's question is pretty amazing. And I have to say that the answer - though loaded with truisms - is ultimately false. Yes, I'd heard of the Casino's acoustic reputation prior to the Mothers ever playing there, yet it was not from "serious music" circles (unless you consider jazz serious music; personally, all music is serious).
I first heard of the Casino's legendary acoustics from 2 disparate sources under one roof. In the summer of 1969, the Mothers did a short East Coast tour with Duke Ellington, Gary Burton, and Roland Kirk. Kirk had jammed with the Mothers a couple of months previously at the Boston Globe Jazz Festival.
That performance was one of the most improvisationaly satisfying gigs the MOI had up to that time, but what little taping occurred there was ruined by the incredibly shitty acoustics of the venue (and don't get me started on the sound system!).
Kirk and I were commiserating over that evening when Duke joined the conversation. We were all lamenting the fact that 90% of the gigs we played suffered from that same fate - the audience never really got to experience what was going on on-stage. Duke made the comment that HIS favorite venue was the Montreaux Casino - an opinion quickly supported by Kirk.
When the time came to plan the European leg of the '71 tour, and we found that the Casino was available in early December, we jumped at the chance to play there.
So Ruth, the answer to your question is both true and false; I like credit where credit is due, however... (Some stupid with a Flare Gun indeed!)
Thank you for your interest,
Frankie