Kill Ugly Radio | Frank Zappa & Elsewhere: Frank Zappa news, weird links, lumpy gravy. Wanna bun?

Time for some live footage of my favorite MOI line-up — including Jean-Luc Ponty:

Posted in Frank Zappa, Zappa Audio/Video | 3 Comments »

This morning has brought some deeply saddening news. David Walley died earlier today at his house in Maine of a heart attack. He was a smart and sweet guy, and a dear friend. Dr Sharl and I wish to extend our heartfelt condolences to David’s family. He will be sorely missed…

Posted in Personal | 1 Comment »

Here’s video of the late great Shawn “The Memphis Monster” Lane playing Watermelon In Easter Hay in some noisy bar. Why he’s applauded at the end is a mystery to me (though he plays a very nice version of the tune) because throughout, nobody seems to be listening to the poor guy.

Thanks to those who sent in the link.

Posted in Frank Zappa, Music, Zappa Audio/Video | 4 Comments »

Getting to appreciate the music of Cpt. Beefheart (and Trout Mask Replica in particular) can be a daunting task, as this article demonstrates:

Playing it - or rather, attempting to - is a bit like being in one of those cartoons in which the principal characters cagily open a door, only to find all hell - elephants, possibly, or a speeding train - breaking loose behind it, whereupon they slam it shut again.

… while Andy Partridge of XTC explains it thusly:

You’re running around stairs and gangways and gantries - things are swinging across, and you’ve got to grab them to get to the next level. It’s like being trapped in a mad, giant watch.

As for me, to be honest, I too have yet to experience that “road to Damascus” moment where it clicks. Perhaps at the next listen…

Posted in Frank Zappa, Music, Pop Cult | 8 Comments »

Jim, KUR-commenter and compulsive Thing-Fish speaker, says:

Got a Webcam & am thus performing my “music” on YouTube - y’can hunt me there under “jamesmorgandavies” if yer ears’ve been extra-bad & deserve a good sound spanking.

Well: we did Jim, so get ready for your 15 minutes of fame!

Posted in Amusing, Music, Randamonium | 1 Comment »

This week and the next: Horden Pavillion, Sydney, July 8 ‘73 — probably from around the same time as this videoclip where Zappa conducts the audience on an Australian TV-show (I’m sure you’ve all seen it before but still fun to watch!).

Posted in Frank Zappa, Friday Boots, Zappa Audio/Video | 4 Comments »

You’ll have to cross over to the dark side if you want this as a poster…

Posted in Frank Zappa, Zappa Imagery | 3 Comments »

I’m in the middle of another holiday week as you may have noticed. Not much to report really. So far I’ve:

• Fooled a bunch of people into believing a rare Cpt. Beefheart poster had been unearthed,
• Confused some people as to my true identity, which caused The Idiot Bastard to refer to me as “Barry Moonbug”,
• Been trying to ignore the news,
• Mowed the lawn,
• Bought a replacement jacket, as well as a replacement sketchbook,
• Ate some delicious food in a fine Mexican restaurant with a horrible website,
• Deleted 40 something spam comments in the discography section,
• Spent way too much money on two Woody Allen DVD boxes (but hey: 12 movies for a mere 100 EUR!),
• Assisted Dr Sharl in her soon-to-be released album “El Viejo McDonald Tenía Una Granja“.

Yourself?

Posted in Personal, Randamonium | 5 Comments »