Author Archives: urbangraffito

About urbangraffito

I am a writer, editor, publisher, philosopher, and foole (not necessarily in that order). Cultural activist and self-described anarchist.

FZ’s Them or Us – Rereleased, 2010/12/1

In 1984 Frank Zappa self-published Them or Us, created with a dot matrix printer. A new facsimile edition – published by Pinter & Martin Ltd of the United Kingdom (which means they can only ship this book to the UK … Continue reading

Posted in Frank Zappa, Miscellany, Official Releases, Zappa Family Trust | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Elvis Has Just Left The Building

Have you ever wondered where Frank Zappa got his inspiration for his song, “Elvis Has Just Left The Building” which appeared on his 1988 Broadway the Hard Way album?

Posted in Bizarre, Frank Zappa, Miscellany, Personal, Pop Cult | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Sore TappaZ Plays Zappa – Amsterdam Blue Note, June 2010

Based in Leverkusen, Amsterdam – band leader and vocalist Christopher Klassen‘s home town – Sore TappaZ plays Klassen‘s original compositions as well as and the music of Frank Zappa.

Posted in Frank Zappa, Miscellany, Music, YouTubery | Tagged , , , , , | 15 Comments

Ensemble Modern on BBC Radio 3

Our good friend Xorg, a KUR regular and frequent mixer of the sardonic lipids, informs us that BBC Radio 3 is currently broadcasting (probably for only a few more days) via the BBC iPlayer – the Ensemble Modern performing Arnold … Continue reading

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Arthur Jarvinen – In Memoriam (1956-2010)

Arthur Jarvinen, musician, composer, founder of the California E.A.R. Unit, and music copyist for the late Frank Zappa, himself passed away on October 4th, 2010.

Posted in Frank Zappa, In The News, Miscellany, Music | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Duo Disecheis plays Frank Zappa

Recorded Live at Incontri Musicali a Pergola – Sala dell’Abbondanza, Pergola (PU-Italy) on October 26th, 2008. The superimposition of two sounds with different pitches. It was considered dysechia: an unpleasant and disagreeable sound. Yet time and again things that have … Continue reading

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In the Beginning…

In the beginning there was a word, and the word was secret, and the secret word was…Mudshark! And for fifty years the Mudshark ruled supremely as the only secret word on the planet Earth, but one day the Mudshark became … Continue reading

Posted in Alumni, Bizarre, Frank Zappa, Music, Personal | Tagged , , , | 20 Comments

78 Years Ago Yesterday…

In a house that someone used to live in, little Donny Preston, also known as little Dom DeWilde or little Biff Debrie, was born on September 21st, 1932 in Flint, Michigan. Happy Birthday, Don!

Posted in Alumni, Bizarre, Frank Zappa, In The News, Miscellany, Official Releases, Pop Cult, YouTubery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

FZ Interview – KYUU-FM San Francisco, 1984

In this three part KYUU-FM radio interview with Frank Zappa broadcast on May 17th, 1984 in San Francisco, California, Zappa talks about some his early guitar influences (Johnny Guitar Watson and Clarence Gatemouth Brown, for instance), the reasons which led … Continue reading

Posted in Frank Zappa, Interview, YouTubery | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

UG’s Semi-Orchestral Low Budget Memorial Barbecue

This month I have put together a special mixtape for Zappa/Mothers Die-Hards with many of my favorite instrumental, semi-orchestral, and orchestral Zappa works – many of which I’m mixing here for the first time – from some of the best … Continue reading

Posted in Alumni, Frank Zappa, Interview, Music | Tagged , , , , , | 20 Comments