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1994 et sq.

1985-93 <

An American Dissident: un tributo a Frank Zappa

Videography

January 7, 1994
Videomusic, Italia
78 min.

Directed by Giancarlo Trombetti and Manuela Guidi

Includes footage from Zappa's Universe: A Celebration (NYC, November, 1991), Video From Hell (1987), Does Humor Belong in Music? (1985), Baby Snakes (1979), The True Story Of 200 Motels (1989), The Amazing Mr. Bickford (1989), SportPalast, Berlin, Germany (1968, from The Late Show, BBC-2, 1993), Palacio de los Deportes, Barcelona, Spain (1988), The Dub Room Special! (1982), Interview with FZ (Videomusic, 1988), The Late Show (interviews with Matt Groening and Ruth Underwood) (BBC-2, 1993), "Peaches En Regalia" (1987) and interviews with Philip Glass, Riccardo Bertoncelli, Warren Cuccurullo, Dweezil & Ahmet Zappa, Fabio Treves, Massimo Bassoli, Roberto Gatti, Terry Bozzio, Claudio Trotta and The Grandmothers (Don Preston, Bunk Gardner & Jimmy Carl Black).

YouTube: Frank Zappa—An American Dissident—(Frank Zappa documentary—Videomusic Italia 1993) (78:20 min.)

A Touch Of Genius—The Life And Times Of Nicolas Slonimsky/The First 100 Years

Videography

1994
FilmAmerica, Inc.
57 min.

Produced, written and directed by John Huszar
Narrated by Michael York

Includes a short FZ interview (c. October, 1993, one of his last), a fragment of "Yes: Turn Left," improvised by Nicolas Slonimsky & FZ (c. 1985), and images of FZ rehearsing Ionisation (c. February, 1983).

Transcription from secretagent12:

"He's just a brilliant mind. And a very warm-hearted spirit. And these are qualities not often found linked together in human beings. And... I just liked him. One of the things I really liked about him was his wardrobe. I always was impressed with his wardrobe from the first time he came over, because he had that look. He had the look of a real guy from that era, you know what I mean? The right kind of shoes, the right kind of tweed, rumple, worn for a thousand years. Kinda... sport coat, pants too short. He was wonderful. He was a fully developed character."

YouTube: Slonimsky: Frank Zappa's Last Interview (01:14 min.)

Duckman

Videography

March 5, 1994-June 11, 1994
USA Network

Todd Yvega wrote the scores, utilizing some of FZ's music in the first 13 episodes, "by appointment to her majesty, the Scarlet Pimpernel."

Duckman

Episodes with music by FZ

List compiled by Andy Greenaway for T'Mershi Duween #46, with corrections and additions by Isaac Ibaranoff and Charles Ulrich

Dan B.

Here's some further info—stolen right from the pages of 'T'Mershi Duween': "FZ's synclavier/computer assistant Todd Yvega was given total creative freedom to arrange bits of Frank's music for Duckman; together with Scott Wilk he also created original music for the show."

Here's the synclaiver-only versions of stuff used in the show: T'Mershi Duween, Theme from Lumpy gravy, Holiday in Berlin, and Peaches en Regalia—synclavier versions—were all used in the first 13 episodes of Duckman.

splat

There's a neighborhood video rental store in my area that will buy pretty much anything that's in print, and they can't get the episodes. So better hold onto your tapes, those hometaped vids seem to be the only source of some versions of Zappa tunes.

Dan Watkins

I just saw this on a web page:

"DUCKMAN IS RETURNING TO TELEVISION IN THE US!! The good news is that Comedy Central has picked up the entire run of Duckman. The bad news is that they may not be showing them until the year 2000. In the meantime, word is that Paramount is trying to lean on UPN to put the show on after Dilbert."

Scott Pellerine

We get Duckman here in Canada every night on Teletoon.

DVD Release:

From TVShowsOnDVD.com (May 1, 2008)

(CBS DVD Executive VP and General Manager Ken) Ross hopes to keep satisfying consumer demand through 2008 with the release of Duckman, a cult '90s animated program. An online petition for the series' DVD bow has garnered more than 7,000 signatures.

Additional informants: Noah McKelvie, Charles Ulrich

The Crazy World Of Frank Zappa

Videography

May 23, 1994
World Video Distributors E/P/11003 (HEAD ON) [V.E.G.]
20 min.

Includes material from:

The Crazy World Of FZ

Mowgli

"totally unrepentant"

"give a guy a big nose and some weird hair and he's capable of anything" Both quotes from a crappy, weird, pseudobiographical 20 minute mini-movie called "The Crazy World Of Frank Zappa". It's from "Visual Entertainment Group" and has "the guy screaming with forks in his eyes and a wrapped head" picture from Scorpions' "Blackout" album cover on the front of the box. It's piss poor quality and very weird. Um, did I mention that it's weird?

Rick Hap

I found a video in Tower Records titled "The Crazy World of Frank Zappa" from the Music Colllection, A Visual Entertainment Group presentation, produced and directed by Richard Driscoll, narrated by Dominic Valentino, edited by Leroy Stamps, research by Wilma Skinner, design by Ski Newton and writtten by Jeremy Watkins.

This video is a series of still shots with voice-over of random trivia. Cheezy computer animation effects gild the transitions between images—a border effect is used around scanned images of newspaper clipping. Topics covered Frank was born, Frank met Captain Beefheart, Frank played guitar. There are about five video clips on the tape the majority of which have been given a solarization effect—probably to hide the poor quality of the recordings. The interesting part of the tape is an interview conducted shortly before he passed on. I've never seen this interview but the problem on this tape is that the interview is sliced and diced—I'm sure there is a better source for the entire interview (don't know if this was an NBC interview). The bottom line is don't even bother with this video.

Sam Rouse

I gave away my copy years ago, but from memory:

I think all of the clips are from the BBC tribute special, some of which made it into the Biography show. From the approx. 20-30 minute total, subtract about a fourth to arrive at actual content (if you can call it that)—the sequences are divided by cheezeball titles that scroll horizontally at a snail's pace, saying stuff like "Frank Zappa Speaks About [some topic]". I recall that most of it is solarized, whether in a lame attempt at being avant-garde or an equally lame attempt at trying to hide the fact that it's all pirated material.

This video totally sucks; don't buy it. (The best thing about it is the pic on the cover, which is apparently stolen from a Scorpions cover, and is only there because it resembles FZ.)

John Hutchison

I have this item. To add to the article on your page, the interview segment that Rick Hap refers to is taken from the BBC Late Show video. The solarization is definitely to hide a poor quality copy, because the sound during these segments is very poor indeed...

Additional informant (YouTube alert): Javier Marcote

YouTube: The Crazy World Of Frank Zappa (20:37 min.)

A&E Biography

Videography

August 18, 1994
A&E
46 min.

Taken from:
From: Robbert Heederik

Mr. Zappa appears in A&E's series "Class of the 20th Century".

From: Patrick Neve

(splat[at]darkwing.uoregon.edu) Would this be the same as the 55 minute A&E "Biography" show, hosted by Peter Graves? And what relation does it have to the BBC special?

From: JWB

Yes. That's what it is. It was broadcast TWICE. Once during the day and later that same evening. It was never broadcast again. I found out about the show from a huge advertisement in either Billboard or Rolling Stone. It was "A&E BIOGRAPHY ROCK AND ROLL WEEK".

It's the SAME program. A&E "borrowed" it instead of making their own production. The program is identical to the BBC show, except...the British announcer and Late Show titles at the beginning were replaced by Peter Graves and the A&E opening! It also has commercial breaks added, of course. The closing credits are the original BBC credits preceded by another Peter Graves comment. In addition to the usual A&E production logo at the end of the program, there is also a BBC productions logo screen which precedes it.

 

Beavis And Butthead

Videography

From: Dan Watkins, October 10, 2001

I saw this episode of Beavis and Butthead years ago, but I just found the approximate air date so here goes:

Beavis And Butthead-"Canoe" October, 1994

On this episode, Beavis and Butthead are flipping through the channels, and they come across the "You Are What You Is" video. They watch about a minute of it, saying it sucks. Then they change the channel and turn it back a few minutes later, and the video is still on ("This is still on? That pisses me off."). Kinda funny. Maybe Mike Judge is a Zappa fan, eh?

 

Ein Leben als Extravaganza—Das Genie Frank Zappa

Videography | Transcription

December 1994
ZDF, Germany
50 min.

Written & Directed by Rudi Dolezal & Hannes Rossacher (DoRo, 1993)

Includes footage and excerpts from:
Music:
See also:
From: http://www.mrvideos.com/cgi-bin/videobase.cgi

Killer special from German TV with ultimate rarities, unreleased outtakes.. great.

From Charles Ulrich (September 8, 2005)

Ein Leben Als Extravaganza also includes parts of Purple Lagoon, Keep It Greasey, and Easy Meat from 8/26/78 Ulm; Sharleena and Bolero from 5/8/88 Vienna; and conducted improvisations from the Yellow Shark rehearsals. Plus interviews with Dweezil, Ahmet, Brian May, Keith Richards, Nicolas Slonimsky, Neil Jordan, Andy Summers, Jean-Luc Ponty, George Duke, Don Preston, Warren Cuccurullo, Peter Wolf, Steve Vai, and Chad Wackerman. And excerpts from Uncle Meat, The True Story Of 200 Motels, Baby Snakes, Video From Hell, Ohne Maulkorb, We Don't Mess Around, and New York & Elsewhere.

YouTube: Ein Leben als Extravaganza—Part 1 (08:32 min.) · Part 2 (08:24 min.) · Part 3 (09:10 min.) · Part 4 (09:39 min.) · Part 5 (03:16 min.) · Part 6 (09:36 min.)

Induction to R&R Hall of Fame

Videography

January 18, 1995
5 min.

With Lou Reed and Moon.

R&R Hall Of Fame

Includes footage from The Steve Allen Show (1963), Garrick Theater (1967), Head(1968), From The Bitter End (1967), Berlin (1968), Saturday Night Live (1976), We Don't Mess Around (1978), KCET (1974), The Palladium, NYC (1977), The Palladium, NYC (1981), Saturday Night Live (1978), Baby Snakes (1979), The Pier, NYC (1984), "You Are What You Is" (1981), The Yellow Shark (1992) and Today Show (1993).

Text of Lou Reed Introductory Speech, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2:17 min)

It's very rare in life to know someone who affects things; changes them in a positive way. I've been lucky enough to have known some in my life: Andy Warhol, Doc Pomus. People whose vision and integrity was such that it moved the world a bit. People who, through the articulation of their talents and intelligence, were able to leave things better than they had found them. People who were not only not in it for the money, to paraphrase Frank Zappa. Frank Zappa was such a person and of the many regrets I have in life, not knowing him a lot better is one of them.

Whether writing symphonies, satirical broadsides or casting a caustic glow across the frontier of madness that makes up the American political landscape; whether testifying before Congress to put the PMRC in its rightful lowly place, or acting as a cultural conduit for President Vaclav Havel and the Czech government, Frank was a force for reason and honesty in the business deficient in those areas. As we reward some with money for the amusement they supply to the cultural masses, I think the induction of Frank Zappa in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame distinguishes the Hall as well as the inductee. [applause]

Musicians usually cannot speak. That's why they communicate through their instruments. But Frank was one who could. And because music is pure, the musician is pure as well and when Frank spoke he demonstrated the power of purity. Who will do that now? I admired Frank greatly and I know he admired me. It gives me great pleasure to give this award to his daughter, Moon Zappa.

Text of Moon Zappa's Acceptance Speech (1:44 min)

This is so nice. Thank you, Lou. I really appreciate that. I'm a little dyslexic and earlier I freed my ass. I'm hoping my mind will follow. [sigh, sniff] [Applause] Um, thank you and, uhh, I know you know I had said that this is the year of the end of the bullshit promises and I am really sorry that my father missed that. And, um, uhh, I've almost, almost, forgiven the Wait Staff here because my heart is open from watching all of this. [gestures towards the screen on which Zappa montage had been shown] and it's very odd to be back there [backstage] before you come up because you actually hear the command given but I just want to say that this really belongs to his, his fans and um, music really is a language and I think that some languages are easy to understand than others. I don't think it's any accident that the Slavic countries really appreciated my father the most because it's really hard to get the accents down and everything. And, um, I just really want to say thank you and I think that he would really have enjoyed this. Thank you.

Here's Gail's interview comments:

ZAPPA & THE ROCK UNROLLED HALL OF FARCE

"Ten days before the actual ceremony," says Gail Zappa, "we still hadn't received invitations. The producer said, 'Oh that's unconscionable! We can give you two free tickets.' Well, there's five of us of course. He said, 'Well, we can sell you additional tickets at fifteen hundred dollars a piece, but you can't sit together.' I just laughed. Moon had expressed an interest in going, so we decided she'd accept the award. A week before the ceremony, they called me and said Edward Van Halen -who would have been perfect—had turned down their offer to induct Frank because he doesn't do these things. So I suggested Johnny "guitar' Watson whom Frank knew, loved and had worked with. They said 'No.' I won't say why because I don't want to hurt Johnny, but I did tell them that Johnny was one of the most lucid and articulate people I'd ever heard interviewed. I suggested Aerosmith, but was told they were going to induct Led Zeppelin. So I suggested Led Zeppelin. Again they said no. I asked them who chooses these things and was told 'The Board.' I asked if there were any musicians on the board, and more importantly are there any black musicians. They had to call me back and they replied 'Yes one: Berry Gordy.'

"They then said 'We've invited Lou Reed to do it.' I was laughing. It was just so ironic. I said I'd talk to my kids and they were against it; they believed Lou had millions of chances to make up with Frank. So Lou called. I told him 'Listen, you said lots of shitty things about Frank.' We discussed it and he finally said 'If I said anything flip that was meant to be funny, I'm sorry.' Actually Frank admired him as a songwriter; 'Femme Fatale' and 'All Tomorrow's Parties' were two of Frank's favorites.

"We asked for a car to take Moon to the ceremony. The producer told Moon that I said she'd be giving clearance to use the Frank footage on MTV which was totally not true! He said 'That's OK, the show's running long, so we'll just cut Frank.' Moon called him back and made him apologize for making her father sound insignificant. A limo did take her to the show, but there was no-one to pick her up afterwards! I have this vision of her standing in the rain, flagging down a cab with the award in her hand...

"I watched the broadcast and they didn't play any of his music, although they played at least one song by every other artist. And then I heard Joe Perry say that Led Zeppelin has asked Aerosmith to induct them months before, so how come we only got word a week before? This is a man who went to Capitol Hill for these people! When Moon said Frank would have enjoyed it, she meant the musicians. As Lou said, it honored the Hall to induct Frank and not the other way round. It was stupid, insensitive and just thoughtless."

Noah McKelvie (February 25, 2008)

Before Lou Reed gives Zappa's induction speech into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame there is 2-3 minute FZ Montage. Looking at your videography I have made the list of clips shown in the montage chronological the best I could-

The Steve Allen Show (1963 bicycle appearance)
Garrick Theater Footage (attrocities on stage and audience shots)
Garrick Theater Pipco T-Shirt Footage
>From The Bitter End
Unidentified MOI Live Footage, c. 1968-69 (also shown in The Late Show)
Head (The Monkees' movie)
MOI Live Footage, Late 1968 (filmed by Cal Schenkel)
August 27, 1974 KCET (shown in A Token Of His Extreme)
Saturday Night Live (1976)
October 28-31, 1977 Palladium (shown in Baby Snakes)
John Smothers Interview (shown in We Don't Mess Around)
Saturday Night Live (1978)
Bruce Bickford Animation 1974-1978 (excerpts from Token and Baby Snakes)
October 31, 1981 LATE SHOW Palladium (shown in MTV Broadcast)
August 25-26, 1984 The Pier (shown in Does Humor Belong In Music)
September 17, 1992 Yellow Shark Premiere (shown in German PPV)
The Today Show (1993)
Beavis And Butthead: Canoe (1994)

YouTube: Frank Zappa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction (08:06 min.)

Die Frühen Mutter: Frank Zappa

Videography

December 7, 1995
Jam Folge 19 (Viva II)
45 min.

Includes mostly material from:

Autoren: Rudi "Cadillac" Dolezal
In co-Produktion mit MAINHATTAN
co-Produzenten: Mike Raven
Eine DoRo Produktion für VIVA
(C) 1994

From: Clarence

This episode (copyright 1994) was aired at least twice:
1) 12-07-95, 11pm-12pm (Viva II, now: Viva Plus)
2) 12-23-96, 1am-2am (no logo/station ident!) (Viva II, now: Viva Plus)

Here's the origin of (austrian) 'DoRo' production company name: rudi DOlezal and hannes ROssacher (both guys founded DoRo, will have to check the 2nd name again, though. I think their FZ specials started the DoRo venture, meanwhile they produced lots of other music documentaries, i.e. Madonna etc.)

Screenshots from Clarence:

Jam Jam Jam Jam Jam Jam Jam Jam

Additional informant: Javier Marcote (YouTube alert)

YouTube: Frank Zappa—Joe's Garage on German TV Part 1 (10:59 min.) · Part 2 (10:59 min.)

Vilnius Zappa Statue

Videography

December 16, 1995
Vilnius, Lithuania
3 min.

Vilnius 1995

Various short Reuters press clips from ITN Source:

LITHUANIA/FILE: STATUE OF ROCK STAR FRANK ZAPPA UNVEILED

Interior sculptor's studio, various statues.
Still photos of clay model for Zappa statue.

Sculptor Konstantinas Bogdanas putting finishing touches to statue.
Bogdanas saying Zappa was a revolutionary in the sense that he fought for freedom through art. People have varying opinions of him. Some say he was a hooligan, others say he was a talented person, almost a genius (Lithuanian).

Statue of Zappa being erected in Central Vilnius Square.

Joe Black, representative of Zappa's record company Rykodisc, saying "I'm thoroughly honoured to be part of this ceremony today. I think it's a great achievement in the face of adversity and I'm really honoured that the Frank Zappa Fan Club has invited us along, it's fantastic, a great turnout, a great achievement."

Statue being unveiled, crowd laughs as cover is caught on head of the statue.
Fireworks being set off next to statue.
Bogdanas watching as statue is unveiled.

Informant: Javier Marcote

Psychomania: The Best Of Psychedelic Rock

1995

Friends #2.13

Videography

January 28, 1996
NBC

During the scene where Matthew Perry meets Julia Roberts an advertising for Strictly Commercial (1995) appears in the background.

Peter Rundel interviewed by Bas Andriessen

Videography

March 29, 1996
12 min.

Includes footage from The Yellow Shark, 1992

Informant: Javier Marcote (YouTube alert)

YouTube: Peter Rundel interviewdd by Bas Andriessen 1996 (11:41 min.)

The Golden Age Of Rock 'n' Roll

1996

Live From Greenwich Village

1996

Sex Hygiene Scare Films, Vol. 2

Videography

1996
Something Weird Video

Includes:

Sex Hygiene

From: Media Resources Center, UC Berkeley

Sex Hygiene Scare Films

Presents short films on sexual hygiene that were shown to high school teenagers from the 1930s to the 1960s. Includes informational films on the human reproductive system, the values of chastity and the venereal diseases, gonorrhea and syphilis.

Volume 2: VD: name your contacts (1968, 21 min.)—Sex in today's world (1968, 28 min.)—The Pick-up / U.S. Army Signal Corps (1944, 37 min.)—Boy to man (1962, 16 min.)—Girl to woman (1965, 18 min.) Video/C 6074

From: Patrick Neve

Available from Something Weird Video for an even $20. Catalog #6117.

 

Zappa's Joe's Garage, 1996

Videography

1996
2 min.

nacimientoroad (YouTube user)

Zappa's Joe's Garage 1996...a tour with Mark Maerqueson...

YouTube: Zappa's Joe's Garage 1996 (02:28 min.)

Amerika

Videography

Unknown date
VHS tape.
180 min.

Arnold Schoenberg Archives

Pinguin Film, VHS (NTSC), color, in German and English (no subtitles), 3:00:00.

This video encompasses four 45-minute programs intended for television broadcast. The theme, as the title reflects, is loosely organized around the topic "American music"—everything from Little Richard and the Rolling Stones to Dvorák and Ives appears with no guiding narration. Although it includes many interesting film clips and photos, none of the performers, films, or people interviewed is identified. The speakers interviewed often seem amateurish, and their comments are of little use without an extablished context.

[...]

27:30 Group rehearsing Varese's Ionization
28:20 Interview with Frank Zappa (?) discussing his album, Suzy Creamcheese, interspersed with footage from various performances
32:00 Footage of a Jimi Hendrix concert in Britain

[...]

Informant: Javier Marcote

Rock Cults: The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart

Videography

August 19, 1997
BBC2

Includes unreleased footage from FZ's BBC 1993 interview.

Reviews for the BBC Documentary, 'The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart'

Informant: Noah McKelvie

YouTube: The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart—Part 1 (09:29 min.) · Part 2 (06:01 min.)

Bogdie Dada

Videography

November 22, 1997
ABC-TV

Includes footage from:
From Green Left:

Bodgie Dada—A history of Australian jazz, its social context and the youth subcultures that have attached themselves to it over the past 40 years. Based on the book by John Clare (aka Gail Brennan), this program features archive footage of Australian and overseas performers. ABC-TV, Saturday, November 22, 9.30pm.

From YouTube user sirenbrian:

I found this brief clip of the Mothers playing on Australian TV in 1973, along with a short word from Frank about the music they play. It comes from a documentary called Bodgie Dada, a history of Australian jazz.

 

Happy Together (Cheun gwong tsa sit)

Videography

1997
93 min.

Directed by Wong Kar-Wai

Music included:
From: Hoodoo

I happened upon the synopsis for this movie:

Happy Together

"With gorgeous, saturated images set to an eclectic soundtrack of classic tangos, torch songs and Frank Zappa instrumentals, Wong Kar-Wai chronicles the stormy affair of a gay couple (Hong Kong superstars Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung) living as expatriates in Buenos Aires. "Stylistically brash. Pulsing with life. Captures the restless, open-to-everything spirit of youth" (Stephen Holden, New York Times). Letterboxed. Cantonese with English subtitles."

From: Jordan Hoffman

Someone a while back asked "Who would use Zappa in a movie?" It too me this long to recall "Happy Together" directed by Wong Kar-Wei. "Chunga's Revenge" is all over the thing, and what sounds like a "Fillmore 1971"-era "Happy Together" is over the closing credits, too (but it isn't from the album.)

From: "Bossk (R)"

It's the Turtles' original version, isn't it? There's also a long chunk of "I Have Been in You", cut right before the "little girl" part.

From: Jordan Hoffman

It's a terrific film, but there is a lot of gay love-making, so it probably ain't at any of the BlockBusters. Wong Kar-Wei (sometimes referred to as Kar-Wei Wong...it's very confusing) also directed "Fallen Angels" and "Chunking Express". The latter is easiest to find in Vid stores, as Quentin Tarantino was the "presenter" of its American distribution. All of the films are great, though "Happy Together" may be my favorite for the kick-ass (and repeated) use of "Chunga's Revenge." I think this movie won "Best Film" at Cannes a few years back.

From: "Bossk (R)"

It's the Chinese way: the family name (Wong) goes first, and then the given name (Kar-Wai). Some people try to reformat it the Western way, and come up with "Kar-Wai Wong".

 

The Ice Storm

Videography

1997
113 min.

Directed by Ang Lee

Music included:
From: splat

Movie released in 1997 stars Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver and apparantly uses the song "Dirty Love". It's included on the soundtrack album (1997 CD Velvel 79713).

Original score written by Michael Danna. Songs performed by David Bowie, Traffic, Frank Zappa and others.

Here's more info on the soundtrack: http://www.lukpac.org/~handmade/patio/weirdo/various.html#icestorm

From: Steve LaCombe

"Dirty Love" on "Ice Storm Soundtrack" has a reverse stereo image relative to both the RYKO 1995 OS and SC versions. Tool used for discerning this fact: my two ears. The reversal of the image is most apparent with the drum track. Applying the mono feature, however, reveals no further audible diffences.

 

Antiques Roadshow

March 22, 1999
PBS

WDR TV documentary

Videography

May 5, 1999
WDR TV

Kristian Kier (May 6, 1999)

Yesterday our WDR had a docu (1hrs.) about the californian music scene, made for as additional material for teachers of music classes of schools. It had Zappa and the Mothers included, beginning with old black and white film material of the Watts riot with Trouble Every Day as background music. They also had b&w footage of the Mothers playing King Kong, probably from Essen 1968, but wasn't able to identify that.

Directly followed: The Doors. Interesting was a short b&w film excerpt of an open air festival, and how Jim Morrison got arrested on stage by three or four policemen. One pulled his microphone away, the others taking him from stage, with Jim doing a face like Kermit the frog. Very funny! 8-)

The docu was very interesting, covering the beginnings of Hippiedom up to recent american music, from Folk, Acid, Psychadelic to Pop, Mainstream and Hardrock.

There's a rerun of it on wednesday, 12. May at 7:00am.

From: http://www.wdr.de/tv/schulfernsehen/archiv/1999_1/musik/2.html

Surfin' California
NEU
Die Musikszene in Kalifornien
2 Sendungen zu je 30 Minuten—ab 9. Schuljahr
Teil 3 + Teil 4
Mi. 05.05.99
7.00-8.00 Uhr
Mi. 12.05.99
7.00-8.00 Uhr
3.Vom Surf-Sound zum Acid-Rock
4.Vom Acid-Rock zum Gangsta-Rap

Diese beiden Sendungen gehören zum Multimedia-Paket "Surfin' California", das aus einer CD-ROM, der Internetsite "Learning Station" (http://www.learning-station.com) und vier Sendungen besteht. Die Sendungen vertiefen Aspekte der CD-ROM. Die beiden ersten Sendungen gehören in den geografisch-politischen Unterricht (Siehe im Inhaltsverzeichnis Geographie).

Beide Sendungen beschreiben die Entwicklung der kalifornischen Musikszene mit dem Schwerpunkt auf den 60er Jahren. Die Beach Boys, Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Janis Joplin und die Doors sorgten damals für weltweites Aufsehen, auch wenn ihre Musik im Vergleich zu dem, was heute aus den Ghettos von Los Angeles in die Hitparaden drängt, geradezu harmlos wirkt.

Dennoch war es gerade diese Musik, die Kalifornien bis heute zum Zentrum der Musik-Industrie machte. Ihre Interpreten zählen oft immer noch zu den Top-Acts der Branche. Anders als heute war die Musik damals aber noch eingebettet in eine Lebensphilosophie, die zwar einerseits typisch kalifornisch geprägt war, andererseits aber einen unwiderstehlichen Reiz auf Jugendliche in der gesamten westlichen Welt ausübte.

Die Musiker und die mit ihnen verbundene Szene propagierten einen Lebensstil für eine ganze Generation. Dieser Konsens ist heute in viele verschiedene Richtungen zerfallen.

 

Biography Channel Commercial

Videography

From: Jon1Carlo

I'm not sure which one it was...but it was the History of Rock and Roll series, the one about the 70's. People mention Zappa once or twice, and there's a clip of him throwing a bunch of fake money at the audience and sneering.

 

The Male Swagger

Videography

From: Christopher Ekman

I looked up Frank on the Internet Movie Database today, and found that archive footage of him was used in a flick called The Male Swagger. It was made this year, seems to be a sub-Mad-level spoof of Beowulf, and features a fake Hulk Hogan, a fake Malcolm X, a fake Jesus Christ and the real Alex Trebek. Anyone have any notion what on earth this is?

From: Charles Ulrich

This appears to be a hoax perpetrated by students at St. Mark's High School in Dallas, Texas. At best, it's a real film by students at said high school.

Aside from Alex Trebek and FZ, none of the actors have any other film credits. Well, director/producer Darius Safavi appears to have had one guest appearance on a tv series (Sons of Thunder, a spin-off of Walker, Texas Ranger) and to be represented by a talent agency <http://www.mcalistertalent.com/casting.htm>.

Note that there are no reviews of the film at the IMDb, and only three user comments, all posted from the DFW area.

 

My Wasted Life

Videography

June 23, 2000
BBC 2, UK
30 min.

Aired on Simpsons Night on Friday, June 23, 2000. Matt Groening talks about his background and influences, including the music and lyrics of Frank Zappa. Includes a short snippet of "Blessed Relief" from The Grand Wazoo (1972) as background music, and also two short fragments of footage from the SportPalast, Berlin, October 16, 1968 (probably from the soundcheck), and Colour Me Pop, BBC, October 23, 1968.

Informant: Javier Marcote

YouTube: My Wasted Life—Part 1 (10:00 min.) · Part 2 (10:02 min.) · Part 3 (09:08 min.)

Frank Zappa: The Present-Day Composer Refuses To Die

July 2, 2000
VPRO
52 min.

Hollywood Rocks The Movies: The Early Years (1955-1970)

2000
AMC TV
145 min.

In The Ocean

Videography

2000
Allegri Films
52 min.

Includes footage from Stockholm, 1973 and Frank Zappa (VPRO, 1971).

---

Title
"In the ocean" / a film by Frank Scheffer; scenario by Frank Scheffer, Benedict Weisser

Publisher
[s.l.]: Allegri films; NPS, 2000
Physical Description

52 min 42

Notes

In the Ocean by Frank Scheffer renews the music documentary genre. By bringing together for the first time in a film musicians such as Steve Reich, Brian Eno, Philip Glass, Louis Andriessen, it helps to understand the complexity of the movement of contemporary music of the last 30 years and the influences between Europe and the New World . This round trip between the two continents is personified by the story of Bang on a Can, a musical movements of the liveliest of our time. The founders and artistic directors of Bang on a Can are three young American composers Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe. This new generation is as heirs to the forefront of American composers from Charles Ives and John Cage to Steve Reich and Philip Glass. (Editor's summary)

Contains
Excerpts from: Weather 1, 3 Weather, Weather 4, Yo Shakespeare / Michael Gordon. Arsenal of democracy, Lick, Believing / Julia Wolfe. Six marimbas, Its gonna rain, Music for eighteen musicians, Sextet, Proverb / Steve Reich. Concerto for piano and orchestra / Milton Babitt. Slow movement / David Lang. Dance 3, Changing shares / Philip Glass. A room, Fourteen / John Cage. Sonata for flute, oboe, cello and harpsichord, String Quartet No. 1 / Elliott Carter. De Staat / Louis Andriessen. Cheating, lying, strealing / David Lang. Music for Aiports / Brian Eno. Bebop tango / Frank Zappa . Headset sextet / Joshua Fried. Fix / us / Martin Padding

Author (s) / Performer (s) / Interview (s)
Scheffer, Frank, filmmaker, screenwriter
Weisser, Benedict, screenwriter
Gordon, Michael Zev (1963 -....), interviewee
Cage, John (1912-1992), interviewee
Wolfe, Julia, interviewee
Lang, David (1957 -....), interviewee
Reich, Steve (1936 -....), interviewee
Glass, Philip (1937 -....), interviewee
Eno, Brian, interviewee
Carter, Elliott (1908 -....), interviewee
Andriessen, Louis (1939 -....), interviewee
Zappa, Frank, interviewee
Ziporyn, Evan, interviewee
Stewart, Mark, interviewee
Padding, Martijn, interviewee

Informant: Javier Marcote

YouTube: In The Ocean—A Film About The Classical Avant Garde (49:42 min.)

100 Greatest Artists Of Hard Rock #36: Frank Zappa

Videography

December, 2000
VH1
2 min.

Music heard (album versions except where indicated): Peaches En Regalia, My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama, Cosmik Debris, Don't Eat The Yellow Snow, I'm The Slime, Joe's Garage (Halloween 1981)

Includes footage from: Peaches En Regalia clip, 1970 England Press Conference, Halloween 1981, The Amazing Mr Bickford

Includes short interviews with: Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi), Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society), Scott Ian (Anthrax)

Informant: Noah McKelvie

YouTube: Frank Zappa—100 Greatest Artists Of Hard Rock #36 (01:59 min.)

Y tu mamá también

Videography

June 8, 2001
105 min.

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón

From: Charles Ulrich (January 5, 2004)

Watermelon In Easter Hay (Joe's Garage version) is played during the closing credits of Y Tu Mamá También. It is also included on the soundtrack album.

Y Tu Mamá También is a Mexican film directed by Alfonso Cuarón. It was released in 2001 (June 8 in Mexico, October 6 in the USA). Alfonso and Carlos Cuarón were nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay.

During the closing credits there is a list of special thanks ("Agradecemos especialmente a:"), in which Gail Zappa is listed, and also there's a line at the end which says:

Y a "Watermelon in Easter Hay" de Frank Zappa

Also, at the end of the musical credits:

"WATERMELON IN EASTER HAY"
de Frank Zappa's "Joe's Garage"
Compuesta, producida e interpretada por FRANK ZAPPA
Cortesía de la Familia Zappa.
(P) 1994 RYKO Disc Inc. Licenciataria exclusiva mundialmente, The Zappa Family Trust
© Copyright 1979 The Zappa Family Trust

 

Plaster Caster

Videography

2001
97 min.

Directed by Jessica Villines

From: Jeff Economy (August 7, 2003)

Just thought you might like to know that I produced a film on groupie/ artist Cynthia Plaster Caster in which there's a brief scene of Cynthia and Pamela Des Barres discussing their relationship with Frank. (There's also some contemporary footage of Cynthia with Miss Mercy of the GTOs.) The film is called "Plaster Caster" and is due for DVD and VHS release on Oct 7 by Xenon Pictures (relevant links below).

The movie
Xenon Pictures
Cynthia's own site
The Cynthia P. Caster Foundation

From: jay ziel (March 23, 2002)

you guys just HAVE to see this movie. i'm by no means a film critic. i don't really know how to describe what i saw other than as a historical document of a time and of events that we all hold dear. cynthia had nothing but very, very nice things to say about frank. he was the first one to tell her that what she was doing was art, and did nothing but encourage her to continue. after the screening, as she was talking questions from the audience, someone asked her if she had a special relationship with frank. she almost started crying as she answered that she still misses him. quite a poignant moment. on the bright side, the movie has some very funny moments and touches on a lot of moments in our mythology.

i went, hoping to maybe get some insight into her original ideas and motivations. i think that i left with more questions than i had when i got there. i guess for her, she loves it-it's a way of life.

 

VH-1 Groupies Show

Videography

2001

From: Kevin C. McDonald (February 23, 2002)

So I happen across this "history of groupies" show VH-1 is airing. After the first couple minutes of clip-montage, the first segment-and-a-half consists largely of clips of The GTO's, Miss Pamela, Cynthia, and all sorts of Mudshark mythology, including a video interview snippet of FZ, an audio segment of "The Mud Shark," not to mention clips of Led Zeppelin and The Vanilla Fudge recalling (or decidedly not recalling) the event in question. Funny stuff.

From: Squawsatch (February 24, 2002)

To my knowledge, it was originally broadcast about a year ago and has been repeated seemingly quite a few times since.

 

Warning: Parental Advisory

Videography

April 21, 2002
VH1
100 min.

Director: Mark Waters
Screenplay: Jay Martel
Producer: Steven Haft

Cast & Characters:

Jason Priestley as Charlie Burner
Mariel Hemingway as Tipper Gore
Dee Snider as himself
Griffin Dunne as Frank Zappa

Warning: Parental Advisory

Plot from VH1.com:

It's down and dirty, it's rock and roll... and that's the way we like it. But when Senate wives meet Twisted Sister, things get a little weird on Capitol Hill.

It's 1986 and the only thing lobbyist Charlie Burner wants is his blank tape tax passed so he can schmooze his way into a cushy corner office. He thinks it's in the bag until prominent Senator wife, Tipper Gore gets an earful of her kids' latest record collection. Suddenly, Prince doesn't sound so charming and Tipper leads the Washington Wives down the warpath to ban "porn rock." They create a banned song wish list and call it "The Filthy Fifteen." This turns the music industry on its head and Charlie has to choose between saving his job or saving rock music.

Charlie makes a choice and looks for rock and roll rebels to join the cause, amassing the most unlikely crew of freedom fighters ever. What else could bring together Frank Zappa, Dee Snider and John Denver? It's musicians vs. mothers on Capitol Hill. Once in awhile you gotta stand tall, open your mouth and let freedom sing.

GZ (from Launch, June 12, 2002)

It was a big lie. [They got it wrong] intentionally. It was really laughable, it was so pathetic. I think there was really an intent to glorify the RIAA. There was definitely an intent to convince the public that the RIAA gives a f--k about artists' rights, which is a joke. I didn't see anything in that entire piece that resembled Frank Zappa in any way. Frank stood up for individual rights, for the First Amendment, for artistic freedom...and more importantly, every single one of his albums since 1971 says, "Register to vote" on them, ever since the 18-year-old vote was passed.

This film is an insult to the Constitution of the United States, an insult to the Congress. It's an insult not only to Frank but to the people who, for whatever reason, formed the PMRC. It's not representative of Tipper Gore or Al Gore, or most of the senators, or even the way a hearing is conducted. They wanted the record companies to bend over, which they did, to get the blank-tape tax passed. The whole thing was just preposterous. The idea that Frank would be gunning for anyone, making threatening phone calls! When you're taking what actually happened and fantasizing it and massagingit to suit your own needs, everyone should question, "What is VH1's relationship to the RIAA? Do they own them?" I think they do.

Frank Zappa: Phase Two—The Big Note

June 20, 2002
90 min.

Jean-Luc Ponty, Violoniste des temps modernes

Videography

2002
Mezzo/Cityzen TV
53 min.

Directed by William Streik & Michael Willis

Includes footage from:

Informant: Oscar Bianco

Metropolis

Videography

March 8, 2003
Arte
9 min.

Includes some footage from Ein Leben als Extravaganza (DoRo, 1995). Also includes interviews with Don Preston, Bunk Gardner and Roy Estrada, and some footage of The Grandmothers and the Chamber Orchestra Of Invention conducted by Don Preston in Leipzig, February, 2003.

From ARTE

Emission du 08 mars 2003 dimanche 2 mars 2003
Tricky Women—L'avenir de la culture—Des modèles pour les musées de l'avenir—György Konrád—"Glück"—Frank Zappa—Grandmothers of Invention

A l'occasion du 10e anniversaire de la mort de Frank Zappa—Son ancienne formation, "Mothers of Invention" (rebaptisée "Grandmothers of Invention") rencontre le "Chamber Orchestra of Invention" au Gewandhaus de Leipzig

 

Aspekte

Videography

May 9, 2003
ZDF
7 min.

FZ

Includes footage from:

 

September 11: Bearing Witness To History

Videography

September 11, 2003
Fort Worth, TX
10 min.

From: Cory Tucker (November 18, 2007)

In 2003, the Smithsonian opened a traveling exhibit consisting of artifacts related to the September 11 attacks.

At the Fort Worth, Texas exhibit, the local newspaper had put together a video montage of images capturing the local effect of the attacks. American Airlines' headquarters is here, as is Lockheed-Martin (makers of things that fly really fast and drop big bombs) and a big Naval Air Station.

Well, the music chosen for this montage was none other than "Get Whitey" and "Outrage at Valdez". Unfortunately, this montage doesn't seem to be available on the web, but it was quite moving, and the music chosen could not have been a more perfect match.

The guy who put the montage together was Max Faulkner, the director of photography at the Fort-Worth Star-Telegram. He is apparently a huge FZ fan.

 

Conspiracies

Videography

October 29, 2003
Conspiracies Episode 5 "The truth behind Satan's servants..." (TECH TV)

From: Hoodude (October 30, 2003)

While watching the TV series 'Conspiracies' tonight on the Tech-TV channel, FZ was included in the episode called 'Satanic Panic'. I was not paying attention to the program and only realized near the end of his screen time that it was Frankie offering his opinion on the music industry.

I was surprised to hear in the program that some religious folk/entities state the band name KISS is supposed to mean 'Knights in Service to Satan' and that the band name AC/DC actually means 'Anti-Christ/Devil's Children'. I feel so enlightened after hearing that.

From: Greg Henry (November 2, 2003)

Just as an FYI. I'm sure you've all seen or heard this section of interview. This particular show was on Satanists. The odd thing is this particular interview section was taped long before Tech TV existed and before most people, including myself, knew the internet existed. The interview clip was taped during the PMRC hearings because they also used old footage of Tipper Gore and her fellow Washington wives. FZ's comments were the familiar line that Satan doesn't exist and that listening to Satanic lyrics will not send you to hell.

From: Hoodude (November 2, 2003)

I watched the episode again and paid attention to FZ's comments. He mentioned that even though you (used as a generalization) and he (FZ) might not like an artist or a band, someone else may and the offending artist(s) should not be banned by governmental edict. FZ added that there is no devil and music can't hurt you.

'Conspiracies' is a former BBC series rebroadcast in the USA by Tech-TV.

 

Musikbyrån

November 26, 2003
SVT 2
35 min.

Rock Stars Daughters

Videography

December 7, 2003
The E! True Story Hollywood
Episode #314: Rock Stars Daughters
E! Entertainment Television

From: John Henley (December 18, 2003)

While cruising channels in great boredom last night I came across Baby Snakes of all things on VH1, quickly replaced by Roxy footage, quickly replaced by an interview with Moon and Diva.

From: Doggus

This show is seen on E! True Hollywood Story—originally aired on Dec 7, 2003—it airs again this Saturday Dec 20, again on Dec 23, Dec 28 and Dec 29. Not sure where and when the Zappas show up in this 2-hour show.

From: Jerry 4-10 (December 18, 2003)

I saw this last night, too. It must be pretty new.

Yeah, Frank's all over the thing. Multiple interviews with Diva, Moon and Gail and even some interview footage of FZ.

The program had bits of Baby Snakes, Roxy and some footage of FZ conducting Ensemble Modern (I think that's who it was). It even ended with a shot of him sitting in a chair saying, "This is Frank Zappa and you're watching E, Entertainment Television." (Or something to that effect.

Pretty cool.

From: Ed Mann (December 18, 2003)

I saw all of it. It was great and very illuminating—even for me. I met Moon in 1977 when she was a kid. I would never have come out an volunteered any opinions about the personal life of the family (don't think I ever did that—if I did , so be it but no offense intended,) but it was very interesting for me to hear Moon say the things that she did about Frank. It was like an update—from a more mature point of view—of stuff that she and Dweezil and Ahmet said in a Rock star's kids documentary from like 5-8 years ago - which was basically "tough to live in the shadow of such a genius". Anyway in the Rock Stars Daughters thing it was interesting to hear—from Moon—that they hardly ever saw Frank for long stretches—and that Valley Girl was essentially motivated by a note that she finally wrote to Frank saying that she need some personal-quality time with him. The result was that he woke her up in the middle of the nite—hustled her down into the studio to create/sing Valley Girl. That's great—Frank SO immersed in his work that quality time took place in the studio. We used to see the kids come in while we were working—Frank would stop for a while and spend time with them - talk for while—ask them about school etc—and then back to work—it was a reminder for all of us that this guy has 2 families—his band and engineers—and his wife and sons and daughters. And he was a very patriarchal figure.

Gail/Moon talking about Moon's birth—FZ told Gail the baby's name would be Motorhead or Moon—"you pick".....and then as told by Moon - a bittersweet opportunity to finally spend some time with Frank when he got sick—because he was finally available. And some GREAT Frank footage—at home and on stage, Frank basically admitting that his relentless working and touring had taken a huge toll on him. Frank was addicted to his work—that is common for artists. But Frank was—you know -MEGA.

Bottom line: a bigger understanding of who Frank is, the level of his genius, and that no matter what you love the guy to death and beyond—eternally. It is his playing of the duality that somehow increases my own love for Frank, and perhaps for others it is the same. Not always easy—but always deep.

rock on

ed

 

Dweezil & Lisa

Videography

January 23, 2004
Dweezil & Lisa Episode #LD1A03
"St. Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast Party"
Food Network

From: Doggus (January 24, 2004)

January 23's episode of Dweezil & Lisa's show on the Food Network featured lots of pancakes with lots of Frank Zappa's St Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast playing in between. There was also a dinner/pancake party where the chef made a statue of Frank made out of fruit—Gail and Ahmet were there too—Frank's music was playing in the background...Dweezil went on to tell of a story where Frank once brought home pancakes home from Austria to share with his family because they were so splendid...

 

Vinilo. La historia del rock. Frank Zappa

Videography

2004
MuchMusic, Argentina
26 min.

Argentinian documentary series about the history of rock. FZ's episode covered the first decade of his career and was to be the first of two, though there was never a second one.

Includes footage from:

Written and directed by Alfredo Rosso

Here's A Piano I Prepared Earlier: Experimental Music In The 1960s

Videography

2004
BBC Four
50 min.

Javier Marcote (January 21, 2009)

Here's A Piano I Prepared Earlier celebrates the experimental music movement which flourished during the 1960s, and whose legacy has lived on in musicians as diverse as Frank Zappa, Steve Reich, Michael Nyman and Brian Eno. Experimental music was usually written in free notation, or as written instructions with no notes at all. Composers often incorporated elements of chance, like the tossing of coins to choose notes, and performed on "prepared" instruments, like a piano stuffed with hay, to produce unexpected sounds. Starting with John Cage, godfather of experimental music, this documentary looks at the work of young US composers in the 60s, whose desire for freer music led to the hypnotically repetitive process known as minimalism. We also look at the British experimentalists, such as Cornelius Cardew, who together with his anti-Establishment colleagues provided a refreshing change from the strictly notated compositions of Boulez and Stockhausen. Blending anarchy with a healthy measure of irony, their music was vibrant, original, and often strangely beautiful. The programme investigates the link between minimalism and rock music, and includes ambient music from Gavin Bryars, whose Sinking of the Titanic and Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet are two of the most famous works to emerge from the experimental movement. In keeping with the theme, all contributors were asked to throw a pair of dice. The random throws are used to compose an original waltz, which is performed at the end of the programme. Musical excerpts include: · John Cage '4'33"' · Terry Riley 'In C' · Steve Reich 'Clapping Music' · Cornelius Cardew 'Treatise' · David Bedford 'With a Hundred Kazoos' · Gavin Bryars 'The Sinking of the Titanic' · Gavin Bryars 'Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet' · Portsmouth Sinfonia 'Also sprach Zarathustra' · Mozart Waltz composed by contributors throwing dice

 

Derailroaded

March 13, 2005
Directed by Josh Rubin

Trafic.Musique

Videography

July 21, 2005
France 2
15 min.

From ansley on Zappateers (March 22, 2006):

this video contains
-ads for tour de frank 2005
-small biography with:
snippets of FZ in Olympia 1969, Gaumont Pallace 1970, VPRO 1971, ? 1974, Palladium 77, We Don't Mess Around—Cirkus Krone video 1978, Baby Snakes (the movie), Does humor belong in music (the movie), FZ Gail Dweezil Ahmet Pierre Boulez interviews

mainly in french but it has part in english with french subtitles

 

Zappa Plays Zappa

May 15-June 24, 2006—Europe & North America

I Love The 70s: Volume 2

Videography

Episode #10: 1979
July 14, 2006
VH1
60 min.

From Noah McKelvie (May-June, 2007)

I was watching I Love The 70s Volume 2 and during the 1979 episode they had a small segment on Frank Zappa. The footage/audio was interspersed with interviews from some other celebrities.

In his segment, there were 4 brief video excerpts from Baby Snakes and two brief audio Joe's Garage excerpts interspersed with interviews. One excerpt from Baby Snakes that was used in his segment was a little "Revenge Of The Knick Knack People" segment that took place at Village Recorders! The other excerpts from Baby Snakes that I could recognize was a little portion of the live Palladium version of "City Of Tiny Lites", the count-in (1-2-3-4!) from the Baby Snakes Rehearsal that appears at the beginning, and a part of the "A Pound For A Brown On The Bus" Bass solo.

The segment also featured a bit of audio from "Why Does It Hurt When I Pee" while showing tubes (the kind they take a urine sample in) in a laboratory. The other song from Joe's Garage that was used was "Catholic Girls" set to somebody walking down the steps out of a church.

 

Zappa Plays Zappa

October 18-31; December 10-30, 2006—North America

Classic Albums: Over-Nite Sensation/Apostrophe (')

December 8, 2006
NRK 1, Norway
50 min.

U2 "Window In The Skies"

Videography

December, 2006
Universal
4 min.

Musical video by U2

Includes two shots from:

1973 rehearsal FZ

Frank Zappa—A Pioneer Of Future Music, parts 1 & 2

Videography

April 22 & 29, 2007
Nederland 2
120 min.

Directed by Frank Scheffer

See also:
Backstage VPRO

Twee Uur van de Wolf documentaires: Frank Zappa- A pioneer of the future of music, Part l & ll Voorpremiere maandag 2 april, Omroepbioscoop in het Ketelhuis, Amsterdam Ruim veertien jaar geleden overleed Frank Zappa.
A pioneer of the future of music Part I & II is een hommage van Frank Scheffer aan een eigenzinnig genie. Zappa was niet alleen een van de meest bijzondere rock-artiesten maar ook een van de meest uitzonderlijke componisten van de twintigste eeuw.

De film bestaat uit archief-materiaal met o.a. interviews met Zappa en een immense hoeveelheid geluid- en beeldmateriaal van o.a. performances, studio-opnames en filmische experimenten die Zappa gedurende z'n hele leven zelf geregistreerd en gearchiveerd heeft.
Frank Scheffer maakt in de film gebruik van verschillende technieken om, net als Zappa, zo optimaal mogelijk het 'collage-principe' tot z'n recht te laten komen.

De premiere wordt ingeleid door Willem de Ridder: legendarisch VPRO-hoorspelmaker en meesterverteller.

Maandag 2 april, Het Ketelhuis 4 (schuin t/o Ketelhuis)
Zaal open 19.00 uur, Aanvang 19.30 uur.

Wil je bij deze premiere aanwezig zijn? De entree is gratis, maar je moet wel even reserveren bij het Ketelhuis: 020-6840098

Kun je niet op 2 april? Frank Zappa- A pioneer of the future of music, Part l & ll wordt op zondag 22 en 29 april uitgezonden om 19.00 uur op Nederland 2.

Translation (kindly provided by Marc Schouwenberg)

Two 'Het Uur van de Wolf' [=name of the TV-show] documentaries: "Frank Zappa—A pioneer of the future of music, Part l & ll". Pre-premiere on Monday 2 April, in the cinema at 'Het Ketelhuis' [=name of the venue], Amsterdam. Over fourteen years ago [sic] Frank Zappa passed away.
"A pioneer of the future of music Part I & II" is Frank Scheffer's tribute to an extraordinary genius. Zappa wasn't just one of the most remarkable rock musicians, he was also one of the most exceptional twentieth-century composers.

The movie features archive-material of interviews with Zappa and a great amount of sound and video material of performances, studio-recordings and cinematographic experiments which Zappa himself had been registering and archiving during his life.
In the movie, Frank Scheffer uses a wide range of techniques, just like Zappa, in order to carry out the 'collage-principle' as good as possible.

The premiere night features an introduction by Willem de Ridder: legendary for his VPRO radio plays and a great narrator.

Monday 2 april, Het Ketelhuis 4 [=address] (diagonally across 'Het Ketelhuis' [?])
Doors open at 19.00, The show starts at 19.30.

Do you want to be at the premiere? Entrance is free, but you will have to make a reservation at 'het Ketelhuis': 020-6840098.

Can't be there on 2 april? "Frank Zappa—A pioneer of the future of music, Part l & ll" will be broadcast on sunday 22 and 29 april at 19.00 on Nederland 2 [=TV-station].

KUR

Frank Zappa
A pioneer of the future of music

Film in two parts by Frank Scheffer about Frank Zappa (1940-1993), not only one of the most exceptional rock-artists, but also one of the most unique composers of the 20th century. The documentary is a tribute to a self-willed genious; to the man who—as an intangible critic—observed the (American) society for decades with sarcasm and ingenious wit.

"If you deviate from the norm, it might lead to progression"
Frank Zappa

A Pioneer of the future of Music Part 1 & II exists of archived material and interviews with people who worked very close to Zappa and have been inspired by him. This material to a large extent is derived from the Vault, the massive—for a large part still unrevealed archive, in which everything which Zappa has ever recorded is stored: performances, studio-recordings, experiments, family-events, meetings, movies, and everything else he was interested in.

Also in this documentary are parts of former Frank Scheffer films and the 1971 Roelof Kiers VPRO film about—and in collaboration with—Frank Zappa.

Part I is a renewed acquaintance with FZ, his music, the seventies, era of performances of Freaks, flower children . . .

Interviews with Gail Zappa and famous Mothers of Invention: George Duke, Ian Underwood, Mark Volman and Bruce Fowler.

Part II focuses on the influences of Frank Zappa on the music industry. Musicians like Steve Vai, Terry Bozzio and Napoleon Murphy Brock talk about their collaboration with Zappa. Frank Zappa's compositions today are being performed in concerthalls. Not just by the Ensemble Contemporain, but also by the Teheran Symphony Orchestra from Iran. Both are to be seen in the documentary, as well as Dweezil Zappa, who performs today with his father's material.

A documentary from Frank Scheffer.

Marc Schouwenberg (May 10, 2007):

Alright, after having seen both parts of the Pioneer documentary, I can tell you that it's definitely not the same as Frank Scheffer's earlier films about FZ. However, it's not a completely new thing either. I think what Scheffer did is that he discarded the original idea of a trilogy, and instead he decided to re-edit the material from "Present Day Composer" & "Phase Two" and turn it into a new two-part documentary, adding some exclusive things as well. The division between the two parts isn't parallel to the division between the earlier docs though; he mixed it up a little bit, so Pioneer #1 contains material from both earlier films, and Pioneer #2 also contains material from both.

Here's a list of the footage which I thought was never available before:

PIONEER PART 1

—New Denny Walley-footage (which apparently was originally part of "Phase Two: The Big Note", but I still haven't seen that one).
—Archive footage of the GTO dancing on stage with the MOI; and new interviews with Miss Pamela and Miss Mercy.
—I think the sequence of Freaks dancing at a MOI show (at the Garrick?) was longer than I've seen at any place else, but I might be wrong about this.
—Archive footage of The Grand Wazoo Orchestra, "on the road" as well as "during soundcheck". That material seems to have been recorded on silent film, because 'unfortunately' it is accompanied by the studio version of The Grand Wazoo, which we all know by now... Well, let's hope for Imaginary Diseases #2!

PIONEER PART 2

—Malcolm McNab playing the Bebop Tango, originally entitled "Malcolm McNab" (was this also already in The Big Note?).
—New interviews with the ZPZ-special guests, meaning: Napi (telling how hearing Frank's music for the first time was like the greatest orgasm he ever had); Bozzio (when he played The Black Page correctly for the first time, FZ said "Bozzio, you're a fucking genius"); and Vai (demonstrating how FZ taught him What's New In Baltimore).
—New interview with Dweezil, also mainly about ZPZ.
—ZPZ live footage, including BlackPage, Echidna'sArf, and Sofa (live in Paris).

Noah McKelvie (August 2, 2008)

Footage of "Chunga's Revenge" (which is with FZ on the screen from the Palladium 1981) and "Trouble Every Day" (a tiny bit of Dweezil's guitar solo) from the same ZPZ Paris concert is also shown.

Additional informant: Corné van Hooijdonk

Zappa Plays Zappa

July 18-August 23, 2007—North America
September 25-November 23, 2007—Europe & North America
November 27-December 4, 2007—Australia
January 21-23, 2008—Japan

Frank Zappa—Music In Review

Videography

November 26, 2007 (UK)
February 5, 2008 (USA)
Classic Rock Legends
65 min.

Review from Play.com

The life and work of Frank Zappa are examined in this superb new critical review, which features new in-depth interviews with industry insiders, rock journalists and respected critics plus highlights from the songs that re-drew the face of rock music.

Including: Veteran music journalist Chris Welch. Welch interviewed Zappa in 1968, and shares his memories of his meeting with a true legend of modern times.

The insights of Ben Watson, author of the acclaimed Zappa books The Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play and Frank Zappa: The Complete Guide to His Music. A lifelong fan and frequent correspondant, Watson also interviewed Zappa 6 weeks before his death.

Further insights from Ian Fortnam of Kerrang!, Uncut and NME and industry player Gem Howard-Kemp.

 

Vinyl—Pop & Rock Geschichte—1968

Videography

June 25, 2008
EinsFestival, Germany
28 min.

Zappa content: commentary about Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention, an interview with Fritz Rau and some B&W footage from Beat-Club, October, 1968.

Roboter esse kein Sauerkraut. Die Anfaenge deutscher Rockmusik

Videography

August 28, 2008
Arte, Germany
90 min.

Includes:
Pittylabelle (Zappateers, September 9, 2008)

Roboter essen kein Sauerkraut—Die Anfaenge deutscher Rockmusik (Original German title)
Robots don't eat Sauerkraut—The beginnings of German Rockmusic (Eeeeeenglish title—perhaps)

With FZ-MOI-snippet, probably from an old TV-documentary about the "Internationale Essener Song-Tage 1968"

Broadcast:
German-French TV-station, arte, August 28. 2008

This documentary contains contributions about the following German (Rock?)-Groups:

Amon Düül II, Embryo, Popol Vuh, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Birth Control,
Ton Steine Scherben, Guru Guru, Can, Kraftwerk, Eloy, Jane, Grobschnitt, Kraan,
Witthueser & Westrupp, Scorpions, Lucifer's Friend, Frumpy, Udo Lindenberg

... and others

 

The Story Of Beat-Club 1968-1970

Videography

December 12, 2008
ARD Video
8 DVDs

The Story Of Beat-Club 1968-1970

Includes footage from:
Oscar Bianco (December 14, 2008)

This contain a 3:23 segment from the same Beat Club interview 1970.06.19, but it is a different segment, previously unseen.

It doesn't seem that the DVD-BOX contain also the lieder-liches show itself (Frank is not listed, nor in vol. 1 and 3).

I have this additional info: Original broadcast: German TV, Beat-Club 59 / 15. August 1970

Additional informant: Javier Marcote

The Wrecking Crew

Videography

2008
98 min.

Directed by Danny Tedesco. Includes a short (18 sec.) interview with FZ from c. late 1982.

Dan Forte, Vintage Guitar, December, 2009

One of the movie's most interesting clips is from an interview with Frank Zappa, originally part of a 30-minute profile about his father that Denny made in college, previously only aired on local PBS. The senior Tedesco was the class clown of the Wrecking Crew. As is fairly well known (even legendary) in the guitar community, he won TV's "Gong Show" by playing guitar and singing a song about being a washed-up studio has-been—dressed like a 300-pound ballerina. "This is where it got interesting for me," Denny says. "We showed Frank Zappa a clip of my father on 'The Gong Show' and expected some funny comment from him. Instead, he came back with a very serious commentary about how the recording business works in L.A. At the time I was disappointed, but only years later did I understand the impact of his comments. It's as if he said, 'Hey, you might want to take a look at this in 25 years.'"

Informant: Javier Marcote

The Wrecking Crew Film (Official Site)

Frank Zappa And The Mothers Of Invention In The 1960s

Videography

February 16, 2009
DVD
134 min.

In The 1960s

Description

This film reviews the true story of The Mothers of Invention and the music they made during the first incarnation of the band. With group members Jimmy Carl Black, Bunk Gardner, Don Preston and Art Tripp taking up the tale and revealing—often for the first time—what the real Frank Zappa was all about; and with contributions from 'scenesters 'like LA wildman Kim Fowley, biographer Billy James, Zappa academic Ben Watson, music journalist Richie Unterberger and English writer and musician Alan Clayson—acclaimed biographer of Edgar Varèse—this program is the most detailed, informative and enjoyable documentary on Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention yet to emerge. Also features rare footage of Frank and The Mothers from throughout the 1960s, archive interviews, seldom seen live performances, and a host of other features.

 

France 3

Videography

November 13, 2009
Regional Info, France 3
2 min.

cosmikd (Zappateers, November 15, 2009)

Festival Présences promo in Radio France with appearance of Peter Eötvös, FZ & Pierre Boulez in 1984, FZ in 1980, Florent Jodelet, Walter Boudreau...

 

Frank Zappa—The Freak-Out List

Videography

February 22, 2010
DVD
88 min.

Freak-Out List

The Freak Out List!—Frank Zappa Under The Influence

Includes footage from
Description

This film explores the musical roots of Frank Zappa by putting The Freak Out List under the microscope and tracing the lineage from the most pivotal names therein to the recordings and performances of the man himself. Featuring rare footage of Zappa and the Mothers plus archive film of Freak Out List artists, exclusive interviews with The Mothers Of Invention's Ian Underwood, Don Preston and George Duke, 1950s Doo Wop legends, The Cadillacs, contributions from Zappa biographers Ben Watson and Greg Russo, Edgar Varese biographer Alan Clayson, experimental modern music historian Professor David Nicholls, soul and R'n'B expert Robert Pruter and many others. Also features numerous seldom seen photographs, news archive, radio spots and a host of other features which all together make for a fascinating, unique and hugely watchable programme.

 

Joe Travers—Vaultmeister

Videography

April 1, 2010
zappa.com
9 min.

Interview with Joe Travers, including scenes from the vault and old FZ footage. Produced by Gail Zappa, edited by Peter Alton.

Vaultmeister (2010) Vaultmeister (2010)

Includes footage from:

zappa.com: Joe Travers—Vaultmeister (08:36 min.)

Zappa Back In Baltimore

Videography

September 19, 2010
ABC 2
2 min.

Report on the Zappa Sculpture Dedication with old footage from Baby Snakes (1979), The Cutting Edge (1987), the Senate Committee Hearings (1985), KCET TV Special (1974) and 200 Motels (1971).

ABC2: Deceased rock legend Frank Zappa honored at the Enoch Pratt Free Library (02:12 min.)

Today In History

Videography

December 4, 2010
Associated Press
2 min.

Includes footage from the You Are What You Is videoclip and an unidentified interview from c. 1991.

Informant: Javier Marcote (YouTube alert)

YouTube: Today In History for December 4th (01:20 min.)

Vision 7 Internacional

Videography

December 11, 2010
Televisión Pública Argentina
3 min.

Includes images from the Lennon & Mothers jam, June, 1971.

Informant: Javier Marcote (YouTube alert)

YouTube: V7Inter: En recuerdo de Lennon y Zappa (03:04 min.)

Metropolis

Videography

c. December 21, 2010
Cmais+, Brazil
12 min.

Interview with Fabio Massari. Includes footage from The Dub Room Special! (1982).

Informant: Javier Marcote

YouTube: Frank Zappa (11:50 min.)

Ed Mann: Frank Zappa Collaborator

Videography

March 9, 2011
Breakfast Television, Edmonton
4 min.

Interview with Ed Mann. Includes footage from The Palladium, NYC (1981).

Informant: Javier Marcote

"Montana"

Videography

December 31, 2011
3sat & ZDFkultur, Germany
3 min.

ZDFMediathek: Frank Zappa—Montana (ZDFkultur) (02:59 min.) · Frank Zappa—Montana (Filme, Dokus & Kabarett) (02:59 min.)

Informant: Javier Marcote

1982: L'estate de Frank

Videography

January 20, 2012
Rai Storia, Italy
30 min.

Marco Ricci (July 25, 2012)

It's 2011 documentary by Italian director Salvo Cuccia, and broadcasted the first time on Italian TV Channel "RAI Storia" January 20, 2012. It's the story of Zappa's 1982 Italian Tour, especially in Sicily, and Massimo Bassoli guide Dweezil & Diva in Partinico, the city of Frank's father.

Includes footage from The Dub Room Special! (1982) and Discoring (Rai, 1984). Bassoli says he met FZ in 1972 (actually, 1973), when the Mothers played at the Palasport, Rome.

YouTube: Frank Zappa—1982: L'estate di Frank (documentary, Italy 2011) (29:39 min.)

Informant: Marco Ricci

ZDF heute nacht

Videography

May 31, 2012
ZDF, Germany
3 min.

News about the Zappanale vs. Gail Zappa issue. Includes an interview with Fritz Rau and footage from SportPalast, Berlin (October 16, 1968), Does Humor Belong In Music? (1985), Zappa in Prague (January, 1990) and Baby Snakes (1979).

ZDFmediathek: heute nacht vom 31. Mai 2012 (15:02 min.)

Informant: Javier Marcote

History Detectives

Videography

July 17, 2012
PBS
14 min.

History Detectives

PBS Video

Program: History Detectives
Episode: Frank Zappa’s Lost Collage
A life-long art collector spotted a striking piece in a South Carolina thrift store, a graphic collage of percussion instruments, intrigued by the signature “FZ.” His research led him to an intriguing possibility: Rock and Roll legend Frank Zappa. Gwen Wright meets with friends and biographers of Zappa to see if she can find out whether Zappa made this collage.

PBS Video: History Detectives: Frank Zappa's Lost Collage (13:45 min.) · History Detectives: Web Extra: Frank Zappa (00:41 min.)

Informant: Javier Marcote

The Legends Of Laurel Canyon

Videography

October 13, 2012
Eye On LA, ABC7
60 min.

Includes footage from You Are What You Eat (1968); SportPalast, Berlin, 1968; Frank Zappa (VPRO, 1971); FM TV (1982); Baby Snakes (1979).

Tina Malave, "'The Legends of Laurel Canyon'—presented by Eye on L.A.," OnTheRedCarpet.com, October 5, 2010

The first interview I did for The Legends of Laurel Canyon was in July of 2011 with Micky Dolenz, who I have come to absolutely love (and BTW has an incredible new album out called "Remember"). The final interview I had the utter privilege of conducting was with the wonderful and poignant Gail Zappa this past September. The stories I've accumulated for this special are hysterical, touching, heart breaking, and above all else, inspiring.

ABC7: Eye on L.A. presents 'The Legends of Laurel Canyon' (07:17 min. · 07:22 min. · 06:53 min. · 11:04 min. · 04:46 min. · 08:56 min. · 01:37 min.)

Frank Zappa Bio: Life And Career

Videography

December 19, 2012
WatchMojo.com
8 min.

Script written by Craig Butler. Includes footage from Frank Zappa (VPRO, 1971); KCET, LA, August 27, 1974; Passaic, NJ, October 13, 1978; Baby Snakes (1979); Paris, June 11, 1980; Valley Girl TV Performance, 1982; Does Humor Belong In Music? (1985); Senate Commerce Committee Hearings, September 19, 1985; "Night School" with clay animation by Bruce Bickford (MTV); Uncle Meat (1988); The Yellow Shark (1992); Today Show, May 14, 1993;

WatchMojo.com: Frank Zappa Bio: Life And Career (07:40 min.)

 

 

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