Those curious about the actual date of the "Token of His Extreme" taping may want to examine this listing.
August 27, 1974
KCET Sound Stage B
FZ—guitar, percussion, vocals
Napoleon Murphy Brock—sax, vocals
George Duke—keyboards, finger cymbals, tambourine, vocals
Ruth Underwood—percussion
Tom Fowler—bass
Chester Thompson—drums
This program contains excerpted material from not one, but two performances. [...] These 2 programs are slated for DVD as whole concerts, mixed in multi-channel.
1 hour of this band performing songs like Florentine Pogen, Oh No, Inca Roads, Stinkfoot, Cosmik Debris and others. Some claymation over parts. This has been released as A Token of His Extreme. Portions of this performance also appear on Dub Room Special.
A swell video. The version of Inca Roads, minus the solo, was the version used for One Size Fits All.
Mary Perellis attacks Chester Thompson in a gorilla costume. Does anyone know when or why the sound effects were added? They are in conjunction with the versions of the tape that include Bruce Bickford's claymation segments.. some tapes have it, and others don't. The portion that was used in "Video From Hell" has the animation and sound effects. While it's interesting, and in some way adds something to the music, many viewers find the mix to be too extreme in the sound effects department which only seems to detract from the music.
Also, what is the relationship between this video and "Indiscreet Picture Show?"
What was the a) exact date? b) name of the venue?
a) Not sure. Most people list it as Dec '74, because that's when it was aired (it's from a TV broadcast, KCET, LA). I believe it's Aug. 6th or 7th, at least that's the date on a ticket stub reprinted in the BTB#2 booklet (p.31). Not sure if that ticket is for this TV show though it just says "FZ & Mothers TV special"
b) KCET TV studio, according to the same ticket "Culver City Studios".
Those curious about the actual date of the "Token of His Extreme" taping may want to examine this listing.
Known broadcasts:
February 12, 1976
French TV (probably on "Juke Box" from Antenne 2)
Zappa was speaking from his suite in the Beverly Hilton Hotel; where he gave a preview screening of a remarkable videotape creation, "A Token of His Extreme." [...] The creation's been shown on European television, but has yet to be bought in the U.S.
[A Token Of His Extreme] was put together with my own money and my own time, and it's been offered to television networks and to syndication and it has been steadfastly rejected by the American television industry. It has been shown in prime time in France and Switzerland, with marvelous results. It's probably one of the finest pieces of video work that any human being has ever done. I did it myself. And the animation that you're gonna see in this was done by a guy named Bruce Bickford, and I hope he is watching the show, because it's probably the first time that a lot of people in America got a chance to see it.
En France, on les attendait avec une certaine curiosité. Beaucoup de non-zappa-phile avaient pu découvrir le maître au cours du show télévisé du 12 février. Cette émission spéciale, entièrement produite à Los Angeles par Frank et ses amis vidéo-électroniciens, avait été envoyée gracieusement à Freddie Hauser par Herb Cohen, manager des Mothers. Elle a nécessité un an de travail, en particulier sur les parties de pâte à modeler animée, œuvre de Bruce Bickford. Et la France est le seul pays à avoir pu profiter de ce chef-d'œuvre, la télé américaine, pas si progressiste que ça, l'ayant refusé...
La formation présentée au cours de ce show dont le titre à peine évocateur était «A Token Of His Extreme»—est dissoute depuis belle lurette.
In France, they waited with some curiosity. Many non-Zappa-phile had discovered the master during the televised show on February 12. This special, produced entirely in Los Angeles by Frank and his friends video electronics, was graciously sent to Freddie Hauser by Herb Cohen, manager of Mothers. It required a year of work, especially on the parts of plasticine animated work of Bruce Bickford. And France is the only country to have benefited from this masterpiece, American TV, not so progressive as that, having refused ...
Training presented in this show whose title was hardly evocative "A Token Of His Extreme"—has long since dissolved.
In 1976, he stopped reporting from war zones in order to create, produce and star in "Juke Box", a music television program on the national French television channel, Antenne 2. In this capacity, he introduced millions of French people to many new pop and rock groups, especially from England and America.
43 min., also listed as 30 min. "B"
Seems to be a combination of "Token" and "Indiscreet" clips.
This Token of his Extreme footage supposedly came from Mort Liebov's private colection.
Has anyone noticed that the Stinkfoot solo has no animation over it, & that it has the full introduction to Inca Roads after it? There is a lot of different camera angles, unedited footage in this. Shame about the quality.
YouTube: Frank Zappa - Stink-Foot (A Token Of His Extreme) (04:29 min.)
Additional informants: Chris Rigas, Javier Marcote
Maintained by Román García Albertos