I think it is conceptually one of my better plans. Through Rhino [Records], we stole the actual records released by the bootleggers, we used digital technology to clean them up, and we're releasing them in very luxurious packages.
Zappa made a deal with Rhino records to issue some "bootlegs" in a series called Beat The Boots, seemingly designed to get back at bootleggers. [...] My friend Tom Brown worked at Rhino at the time and it was left up to him to choose which of his many bootleg Zappa albums would be used. He told me that the series was going to come out as legitimate albums, and that everyone would be paid what they were due. [...]
Happily expecting to get paid, I called the Rhino business office several times but got no response. Finally a secretary called back to tell me I needed to talk to Gail Zappa. [...] She was very hostile and among other things talked about the difficulty of finding all these musicians to pay them. I said I didn't know about the others, but you don't have to look for me, I'm right here. After she started yelling at me, I said I would check with the union and see what the rules were for live recordings. With that, she totally flipped out, telling me that I had better get a team of lawyers, and that I was forbidden from ever calling the house or having any contact with Frank or anyone in their organization! I was blacklisted!
[...] I never saw a dime, and I don't think any of the other Zappa players did either.
Maintained by Román García Albertos