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The Muffin Men
The Muffin Men are a British band, based in Liverpool, England, which primarily plays the music of Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The group formed in 1990, originally to play a one-off concert to celebrate Zappa's fiftieth birthday. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic the band toured for thirty unbroken years around The UK, Europe and Scandinavia, performing Zappa's music as a tribute band, along with some of their own compositions. Until his death in 2008, the band often featured guest vocals and percussion by former Mothers of Invention drummer and vocalist Jimmy Carl Black, with whom they also performed songs by Captain Beefheart. Rather than play pieces note-for-note, the band play their own interpretations of Zappa's material, working to the strengths of the current line-up, often giving the music a different slant to the original versions. The Muffin Men have played with many Zappa alumni. Special guests have included: Jimmy Carl Black (1938-2008) Denny Walley ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Carl Black
James Carl Inkanish, Jr. (February 1, 1938 – November 1, 2008), known professionally as Jimmy Carl Black, was a drummer and vocalist for The Mothers of Invention. Background and early career: 1960s–1990s Born in El Paso, Texas, Black was of Southern Cheyenne descent through his father. His trademark line was "Hi Boys and Girls, I'm Jimmy Carl Black, and I'm the Indian of the group." The line can be heard several times on The Mothers of Invention's album ''We're Only in It for the Money'' (for example, on the tracks " Are You Hung Up?" and "Concentration Moon"). The line can also be heard in Haskell Wexler's 1969 movie ''Medium Cool'', which uses several songs by Zappa and the Mothers. Black was also addressed as such by Theodore Bikel in the film '' 200 Motels''. He has been credited on some Mothers albums as playing "drums, vocals, and poverty". Black appeared in the movie directed by Frank Zappa, '' 200 Motels'', and sings the song "Lonesome Cowboy Burt". Black also made ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Martin (singer)
Robert "Bobby" Martin (born June 29, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Martin sings and plays keyboards, horn, saxophones and other instruments. He is mainly known for collaborating in the 1980s with the musician Frank Zappa, although he is also a prominent session musician, composer of music for cinema, theater, television and advertising, musical director and music teacher. He also directs music production company Think Method Production with Stephen Boyd. He recognizes as musical influences Ray Charles, Stravinsky, Coltrane, Rachmaninoff, Mose Allison, Cannonball Adderley, David "Fathead" Newman, Steely Dan, Frank Zappa and Etta James. Biography Childhood Martin was born in Philadelphia in June 1948, the son of opera singers. His grandmother worked at RCA in Trenton, New Jersey, giving Robert access to a variety of 78 RPM records. Growing up in the 1950s in this city, and with a deeply musical atmosphe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I'm The Slime
"I'm the Slime" is a 1973 single by Frank Zappa and The Mothers from the studio album ''Over-Nite Sensation''. The single version is a different mix and edit from the version on the album. Live recordings of the song can be found on ''Zappa in New York'' and ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1'', the latter version having been performed and recorded on the same night as the majority of tracks appearing on 1974's '' Roxy and Elsewhere''. "I'm the Slime" and its b-side version of "Montana" were put on Zappa's best of ''Strictly Commercial''. It was performed in concert from 1973 to 1977 and 1984. Lyrics and meaning The song contains two parts; the first part is a riddle of insults in the form of "what am I?" "I am gross and perverted. I'm obsessed 'n deranged. I have existed for years, but very little has changed. I'm the tool of the government and industry too, for I am destined to rule and regulate you. I may be vile and pernicious, but you can't look away. I make yo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Cavern Club
The Cavern Club is a nightclub on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 1960s. The club became closely associated with Merseybeat and regularly played host to the Beatles in their early years.. The Cavern Club closed and opened on a new site in 1973 and was filled in during construction work on the Merseyrail underground rail loop. It reopened in 1984. History of the Cavern Club Early history Alan Sytner, having been inspired by the jazz district in Paris where there were a number of clubs in cellars, returned to Liverpool and strove to open a club similar to the Le Caveau de la Huchette jazz club. He eventually found a fruit warehouse where people were leasing the cellar, which had been used as an air raid shelter in World War II. Tropical fruit used to be stored there and during warm months the scent from the ripening fruit was absorbed int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zappanale
Zappanale is an annual music festival held outside Bad Doberan, a German town previously part of East Germany. The festival was first held in 1990, and the program features various bands performing the music of the late composer and guitarist Frank Zappa. Many musicians who played with Zappa have performed at the festival over the years. Background Many of the festival's organizers originate from East Germany, and grew up in a period where Zappa's music was considered unacceptable by several Eastern European communist countries. One of the festival's founders, Wolfhard Kutz, was persecuted by the East German secret police, the Stasi, for being a Zappa fan. When all Stasi files were declassified by the German government in 1992, Kutz learned that his file stated that he "knows how to influence the youth with Zappa". When the Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Watson (music Writer)
Ben Watson or Benjamin Watson may refer to: *Ben Watson (footballer, born July 1985), English footballer with Charlton Athletic *Ben Watson (footballer, born December 1985), English footballer with St Martins *Ben Watson (music writer) (born 1957), British Marxist writer on music *Ben Watson (weightlifter) (born 1990), British weightlifter *Ben Watson (politician) (born 1959), American politician in the Georgia State Senate *Benjamin Watson (born 1980), American football player *Benjamin Charles Watson, Canadian actor *Benjamin Philip Watson (1880-1976), Scottish obstetrician *Ben Watson (cyclist) (born 1989), British para cyclist *Ben Watson (motocross racer) (born 1997), British motocross rider {{hndis, Watson, Ben ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eugene Chadbourne
Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic. Life and career Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar when he was eleven or twelve, inspired by the Beatles and hoping to get the attention of girls. Although he was drawn to Jimi Hendrix and played in a garage band, he found rock and pop music too conventional. He gravitated to the avant-garde jazz of Anthony Braxton and Derek Bailey. Braxton persuaded Chadbourne to abandon his intention to enter journalism and instead pursue music. During the early 1970s, he lived in Canada to avoid military service in the Vietnam War. Returning to the United States, he moved to New York City in the mid 1970s and played free improvisation with Henry Kaiser and John Zorn. Around this time, he released his first album, ''Solo Acoustic Guitar''. In the early 1980s, he led the avant-rock band Shockabilly with Mark Kramer and David Li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Brown (musician)
Arthur Wilton Brown (born 24 June 1942)Marshall 2005, p. 25. is an English singer best known for his flamboyant and theatrical performances, eclectic (and sometimes experimental) work and his powerful, wide-ranging operatic voice, in particular his high pitched banshee screams. He is also notable for his unique stage persona, featuring extreme facepaint and a burning helmet. Brown has been lead singer of various groups, most notably the Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Kingdom Come, followed by a varied solo career as well as associations with Hawkwind, the Who and Klaus Schulze. In the late 1960s, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown's popularity was such that the group shared bills with the Who, Jimi Hendrix, the Mothers of Invention, the Doors, the Small Faces and Joe Cocker, among others.Richie Unterberger (2014). "Urban Spacemen & Wayfaring Strangers evised & Expanded Ebook Edition Overlooked Innovators & Eccentric Visionaries of '60s Rock". BookBaby He is best known for T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Napoleon Murphy Brock
Napoleon Murphy Brock (born June 7, 1945) is an American singer, saxophonist and flute player who is best known for his work with Frank Zappa in the 1970s, including the albums '' Apostrophe (')'', ''Roxy & Elsewhere'', ''One Size Fits All'', and ''Bongo Fury''. He contributed notable vocal performances to the Zappa songs "Village of the Sun," "Cheepnis," and "Florentine Pogen." Career Brock's musical career began in the San Francisco South Bay Area in the late 1960s with a seven and eight piece band he had organized named "Communication Plus". He was the lead singer, songwriter, and arranger of the band's strongly R&B-influenced rock performances. He also played the saxophone and flute. He played in a variety of local clubs including The Brass Rail, The Mecca, and Gary R. Schmidt's, The Odyssey Room. He was discovered playing for a dance band in Hawaii in the early 1970s by Zappa's road manager. The participation of George Duke and Jean-Luc Ponty convinced Brock to join the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Preston
Donald Ward Preston (born September 21, 1932) is an American jazz and rock keyboardist. He is known for working with Frank Zappa from the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s. Biography Preston was born into a family of musicians in Detroit and began studying music at an early age. His father played saxophone and trumpet, and had been offered the lead trumpet chair in the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Upon moving the family to Detroit, Don's father became the staff arranger for NBC, and was the composer-in-residence for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Don took sporadic lessons on the piano from the age of about five. In 1950 Preston began a stint in the Army, serving in Trieste, Italy and playing in the Army band (initially piano, bass drum and glockenspiel) alongside Herbie Mann. In Trieste he shared a barracks with fellow recruit Buzz Gardner, who introduced him to contemporary classical composers such as Béla Bartók, Anton Webern, Alban Berg and Arnold Schoenberg. Preston took up the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bunk Gardner
Bunk Gardner (born John Leon Guarnera; May 2, 1933 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American musician who most notably played for the original version of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention until the group disbanded in 1969. He plays woodwinds and tenor sax. Career Gardner started playing music at the age of seven by taking piano lessons. When he was a teenager he started playing the tenor sax. In 1959 he played with Bud Wattles & his Orchestra's album ''Themes from the Hip''. Later he played with Joanna & the Playboys in 1962. By late 1966 Gardner had joined Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, playing tenor sax and other woodwinds. The Mothers found success, with '' Absolutely Free'' and ''We're Only in It for the Money'' entering the charts. In late 1968 his brother Buzz Gardner joined the Mothers, staying until the group disbanded a year later. Gardner played with Menage A Trois with Buzz and John Balkin. Later he recorded with Geronimo Black and the Grandmothers. In 1980 Gardner ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ed Mann
Ed Mann is a musician who has been "a drummer and piano dabbler since childhood." He is best known for his mallet percussion performances onstage with Frank Zappa's ensemble from 1977 to 1988, and his appearances on over 30 of Zappa's albums, both studio recordings and with Zappa's band live. Mann also has released a number of CDs as a bandleader and composer. Career Mann formed a band with Tommy Mars in mid 1973. By the end of that year he was studying with John Bergamo at CalArts. In 1977 Frank Zappa asked Bergamo to do some overdubbing on the ''Zappa In New York'' album and Bergamo in turn recommended Mann. A few months later Ruth Underwood told Mann that Zappa was looking for a second keyboard player. When Mann called to recommend Tommy Mars ("At midnight, the only time when you could reach Frank by phone"), Zappa invited him to come to his house. Mann went to the house, where Terry Bozzio, Patrick O'Hearn, and Adrian Belew were jamming with Zappa. By 2:00am Ed was in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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