1940-1964 Chronology Sources, Notes & Comments

Frank Vincent Zappa Sr.

FZ & Peter Occhiogrosso, The Real Frank Zappa Book, 1989, p. 16

[My Dad] went to college at Chapel Hill, in North Carolina, and played guitar in some sort of 'strolling crooner' trio. (I still get birthday cards from the insurance company owned by Jack Wardlaw, the banjo player.) They used to go from dormitory window to dormitory window, serenading coeds with songs like "Little Red Wing."

Charly Mann, "Frank Zappa's Musical Roots are from Chapel Hill," Chappel Hill Memories, March 12, 2010

Frank Zappa Sr. was a student at UNC from 1926 to 1930. He had little money and first made ends meet by working as a barber in town. In 1928 Zappa met fellow UNC student Jack Wardlaw who was a banjo prodigy. Wardlaw was starting a group he called the Carolina Banjo Boys, and convinced Zappa he could further supplement his income as a guitar player in his band. In the these days the banjo was more popular than the guitar, and bands with good banjo players were in demand for dances and other social functions.

Frank Zappa Sr. bought a guitar in Raleigh and for the next three years played in two very popular bands that were headed and organized by Wardlaw. Wardlaw's most famous band was called Jack Wardlaw And His Carolina Tar Heels and had thirteen musicians. Zappa learned to become a good guitar and banjo player from Wardlaw and became adept at many styles of music. In the Banjo Boys he played hillbilly and ragtime guitar, while in the Carolina Tar Heels he performed jazz music and Dixieland on both guitar and banjo.

 

March, 1955--Blackboard Jungle

FZ, "The Oracle Has It All Psyched Out," Life, June 28, 1968

In my days of flaming youth I was extremely suspect of any rock music played by white people. The sincerity and emotional intensity of their performances, when they sang about boy friends and girl friends and breaking up, etc., was nowhere when I compared it to my high school Negro R&B heroes like Johnny Otis, Howlin' Wolf and Willie Mae Thornton.

But then I remember going to see Blackboard Jungle. When the titles flashed up there on the screen Bill Haley and his Comets started blurching "One Two Three O'Clock, Four O'Clock Rock . . ." It was the loudest rock sound kids had ever heard at that time. I remember being inspired with awe. In cruddy little teen-age rooms across America, kids had been huddling around old radios and cheap record players listening to the "dirty music" of their life style. ("Go in your room if you wanna listen to that crap . . . and turn the volume all the way down.") But in the theater, watching Blackboard Jungle, they couldn't tell you to turn it down. I didn't care if Bill Haley was white or sincere . . . he was playing the Teen-Age National Anthem and it was so LOUD I was jumping up and down. Blackboard Jungle, not even considering the story line (which had the old people winning in the end) represented a strange sort of "endorsement" of the teen-age cause: "They have made a movie about us, therefore, we exist . . ."

Mission Bay High School

1956 Year Book

[BEACHCO]MBER STAFF
[...]m, Editor; Mrs. Martin, Sponsor. Standing: L. Hous-
[...]fer, J. Grayson, B. Gordon, S. Wilson, L. Littlefield.
[...]s, K. Wigginton, F. Zappa, P. Graves.

ORCHESTRA [...]
First row, left to right: A. Kurashige, K. Warner, M. Brogan, J. House, P. P[...]
Second row: G. Stringer, C. Pollock, V. Straume, R. Trantham, G. York, C. [...]
lock, D. Robinette, A. Markham. Third row: F. Zappa, D. Love, B. Baecht, G[...]
lender, J. Werdowatz, J. Michael, W. Sacks. Mr. Kavelman, conductor.

Frank Zappa & Peter Occhiogrosso, The Real Frank Zappa Book, 1989, p. 34-35

There were a few teachers in school who really helped me out. Mr. Kavelman, the band instructor at Mission Bay High, gave me the answer to one of the burning musical questions of my youth. I came to him one day with a copy of "Angel in My Life"--my favorite R&B tune at the time. I couldn't understand why I loved that record so much, but I figured that, since he was a music teacher, maybe he knew.

"Listen to this," I said, "and tell me why I like it so much."

"Parallel fourths," he concluded.

He was the first person to tell me about twelve-tone music. It's not that he was a fan of it, but he did mention the fact that it existed, and I am grateful to him for that. I never would have heard Webern if it hadn't been for him.

Lancaster

The High School Band

Steve Froy, "Alex Snouffer 1941-2006," January, 2006

Known as 'Butch' at school, the teenage Alexis Clair Snouffer, had a reputation around Lancaster as a tough nut. He wasn't someone you messed with. Playing trumpet in the high school band he befriended the drummer, Frank Zappa. Within a short time both had acquired guitars and were furiously practising so they could play the R&B and blues music they both liked.

The Blackouts

Charles F. Bostwick, LA Daily News, November 19, 2006

Band members would pick through used jukebox 45-rpm records at a Lancaster store, looking for old-time blues musicians and the bands and company labels they liked.

Zappa listened to the records, figured out each instrument's part and explained to his bandmates what to play.

"I don't know how and when he learned his music theory," . "He impressed me when I first met him. He seemed to know music. He was so comfortable with it."

And just like in any rock 'n' roll movie from the 1950s, the bands - The Blackouts and The Omens - and their music were unpopular with many parents and with the people who rented them halls to hold dances.

"They looked at us as kind of bad," said Fred Salazar, a 1959 Antelope Valley High graduate who played saxophone in Zappa's bands said Salazar, who stayed in Antelope Valley after high school and now is a retired Edison electrician. "We were just out to enjoy ourselves and play the kind of music we liked."

Band member Peter Lovio remembers riding with Zappa in the 1949 Oldsmobile of Don Van Vliet - later rock band leader Captain Beefheart - when Van Vliet was pulled over on Sierra Highway and given a ticket for driving too slowly.

The deputies pulled things out of the car and out of its trunk and threw them on the ground, Lovio said, then told the teens they could go.

"That happened more than once," Lovio said. "We were like outcasts. We dressed different. We looked different. We were continually harassed."

The bands' members included African-Americans and Latinos, back in the days when the Antelope Valley's population was almost entirely white and most African-Americans lived in Sun Village (about which Zappa recorded a song in 1972).

"The neighbors would kind of look at us: here comes a car with a bunch of black kids into the neighborhood," Lovio said.

But Salazar also remembers Zappa performing solo on guitar for an Antelope Valley High assembly, and Lovio said the Omens became accepted enough, after Zappa left Lancaster, to be invited to perform at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds.

Steve Froy, "Alex Snouffer 1941-2006," January, 2006

Zappa formed a band called The Blackouts which Alex may or may not have played with. But when it disbanded in 1958 Alex got together with some of the ex-members to form The Omens, a good time partying R&B group.

Chaffey Junior College

From the "You Are What You Is" Tour Factbook (1981):

SCHOOLS-ATTENDED:
Antelope Valley High School
Chaffey Junior College (6 weeks)

 

Kay Sherman & the house on "G" Street, Ontario

Patrice "Candy" Zappa, interviewed by The Idiot Bastar, November 6, 2001

The house on "G" street was big and it smelled old. I loved it. It had a basement and an attic, a large dining room, hardwood floors, a screened in porch. Mom remembers one time they put their bed out there because it was too hot to sleep in the house. I spent many a happy time there and I have many fond memories of it.

Kay was very nice, and she had lots of cats. As a young girl who loved cats, that made her OK in my book! But what went on between Frank and Kay was not my business. I only know that when they split, Frank called mom to come and get him.

 

Man At Work

Nile Running Greeting Cards

FZ & Peter Occhiogrosso, The Real Frank Zappa Book, p. 40

I went to work for a company called Nile Running Greeting Cards. Their line consisted mostly of silk-screened greetings, designed for elderly women who liked flowers. I worked in the silk-screen department and, after a while, wound up designing a few of the floral horrors myself.

Barbara Flask, Flaskaland, September 8, 2006

If you go to the Running Greeting Card Studio Hall of Fame, they are now located in Morgan Hill, California, you might see some of Frank Zappa's greeting card art. Maybe they have his Valentine card, an S&H Green stamp on the cover and when you opened the card, it said "Redeemable for one kiss."

Ad Copying & Designing

FZ & Peter Occhiogrosso, The Real Frank Zappa Book, p. 40

Then came a part-time job writing copy and designing ads for local business, including a few beauties for the First National Bank of Ontario, California.

Window Dresser

FZ & Peter Occhiogrosso, The Real Frank Zappa Book, p. 40

I also had short stints as a window dresser [...].

Jewelry Salesman

FZ & Peter Occhiogrosso, The Real Frank Zappa Book, p. 40

[...] a jewelry salesman [...]

Barbara Flaska, Flaskaland, August 23, 2006

This was the early '60s, and in a small geography of limited employment opportunity and real financial necessity, Frank wore a suit and white shirt and a tie then nearly every day that he showed prospective customers engagement rings, wedding bands, and cufflinks and crosses at Zale's Jewelers. They sometimes had a few glittering specialty items on display in the windows. Frank would especially laugh about those tiaras. So even though he worked every day, as indeed nearly every one else was forced to do, the wages were low, like nearly everyone else's.

Encyclopedias door to door seller

FZ & Peter Occhiogrosso, The Real Frank Zappa Book, p. 40

[...] and--the worst one--I sold Collier's Encyclopedias, door to door. [...] I lasted a week.

 

Pal Recording Studio

Greg Russo, liner notes for Paul Buff Presents The Pal And Original Sound Studio Archives: The Collection (Crossfire Publications, January 24, 2011)

Frank Zappa, a friend of Ronnie Williams [...], first came to Pal Recording Studios in late 1960.

 

The Blackouts

Dwight Bement (quoted in Splat's Zappapage)

I think I was in San Diego about two days when Ronnie [Williams] called and asked me to come up to Ontario and join his band. I didn't hesitate. He was living with his parents at the time so I moved in. This is when the infamous 'Green Window' project was launched. You can read about it elsewhere. His band, the 'Blackouts', included Frank Zappa, Joe Perino [Perrino] (piano), Al Sarratt [Surratt] (drums) and possibly, a large guitarist/blues singer/harmonica player by the name of 'Restless' Rex Jakabowski, (I wonder where he is, he was wonderful). I was in that band in 1961 and 1962. During that time, we were ocassionally joined by Jim Sherwood and others to play up in Lancaster at the community center. These events were usually 'Battles of the Bands'. The photo of me on one of your sites and the photo of me in 'the real Frank Zappa book' (page 45), were taken at that time, during a rehearsal, possibly at the [Johnny] Franklin home east of Lancaster. The end of 1962 or the beginning of 1963, Tommy Kendall came up to Ontario and 'shanghied' me back to San Diego to start another band, the 'Gentrys', not the band with a hit record. Ronnie either joined at the same time or shortly thereafter.

 

Joe Perrino & The Mellotones

FZ, interviewed by Don Menn, "The Mother Of All Interviews, Part 1," Zappa!, 1992, p. 44

At one time weren't you a lounge musician?

Oh yeah, I had to do that, and at the end of it I put my guitar in the case and stuck it behind the sofa and didn't touch it I guess for a year. It was nauseating.

Greg Russo, liner notes for Paul Buff Presents The Pal And Original Sound Studio Archives: The Collection (Crossfire Publications, January 24, 2011)

Sebastian Anthony Battaglia, known professionally as Dino Dupree, was Frank Zappa's replacement in Joe Perrino And The Mellotones. In fact, Zappa taught Dino the band's set during this two-week changeover period. When Dino joined Perrino's group, they became The Gigolos.

Michael Brenna (March 9, 2011)

I think the photo of The Gigolos at p. 18 [of the Paul Buff Presents booklet] now identifies the members of Joe Perrino & The Mellotones in the Mystery Disc booklet photo, as the following: FZ (guitar) Mike Dineri (sax) Joe Perrino (here: bass) Tommy Hernandez (drums)

 

Ray Collins

David Allen, "Please Greet Ray Collins, Claremont's Own Mother," Daily Bulletin, May 30, 2009

Around 1961, Collins saw Zappa perform at the Sportsman Tavern in Pomona, across from the Broadside on Holt east of Reservoir, and introduced himself.

"We just liked each other instantly," Collins said. They shared a love of a wide range of music, including doo-wop, and an admiration for TV comic Steve Allen. The two hung out and performed together sporadically as a mock folk duo, recording a single as Ned & Nelda.

 

 

FZ takes Don Preston to an audition

Don Preston, quoted in Billy James' book, Necessity Is . . . The Early Years Of Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention (p. 30)

One day around 1962 or '63, I don't remember exactly when, I received a call from Frank Zappa. He was holding an audition at a club in Santa Ana and he needed a keyboard player, it was typical of the organ/tenor-sax/guitar trios that were popular at the time. So I went over to Frank's house and talked and then later we auditioned for this club. Well, we didn't get the job. We actually played "Oh No" at the audition, which I thought was kind of bizarre because it wasn't that kind of club. During the rehearsals though, I happened to browse through Zappa's record collection and saw that he liked a lot of the same composers as I did, and that we had similar musical tastes.

Don Preston (January 28, 2002)

I met Zappa in the middle of 1961 but I remember Zappa telling me about the movie [The World's Greatest Sinner] later and I saw it when it came out. Even though I went to Zappa's house several times in 1961 I never met Kay [Sherman] or was aware that she existed. [...]

I never knew of any of those people [Ronnie Williams, Dwight Bement, etc.] at that time. I don't think the lounge band had a name. The band consisted of myself, Zappa and a drummer who I don't remember. I do remember playing "Oh No" during the audition. People were always calling me at that time to play these kinds of jobs. I think another keyboard player referred me to Zappa but I don't know who.

Don Preston, "First Meeting," Listen -- A Thought, Faster Than Light, 2011, p. 24

"Hi my name is Frank Zappa." He said barely recognizable
"I play guitar." He shouted.
"I have an audition for a gig, you interested?"
I say yes and later went to his house to rehearse
The first thing I noticed was his record collection
Schoenberg, Berio, Berg, Cage and Varesse
Identical to mine.
We auctioned playing dance music in 7/4
People stumbled over his own legs
Didn't get the job.

Additional informant: Javier Marcote

Don Preston's Garage & ABC Audition

Don Preston, quoted in Billy James' book, Necessity Is . . . The Early Years Of Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention (p. 30)

Several months after [the audition for the Santa Ana club] I was having these open free sessions with Bunk Gardner, where we would improvise to films that I would get out of the library. I invited Zappa to come and play, so we jammed for a while. Zappa liked a lot of it and was actually in the process of starting to make films himself, so we would use some of his films to improvise on.

Don Preston (January 28, 2002)

Around May of 1962 I built a rehearsal space in my garage which included a lot of junk percussion equipment. I had several projectors also: a 16mm, a super 8mm and a slide projector that projected 4" x 5" glass slides that my wife and I would paint on with colored inks. I had an experimental music group consisting of myself, Bunk Gardner, Buzz Gardner, Vic Mio--bass, Jack Lake--percussion and sometimes Zappa. Much of the music was done to experimental films or abstract slides some of which Zappa would provide.

The only thing I knew about Zappa at that time was that he was working on some experimental 8mm films and seemed very busy doing that.

Bunk Gardner, quoted in Billy James' book, Necessity Is . . . The Early Years Of Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention (p. 34-35)

Don Preston had a projector set up in his garage and we would improvise on our instruments to the various collages he flashed up there. Frank made an appearance at one of those sessions. He brought his own music, of course--it was a no-holds-barred, do whatever you want kind of set-up, and from those sessions quite a few things evolved. I remember Don showing Frank how you could get quite a lot of different tones out of a bicycle wheel by putting differing tensions on the spokes and playing it with drum sticks. I can vividly remember going down to one of those TV stations to audition for a talent contest. My brother and myself, Don, Frank and a couple of other guys auditioned down there doing all these weird things for the people. They couldn't believe our band. I can remember seeing them calling everyone in to watch and hear us.

Bunk Gardnern Preston, quoted in Billy James' book, Necessity Is . . . The Early Years Of Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention (p. 35)

Somehow Frank's dad had a connection at ABC and we got to audition for this show. We got in there and we were doing this really weird shit. All the musicians that were on the television lot all came in and like stuck their heads around the door, and they couldn't believe their eyes. We were playing this really outside music--of course nothing ever came from that audition.

Don Preston, "First Meeting," Listen -- A Thought, Faster Than Light, 2011, p. 24

Weeks later."Come on over and jam with us". I said
I had the inside of a piano 5 brake drums, 2 drive shafts, 7 railroad cleats,
Aluminum resonators, a gong and a bicycle.
He came over
Bunk and Buzz were there with Putter on bass.
We jammed. We jammed to films of
Microscopic life, an Auto Car Wash, Trains, Salvador Dali
Abstract art and Frank's films. We jammed to Frank's films
Frank loved this group
He got us an audition for ABC Television
When we had set up all our junk
Some of the musicians who worked there
Peeked around the corner to see the weirdoes
They couldn't believe we were there with this junk
And that we were actually going to play it
Didn't get the job

Additional informant: Javier Marcote

The Pit, c. 1963

Barbara Flaska, Flaskaland, April 20, 2003

Frank Zappa playing in his own little coffee house in Pomona he called "The Circle of the Zodiac" before the espresso machine blew up one Tuesday night and he moved to north to "The Pit".

Patrice "Candy" Zappa, My Brother Was A Mother, 2003, p. 66

In 1963, Dad and his brother Joe went in as partners and purchased and managed a restaurant in Upland called The Pit. It was your basic run-of-the-mill American-style food place, serving such delicacies as hamburgers, fries, Cokes, and generous portions of different kinds of meats and pastas. [...]

As it happened, Frank took a lot of interest in the restaurant. He took charge of the rear of the place and installed bamboo curtains on the windows. The fire department quickly ordered them removed. Undaunted, Frank set up a stage and brought in some musicians to play on the weekends for the local college students and anyone else who was invited or just happened to come by.

As it turned out, this would be the only time in my life that I was on stage with Frank. One night I sang a couple of songs, one with Ray Collins, who became one of the original Mothers of Invention. We performed "I'm Leaving It All Up To You" and then I sang "Long Tall Texan." The crowd went wild. Frank seemed proud of me and was glad I was on stage with him.