Category Archives: Personal

Trouble Every Day – Live In Philadelphia ’74

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by a couple of old friends I knew in High School, and among our collective reminiscences, were those long afternoons we spent listening to my Frank Zappa and Mothers of Invention records … Continue reading

Posted in Frank Zappa, Miscellany, Music, Personal, YouTubery | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Hedgehog

The BBC is currently broadcasting a superb documentary series about the internet and how it will change any and all of us in the future. Last night’s episode, Homo Interneticus, was all about social networks such as Facebook and how … Continue reading

Posted in Heh Heh, Miscellany, Personal | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Frank Zappa — Cynic, Satirist, Social Anthropologist

Frank Zappa had been referred to as a lot of things throughout his thirty year career – some complimentary (genius, iconoclast, family man) and some not so complimentary (misogynist, anti-semite, misanthropist) – yet all one need do is listen to … Continue reading

Posted in Bizarre, Frank Zappa, Interview, Miscellany, Music, Personal, Politics, Pop Cult, Religion, YouTubery | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The Muffin Men @ Fairport & Elsewhere

In 2008, The Muffin Men – a British band, based in Liverpool, England which primarily plays the music of Frank Zappa – performed at Fairport’s Cropredy Convention, performing such Zappa classics as “Zoot Allures”, “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow” and … Continue reading

Posted in Alumni, Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa, Interview, Miscellany, Music, Personal, YouTubery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Muffin Men @ Fairport & Elsewhere

The Boonx: Citizen D

And now for a shameless little plug, if you’ll indulge me: … that was Flemish band The Boonx, as produced by my good friend and longtime musical compadre Franky Drappier, who also shot the video above – on a shoestring … Continue reading

Posted in Music, Personal, YouTubery | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Tom Waits: Musik & Mythos Box

Kids, if you’re not into Tom Waits, I suggest you skip reading this entry altogether. If you are though — or if you like the way Sharl and I illustrate — you may want to read on.

Posted in Personal, Pop Cult, Visual Arts | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Anatomy of a Field Recording

One of the most interesting things about acquiring Frank Zappa field recordings is that after a certain point of collecting and listening to them, one reaches a point of critical mass where particular questions keep popping into one’s mind again … Continue reading

Posted in Frank Zappa, Music, Personal | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Indian of the Group – Jimmy Carl Black

It was a year ago today (well, okay, a year and a month less two days)… Born in El Paso, Texas, of Cheyenne heritage, Jimmy Carl Black‘s trademark line, “Hi Boys and Girls, I’m Jimmy Carl Black, and I’m the … Continue reading

Posted in Alumni, Frank Zappa, Music, Personal, Pop Cult, YouTubery | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sleep Dirt Variations

We are all quite familiar with the acoustical duet version of “Sleep Dirt” between Frank Zappa (acoustic lead guitar) and James “Bird Legs” Youmans (acoustic rhythm guitar) on the album of the same name, recorded at the Caribou Studios in … Continue reading

Posted in Frank Zappa, Mike Keneally, Music, Personal | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Egads! The Return Of Barryman!

Hey kids, we’re back from the wonderful parallel universe that is Argentina. I could write a thousand lines to describe our fantastic journey on my beloved azerty keyboard, but as clichés go, “a picture is worth a thousand words” is … Continue reading

Posted in Personal | Tagged , , | 22 Comments