Dale Sherman - Kiss FAQ: All That’s Left to Know about the Hottest Band in the Land

Copyright 2016 by John Corcelli

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a newspaper or magazine reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Published in 2016 by Backbeat Books
An Imprint of Hal Leonard Corporation
7777 West Bluemound Road
Milwaukee, WI 53213

Trade Book Division Editorial Offices
33 Plymouth St., Montclair, NJ 07042

All images are from the authors collection, unless otherwise noted.

Excerpts from The Real Frank Zappa Book : Reprinted with the permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc., from THE REAL FRANK ZAPPA BOOK by Frank Zappa with Peter Occhiogrosso. Copyright 1989 Frank Zappa. All rights reserved.

The FAQ series was conceived by Robert Rodriguez and developed with Stuart Shea.

Printed in the United States of America

Book design by Snow Creative

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Corcelli, John, author.

Title: Frank Zappa FAQ : all thats left to know about the father of invention / John Corcelli.

Description: Montclair, NJ : Backbeat Books, 2016. | Series: FAQS series | Includes bibliographical references, discography, and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015043396 | ISBN 9781617136030 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Zappa, FrankMiscellanea.

Classification: LCC ML410.Z285 C67 2016 | DDC 782.42166092dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015043396

www.backbeatbooks.com

A genius is the one most like himself.
Thelonious Monk

Contents

Ive been a rabid Frank Zappa fan since I first saw his band the Mothers of Invention in a small club in Philadelphia called the Electric Factory in February of 1969. I was fourteen years old.

Prior to that event, I had gone to that very club to see the coolest underground music bands of the day: the Flock, the Byrds, Jethro Tull, and many more. This was before Woodstock, so you could see these incredible acts in a small club. I saw the Who do Tommy in this tiny club!

Standing out above all the others was the Mothers of Invention. As soon as Zappa stepped onto the stage, I thought this had to be the coolest fucking rock star I had ever seen. He was as witty and sardonic as anyone can imagine. The band opened with Uncle Meat, the title track of the album that hadnt been released yet. The show ended with King Kong, also from that album.

Uncle Meat was stunning. I had never heard music like that before. And King Kong started my love affair with modal jazz.

After decades of learning how to play and arrange jazz and all sorts of other music, I came back to Zappa after attending an event called Zappas Universe. Frank was supposed to be there, but it had just been disclosed that he was seriously ill.

Mike Keneally, the guitarist and musical director of Zappas Universe was beyond belief. I was so inspired, I dropped everything I was doing and started arranging a bunch of my favorite Zappa tunes for my big band.

Frank died soon after. It was then I started playing my arrangements of Franks music live, and I havent stopped in twenty-two years!

Frank is my biggest inspiration. I believe his genius is of such otherworldly depth that he belongs in the same category as the greatest composers. I have learned so much by transcribing his music.

John Corcellis book is an invaluable addition to the tomes written about Zappa. Its very well researched and insightful. Im a total Zappa-phile, so if John was wrong about any of it, Id know!

Ed Palermo, musician, arranger and leader of the Ed Palermo Big Band
April 2016

Like the proverbial child being raised by a village, I enjoyed the help, inspiration, and support of a few people during the writing of this book. Be it a lead to a Zappa fan, an obscure album or video, or a small discovery that I would have missed during the course of my research, it all mattered, and I am grateful.

My sincere gratitude goes to my wife, Helena, for her sharp eye in tracking the images in this book. You are my favorite. To my family, whose love and support made a real difference, and to Kevin Courrier, a true Zappa Scholar, who recommended me for this prestigious gig. Special thanks to my agent, Mr. Robert Lecker, and my resilient colleagues at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto. Special thanks to Bernadette Malavarca, Tom Seabrook, and the rest of the Backbeat Books team.

And now the honor roll: Roman Garcia Albertos, Michael Alexic, Tobi Baumhard, Arthur Barrow, John Bell, Marlene Black, Nicole Blain, Laura Boyd-Clowes, CJRT-FM, CKLN-FM, Donald Brackett, Rebecca Bruton, David Churchill, Peggy Corcelli, Mark Clamen and the Critics At Large, Howard Cramer, Mick Ekers, Havoc Franklin, Tina Grohowski, Greg Heard, Brbel Hoppe, Bob and Ken Jones, Tim Keele, Dan Kopilovich, Maureen and Martin, Tom Metuzals, Allan Morris, Ed Palermo, Tony Palmer, Dean Ples, Grace Quinn, Avo Raup, Dan Reynish, Mark Rheaume, Shlomo Schwartzberg, Adrian Shuman, Kimberly Silk, Ashley Margaret Slack, Thomas Stewart, Hitesh Tailor, Julian Tuck, United Mutations, Hannah Webb, Barrie Zwicker, Patrice Candy Zappa, and Frank Vincent Zappa.

On the outside of a refurbished two-story building at the corner of Hastings Ave. and Queen Street E. in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, hangs a large, color illustration of a mans face with long black hair and a moustache. He has a sly expression, with one eyebrow raised and the hint of smirk around the mouth. Beneath it is a caption: Stupidity has a certain charm. Ignorance does not. Frank Zappa.

In a small park in Vilnius, Lithuania, can be found a tall steel pedestal with a bust of Frank Zappa on top of it. It was created by Konstantinas Bogdanas and erected in 1995, even though Zappa never played there and has no ties to the city or the country.

On September 19, 2010, at the Pratt Library in Baltimore, Marylandthe birthplace of Frank Zappait was officially declared Frank Zappa Day by municipal officials. A bronze bust of Zappa was unveiled, with members of his family in attendance among a crowd of 3,000 people.

On July 20, 2014, Adrian Belew, a former member of Zappas band, posted a Facebook selfie beside a bust of Frank Zappa while touring in Bad Doberan, Germany. Forged by the Czech sculptor Vaclav Cesak, it sits permanently in a small park, about waist-high above the ground.

Enter the words Frank Zappa into Google and you get over eleven million results.

So whats all the fuss about?

During his lifetime, Frank Zappa released sixty-two albums, produced several films and videos, wrote a couple of books, and toured extensively, yet his music is widely considered too difficult to play or just too complicated for mainstream audiences to hear. Despite the challenges of the music business and limited airplay from commercial radio, Zappas recordings have never gone out of print for very long. In fact, since his death in 1993, another thirty-eight albums have been released from his archives. His son Dweezil now leads a band called Zappa Plays Zappa, which has taken up the mantle of Franks music, bringing it to new audiences around the world.

To define the man easily reduces us to a list: composer, musician, charismatic bandleader, movie producer, singer, political activist, father, husband, and occasional talk show guest. But a list is superficial. The monuments are permanent: physical reminders of the man and his contributions to art and politics. Yet the name Frank Zappa remains a bit of a mystery to many people.