My Musical Heroes: Frank Zappa

I'd like to dedicate my first few posts to some of my musical heroes. These are some of the artists who have inspired me to strive to be a better musician, to make good music, and to express myself honestly through my instrument.

My first true musical hero was perhaps an unlikely one: Frank Zappa. I discovered Zappa's music as a freshman in high school, when I bought a copy of his album FREAK OUT in a bargain bin at a record store (remember those?). It was funny, and weird, and jarring, and annoying, and beautiful. It wasn't until later (within the next year) that I learned that Zappa was also an amazing guitarist with a powerful and unique voice on his instrument. Initially, it was the songs that got me. They were like nothing I'd ever heard before, or since, really. Frank Zappa was that rare artist who was truly deserving of the term "genius".

Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer, and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral, and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist.

While in his teens, he acquired a taste for percussion-based avant-garde composers such as Edgard Varèse and 1950s rhythm and blues music. He began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands—he later switched to electric guitar. He was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often impossible to categorize. His 1966 debut album with the Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. His later albums shared this eclectic and experimental approach, irrespective of whether the fundamental format was one of rock, jazz or classical. He wrote the lyrics to all his songs, which—often humorously—reflected his iconoclastic view of established social and political processes, structures and movements. He was a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate for freedom of speech, self-education and the abolition of censorship.

Zappa was a highly productive and prolific artist and gained widespread critical acclaim. Many of his albums are considered essential in rock and jazz history. He is regarded as one of the most original guitarists and composers of his time. He also remains a major influence on musicians and composers. He had some commercial success, particularly in Europe, and for most of his career was able to work as an independent artist. Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.

As a guitarist, he had great facility, and a voice as unique as anyone's, including Jimi Hendrix. His improvisations were fearless, and unpredictable; his guitar solos were instantly improvised compositions. His technique was formidable as well; his solo in the song Inca Roads from the album One Size Fits All demonstrated his use of neck tapping several years before the debut of Van Halen.

He was an extremely intelligent, and erudite man. My favorite Zappa quote:

"Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not truth. Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. Music is THE BEST."

(portions of this post were lifted from Frank Zappa's Wikipedia entry)

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