yes, it's a new profile picture!
but it's a very old picture--nearly 28 years old.
on the left, we have frank zappa. and that's me on the right. we're freezing our asses off in a field behind wzmf, an underground radio station in menomonee falls (outside of milwaukee).
i wasn't aware this picture had been taken! about 2 years later, in the middle of a blizzard in metro milwaukee, i ran into the photographer. as he reached into his porfolio, he said, "i've been hanging onto this for you for a while now."
then he handed it to me:
frank signed it on his next tour.
i remember those jeans. i had very painstakingly (and painfully) sewn two pairs of jeans together (hey, it was the '70s) and frank's bodyguard, "smithers," repeatedly tried to buy them from me.
and if you look really, really close, you'll notice i'm wearing a captain & tenille "love will keep us together" t-shirt under my hoodie to amuse frank.
zappa and i had spent the day together in the booth, where he was "dj for a day' while promoting his latest album, lather.
frank got away with more than the fcc would have liked during his "shift;" i can still remember seeing the station's employees outside of the booth cringe repeatedly.
meanwhile, some kid listening to 'zmf had just bought a white pick-up that day. and while frank was getting ready to sign off, the kid stopped at a hardware store to buy a new can of glossy black paint.
as we walked out of the radio station, the kid pulled up in his shiny new truck, handed a fresh paint brush to frank, who then signed the tailgate with a zesty flourish:
Frank Z.
later that night, during the after-concert interview with frank, a nerdish, mainstream reporter showed up with an old, clunky reel-to-reel tape recorder.
as he fumbled around frank's dressing room with the power cord, he looked up at zappa as if to explain and told him, "i'm gonna need an outlet."
without missing a beat, and with a wink to me, frank said, "of course.
we all do."
but it's a very old picture--nearly 28 years old.
on the left, we have frank zappa. and that's me on the right. we're freezing our asses off in a field behind wzmf, an underground radio station in menomonee falls (outside of milwaukee).
i wasn't aware this picture had been taken! about 2 years later, in the middle of a blizzard in metro milwaukee, i ran into the photographer. as he reached into his porfolio, he said, "i've been hanging onto this for you for a while now."
then he handed it to me:
frank signed it on his next tour.
i remember those jeans. i had very painstakingly (and painfully) sewn two pairs of jeans together (hey, it was the '70s) and frank's bodyguard, "smithers," repeatedly tried to buy them from me.
and if you look really, really close, you'll notice i'm wearing a captain & tenille "love will keep us together" t-shirt under my hoodie to amuse frank.
zappa and i had spent the day together in the booth, where he was "dj for a day' while promoting his latest album, lather.
frank got away with more than the fcc would have liked during his "shift;" i can still remember seeing the station's employees outside of the booth cringe repeatedly.
meanwhile, some kid listening to 'zmf had just bought a white pick-up that day. and while frank was getting ready to sign off, the kid stopped at a hardware store to buy a new can of glossy black paint.
as we walked out of the radio station, the kid pulled up in his shiny new truck, handed a fresh paint brush to frank, who then signed the tailgate with a zesty flourish:
Frank Z.
later that night, during the after-concert interview with frank, a nerdish, mainstream reporter showed up with an old, clunky reel-to-reel tape recorder.
as he fumbled around frank's dressing room with the power cord, he looked up at zappa as if to explain and told him, "i'm gonna need an outlet."
without missing a beat, and with a wink to me, frank said, "of course.
we all do."
VIEW 25 of 28 COMMENTS
ahh Frank, we hardly knew ye.