Drummer Alan Myers, Devo’s ‘human metronome’ from 1976 to 1986, loses cancer battle

[90-percent]

12. Racist? WTF

Last edited Thu Jun 27, 2013, 12:54 PM - Edit history (1)

http://wiki.killuglyradio.com/wiki/The_Blackouts

Zappa's band in high school in conservative Lancaster CA in 1957 contained three black guys, one mexican and two white guys.

I don't think a racist would be a part of a racially integrated band at a time in America where racism was still in full force and there was a lot of injustice and violence towards minorities all over America at the time. I also think segregation was still legal at the time of this band. Some of his bands big gigs were shut down by the racist PTB in that community. They could not support the idea of an integrated band corrupting their children. From the internet: "There was a Negro settlement outside of town called Sun Village and it was those people who supported the group. We had these huge Negro dances and this upset the people in the town. The police arrested me for vagrancy the night before one show and I was in jail overnight."

Here's a picture from June 22, 1957—The Blackouts At The NAACP 7th Annual Festival, Shrine Exposition Hall



Zappa started collecting R&B records in his early teens. He was a racist in that he wanted nothing to do with white bread R&B as covered by the white artists of the time. So you might say he was more racist towards whites than blacks.

Zappa's lyrics were based more on journalism than how he felt about things. His lyrics were reporting on things he saw and felt should be recorded for prosperity, not to broadcast his feelings.

I think he had a lot of misogyny going on, but he had a lot of respect for the minds of women back in the 60's, when it was still acceptable to treat them as second class citizens. Pauline Butcher, his British Secretary in the late 60's was taken aback at how interested he was simply in what she was thinking. He encouraged her to write and keep a diary and forty years later she wrote a book: Freak Out! My Life with Frank Zappa.

He also did a crappy job raising his kids and was very disrespectful of his wife, given his appetite for groupies. He was also less than generous to many members of his many bands over the years.

100 fans? I counted at the minimum 35 books about Zappa. That's approximately 2-1/2 books written for each of your 100 fans. Here's tour dates for Dweezil's Zappa Plays Zappa 2013 tour. http://www.zappaplayszappa.com/tourdates.html Why not go to a show near you and see if more than 100 people show up. Presuming the show in your area is not sold out.

edit - removed personal attack

I apologize for hijacking this Devo thread and I've got many fond memories of Devo from my youth. I'm done with this thread.

-90% Jimmy