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RADIATE O' SPIRIT OF FRANK ZAPPA !

Posted by Howard McQueen on August 6, 2009 at 8:30am
© 2009 Howard McQueenLyrics by Frank ZappaThe other morning I was in Kannapolis at a trailer sales and supply store to have a towing wiring harness connected to my 1995 F-150. A buzz-shaved man in his late 30s was behind the counter, wearing a T-shirt print of skull and crossbones and other symbolisms. As I arrived at the counter, he spent every bit of five minutes telling me about what was going on in his shop and what was going on in his mind.When his conversation naturally ebbed, I politely introduced myself as the 10 am appointment for the wiring harness. He grabbed the part from behind the counter and I backed the truck in the bay and he got started.It is almost always rewarding when we wait patiently for intuition and insight to guide a relationship into avenues of exploration and discovery (the silver lining where gifts are stored). While he was working under the tailgate of themy truck, I asked him if he happened to be a fan of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention (I suspect I had not thought about Frank Zappa for a number of years, but hey, we learn to trust intuition). There was a brief pause before he responded, then he got up off the ground and invited me to follow him back behind the counter where I first met him. He had pulled from his home studio yesterday an old video of a Frank Zappa concert (1979?) and burned this on a DVD, which was now in the DVD drive of the office computer. As we started to watch the intro to this concert, the hair was rising on the back of my neck and it was then that he simultaneously turned to me and said “I’m getting a huge crop of goose bumps", and he held out his arm and indeed the goose flesh was quite impressive.In the first video segment Frank is at the front conducting the small band and all sorts of unusual music is pouring out of the musicians and their instruments. This music was not for everyone, and Frank Zappa was not concerned that many people did not particularly care for his music. He also did not give his attention to the many people that spread rumors that he was a radical or labeled a drug user, weirdo, etc. Frank hung out with some very unusual looking friends/musicians and gifted the world some really unique music.To the best of my knowledge, in his adult life, Frank Zappa was drug-free. I believe he embodied this irrepressible artistry and expression for life, found in exploring off the beaten paths, liberating music that built up as pressure within him.I attended a Mothers of Invention concert ~ 1975 during a time when I was serving as an usher at the Fox Theater (Atlanta, Ga.). Prior to hearing this concert, I was not a Frank Zappa fan and did not really follow his music. I remember one particular song/lyric “Movin’ to Montana Soon” that really struck me as vivid and entirely original.This song just "happened" to be next up on the DVD my host and I were enjoying behind the counter, so I was literally transported back to 1975 and I told him so. He then told me when he was ten years old, he relentlessly badgered his mom to buy him a ticket to a Frank Zappa concert near his rural home town. His mom did finally relent and this young boy of ten was turned on to the musical feast of a genius – Frank Zappa, playing his holy, unabashed music. Today, my friend is a guitarist by night and has an in-home studio where he records with friends.As I left the shop, this fella and I had become intimately connected through the passion of creative music from a genius that lived and died young, quite a long time ago. This blog posting is to commemorate the irrepressible bright light that Frank Zappa brought into many lives through his music and dedication to living a life of fierce independence and raw celebration, irrespective of what anyone else thought of him or his music.Below are the lyrics to the song - that raised the hair on my neck and created my friend’s gooseflesh – again!And this below link goes out everyone on the blog, with a timely emphasis to Kimberly in celebration of her birthdayhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJN_uWaVRfoHAPPY BIRTHDAY KIMBERLYHAPPY BIRTHDAY [spirit of FRANK ZAPPA]MAY WE ALL BE SO SUBLIMELY INFECTED AND IN LOVE WITH LIFE:-)MontanaBy Frank ZappaI might be movin' to Montana soonJust to raise me up a crop ofDental FlossRaisin' it upWaxen it downIn a little white boxI can sell uptownBy myself I wouldn'tHave no boss,But I'd be raisin' my lonelyDental FlossRaisin' my lonelyDental FlossWell I just might grow me some beesBut I'd leave the sweet stuffFor somebody else...but then, on the other hand I'dKeep the waxN' melt it downPluck some FlossN' swish it aroun'I'd have me a cropAn' it'd be on top (that's why I'M movin' to Montana)Movin' to Montana soonGonna be a Dental Floss tycoon (yes I am)Movin' to Montana soonGonna be a mennil-toss flykuneI'm pluckin' the ol'Dennil FlossThat's growin' on the prairiePluckin' the floss!I plucked all day an' all nite an' allAfternoon...I'm ridin' a small tiny hoss(His name is MIGHTY LITTLE)He's a good hossEven thoughHe's a bit dinky to strap a big saddle orBlanket on anywayHe's a bit dinky to strap a big saddle orBlanket on anywayAny wayI'm pluckin' the ol'Dennil FlossEven if you think it is a little silly, folksI don't care if you think it's silly, folksI don't care if you think it's silly, folksI'm gonna find me a horseJust about this bigAn' ride him all along the border lineWith aPair of heavy-dutyZircon-encrusted tweezers in my handEvery other wrangler would sayI was mighty grandBy myself I wouldn'tHave no bossBut I'd be raisin' my lonelyDental FlossRaisin' my lonelyDental FlossRaisin' my lonelyDental FlossWell I mightRide along the borderWith my tweezers gleamin'In the moon-lighty nightAnd then I'dGet a cuppa cawfeeN' give my foot a push...Just me 'n the pymgy ponyOver the Dennil Floss BushN' then I might justJumb back onAn' rideLike a cowboyInto the dawn to MontanaMovin' to Montana soon(Yippy-Ty-O-Ty-Ay)Movin' to Montana soon***
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