Additional notes and quotes on the Zoot Allures album:
Vladimir Sovetov (sova@bank.kemerovo.su) writes:
Interesting thing to note about the album title. In France they say Zut Alors when mean Goddamn.
Noriyuki Tsunofuri (QGB00455@niftyserve.or.jp) writes:
The characters on the back cover can be pronounciated fu ran ku za ppa. The hanko graphic on the front cover can be za ppa. Those are kanji characters.
There are three character systems in Japanese language. Two kanas, Hira-kana and Kata-kana, and Kanji. Kanas are Japanese invention and has no meaning in each character. You
know A itself doesn't mean anything. It makes sense when it used with other characters. Combination. That's the same with kanas.
But kanji is not the case. Kanji was imported from China, very long ago (although usage and pronounciation is very different). And it does have meaning.
(...)
For example, the characters on the front cover of Zoot Allures mean miscellaneous leaves. Some say it's
inappropriate word which stands for ZAPPA because it reminds
of drugs. We all know FZ was strictly against any kind of drugs.
The back cover ones mean no-frantic-pain miscellaneous school. (this school is not the school of medicine or law. The impressionist school, the Stoic school. That school.)
That's better, I think.
But basically, these character was chosen in accordance with
pronouciation. So it's grammatically incorrect and as a
sentence, it means nothing.
Terry Bozzio (drums) writes:
This was my second record with Frank. (...) I was 25 years old. I took a few weeks off and got a call from Frank, "I had to let Roy, Andre & Napoleon go, so it's just you and me again. Why don't you come down to the Record Plant and play on some stuff I've been working on."
I walked into the Record Plant.
Frank's (my) huge drumset was all set up and mic'd. He had recorded a bunch of tunes we had been playing with a "Rhythm Ace" drum machine - he had played bass, guitar and keyboards - I had never played with a beat box before, and playing drums to an already recorded track was a totally new concept to me. (never mind the fact that this was the second track I had ever recorded in a studio period!)
I found I could play comfortably following the music & beat box and Frank was impressed and complimentary as we recorded the likes of Disco Boy, Torture Never Stops, Gas Station and Pinky.
You can imagine how it felt to get over this hurdle and meet the challange with Frank's approval and blessing, I was bursting with pride!
There were also some live tracks like Black Napkins (recorded in Japan - if you listen closely you can hear the little Japanese girls yelling "Telly! Telly!!" on the record. He always laughed at that!). Frank did not normaly like to record in the studio because he felt you could not get the musicians to play with the same energy and focus as in front of a live audience. He was right, but I'm glad he liked what I did enough to release it.
The title track Zoot Allures is also available on Does Humor Belong In Music? (album and video), You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol 3 and The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life.