Seattle's own Jeff "Lucille" Simmons (2nd from left), a
former M.O.I. member of some notoriety himself, was on
hand to catch the action!
(photo by Bill Larsen (c) 2K)
 
     
 
L: Jimmy Carl Black hams it up with bassist Ener Bladezipper
R: Mr. Steve B. Roney on drums- no easy feat, mind you!
 

 
Bunk & Jimmy at the end of the
night, showing "satisfaction in a
job well done"!

 Yessir, at the end of the night, the band seemed genuinely pleased with the way things had turned out, what with being a criminally under-promoted show on a Monday night & all! Sadly, the same cannot be said for their feelings about life on the road (& this tour in particular) . Seems some overzealous young booker has had them playing for the past 45 nights with only 6 days off so far, & there were 11 shows to go! "When I get back, I'm gonna punch that promoter in the nose! I'm too old for this crap! That promoter is only 30 years old, & he couldn't do a tour like this! And the money ain't even that good! Don is 68 years old! Bunk is 67, & I'm 62... all I'm asking is for a day off every 4 or 5 days- is that asking for too much?"  No, Jimmy, I don't think that it is. "In exactly 2 weeks from tonite, I'll be home. And that sounds GREAT to me". "200 Motels", anyone?
 And the sentiment seems to be more or less shared by the rest of them as well, unfortunately. At one point, I mentioned to Bunk that I hoped they would come back to town sooner this time (the last time The Grandmothers played Seattle was 20 years ago at the Golden Crown- and yes, I was there!). And Bunk just smiled & said point blank "we'll never be back". He didn't say it with any animosity, mind you. He was just stating a fact- they're simply getting too old to work this hard. When I asked about Bunk's brother Buzz, he said "Buzz is retired. He lost his teeth, so he can't play anymore. When you're a brass player, you have to play everyday. And with no teeth, well, it's not even an option! So, I am the last performing Gardner". Bummer! Still, once they get onstage, they all still seemed to genuinely enjoy performing, & were more than happy to co-mingle with the fans, sign autographs, pose for photos & so forth. It was the thrill of a lifetime for me personally- after all, these guys are every bit as important as The Beatles (it was their first couple of albums that inspired Paul to step it up a notch on Sgt. Peppers, after all). Maybe MORE important, when it comes down to it...
 Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention changed the face of rock music as we know it forever. And I, for one, LOVE them for it! I'm just grateful that I had this chance to see these incredible musicians DO THEIR THING one more time. I mean, I doubt if any of them will ever stop playing entirely until they HAVE to- they still tour Europe on occasion, & Jimmy also has several other projects going including The Muffin Men & The Ferrell & Black Band- but one gets the feeling this particular combination of guys aren't gonna do another nationwide tour in a van anytime soon! Still, the energy they put out onstage- especially after being on the road for so long- was PRETTY INCREDIBLE. Many bands 1/3 their age would have crumbled weeks ago! It was truly UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE. I just wonder how many days I can get away with wearing this COOL T-SHIRT before I have to wash it! GOD BLESS THE GRANDMOTHERS!

 

 
 All in all, it was a night NO ONE in attendence will ever forget!
A big ol' THANK YOU to ALL the ex-Zappa musicians
who are helping to keep this music alive!

FRANK ZAPPA LIVES
(LONG LIVE THE MOTHERS)
!!!
 

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poplust at poplust.com