Frank about Frank

I have a couple people to blame for me getting into Zappa. My Dad was tossing his name around one time and it stuck with me, with heavy textures of the "Z" and the double "P" sounds. WIZN, local classic rock station known for it's 'Glow In The Dark Radio' and nightly 'Power Plays,' a half-hour's worth of music of a single artist, played 'Joe's Garage' one night while my family and I drove home from some late winter, social activity. I don't remember hearing much of it, thanks to the blaring hum of the car's poor heating system.

Dad's strange experiment of enrolling me in the Columbia House music club would pay-off. He wanted me to build a music library, and my pre-Zappa picks of the FREE 13 CDs I was allowed upon signing up have all whittled away. Too many unknowing guesses, too many bad choices. It was in July of 1994 that I really got to hear 'Joe's Garage,' and how fucking weird it was.

But besides both those strange and paternal sources, there's one other source I mainly accredit for what has been a fourteen year long tenure as a fan: Kevin Murphy. Particularly, Kevin Murphy and Mystery Science Theater 3000. In particular of the particularly, episode 523, 'Village of the Giants,' original air date 1/22/94.

Being young in the mid nineties with basic cable and a basement meant watching MST3k was not a probability but a fated event, one that would leave irreparable scars on what was my foolish, teenage mind. At the tail end of what was a crappy movie about Ron Howard enlarging a bunch of go-go mod preppy types was interlaced with a story involving the dismissal of MST3k character 'TV's Frank' by his employer, 'Dr. Forrester.'

Their tribute song, Frank about Frank, played twice in the episode. The first was with clips of TV's Frank's exploits through the season; the second time ran over the credits, with the final note fading out on a black and white picture of a man holding a guitar, the words FRANK VINCENT ZAPPA 12/21/40 - 12/4/93 underneath.

Kevin Murphy has been a confirmed Zappa fan, and as both voice of the character of 'Tom Servo' on MST3k as well as a writer, he's been able to slip in numerous Zappa references throughout the series. Of course, I'm sure that most of the guys on the place (Joel, Mike, Trace, etc.) were also Zappa fans as well, but I peg Kevin Murphy as the main force behind the Zappa-MST3K connection. Plus, Tom Servo delivered a lot of the lines I remember. It's fun to go back, retroactively spotting the references when watching the old episodes.

I'll admit, I had this really harrowing feeling seeing the tribute picture form on that old television, having it fade out to the noise and color of what was the Comedy Central call-logo animation that accompanied every show during then. Someone who I had heard about had been confirmed dead and I kind of thought, almost sorta knew, that this dead guy with the funny name was important.

It would take a music class where I did a report on some famous musician (got a A+ on it, I might add) where I learned that Frank Zappa 1) named his kids weirdly, 2) did some weird music and 3) stood up for free speech. Being a teenage freakshow myself, those were three points that automatically confirmed that Zappa was someone I could get into. I did a report on the man without hearing any of his music. The piss-poor mountain town didn't do shit for Zappa on rotation. Strange to think that fifteen years ago, mp3s didn't exist in any way, shape or form. Downloading? Beyond the imagination. It took 'Joe's Garage' the following summer and 'Strictly Commercial' the next Christmas to seal the deal.

Writing in 'The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing colossal episode Guide," Kevin Murphy states, in penning the reflections on show 523, "Village of the Giants":

"Frank Zappa died in 1994. It saddened me. He is one of my great heroes of American culture. When all his tapes are played and his music is studied, I'm guessing he'll go down as one of the finest composers and performers of the century. And God, was he ever funny. Sometimes embarrassingly preachy, but always calmly polemical, like and advocate for reason in a world gone mad and stupid. I think he had no time for stupid people. No one believes me when I tell them how normal the guy was. But he was beautifully normal, and a brilliant rock-and-roll man, and I'll miss him."

I've found others who say Episode 523 turned them onto Zappa, though few that they might be. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more who did some research into who this guy was and what he may have done to issue a tribute from what was a beloved television comedy involving puppets and bad movies. Considering his fondness for cheapnis, and how MST3k even did a version of 'It Conqured the World!', I think it's a method most fitting for Frank.