Frank Zappa Day

On February 10, 1986, as part of its fund raising marathon, KPFA dedicated an entire day of programming to the music of Frank Zappa, including this four hour long segment, during which Zappa joined Charles Amirkhanian, live in the studio to talk about his work and his fight against censorship, as well as to take part in an hour long panel discussion on gang violence and its relationship to rock music and Satanism. Although much of the time is taken up with pleas for money, Zappa manages to insert his brand of sardonic humor into all the activities, be it personally promising donors will go to heaven, or urging the police to investigate the crimes committed by born-again Christians. The give and take with KPFA listeners during a call-in period following the panel discussions is not to be missed. Zappa also reveals a few nuggets of trivia including the origin of those crazy conversations found in the classic Mothers of Invention album, “Lumpy Gravy” and the meaning of the Kanji characters on the “Zoot Allures” album cover.