Steve Vai Talks Zappa
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Published 2023-07-14
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Introduction
1:05 The "Mo 'N Herb's Vacation" Score
6:18 Zappa's Densities
11:10 Learning and Performing Zappa's Guitar Parts
22:48 Origins of "Jazz Discharge Party Hats"
27:00 Musical Pathway to Frank Zappa
49:10 Zappa Advice
All Comments (21)
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The fact that Steve was able to transcribe Franks music, sets him up as genius status.
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Ok, this is hands down the best Vai interview on the subgect of FZ. Gongrats to you, Chanan, the praise he gives you at the end is 100% deserved.
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This interview is a treasure
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I'm so glad that Steve is being mined for all of these incredible Zappa stories. He was basically an apprentice for one of the most brilliant composers and these stories deserve telling. Thanks, Chanan
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I really wish Steve would write a book detailing his experiences working with Frank on transcriptions and his musical philosophy.
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@52:20 These words from Steve toward Chanan are so touching, heartfelt and important. You can see the love, reverence and awe Steve still feels for Frank. It's awesome. He is so happy someone is honoring Frank in the way Frank would want - through the music - and getting what he was trying to say with all those little black dots. Because, music IS the best. Thank you, Frank. Thank you, Steve. And thank you, Chanan.
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It's crazy how many Zappa interviews there are, you never really heard Frank go in depth on his composing. This is truly one of the best videos on Frank I've seen, would love to see a part 2!
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Really good interview. You got the ball rolling and Steve just ran with it. I find it annoying when interviewers cut their interviewee off when they're in the middle of telling something really intersting that I've never heard before. Excellent stuff, as always.
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It's kind of nostalgic to hear Steve describe the look of Frank's scores and how Frank would hand them over to the copyists. I was one of those copyists -- Hi Steve -- and can verify that he liked the extra beam on the septuplets! Also, there was a phase when he wanted whole note (full measure) rests to be aligned with the first beat of the measure instead of properly being centered. I did push back on that very bad idea, and I guess he relented at some point. Fun times!
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"You're the first" Chanan - love that and well deserved. Thanks for this wonderful interview with Steve and your content in general, always informative. Frank's music has been with me now for more than 40 years and you never stop discovering, whether through listening, learning or this example of deep insight into the creative process. Very humble of Steve as ever to continue to shine a light on Frank's legacy - thank you.
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I remember see Steve’s transcriptions when I was at Berklee… opening that book and thinking… “who could do such a thing?” …they are absolutely a monumental part of Steve’s legacy… it’s a little sad he seemed unsure of their stature … he should know those transcriptions are totally revered by musical community.
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What a great conversation. Thanks to Vai I discovered FZ, and became a Zappa maniac. Forever grateful to Steve.
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It’s great that Steve has a good memory of what went on with Frank and that he clearly takes pleasure in recounting it.
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As someone who writes and records original music, I am consistently destroyed by the brilliance of Frank. He truly is at the level of Chopin and Bach for me...sometimes you have to dig thru the doowop and crazy lyrics but there are treasures in his writings that rival anything ever written in western music. From a melodic standpoint and from a rhythmic standpoint - you could spend years just analyzing 3 or 4 albums let alone the 30 or so. Staggering genius is an understatement. Great interview!!
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Steve looks great in this interview, like he took ten years off from last time I saw him a year ago. Gives us old geezers hope!
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You can easily make a number 2 of this, Chanan. It seems obvious that Steve has a lot to talk about and that he is keen!
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Congrats, Chanan, on getting Steve for an interview. Hope this helps catapult your channel. You deserve much greater recognition than you currently receive. Best of luck, mate!
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"He painted his tapestries with his musicians as colours..." Brilliant. Timeless interview. 👌🏼🙏🏼🖖🏼
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I really enjoyed that, I love hearing Steve talk about Frank, and for 54 minutes I was in heaven, thank you Steve Vai and thank you Chanan for doing this.
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Amazing interview Chanan! Loved hearing him mention Modern Rhythmic Notation by Gardner Read. When I first got into Frank's music at college I was spending my life in the Library reading scores and that book was a total game changer for me in terms of understanding complex notation and tuplet rhythms. Also, his words of praise for your channel are so spot on. You're breaking down Frank's scores better than anyone. Awesome channel.
