A beard mandate: the bizarre story of Frank Zappa’s stringent Mothers of Invention contracts
Frank Zappa was a musical pioneer. His work in various outfits and throughout his solo career represents somebody constantly thinking outside the box and with no limits when fully embracing his musical know-how. However, he wasn’t just a great musical mind; he was also keen on enjoying music for what it was, and that meant constantly injecting fun into what he did.
Nobody gets into making music, or any of the arts for that matter, other than because they enjoy it. We hear a song we like and decide we are keen to try to recreate it, or we watch a movie, read a book, or see a play, feel moved in some way, and then commit time to making others feel equally as moved. It’s a sweet aspect of art that connects all artists; however, it is often lost with success.
When people become famous, their passion evolves into their job, and with that, the fun can be lost from it. Artists begin to take themselves and their work too seriously, to the point that their enjoyment of the craft slips away, and the enjoyment of those who want to consume their art slips in equal measures. This was never the case with Frank Zappa.
Zappa was always willing to have fun with his music, not only in creating it but also in performing it. For instance, his Mothers of Invention tours became renowned for their absurdity, to the point that people began to make up crazy rumours about what happened at his shows, and the public believed them.
“There was never a gross-out contest. That was a rumour. Somebody’s imagination ran wild. Chemically bonded imagination,” he said, addressing one of the rumours that circulated following a show. “The rumour was that I went so far as to eat shit onstage. There were people who were terribly disappointed that I never ate shit onstage. But no, there never was anything resembling a gross-out contest.”
Zappa’s love for his work and the humour with which he operated can also be seen in the contracts that he made his band members sign. Before they could officially be classed as Mothers of Invention and go out on tour with him, they had to be contractually obligated to live by his way of life.
Several clauses about how they should perform and conduct themselves were serious because of his respect for his art and his desire to excel in what he did. However, other clauses were less serious and great representations of how he never let humour trail too far behind him when working.
One of these clauses, for instance, stated that band members had to always wear facial unless they were otherwise specified. In signing, the group essentially agreed to take on board this approach to music, one that was equally serious and humorous. Ever a professional, Zappa would eventually be renowned as one of the best musicians to take to the stage; however, he never lost his sense of humour or passion for his art either.
