Frank Zappa once picked his 10 favourite albums
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The one rule Frank Zappa set for his bandmates
Frank Zappa had a liberal approach to life and was firmly against people intervening in any of his decision-making. He famously fought against censorship in the music industry and often rallied against anyone trying to determine his artistic endeavours. However, Zappa did have one non-negotiable rule he set for his bandmates.
Zappa wasn’t just the opposite of his peers in a musical sense but defied the stereotypes that rockstars fell into on every level. The non-conformist was comfortable in his own skin and was happy to break the mould. Most surprisingly, Zappa never flirted with drink or drugs; instead, he relied on coffee and cigarettes as his vices.
If you toured with Zappa, you were also prohibited from drug-taking while on the road. He once revealed: “I don’t drink or do hard drugs. I’ve smoked less than ten marijuana cigarettes in my life. When I’m working on music with other musicians, like, say, practising for a tour, I keep very strict standards: no drugs. They can do what they want on their own free time.”
It was perfectly fair of Zappa to impose this condition on his bandmates, considering his position as the captain of their ship and his name was paying their salaries. Most musicians on the planet would traipse over hot coals to be in his band, and staying away from drugs is a small compromise to make to play alongside Zappa on a nightly basis.
Interestingly, his reason for this rule wasn’t to do with his disdain for drugs, but it was their illegality. Zappa clarified his no-drugs statute and explained it was because their drug-taking could lead to arrests which would jeopardise the tour. The Mothers of Invention leader also implied he doesn’t believe they should be illegal.
During a televised interview, Zappa once explained, “Well, there are a number of reasons why I would recommend that members of my rocking teenage combo don’t use drugs. The first is unemployment because if there’s one thing the police around the world like to do, cause rampant unemployment of musicians by arresting them and taking them away for using chemicals which somebody, at one time or another, has claimed are going to be illegal.”
He continued: “And I do not like the idea of having law enforcement agencies impinging on my musical career by virtue of the fact they will remove a member of my musical group.”
It does make sense why Zappa would implement this rule, but it also highlights his lack of trust in the state and his belief they are out to bring him down. His comments sound like the words of a paranoid man, but perhaps it was Zappa’s experiences with the law which had turned him that way and made him lose faith in those in power.
