Zappa was born on December 21, 1940 in Baltimore, Maryland. His mother, Rose Marie (née Colimore), was of Italian and French ancestry; his father, Francis Vincent Zappa, was an immigrant from Partinico, Sicily with Greek and Arab ancestry. Zappa, the eldest of four children, was raised in an Italian-American household where Italian was spoken often by his grandparents. The family moved often because his father, a chemist and mathematician, worked in the defense industry. After a time in Florida in the 1940s, the family returned to Maryland, where Zappas father worked at the Edgewood Arsenal chemical warfare facility of the Aberdeen Proving Ground. Due to their homes proximity to the arsenal, which stored mustard gas, gas masks were kept in the home in case of an accident. This had a profound effect on Zappa, and references to germs, germ warfare and the defense industry occur throughout his work. Zappa joined his first band at Mission Bay High School in San Diego. He was the bands drummer. About the same time his parents bought a phonograph, which allowed him to develop his interest in music, and to begin building his record collection. R&B singles were early purchases, starting a large collection he kept for the rest of his life. He was interested in sounds for their own sake, particularly the sounds of drums and other percussion instruments. By age 12, he had obtained a snare drum and began learning the basics of orchestral percussion. Zappas deep interest in modern classical music began when he read a LOOK magazine article about the Sam Goody record store chain that lauded its ability to sell an LP as obscure as The Complete Works of Edgard Varèse, Volume One. The article described Varèses percussion composition Ionisation, produced by EMS Recordings, as a weird jumble of drums and other unpleasant sounds. Zappa decided to seek out Varèses music. After searching for over a year, Zappa found a copy (he noticed the LP because of the mad scientist looking photo of Varèse on the cover). Not having enough money with him, he persuaded the salesman to sell him the record at a discount. Thus began his lifelong passion for Varèses music and that of other modern classical composers. youtu.be/crD6QIQOPBg
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 08:27:22 +0000
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