Being Frank: My Time with Frank Zappa

Lennon was your average rebellious teenager in 1960s California, until she discovered a strange looking album by someone named Frank Zappa at the local record store. She bought everything she could find by him, and wore out the albums due to playing them over and over. A budding songwriter, she and her boyfriend recorded several songs on reel-to-reel tape and sent them to Zappa. Months went by, until the phone call came asking if they could stop by at the offices of Zappa's record label. That would be enough for most people, but to realize that Zappa actually listened to the tape was overwhelming. His general opinion was that she didn't stink, but that she wasn't ready yet. On thing led to another, and a trip to the Zappa residence led to an invitation to be a substitute guitarist on his next tour. On tour, Zappa rarely, if ever, indulged in the alcohol and drugs that are part of any tour, if only to keep that boss/employee distance. He was obsessive/compulsive and a perfectionist who, because of constant stomach problems, drank kaopectate by the gallon. Lennon's time on the tour was rather short, only a couple of months. Zappa sent her home after word got to Mrs. Zappa that their relationship wasn't exactly platonic. Time went by, and after Lennon got thrown out of the house (the relationship with her parents was not good), she was able to crash in the basement of the Zappa residence, on the understanding that she not disturb him while he was composing. He had been seriously injured at a concert in England, and, physically and emotionally, things had changed. The arrangement lasted for a while, until Zappa went back on tour. More time went by, and Lennon attempted to continue her music studies at a local college. She again ran into Zappa while he was rehearsing a grand, orchestral piece called The Great Wazoo. She tried to be as helpful as possible, while also learning as much as possible. Zappa seemed to tolerate her, more than he actually wanted her around. The relationship between them ends badly. Zappa fans should read this book. He is shown to be a lot more than just someone with strange ideas about music. For rock music fans in general, this is a gem of a book.

It was a nice readable book with information that is interesting and plausible. If you like Zappa, and you like information about Zappa, it's interesting, but the writer also has some self deprecating and humorous stories to tell about her relations with him during this mid-career point for Zappa.

Being Frank: My time With Frank ZappaExpanded From The Original Classic Since his untimely death from prostate cancer in 1993, the legend of iconoclastic musician Frank Zappa has continued to grow. The decade following his passing has seen the publication of a number of books, both sacred and profane, which examine his life and work, but the best, and only, up-close-and-personal account of the man and his music remains the original: Nigey Lennon's Being Frank: My Time with Frank Zappa. Musician/author Lennon maintained a personal and professional relationship with Zappa during the period which is generally agreed to have been the composer's most creative, and she invests her recollections with considerable musical and emotional insight. "....Being Frank can be viewed as a cautionary tale, a cinema verite' rock-and-roll moral fable, an historically accurate emotional portrait of one of America's most enigmatic modern musicians during an important transitional period in his life when he was free of the emotional/financial baggage of the original Mothers of Invention and could do as he creatively wished...what makes Zappa such a quirky individual and his music so irresistible...is precisely what Nigey has patiently and passionately documented...between the two of our books is a valuable portrait of one of the more intriguing and enigmatic cultural figures of the Twentieth Century, god help us all. --From the Introduction by David Walley, author of No Commercial Potential: The Saga of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention This edition is a reaffirmation of Being Frank's validity as a "must read" book and hell, even a "must re-read" book! Just like Frank's music, the deeper you get into this book, the more you will get out of it. --From the Foreword by Greg Russo, author of Cosmik Debris: The Collected History and Improvisations of Frank Zappa "irreplaceable...is the word to describe Being Frank...[Lennon's] memoir is both spiky and musically literate...Lennon's previous books were on Mark Twain and Alfred Jarry, which indicates the kind of cultural perspective required to get a grip on Zappa: something brighter than rock-journo pedantry." -- Ben Watson, author of Frank Zappa: The Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play

This book is an accurate, funny, and well-observed portrait of one of the most enigmatic figures on the American music scene.It is most of all a portrait, warts and all, of a human being trying to deal with a human universe, something which Zappa held at a great distance from himself, and despite his protestations to the contrary had difficulty in dealing with. It will and has ticked off many members of Zappa Anonymous who've been fed a steady diet of well... publicity which Zappa in his lifetime encouraged and ironically and inevitably became its victim after his death. I highly recommend this book for those who are interested in historical and sometimes hysterical accuracy. She was there at a crucial time in Zappa's life as a confidant, a lover, and a working member of his band when he was recuperating from a grievious accident which nearly cost him his life. This book is part sociology, part auto-biography and describes her coming of age and the influence that one of America's great enigmatic figures had on her life. She writes well with a great sense of ironic detachment, which is as idiosyncratic as the person whose life for a time she shared.

Worthwile reading for any Zappa fan. The books help one gain insights on Frank, his music and performances. There are several photographs and much historical perspective. However the book seems to tell as much (or more) about the author as about Mr. Zappa. The author's love of, and anger towards, Zappa may allow for a distorted picture. I questioned the accuracy of some of the information.