Zappa before zappa

[Pete Schumacher ®]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8NSVGZWafg

[Paul Carmody]

Spike Jones is great. As a percussionist, I've always liked to play "Sabre Dance" to annoy people. Also as a percussionist, I have to say that that video is the first time I've ever seen chromatically-tuned cowbells!

This is not choreographed at all, but it has a lot of movement:
Zappa ca. 1979 - "Black Page #2" (Dance Contest)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD8S7IMh0dI

I'll let you search for the live video of "Keep it Greasy." It's worth it. ;)

[Mark65]

I've always liked Spike Jones' songs that I heard on Dr Demento back in the day, but I had no idea of the talent level that was involved.

Good Stuff Pete!


Mark

[rwrankin]

I think we need more cow bell!

[johnddaugherty]

Spike Jones had a regular show on TV when I was a little kid--we got our first TV when I was two years old--1949. I can't remember much from before then. What I do remember is that I absolutely loved the Spike Jones show--although my parents didn't care too much for it.

[jonpike]

That's a whole lotta cowbell... I think we should tell Christopher Walken... ;-)

Thanks Pete, for sending me down a YouTube black hole that cost me hours of sleep... I've been recovering all week.

From following that link, for a marvelous flashback to my Dr. Demento listening youth... (heard him a lot, never SEEN him/them!) to the Daffy Duck WWII anti-Nazi cartoon using Spike's "In Der Fuherer's Face" song... to other Daffy Duck war propaganda cartoons... (!!) to various banned cartoons of various kinds and eras... to finally many, many cool Zappa performance and interview videos... it was HOURS and HOURS into the wee hours on a work night... :eek:

(yeah, I had fun...) :D

Tying it all together... in the highly recommended "Zappa goes insane on "Montana" improv" solo of '73, the suit he wears has more than a little resemblance to Spike Jones' in the original video... wooo...

[Pete Schumacher ®]

That's a whole lotta cowbell... I think we should tell Christopher Walken... ;-)

Thanks Pete, for sending me down a YouTube black hole that cost me hours of sleep... I've been recovering all week.

From following that link, for a marvelous flashback to my Dr. Demento listening youth... (heard him a lot, never SEEN him/them!) to the Daffy Duck WWII anti-Nazi cartoon using Spike's "In Der Fuherer's Face" song... to other Daffy Duck war propaganda cartoons... (!!) to various banned cartoons of various kinds and eras... to finally many, many cool Zappa performance and interview videos... it was HOURS and HOURS into the wee hours on a work night... :eek:

(yeah, I had fun...) :D

Tying it all together... in the highly recommended "Zappa goes insane on "Montana" improv" solo of '73, the suit he wears has more than a little resemblance to Spike Jones' in the original video... wooo...

Glad to have pushed the first pebble in the avalanche!!! :D

My brother sent me that link in an email, and the first thing that came to mind was Frank. His xylophones, percussion , rhythms, and just pure joy, evoked, to me, St. Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast . . . where I stole the margarine.

Fun indeed. I'll be sure to check out the "Montana" video, and the Daffy Duck's as well.

Something interesting to find would be the old Speedy Gonzales cartoons. He's HUGE in Mexico, but politically incorrect north of the border, so we don't see those any more.

[lhwidget]

It's odd, I should be thinking more about Zappa (I grew up with his music), but it really reminds me more of the Blue Man Group (the performance, not the music... well, even the music too)