Stu News and Photos

I spend a noticeable amount of time trying to convince people of the wide swath of Frank Zappa's influence on popular music. Well, just now I was able to add another arrow to my quiver: At the end Both Sides Now, off of the fantastic "Miles Of Isles" by the unparalleled Joni Mitchell, she introduces the band, which is indeed a tremendous band. Included amongst this monster lineup of musicians (including Robin Trower and Tom Scott) are two Zappa sidemen, Max Bennett (on bass) and John Guerin (on drums).

They both were relative unknowns in the pop world, but both were extremely skilled. (As Frank would sing, "...pretty good musicians..." - When Frank was putting the band together for what would become one of several extremely influential albums: Hot Rats (a milestone in the genre of fusion-rock), they both showed up to audition. Frank Zappa auditioned the musicians for every band he ever put together, no matter who they were - he needed to see if they could handle the complexities and nuances of his latest musical numbers. The auditions were as difficult as could be, and both Max Bennett and John Guerin passed, gaining an almost-golden ticket, for serving under Frank Zappa almost guaranteed a musician an unlimited career. Very few who served under Frank ever ran out of job opportunities, and some went on to stardom of their own (among the most famous would be Steve Vai, George Duke, Adrian Belew, Lowell George, to name a few).

Max and John stayed with Frank throughout the recording of Hot Rats, and Max Bennett went on to tour with Zappa for about 4 months after.

After that, they each had note-worthy careers, recording with giants of the pop world: Frank Sinatra, Linda Ronstadt, Joan Baez, The Monkees... When you left Frank's house, the world was your oyster.

...speaking of oysters, it's back to comic book reading for me -