“The Whisky a Go Go” series diving into Frank Zappa has returned with episode three. This time around, Vaultmeister Joe Travers and Pamela Des Barres (member of the GTOs) discuss the freaks and fashion of 1968 and Zappa’s influence on the freak out culture.
In the clip, Travers and Des Barres discussed the freak scene, and Des Barres said: “He created that genre. It was the freak scene. People wanted to be freaky.
“It was the only time ever, well, certainly in the last several hundred years, you could freak out. He invented that phrase and that term. I went from hippie to flower child to freak. I was so thrilled to finally align with the freaks.”
She added: “We wanted to just do it all.” Check out the full clip below.
The ongoing conversation series is in support of the upcoming reissue from Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, entitled Whisky a Go Go, 1968, which is set to finally be released on June 21 via Zappa Records/UMe.
In 1968, an ad from Frank Zappa in the L.A. Free Press read: “The Mothers of Invention cordially invite you to join them on Tuesday, July 23, 1968 when they will be taking over the Whisky a Go Go for 5 full hours of unprecedented merriment, which will be secretly recorded for an upcoming record album. Dress optional. Starting sometime in the evening. R.S.V.D.T.” That album ultimately ended up remaining mostly unheard, until now.
Produced by Ahmet Zappa and Joe Travers, this extensive collection, 55-plus years in the making, compiles everything The Mothers of Invention played across their three sets that night. The album is complete and newly remixed in 2023 from hi-res 24-bit/96kHz digital transfers of the original 1” 8-track analog tapes by Craig Parker Adams at Winslow CT Studios.
A Super Deluxe Edition box set will be released on both 5LP 180-gram black vinyl or 3CD, and feature a booklet with many unseen photos from the night’s events, along with copious liner notes by Vaultmeister Joe Travers, an essay by Pamela Des Barres of the Zappa-signed group The GTO’s who played that evening, and an interview by Ahmet Zappa with the legendary Alice Cooper, whose own band made a momentous splash at the Whisky that night as one of the featured acts.
Pre-order Whiskey a Go Go, 1968