CANDY-ROCK PSYCHEDELIC PROFUNDITIES
Having been in regular contact with Nigey Lennon since our interview in 2000, it finally dawned
on me (well, I am The Idiot!) that she could put me in touch with Frank’s
little sister, Patrice (aka Candy) who had sang a few
songs on ‘Reinventing The Wheel’. After the successful
‘Zappa sings Zappa’ shows with the Ed Palermo Big Band in August 2001, I
plucked up the courage to ask…
IB: First
of all, how is your mother Rosemarie?
CZ: So far, mom is holding her own. She is a young 89.
IB: What was Frank’s relationship with her like?
CZ: Frank loved mom but, as with any teenager, he was rebellious. He
respected mom, but had his own way of dealing with mom and dad. He went to mom
for more things than dad, I think.
IB: Was the young Frank neat and tidy?
CZ: From what I can remember about him, he was usually clean and dressed
neatly. I don’t remember much about his room as I only went in there every so
often, but it didn’t seem to be unnecessarily messy. Boys can be slobs, but I
don’t remember Frank as a slob. He was pretty particular about his
surroundings. He was always coming and going with his friends, so it was a
little sketchy as to remembering his hygiene and domestic habits!
IB: Can you describe the house on “G” Street in
CZ: As I told Peter Mackay (see http://members.cox.net/bill_lantz/petermackay.html),
the house on “G” street was big and it smelled old. I loved it. It had a
basement and an attic, a large dining room, hardwood floors, a screened in
porch. Mom remembers one time they put their bed out there because it was too
hot to sleep in the house. I spent many a happy time there and I have many fond
memories of it.
IB: What was Kay like?
CZ: Kay was very nice, and she had lots of cats. As a young girl who loved
cats, that made her OK in my book! But what went on between Frank and Kay was
not my business. I only know that when they split, Frank called mom to come and
get him.
IB: Were you around when Frank made that phone call to Edgard
Varèse?
CZ: I think I was too young to know about it.
IB: What did you think of the Varèse album,
and Frank’s fascination with it?
CZ: Unfortunately, I never heard the
IB: Did you ever borrow Frank’s old 45s?
CZ: No, I never borrowed them. But occasionally he would play them for me
when I was little, and dance with me – twirl me around – and I thought it was
the best time for me.
IB: What is your own personal taste in music, and who are your biggest
influences?
CZ: I love, no wait I LOVE JAZZ. I, of course,
love Frank’s music – mostly the instrumental stuff. Motown,
the black sound of the 50s and 60s – in fact, Frank’s music collection
contained a lot of the stuff I grew to love. I write and love songs with good
melody and harmonies and, as the teenyboppers on American Bandstand used to
say, “I give it a 65 because you can dance to it”. Good rhythms are also
important. I also love classical music, and sounds that catch my attention –
not so much punk or metal sounds.
IB: As well as music, Frank liked to record a lot of things – his group
eating breakfast (on ‘Don’t Eat There’ from ‘Playground Psychotics’) for
example. To your knowledge, did he ever record The Soul Giants before they
became The Mothers – either on stage or at play?
CZ: I have no knowledge of whether or not he recorded the Soul Giants.
IB: Why are you called Candy?
CZ: My brother Carl named me Candy because, as a baby, he thought I was
sweet.
IB: Do you write your own songs?
CZ: Yes I do write my own songs and have recorded several, and performed
them too.
IB: What kept you going to achieve your ambition?
CZ: Well, knowing that I could sing and loved doing it – in fact, Frank
told me that I “sang well” and, coming from Frank, that was money in the bank.
That was one thing. He told me to keep working, and I wanted to. I like
performing and no one has thrown tomatoes at me, so I guess my audiences like
it too!
IB: What will your Nigey-produced R&B album
be like?
CZ: So far the ‘Reinventing The Wheel’ CD is quite
good; everyone that has heard it has given us good reviews. Any new projects we
have planned are still in the works.
IB: What were the concerts with Ed Palermo at the Bottom Line like?
CZ: Oh my, where do I begin? First of all, meeting all of those wonderfully
talented musicians – and, of course, Mr Palermo himself – was incredible. And
singing in front of his 18-piece band was a dream come true. The audiences were
wonderful, so supportive and attentive.
IB: Do you have any plans to work with Ed again?
CZ: Oh GOD, I hope so!! He has told me that I have to come back again! I
would love to work with Ed on a regular basis and he has told me that if I move
there I have a regular gig with his band. It could happen – don’t know when –
but it could!
IB: How did you meet Nigey – who approached who?
CZ: A friend gave me her book, ‘Being Frank: My Time With
Frank Zappa’, and after reading it, I was totally intrigued with her and I
called, left a message saying who I was. Nigey
returned the call; we met for dinner at which time she presented me with a
beautiful framed picture of Frank. I played her some tapes of my singing and
she asked me if I would sing on her upcoming CD. And the rest is history.
IB: How did your relationship with Frank change once he became well known?
CZ: Well, we didn’t get to see each other as you can imagine. Whenever I
did get to go up there to the house, it was done with an appointment because he
was so busy. I got to go to his concerts, which were always the best. We talked
on the phone occasionally and I missed him horribly.
IB: How is your relationship with your other siblings?
CZ: My other brothers and half sister Ann and I are close. Carl lives with
mom and takes care of her, as do I. And my other brother, Bob, lives back east
with his wife. Ann also lives back east and we talk quite often.
IB: What are your memories of Don Van Vliet?
CZ: Don would come over to the house with Frank when I was playing and
singing and told me he liked my voice. He wore really unusual shoes...
IB: Ah, the Captain’s fat Theresa shoes! I understand he has an extensive
collection of sinister footwear. Okay, how about Jim Sherwood?
CZ: Jim Sherwood, aka Motorhead,
was a cool guy. He and Frank would also come over to our house when I was in
junior high. When I would serve them coffee, I asked Jim how he wanted it and
he said, “just pour sugar in till it comes over the side”. I never forgot that.
IB: And Ray Collins?
CZ: Ray ‘Baby’ Collins was cool, too. I got to sing with him in 1963 at my parents’
restaurant on the stage that Frank built to play his music.
IB: I was gonna ask about The Pit – do you recall its exact address?
CZ: I only
know that it was on Foothill in
IB: Wow, ten years before Donny and Marie! Aside from Nigey,
have you formed friendships with any other FZ alumni?
CZ: Well it’s funny you should ask: I met Bunk Gardner and Ian Underwood,
Ray and, I think, Jimmy Carl Black many years ago. But the other night I saw
the Grandmothers at the Palace in Los Angeles and met Billy Mundi,
Don Preston, Bunk (again) and Roy Estrada. I don’t hang with them as they are
busy, and I didn’t really get to know them.
IB: Were you as close to Frank as he was to Bobby or Carl?
CZ: I think Frank was a different kind of brother than Bob or Carl. Carl
was my playmate. Bob and Frank hung together, so I didn’t get to play with them
a lot. I just knew that I loved them all, but Frank was so great to me. Our
humour was just alike, both of us being rebellious and bent. What a
combination! When the boys
would all horseplay and I wanted to get in there and play too, our dad would
warn the boys to take care of "your baby sister", I do remember
that!"
IB: Is it true that Frank originally intended to record you and Bobby for
his Bizarre label?
CZ: I don’t know about Bob, but at one point he was going to have me sing
‘Status Back Baby’ from the ‘Absolutely Free’ album, but things beyond my
control prevented it.
IB: Did Frank make any specific lyrical references to you that you know of?
CZ: One night he was being interviewed on TV, and he did talk about his
sibling and mentioned that I was going to college and hadn’t recorded anything,
YET!
IB: You were one of many who auditioned for the part of Drakma
(the Queen of Cosmic Greed) in Frank’s opera Hunchentoot.
Do you remember when and where that took place?
CZ: In the early 80s. But it was too high for my vocal range and I was
totally disappointed that I couldn’t do it.
IB: Frank wasn’t particularly interested in how he would be remembered, but
what do you remember most of all about him?
CZ: I remember many things, but his presence was so totally intense and he cared
about me and our family. He could look at things and just know what it was all
about. He was a human being who deserved to be treated well and sometimes he
just wasn’t. I remember that he sought my opinion about what he did. How many
people can say that about a family member? You have to remember I was 11 years younger than Frank
so a lot of his activities were spent with his friends and girls! So I can't
tell too much about our life together, only what I can remember. I
wouldn't trade my time with Frank for anything.
IB: That
was very, um, sweet. Thanks, Candy!
CZ: No
problem. I hope that you have a multitude of visits to your site and that what
I had to say makes a little difference!
***
A fredited version of this interview will no doubt appear in
a future edition of T’Mershi Duween. Photo of
Candy with brother Bob taken by The Idiot Bastard at Zappanale #13.