I saw Stevie at the Palace in Hollywood just after Frank passed and before his encore, he says I not only dedicate this concert or this tour to Frank, I dedicate my whole life to him. And then after the encore he threw his pick in the audience and I caught it and it's still one of my prized possessions. As Frank would say, my little Italian virtuosa.
It was in summer 1982, in Rome, and I was there. More than two hours of music, mostly new unreleased material in front of 17,000 people. An incredible night indeed!
I could not find a video of Stevie's Spanking that had a jam like that one and had the lyrics.. That jam was longer than most video versions with the lyrics, and I figured seeing those two jam like that was well worth dumping a lyrical version. BTW, Mr. Vai just turned 22 a few weeks before he played this.It is also rare to see Frank share a solo with anyone, which makes even more rare. Glad you enjoyed!
Frank didn't even let Adrian Belew play a bit longer while he was getting himself prepared. I felt that he kind of disrespected Belew that way, but I guess that makes this one special.
This is the solo from a longer song with lyrics, which tells the true story of Steve Vai and an encounter he had with a girl named Laurel he met in Notre Dame. The excellent camera work was by Zappa cameraman Thomas Nordegg.
@@mntzz On TH-cam you can find RDNZL from the Palermo concert. Additionally, as part of the fundraiser for financing Alex Winter's documentary, the subscribers received some exclusive audio/video snippets from The Vault. Among them, another RDNZL version from the Düsseldorf gig. It would be great to see the Nordegg tapes published in their entirety!
One piece of Nordegg shot video which is readily available on TH-cam is Zappa's performance of St. Etienne, also from the Video From Hell release. Beautifully captures Frank onstage intercut with footage of a French street performer. Terrific video.
You must listen to the version from "Them Or Us", where the vocals are included and begin: "His name is stevie vai And he's a crazy guy Last November, I recall, He needed a spanking." Seeing the master and the next generation of masters playing together? That's some special stuff. Yeah, there's a banana involved in Stevie's spanking as well by the way. Blessings.
@@davetothebeard the version I saw in '81 had scissors and actual cutting of Stevie's hair. I did miss the lyrics a lot in this version but there's no denying the guitars killed.
In this song, Zappa documents actual events which transpired between Steve Vai and Laurel Fishman as they were reported to Zappa at a breakfast meeting the following morning (according to FZ in The Real Frank Zappa Book pages 212-216. '''Laurel Fishman''' (the female subject of the song) is a groupie that had followed FZ from the late 1960s onwards. This song is one of many in Zappa's repertoire that pokes fun at his bandmembers' sexual encounters with Groupies.
These guitar pieces individually are both God tier. Them being synchronized with such beauty and care is in consideration for the greatest guitar "piece" of all time.
I saw Steve Vai during this time in a small night club in Reseda, CA and it was being promoted as a Frank Zappa imitation band. He was working on songs from his Flexible album seeing how the audience reacted to them. Then he brought his student that he was teaching guitar to... Dweezil Zappa. They played a few songs together including "My Guitar Wants...", I won't finish that title, TH-cam may have a problem with some of the words.
Where have you been living? In Reseda? Haha. I was there too. I saw Stevie all over LA when he played the bar scene and the bigger clubs. I just bought tickets for the Portland show in November. I can't wait.
If I remember correctly, the studio version on Them Or Us includes two guitar solos. One by Dweezil and the other by Steve Vai. One of the very few Zappa albums to feature guitar solos by other musicians besides Frank. And the whole album is very diverse so give it a listen.
Frank released this in 1987 on his video called Video From Hell. It's full of tid bits from different eras. I bought it at the time. This was something like thirty years before TH-cam, if you can imagine a civilization existing without internet. (Some can't) Great reaction. See yaz next time.
This was just the guitar solos from the song. For the full song, with lyrics that tell the true story of Stevie's Spanking, check out the Them or Us album! And I'm pretty sure Steve Via was playing Frank's strat that Jimi Hendrix burned on stage. It later came into Zappa's possession and he restored it.
Seek out the "Dub Room Special" version of this song, complete with Bobby Martin's fantastic vocal workout. You will get the whole sad story of Stevie and his spanking.
You know I was kind of pissed the other day that one video got blocked I just can't imagine that the Zappa Family Trust would have done that I think it must have been like Warner Brothers are some big label that he was in contract with they are the assholes that would pull that shit I guess
So cool to see someone...ANYone...keeping up w/ Steve Vai. But Zappa was Steve Vai before even Steve Vai was Steve Vai...so many young folks never heard of Zappa, or think of him as a buffoon...he was probably a Top Ten rock n roll guitarist that ever lived...he shared a stage w/ Hendrix & just about everybody who was anybody back in the day, and never took a back seat to anyone.
If you guys want more Frank soloing, check out his Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar albums.....nothing but guitar solos. Love you both! Really enjoy your reactions and the attention you give to the music.
@@SightAfterDark You are most welcome. For an interesting solo exploration Frank's St. Etienne is most wonderful (the video version is a bit distracting because of bad quality)
Steve has often described his awe at Frank’s improvised solos. That speaks volumes. They sound wonderful together. Dan’s comment about Frank knowing when to get down and dirty is spot on. He knew when to bust it out and bring it home. Steve’s outfit was a fashion horrorshow, no question.
Most don’t realize, especially those recently Zapped, 😉, that FZ carefully selected his band members, some out of some really sleezy dives on the road to nowhere. He then pushed them to the utmost limits of their capabilities!!! When Frank felt like his band had peaked and they had maxed out what was available, that’s when he broke it down and started over. This is the reason for so many different troupes over the decades. Look up Steve Vai interviews on TH-cam, I can guarantee he mentions FZ in every one!!!
I notice, upon stumbling on your page here because I was looking for FZ stuff, there's a lot of Zappa recommendations from your patrons. What happened? You do one and all the Zappa diehards come out of the woodwork? That might happen...Man was a genius. His band members were obviously tops in their talents too, but Frank had it all: eye for great talent, as in those willing to put in the work for his legendarily grueling rehearsal schedule being a chief part of it. Hard to believe Frank was so anti drug but it made sense. He demanded a lot of his band and his philosophy was "we deliver entertainment on time" (my paraphrasing from his bio) so if guys showed up half cut on dope, they simply couldn't put in the work needed to learn the material correctly.
I'd love to see you guys watch Son of Orange County and Trouble Every Day off of the Dweezil Zappa "Zappa Plays Zappa DVD. It's over 30 minutes long but you owe it to yourself to watch the duals between the guitarists and Sheila on sax. Otherworldly shit man. Please watch!!!
Gotta throw those guitar strings away after each of these songs. Vai got his start with Zappa. In fact, he got Zappa's number cause a friend found someone's rock star rolodex and Zappa's number was in it. Vai sent him a transcription he did of Black Page and eventually Zappa got back to him. Vai said it was a real challenge to perform Zappa's set list which had like 50 or 60 songs that Frank would just randomly pick during a performance. But Frank played with many great artists that rockers may not be familiar with but who were well known in fusion circles.
If you like this give a listen to the version from the You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore series. It is the lyric version and the mix is better. I think the solo section is better on that one, but that's just me.
I agree. A Guitar is like a singer. When the beat has a good rhythm flow,it can on and on and on...... Zappa was more in groove, with a steadier beat. The best drummers, in his prime eras, were Bozzio,and Chad Wackerman. With a genius, who already writes too subversively,creating chaotic moments that could break the concentration of ordinary people to listen to, his best drummers to soften that up were Bozzio and Wackerman. They consistently kept the zappa rhythm flowing smoothly, in solos and in the style of his music, modernizing it a little, and commercializing it a bit, allowing more plain people to groove easier to it.
Qualche anno prima Frank aveva chiesto di suonare alla Scala di Milano, ma gli fu negato... Gli promisero il concerto a Roma ai Fori Imperiali, ma poi finimmo nella polvere del vecchio e abbandonato Mattatoio nel quartiere di Testaccio di Roma
Just the instrumental section? That's ok. But the song gives a good idea of how difficult it must have been to be in Frank's band. Not only do you have to work for a perfectionist slave-driver, but you also have to put up with him making up songs about your sex life.
Not the best version of this that I have heard. Never the less still SUBLIME!(eyes roll into the back of my head and I become Zen Master of sound wave enlightenment) :)
It takes a big pair of Trousers to blow Steve Vai off the stage, I suppose that was the reason for the wardrobe choice. Zappa the Stratocaster years...
Yeah PS I think those record labels don't want you listening to this music anymore they want you to hear the dreary mediocre pablum that they Dole out nowadays and if you heard this you do realize that other shit is absolutely horrible so they don't want you to have something to compare it with if you're not in the know
If you liked this, be sure to check out our Frank Zappa podcast!
th-cam.com/video/qyOpmQ7p-DA/w-d-xo.html
I saw Stevie at the Palace in Hollywood just after Frank passed and before his encore, he says I not only dedicate this concert or this tour to Frank, I dedicate my whole life to him. And then after the encore he threw his pick in the audience and I caught it and it's still one of my prized possessions. As Frank would say, my little Italian virtuosa.
Stevie is a true class act. Zappa was his mentor friend buddy teacher taskmaster big brother. Just so cool 😎😎😎😎😎
City of tiny lights and Punky's whips live
Well, it would havta BE live as I don't believe there are any 'studio' versions of those songs
It was in summer 1982, in Rome, and I was there. More than two hours of music, mostly new unreleased material in front of 17,000 people. An incredible night indeed!
Amazing!
Lucky you!
I could not find a video of Stevie's Spanking that had a jam like that one and had the lyrics.. That jam was longer than most video versions with the lyrics, and I figured seeing those two jam like that was well worth dumping a lyrical version. BTW, Mr. Vai just turned 22 a few weeks before he played this.It is also rare to see Frank share a solo with anyone, which makes even more rare. Glad you enjoyed!
They are both so amazing!
Agreed.
Awesome choice!
Frank didn't even let Adrian Belew play a bit longer while he was getting himself prepared. I felt that he kind of disrespected Belew that way, but I guess that makes this one special.
The student and the master. Stevie would go on to do things to the guitar that manufacturers never intended.
Absolutely
He didn't even use any lube. Those poor guitars
This is the solo from a longer song with lyrics, which tells the true story of Steve Vai and an encounter he had with a girl named Laurel he met in Notre Dame.
The excellent camera work was by Zappa cameraman Thomas Nordegg.
Shoutout to Thomas!
And guitar tech extraordinaire.
Thomas Nordegg filmed all the Europe 82 Shows, I wonder what the Zappa family is waiting to release those amazing videos.
@@mntzz On TH-cam you can find RDNZL from the Palermo concert. Additionally, as part of the fundraiser for financing Alex Winter's documentary, the subscribers received some exclusive audio/video snippets from The Vault. Among them, another RDNZL version from the Düsseldorf gig. It would be great to see the Nordegg tapes published in their entirety!
One piece of Nordegg shot video which is readily available on TH-cam is Zappa's performance of St. Etienne, also from the Video From Hell release. Beautifully captures Frank onstage intercut with footage of a French street performer. Terrific video.
Wow! Never seen this before, Thanks. Imagine how sonic this would be with Adrian Belew too!!!
For real!
That is a very young Steve Vai, just 21yrs. Old. One awesome guitar player. 👍👍👍✌️❤️😃
Amazing
You must listen to the version from "Them Or Us", where the vocals are included and begin:
"His name is stevie vai
And he's a crazy guy
Last November, I recall,
He needed a spanking."
Seeing the master and the next generation of masters playing together? That's some special stuff.
Yeah, there's a banana involved in Stevie's spanking as well by the way.
Blessings.
And a hair brush….
or the you can't do that on stage anymore volume 4 version which is this version but with the lyrics
@@davetothebeard the version I saw in '81 had scissors and actual cutting of Stevie's hair. I did miss the lyrics a lot in this version but there's no denying the guitars killed.
Thanks Leo!
In this song, Zappa documents actual events which transpired between Steve Vai and Laurel Fishman as they were reported to Zappa at a breakfast meeting the following morning (according to FZ in The Real Frank Zappa Book pages 212-216.
'''Laurel Fishman''' (the female subject of the song) is a groupie that had followed FZ from the late 1960s onwards. This song is one of many in Zappa's repertoire that pokes fun at his bandmembers' sexual encounters with Groupies.
Exactly.
I missed the song section but ultimately don’t care. Those two killedme, yet again.
Suzie Creamcheese too......
Finally you guys are reacting to my favourite Frank Zappa song! And it's with none other than with Steve Vai himself!
😃
These guitar pieces individually are both God tier. Them being synchronized with such beauty and care is in consideration for the greatest guitar "piece" of all time.
I saw Steve Vai during this time in a small night club in Reseda, CA and it was being promoted as a Frank Zappa imitation band. He was working on songs from his Flexible album seeing how the audience reacted to them. Then he brought his student that he was teaching guitar to... Dweezil Zappa. They played a few songs together including "My Guitar Wants...", I won't finish that title, TH-cam may have a problem with some of the words.
Shout out to Dweezil and Steve!
Where have you been living? In Reseda? Haha. I was there too. I saw Stevie all over LA when he played the bar scene and the bigger clubs. I just bought tickets for the Portland show in November. I can't wait.
About time we see some great videos of frank's best eras, 77- Bozzio era, 82- Vai era and then his last 1988 tour.
Stevies work with John Lydon Pil album Album is simply stunning as is that whole album-particularly Ease!
If I remember correctly, the studio version on Them Or Us includes two guitar solos. One by Dweezil and the other by Steve Vai. One of the very few Zappa albums to feature guitar solos by other musicians besides Frank. And the whole album is very diverse so give it a listen.
Thanks!
Frank released this in 1987 on his video called Video From Hell. It's full of tid bits from different eras. I bought it at the time. This was something like thirty years before TH-cam, if you can imagine a civilization existing without internet. (Some can't) Great reaction. See yaz next time.
Thanks for watching Marc! See ya around!
now that is some bad ass guitar playing.!!!!👏👏👏
Steve can be a little flash - Zappa always sounds like himself melodically
Thank you, thank you , thank you ! You made my week !!
Glad you enjoyed 😊
Che bei ricordi...ero lì..con Frank e Steve (Stefano) Vai..."Impossible guitar" said Frank...
Ciao!!
I had a pair of those shorts in the eighties ! They were cool back then ! 😂
Lol #highfashion
This was just the guitar solos from the song. For the full song, with lyrics that tell the true story of Stevie's Spanking, check out the Them or Us album!
And I'm pretty sure Steve Via was playing Frank's strat that Jimi Hendrix burned on stage. It later came into Zappa's possession and he restored it.
Amazing!! Thanks Andy!
Seek out the "Dub Room Special" version of this song, complete with Bobby Martin's fantastic vocal workout. You will get the whole sad story of Stevie and his spanking.
Thanks John!
You know I was kind of pissed the other day that one video got blocked I just can't imagine that the Zappa Family Trust would have done that I think it must have been like Warner Brothers are some big label that he was in contract with they are the assholes that would pull that shit I guess
Who knows 🤷♂️
Absolutely insane musicianship. And this was before Stevie had a hair blowing fan on his pedalboard!
FZ just a bit over peak and Stevie hitting his stride...This is such a precious recording of a moment in music history...
So true!
So cool to see someone...ANYone...keeping up w/ Steve Vai. But Zappa was Steve Vai before even Steve Vai was Steve Vai...so many young folks never heard of Zappa, or think of him as a buffoon...he was probably a Top Ten rock n roll guitarist that ever lived...he shared a stage w/ Hendrix & just about everybody who was anybody back in the day, and never took a back seat to anyone.
BEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN. How About That...
If you guys want more Frank soloing, check out his Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar albums.....nothing but guitar solos. Love you both! Really enjoy your reactions and the attention you give to the music.
Thanks! And thanks for your support!
@@SightAfterDark You are most welcome. For an interesting solo exploration Frank's St. Etienne is most wonderful (the video version is a bit distracting because of bad quality)
Wow old franker Franks is on top of his game during this era
Lol yup
Steve has often described his awe at Frank’s improvised solos. That speaks volumes. They sound wonderful together. Dan’s comment about Frank knowing when to get down and dirty is spot on. He knew when to bust it out and bring it home. Steve’s outfit was a fashion horrorshow, no question.
😂😂😂 the outfit is what makes it!
@@SightAfterDark It constitutes a crime against humanity, for which he has yet to be tried.
Yeah I don't know where they cut in there but the thing is studio version it's got lyrics
Love when Steve just puffs Franks cigarette away, and Frank just looks at him and begin a new noodle. :)
😆
Best duo solos ever!!!!!
Steve Vai is about 20 years old here.....the pupil at the master's feet.
22, I believe. Born in 1960.
Thanks for this. Stevie is very Jeff Beckish and Frank is very Frank. No one is like Zappa. Very cool. Damn.
Well said!
Frank would introduce Steve as his stunt guitarist.
Lol sounds about right
Checkout Zappa plays Zappa with Steve Vai doing zombie woof. Vai’s solo is insane!
Thanks Michael!
Hi S.A.D., Mr. Stevie Vai is a beast on the Guitar.. ♠W.G.
🎸 !!
A "battle" of equals. I guess the cigarette tucked neatly into his guitar means FZ is smokin'? We know Mr. Vai can more than keep up.
Indeed!
Most don’t realize, especially those recently Zapped, 😉, that FZ carefully selected his band members, some out of some really sleezy dives on the road to nowhere. He then pushed them to the utmost limits of their capabilities!!! When Frank felt like his band had peaked and they had maxed out what was available, that’s when he broke it down and started over. This is the reason for so many different troupes over the decades. Look up Steve Vai interviews on TH-cam, I can guarantee he mentions FZ in every one!!!
Have you ever seen Dweezil with Steve playing "Frank Zappa Tribute - Dweezil Zappa and Steve Vai?" Very cool vid.
We haven’t, sounds awesome!
I can't believe how many pleats Frank's pants have and how short Steve's shorts are. Fashion of the times.
Lol quite stylish
I notice, upon stumbling on your page here because I was looking for FZ stuff, there's a lot of Zappa recommendations from your patrons. What happened? You do one and all the Zappa diehards come out of the woodwork? That might happen...Man was a genius. His band members were obviously tops in their talents too, but Frank had it all: eye for great talent, as in those willing to put in the work for his legendarily grueling rehearsal schedule being a chief part of it. Hard to believe Frank was so anti drug but it made sense. He demanded a lot of his band and his philosophy was "we deliver entertainment on time" (my paraphrasing from his bio) so if guys showed up half cut on dope, they simply couldn't put in the work needed to learn the material correctly.
Those clips of Zappa in a grey suit remind me of Borat...
😆
Huh.
If anyone got spanked there, it's probably the legions of guitarists who, like me, thought they had some shit!
🐠👁
LOL
On the albums it said, Steve Vai strat abuse, or impossible guitarparts.
Accurate
Steve Vai - Stunt Guitar
@@gornoman Correct.
@@gornoman Yes, I forgot that one.
I tried to tell you that , Listen to the video Steve vai on Frank Zappa it is very good at the Zoot allures concert in N.Y.
You tried to tell us what?
and ate a banana
This is a gem.
but as always original is the best...on the buss..
Steve Vai and his li'l shorty shorts.
Lol yup
I'd love to see you guys watch Son of Orange County and Trouble Every Day off of the Dweezil Zappa "Zappa Plays Zappa DVD. It's over 30 minutes long but you owe it to yourself to watch the duals between the guitarists and Sheila on sax. Otherworldly shit man. Please watch!!!
The main groove has a bit of a Earache My Eye vibe.lol
I visited Rome that week, missed the concert by two days 😒
Oh no!
@@SightAfterDark Then again I was in Rome the day Italy won the '82 football world championship. Still the biggest party I have ever been part of 😍
Shredfest🎸🎸
as zappa said..the italian virituoso
Indeed
Love your eyes
Gotta throw those guitar strings away after each of these songs. Vai got his start with Zappa. In fact, he got Zappa's number cause a friend found someone's rock star rolodex and Zappa's number was in it. Vai sent him a transcription he did of Black Page and eventually Zappa got back to him. Vai said it was a real challenge to perform Zappa's set list which had like 50 or 60 songs that Frank would just randomly pick during a performance. But Frank played with many great artists that rockers may not be familiar with but who were well known in fusion circles.
Imagine never hearing Vai and Zappa? Thank goodness for that Rolodex, such great info Squidkid!
If you like this give a listen to the version from the You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore series. It is the lyric version and the mix is better. I think the solo section is better on that one, but that's just me.
I agree. A Guitar is like a singer. When the beat has a good rhythm flow,it can on and on and on......
Zappa was more in groove, with a steadier beat. The best drummers, in his prime eras, were Bozzio,and Chad Wackerman. With a genius, who already writes too subversively,creating chaotic moments that could break the concentration of ordinary people to listen to, his best drummers to soften that up were Bozzio and Wackerman. They consistently kept the zappa rhythm flowing smoothly, in solos and in the style of his music, modernizing it a little, and commercializing it a bit, allowing more plain people to groove easier to it.
David Bowie -- Station to Station,live.
Qualche anno prima Frank aveva chiesto di suonare alla Scala di Milano, ma gli fu negato... Gli promisero il concerto a Roma ai Fori Imperiali, ma poi finimmo nella polvere del vecchio e abbandonato Mattatoio nel quartiere di Testaccio di Roma
Just an opportunity for Mr Spanks and Stevie hot pants to rip some riffs ... extended.
Lol mr spanks
Just the instrumental section? That's ok. But the song gives a good idea of how difficult it must have been to be in Frank's band. Not only do you have to work for a perfectionist slave-driver, but you also have to put up with him making up songs about your sex life.
Lmao pretty much
Excellent! But all you got was the lead solos. (Too bad this excellent clip left out the song part.) Zero complaints.
Yeah, no complaints but I was waiting for that, too.
We had no idea!
But Zappa have some albums consisting of guitar solos from his live recordings. This is not completely inapropriate
Hey Frank! can we rip it up tonight? OK Steve.
Lol we like to imagine that’s how it went
Not the best version of this that I have heard. Never the less still SUBLIME!(eyes roll into the back of my head and I become Zen Master of sound wave enlightenment) :)
It takes a big pair of Trousers to blow Steve Vai off the stage, I suppose that was the reason for the wardrobe choice. Zappa the Stratocaster years...
Listen to heavy duty Judy
this version of this song left out the story
Yeah PS I think those record labels don't want you listening to this music anymore they want you to hear the dreary mediocre pablum that they Dole out nowadays and if you heard this you do realize that other shit is absolutely horrible so they don't want you to have something to compare it with if you're not in the know
Stevie is good, but he got spanked and deservedly so; kinda like have SRV and Jimi together
No reaction. Hmm. Wwwhhhyyy are you making videos when you don’t react??
You want a puppet show, but we do reactions here- and they come out of our mouth in this video
No thumbs down for you because I like you, but this is not my music at all
What you here for
@@Driecnk to learn about good music and see that there is an alternative to ugly radio music, perhaps.
I am happy they are here.
We appreciate you Thomas!
@@bwana-ma-coo-bah425 What's good for the goose
This was INCREDIBLE. The spanking was what a girl did to him. Not his 🎸 work vs Frank