Being Frank: My Time With Frank Zappa

by Nigey Lennon

Since his untimely death from prostate cancer in 1993, the legend of iconoclastic musician Frank Zappa has continued to grow. The decade following his passing has seen the publication of a number of books, both sacred and profane, which examine his life and work, but the best, and only, up-close-and-personal account of the man and his music remains the Nigey Lennonâ s Being My Time with Frank Zappa. Musician/author Lennon maintained a personal and professional relationship with Zappa during the period which is generally agreed to have been the composerâ s most creative, and she invests her recollections with considerable musical and emotional insight.
â Irreplaceableâ ¦is the word to describe Being Frankâ ¦[Lennon's] memoir is both spiky and musically literateâ ¦Lennonâ s previous books were on Mark Twain and Alfred Jarry, which indicates the kind of cultural perspective required to get a grip on something brighter than rock-journo pedantry.â
â Ben Watson, author of Frank The Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play
With new material by the author, a Preface by David Walley (author of No Commercial The Saga of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention), a Foreword by Greg Russo (author of Cosmik The Collected History and Improvisations of Frank Zappa), and an Introduction by Candy Zappa.
NIGEY LENNON is a composer, performer, and producer and the author of seven published books. She lives in New York.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography

268 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1995

Reviews

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Largely unpleasant book about having sex with Frank Zappa while on the road with The Great Master. Portions of the book read like some of his faux witty long-winded liner notes. I liked her stories about Ray Collins and Captain Beefheart more than the Zappa sex stuff. The most interesting part is Lennon's bizarre take on Zappa's on-stage attack at The Rainbow Theater.

[Jeff Enns · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was yet another interesting view into the life of Zappa. I have read numerous books on him and enjoyed most of them for differing reasons. The mammoth number of typos in this book was rather distracting though. Who was editing this? A grade 5 English class?

[David Layton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nigey Lennon's memoir of her time as Frank Zappa's piece on the side during part of his 1971 tour is a strange read. In part, this strangeness perhaps comes from the fact that virtually no other writing about Zappa mentions her. This fact gave me a sense that she figured far more prominently in Zappa's life in her mind than she did in his, or in the minds of those around him. That she was in the Zappa orbit is beyond question, given her relations with Ruth Underwood, Ray Collins, and Don van Vliet. Nothing on the Zappa wiki about her contradicts what she says as matters of facts. I still get a sense, though, that this book is like a long diary entry by a girl (she was 17 at the time, and in her early 20s when she finally "broke" from Zappa) who had a crush on a superstar, and let him use her as he wished. Her sense that she was somehow significant to Zappa is best indicated in her claim that the Zappa song Andi is about her. I read her book and the lyrics, and I just don't see the connection. From her description of Zappa's behavior, it does not seem plausible that she figured large enough in his mind to bother writing a song about. There are other bothersome elements to the book. One is that she tries very hard to emulate Zappa, which comes out as an unwarranted condescending attitude to certain kinds of music and to most people in general. Another is in the format of the book, which desperately tries to emulate (cash in on?) Zappa's autobiography The Real Frank Zappa Book (a much better read), with such things as shifted typeface to deliver punch lines, and comic-style illustrations similar to those in Zappa's book. A last irksome element is her attitude toward Zappa's wife at the time, Gail, who is mentioned around three times, never by name, and always in the negative. Thus, that Nigey Lennon never really openly confronts her own problems with ethics and honesty makes this a rather weak memoir. All that aside, the book does work as a good lesson example of why one should never try to gain the affections of a workaholic genius.

[Mary Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating glimpse into the real Frank Zappa's personality.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lennon was your average rebellious teenager in 1960s California, until she discovered a strange looking album by someone named Frank Zappa at the local record store. She bought everything she could find by him, and wore out the albums due to playing them over and over. A budding songwriter, she and her boyfriend recorded several songs on reel-to-reel tape and sent them to Zappa.

Months went by, until the phone call came asking if they could stop by at the offices of Zappa’s record label. That would be enough for most people, but to realize that Zappa actually listened to the tape was overwhelming. His general opinion was that she didn’t stink, but that she wasn’t ready yet. On thing led to another, and a trip to the Zappa residence led to an invitation to be a substitute guitarist on his next tour.

On tour, Zappa rarely, if ever, indulged in the alcohol and drugs that are part of any tour, if only to keep that boss/employee distance. He was obsessive/compulsive and a perfectionist who, because of constant stomach problems, drank kaopectate by the gallon. Lennon’s time on the tour was rather short, only a couple of months. Zappa sent her home after word got to Mrs. Zappa that their relationship wasn’t exactly platonic.

Time went by, and after Lennon got thrown out of the house (the relationship with her parents was not good), she was able to crash in the basement of the Zappa residence, on the understanding that she not disturb him while he was composing. He had been seriously injured at a concert in England, and, physically and emotionally, things had changed. The arrangement lasted for a while, until Zappa went back on tour.

More time went by, and Lennon attempted to continue her music studies at a local college. She again ran into Zappa while he was rehearsing a grand, orchestral piece called The Great Wazoo. She tried to be as helpful as possible, while also learning as much as possible. Zappa seemed to tolerate her, more than he actually wanted her around. The relationship between them ends badly.

Zappa fans should read this book. He is shown to be a lot more than just someone with strange ideas about music. For rock music fans in general, this is a gem of a book.

[Bryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well this one was a let down. I love to read the occasional music bio and hadn't in a while. I've had a love/frustration relationship with Zappa since high school. I read his autobiography (still one I would recommend) back then, and have been wanting to read more since then. This one is not the one I should have read. It reads like a celeb tabloid magazine article. Written by Nigey Lennon (who?), who claims to have worked with Frank during the Apostrophe/Over Nite Sensation era. Yet, I had never heard of her..She is not listed anywhere in those album's credits or liner notes..And if you read any hardcore Frank Fanatic's review of this book, they claim this is 100% fabrication. Wherein lies the trouble. It sounds like fan fiction, or even more appropriately, fan fantasy. Of course, Nigey claims to have slept with Frank on more then one occasion and eventually cohabitated...Then how come no one has heard of her?
I was happy to be done with it...Will continue my quest to find a "good Zappa bio".
Great guggily muugily