**Sun 05 Jun 05**
IMPROVISATION... AND FRANK ZAPPA
More from conversations with Jivan...
(from Brian May's Soapbox - already unavailable... Hungarian version here.)
I was fortunate enough to meet Frank Zappa, a truly great rock musician, and a very unorthodox and innovative creator. He was already very ill when I met him (I was working with his son in L.A. ) I told him I admired his skill and courage in improvising so much in his music, live in front of large audiences. He said, "Courage? - What do you mean?! " I said that I was always very aware of the possibilities of making mistakes. He replied, "How can you make a mistake? It is your solo, your guitar, and you are playing a piece of your own music. Who could possibly tell you you are making a mistake?!!"
On this recent Queen/PR tour I [have] made the decision to have an extra guitarist in the band (in Queen in the old days there was only me). The theory is that he can cover the rhythm parts, and I am much more free to explore countermelodies, interact with the vocals, improvise, without the sound falling to pieces. Having done this, I have been keen to make sure I take advantage of the opportunity to evolve into the more adventurous player I have visualised. It's been largely successful, but I have made some bad "mistakes" - well, if not mistakes in the Zappa sense, then at least "Things I did not mean to play!" However on the whole, I have found much pleasure in the adventures I have plunged myself into .... and I feel our audiences are seeing something much more individual, unique, special to the moment, and so I don't intend to go back!!!
Please let me know your thoughts, Jivan... I would be most interested.
P.S would you mind if I published some of our 'conversation' about this on my Website... ? I think many people would share an interest in this area.
with love and respect
Brian
(c) brianmay.com - from Brians' Soapbox, published here with Brian May's kind permission. Thank you, Brian!
2006, May 5 - 18:17.
