PAULINE BUTCHER
Pauline Butcher was Zappa's
secretary from 1968 to 1972. She was initially hired to transcribe the lyrics
for Absolutely Free while the Mothers
Of Invention were in London for their first tour of Europe. But Zappa asked her
to work for him, and she moved from England to his Log Cabin in the Hollywood
Hills. Her duties included running the United Mutations fan club and
road-managing the GTOs (Girls Together Outrageously), a group Frank cobbled
together and recorded.
While in Los Angeles, she had a brief affair with Cal Schenkel. She can
be seen stroking her neck with a doll's foot in the Uncle Meat booklet.
In 2010, Plexus Books published her memoir, Freak Out! My Life With Frank Zappa. I interviewed her in 2012, and
have remained in touch with her ever since.
When
your book was published, you said you were hoping it would find a female
audience outside of the Zappa fan base. Has that happened?
No, because it was targeting Zappa fans. The new
re-structured version that I hope to come out some time in 2019 focuses more on
my journey and relationship with Frank Zappa rather than, as I planned it in
the original, as a view of Zappa’s women. I have down-played many of the
peripheral characters and the book will therefore have a more feminine arc to
the story. It also has chapter titles and a post-script stating what happened
to everyone since the end of the book.
Did
you get any feedback from either of the Underwoods? When I interviewed you six
years ago, you were hesitant about approaching Ruth – and Ian had yet to reply
to your email.
I did try to contact Ruth, but I could not trace
her. By the time Art Tripp gave me her details, the book was already out and it
was too late.
Ian Underwood turned up out of the
blue last year and we had a comical three weeks trying to communicate via
phone, Skype and messenger all of which failed and made it seem like an omen.
In the end, about August 2017, we did communicate by phone. We did catch up and
he had not read my book. I sent him a copy and he said he would contact me
afterwards. He did not. Ominous.
I did contact his two daughters via
Facebook because he gave me their names and they too said they would read the
book, but neither came back to me (cough).
I
assume you had no further contact with Gail after our first interview?
No, I had no further information from Gail from any source
about my book. I know she was planning to write her own memoir and I did think
my book would have helped her, but it seems, like so many of her projects, not
to have gotten very far.
I know that Dweezil has read my book
and he posted that he liked it. And Moon, at one time, had a copy of my book by
her bedside. But I’ve had no feedback from either of them, which is
disappointing.
How
did you feel about BBC Radio 4’s adaptation of your memoir for an Afternoon
Drama in 2014?[i]
I was flattered that the BBC decided my memoir
warranted a BBC adaptation. However, I was disappointed that they kept me at
arm’s length. I was not allowed to communicate with Matthew Broughton, the
adapter, nor did the BBC director, Kate McAll, allow me to see the script or go
to the recording studio while the recording was taking place. I therefore did
not know anything about the play until the afternoon it was broadcast in May
2014.
I
loved the portrayal by Lucy Briggs-Owen[ii]
of me. I thought she got the zaniness and humour spot on. However, I did not
like their portrayal of Frank Zappa[iii]
– the accent was wrong, the laugh was wrong and his ‘love’ attachment to me was
false. Yes, he no doubt fancied me in extreme but he contained that sexual
drive and turned it into a good working relationship and finally close
fondness. This was not portrayed in the play and I listened to ‘Frank’s’ heavy
breathing through open fingers and embarrassment.
Still,
taking me and Frank out of the picture, I thought it made a nice BBC afternoon
play, and even made it to ‘Pick of the Week’.
Yes,
it was an interesting listen, but they should have recruited you as an adviser,
at the very least. Never mind.
Last year, you went to Zappanale, where you
reunited with Bunk Gardner and Don Preston. How did you enjoy the whole
experience?
Zappanale was a wonderful experience. I have not
come across a group of people more friendly and kind than those Frank Zappa
fans.
Bad
Doberan, an ex-East-German, villagy style town, with its own steam railway
going through the middle, is the unlikeliest setting for Zappanale, but there
it is. Zappa fans from as far afield as Australia, Japan and California meet
and exchange stories with their European counterparts. We – my husband and I –
chose to stay in Bad Doberan while others prefer tents and caravans a few miles
along the railway line at the concert site.
At our
hotel, we met Denny Walley[iv]
and Patrick O’Hearn,[v]
both laid-back and wonderful company. At the concert site, I caught up with
Bunk Gardner and Don Preston and despite it being over 40 years since we’ve
seen each other, we reminisced like it was five minutes. During our chat, Bunk
assured me that Frank’s music will endure. Sadly I did not see their set, but
over two nights, before an audience of several thousand, we saw several groups
play, some better than others, but it didn’t matter because the atmosphere is
so joyous and devoted to Frank Zappa’s music that everyone gets a rave encore.
The organisers, too, are passionate about Frank Zappa. Wolfhard Kutz, who began
Zappanale in 1990, wanders among fans and performers chatting in German.
When I gave my talks about living in
Frank Zappa’s house with Gail and Moon and seven others, I had to stop after
every few sentences for a translator to convert my words into German. It’s a
perfect indication of the widespread appeal of FZ.
Then, a few miles on, the steam train stops at
the coast and we relaxed in a pretty seaside village, eating a delicious meal
overlooking the sea and admiring the many boats in the marina. We indulged a
cup of coffee in the 5-star Shangri-la hotel[vi]
on the way back where the G8 summit was held in 2007. Then on to Berlin and
Hamburg, both cities I love, so the round trip could not have been better.
I
recommend Zappanale to every Zappa fan, a journey like a rite of passage. I am
proud to have joined them.
Yeah,
it’s great. I first went in 2002 and have been back every year since. At my
first one, I met Frank’s brother, Bob, who very sadly passed away recently.
Have you read either of his books[vii] – what did you think of them?
I don’t think Zappa fans should, or do, care two
hoots about what I think of Bob Zappa’s books. People must make up their own
minds. But since I’ve been asked, I found them disappointing. Yes, there was
some indication of Frank’s volatile relationship with his father, but his
mother is hardly mentioned.
I wanted to know what it was like
growing up in that house and how his parents related, what was their mother’s
response to the arguments between father and son?
I also wanted to know about Frank’s
first wife, Kay, but we learn nothing about her, and Bob was the only person
who could tell us because Candy was too young. What was she like? What sort of
person was she? How did she and Frank relate, and why did they break up? Bob
did mention that Frank brought Kay to his wedding and this was after Frank was
divorced from Kay so it indicates that Frank still had yearnings for her and
perhaps explains Frank’s bitterness toward romantic love.
I also found Bob’s hatred toward Gail
unrelenting and distressing and finally, I was disappointed that he went to
Frank’s concerts and did not mention one word about the music. Rather, he was
anxious to tell us that Frank reported to the audience that his brother, Bob,
was among them.
I know it seems unkind to criticise
when Bob has recently died so suddenly but this is my honest answer.
Fair
enough.
You told me Miss Mercy[viii]
was supportive when you were writing
your book. I wondered if she has sought any help from you with hers?[ix]
Mercy did not request any help from me regarding her book. If anyone could
have done so, it would have been Pamela Des Barres[x]
who runs classes on how to write memoirs, and they are close friends. But Mercy
has someone else helping her.[xi]
I would not have been suited as I
don’t know the characters in her compelling story. I wish her every success
when it comes out. I understand it’s nearly complete.
Yes,
it should be a fascinating read.
As well as reconstructing your book,
you have now written a stage play about Frank and Gail. Tell me about that.
The play is called Honest
Betrayal. It is set in London over one week while Frank is suing the Albert
Hall for cancelling his concert four years earlier. It is now 1975 and Frank
and Gail are staying at a plush 5-star hotel in London. He auditions a young
19-year old soprano for a part in this forthcoming film and tells Gail that he
wants to take her back to LA to live with them both, so Gail has somehow to
deal with this dilemma.
Also in the play is a scene from the
court case, a meeting with a Catholic priest and a man with a gun. There is a
lot of humour and a lot of drama but the big challenge will be to find someone
to play Frank Zappa. That task is for Nadia Papa,[xii]
the director, and she is presently setting up auditions. I have completed the script
and passed it on to her.
Frank’s music is discussed but only a
spattering is played.
The play will be performed on April
17, 18, 19, and on the 20th a matinee and evening performance at Hampton Hill
Theatre, Middlesex, 12 miles outside of London. The nearest station is Fulwell.
Tickets will be £15 and I am hoping
that they can be bought as soon as the system is set up. I am financing the
play myself with the aim that someone from theatre-land in London will pick it
up.
Break
a leg – see you on opening night!
Interview conducted on 7th January
2019.
***
Honest Betrayal poster courtesy of
Pauline.