“Frank asked me to transcribe St Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast after I told him I’d learned Inca Roads by ear. Maybe it was a challenge to see if I was bluffing!” When bassist Arthur Barrow survived an audition for guitar genius Frank Zappa
On June 15, 1978, Arthur Barrow underwent the audition for which he’d spent his whole life preparing. The North Texas State graduate had been given only two days to transcribe and perform a notoriously difficult unison line, one that no bassist had ever executed. But if anyone got a kick out of asking his musicians to do the impossible, it was Frank Zappa.
Barrow passed the audition and achieved one of the main goals he’d set for himself when moving to Los Angeles in 1975. In the process, he sparked a classic rearrangement of one of the maestro’s signature compositions, St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast from 1974s Apostrophe. It stands as one of the most terrifying unison lines ever performed by a bassist of any era, period.
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Prices from £2.99/$3.99/€3.49
