from frank zappa, the real frank zappa book

let's get into show business.  at one time there was a place called the pal recording studio in (don't laugh) cucamonga, california.  it was established by an amazing gentleman named paul buff. while serving [in the military], he decided to learn electronics, so that when he got out he could apply what he had learned and build his own recording studio.  he got out, rented a place at 8040 archibald avenue and set out to change the direction of american popular music.
he didn't have a mixing console, so he built one- out of an old 1940's vanity.  he removed the mirror and, right in the middle where the cosmetics would have gone, installed a metal plate with boris karloff knobs on it.  he built his own homemade, five-track, half-inch tape recorder- at a time when the standard in the industry was mono.  (i think only les paul had an eight-track then. buff was able to overdub in the same way les paul could, but in a more primitve way.)
he wanted to become a singer-songwriter, so he listened to all the latest hit records, figured out what the hooks were and, through a mysterious process, created his own little hook-laden replicas.

he taught himself how to play the five basic instruments of rock and roll: drums, bass, guitar, keyboards and alto saxophone- then taught himself how to sing. he made master tapes of finished songs, then drove into hollywood and atempted to lease them to capitol, del-fi, dot and original sound.

some of these tunes actually became 'regional hits.'  "tijuana surf" (with paul multitracking himself) became a long-running number-one record in mexico, i wrote and played guitar on the b side, an instrumental called "grunion run."  it was released on original sound under the name of, the hollywood persuaders.

i worked with him for about a year until he got into financial trouble and was in danger of losing his studio. so, remember the really cheap cowboy movie that my high school english teacher wrote the script for in 1959?  after endless delays, run home slow (starring mercedes mccambridge) was completed and scored in 1963.  i even got paid for it- not all of it, but most of it.  i took part of the money and bought a new guitar, and used the rest to 'buy' pal records from paul.  in other words, i agreed to take over his lease and the rest of his debt.