I think it is conceptually one of my better plans. Through Rhino [Records], we stole the actual records released by the bootleggers, we used digital technology to clean them up, and we're releasing them in very luxurious packages.
The idea for BTB did not originate at Rhino. Frank came to them with the proposal, but was not willing to spend an inordinate amount of time on the project. I believe he only did three or four interviews (maybe less), to hype the release. He claimed to be upset that so many unauthorized recordings existed that he would never see a financial gain from.
I was then asked to compile a list of boots (perhaps twenty-five for each volume), which was passed on to FZ for his perusal. All final decisions on what to include in the sets were made by him.
As to when I was first asked to compile a list it was in 1991, probably about four months before they wound up being released. The turn around and production time was amazingly brief.
[...] I believe that there was a clause in the contract that stipulated that if both parties were aptly rewarded with decent sales figures, there would be a box 2. But the lists were not compiled simultaneously. I think I first heard about the plans for BTB2 in February 92', when they approached me to compile a second list in addition to going through my FZ collection for printed artifacts to be used in the booklet. One of my co-workers in the department, Tom Troccoli, was also a big long-time FZ fan and had an abundance of reasonably rare shit of his own to contribute. He used to work and hang out with Cal, years ago. I thought the book turned out great considering the brief amount of time we had to work on it. Of course everything had to be approved by Frank and Gail, and it was constantly changing because Gail would find a mention of someone from Frank's past that she didn't like, or an old photo, or any reminder of Herbie Cohen, and it would be gone. I will now freely admit to something that no one has ever noticed out of Rhino Records . . . the face on the pop-up drummer on box 1 is mine.
My friend the art director, sent a photo of myself to Spain when he was hired to do the artwork, without telling me. Pretty cheap, huh? But it's a fun and goofy thing for me. I believe most people think it's just a bad rendition of Ralph Humphrey.
[...] Frank was not interested in devoting much of his personal time to this project, and let Gail act as the main liaison between Rhino and Frank. [...] I had no one contact with Frank during either BTB project. I never even spoke with Gail directly. It was all conducted through channels. I would give the list to the Rhino liaison and she in turn would deliver it to Gail who would theoretically pass it on to Frank.
[...] They did very well, and at the time were responsible for the largest overseas/export profit that Rhino had ever seen. In a sense Rhino was operating much like the actual original bootleggers, as they made no effort to pay any of the musicians for their performances on the albums, or for any of the copyrighted photos used in the BTB2 booklet. Frank alone got all the money from the deal, and again, the production costs were nil. I was actually surprised by the financial success of the project and evidently there were a lot more people interested in these items than I initially believed existed.
Zappa made a deal with Rhino records to issue some "bootlegs" in a series called Beat The Boots, seemingly designed to get back at bootleggers. [...] My friend Tom Brown worked at Rhino at the time and it was left up to him to choose which of his many bootleg Zappa albums would be used. He told me that the series was going to come out as legitimate albums, and that everyone would be paid what they were due. [...]
Happily expecting to get paid, I called the Rhino business office several times but got no response. Finally a secretary called back to tell me I needed to talk to Gail Zappa. [...] She was very hostile and among other things talked about the difficulty of finding all these musicians to pay them. I said I didn't know about the others, but you don't have to look for me, I'm right here. After she started yelling at me, I said I would check with the union and see what the rules were for live recordings. With that, she totally flipped out, telling me that I had better get a team of lawyers, and that I was forbidden from ever calling the house or having any contact with Frank or anyone in their organization! I was blacklisted!
[...] I never saw a dime, and I don't think any of the other Zappa players did either.
Marc Allan: Why aren't you cleaning the sound up on these bootlegs?
Frank Zappa: Well we did to a certain extent, most of the stuff was stolen back, the vinyl force. We spend quite a bit of time chopping out the record clicks of the digital editing system and they've been EQ'd a little bit, but the basic idea was to steal it all back, covers and all and sell it for less.
Marc Allan: [...] Have you ever heard many of the other bootlegs besides these 10?
Frank Zappa: I haven't even listened to these 10.
Marc Allan: Okay.
Frank Zappa: And I didn't even select them, they were done. That was done by a guy who works with Rhino who was an expert on this kind of stuff.
Maintained by Román García Albertos