Oh . . . you were the girl that was stuck to seat 38 on Phydeaux III . . .
I think Phydeaux was the name of Frank's tour bus(es) for a number of years. The first time I saw him (Portland OR Paramount, probably sometime in 1976) the tour bus behind the hall was painted to look just like a Greyhound bus, but the word "Greyhound" that normally occupies the entire side of the bus was replaced with "Phydeaux" (same lettering style), and the sleek greyhound logo picture was replaced with a dorky-looking, crosseyed dog saying "Arf!". I don't know whether Phydeaux 3 refers to the third incarnation of the bus, or the third in the fleet that may have been in existence by the time of JG.
Tour busses I've seen at subsequent tours didn't have the FZ graphics, but I guess the name stuck.
Thursday evening . . . we waited as usual in the line that snaked around the old Paramount Theater. [...] As we were standing in line behind the Paramount, I noticed the bus parked at the curb. At first glance it could have been a Greyhound bus, but instead of a sleek racing dog, we were treated instead to the image of an extremely ratty looking mutt belching out the word "Arf!" No Greyhound here, folks. This was "Phydeaux."
We had our own bus. It was marked up like a Greyhound only instead of the sleek Greyhound it was this mangy cur with a bandaid on its ass. Phydeaux transit. People always thought it was a Greyhound until they saw the logo.
To get from one European ski location to another, Daron Rahlves travels in a tour bus designed by the late Frank Zappa, who was clearly a man of many talents.
Rahlves' talents are concentrated in Alpine skiing, and the Zappa bus enabled him to travel comfortably on the World Cup circuit for the 2004-05 season. His energy-drink sponsor picked up the tab for the leased coach and provided him with a professional driver.
"It feels like home. It's a good thing," Rahlves said. "I really use the bus more for daytime, training and race day. I get out of the smoky lodges, eat some food, kick back and relax. I'll sleep in it about half the time, when it's convenient. It's cool because it's parked right next to the finish line. It makes it hassle-free."
The late Ken Kesey had his Merry Pranksters hippie bus. John Madden has his Madden Cruiser. Rahlves has his Zappa, a 40-foot rolling hotel room for the upwardly (as in altitude) mobile. It was once used by Madonna; if Rahlves shows up for races wearing a spangled bustier, you'll know why.
Research, compilation and maintenance by Román García Albertos