| Los Angeles freak scene | |
|---|---|
| Years active | 1960s–1970s |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
| Major figures | |
| Influenced | Hippie |
TheLos Angeles freak scene (also known as theL.A. freak scene orfreak scene) was a movement andsubculture that emerged inSouthern California during the early-to mid 1960s. The scene was led byVito Paulekas, who in 1961, along with his wife Szou, established a clothingboutique on the corner of Laurel Avenue andBeverly Boulevard inHollywood, close toLaurel Canyon. Paulekas assembled an expanding group of associates who were referred to as "freaks" or "freakers". His main partner would beCarl Franzoni (aka "Captain Fuck"), described as a "self-styled leader" of the freak scene. These individuals formed part of his dance troupe, which practiced a style offree-form dancing which noted them inSunset Strip nightclubs as "an acid-drenched extended family of brain-damaged cohabitants". The scene would also be associated with the West Coast "freak-out" movement.
Paulekas has been described as the "King of the L.A. freak scene". His freakers would invade rock concerts for prominent local acts such asthe Byrds,Love andthe Mothers of Invention, which helped garner both the musicians and Vito and his freaks wider notoriety. In July 1965, the Byrds invited Vito and his freakers on a nationwide tour. WriterBarry Miles labeled Vito and his wife Szou as "the first hippies in Hollywood" and "perhaps the first hippies anywhere". In June 1966,Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention released their debut albumFreak Out! which was aconcept album based around the L.A. freak scene. Vito and his freakers would make guest appearances on the album's closing track. The group would be credited alongside musicianKim Fowley andSuzy Creamcheese as "The Mother's Auxiliary".
Artists such asAlice Cooper,the GTOs,Captain Beefheart, Kim Fowley, Frank Zappa,the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band andWild Man Fischer have been noted by music journalists as associated with the L.A. freak scene.
The "freak scene" has been referred to as the "Los Angeles freak scene" by several publications.[1][2][3][4][5] In July 1968, American musicianFrank Zappa, who had previously been a part of the L.A. freak scene,[6][3] was interviewed byRolling Stone magazine, where he discussed the difference between freaks and hippies, stating:[7]
There's a difference between freaks and hippies. Hippies don't really care what they look like and the freaks care an awful lot. Their packaging and image construction is a very important part of their life style. Now I didn't tell the guys what to wear; I merely suggested their mode of dress conform to what we were doing. I felt you couldn't play the sort of music we were playing and look the way some of the guys did — with processed pompadours. It took a year for some of the guys to change. You have to understand some of the guys lived inOrange County and they were afraid to go home if they looked too weird. After a while they gave in. I haven't talked to them about this in two years.
In 2017,Pitchfork retrospectively labeled the Los Angeles freak scene "a cousin of the Bay Area hippies".[5] According toShindig! magazine, the movement's "key players" were Frank Zappa andthe Mothers of Invention,Captain Beefheart,Kim Fowley andVito Paulekas.[8] While other acts such asthe GTOs andThe West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band were also noted as associated.[8]
In 1961, painter, sculptor and formermarathon dancing championVito Paulekas and his wife Szou established a clothingboutique on the corner of Laurel Avenue andBeverly Boulevard inHollywood, close toLaurel Canyon. The boutique was credited with being one of the first to introduce "hippie" fashion as well as a brand of free-form dancing that would become associated withhippie culture. Paulekas and his later associate Carl Franzoni (known as "Captain Fuck") were known for their sexual appetites and unconventional behavior.[9] They and an expanding troupe of associates called themselves "freaks" or "freakers", and became well known in the area by about 1963 for their eccentricfree-form dancing inSunset Strip nightclubs, being described as "an acid-drenched extended family of brain-damaged cohabitants".[10]
Vito has been regarded as an early hippie,[10] he provided rehearsal space for local bands such asthe Byrds in 1964 and laterLove.[11][12] His antics which included invading local rock concerts with his dance troupe, helped bring attention to several West Coast groups. Vito and his dancers would pioneer a style of free-form dance which became popular amongst hippies.[11][12] Paulekas and his troupe would later accompany the Byrds on a nationwide tour in July 1965.[13][14][15] He would be retroactively described as "a man in his fifties who presided over aharem of predominantly young female 'freakers'".[16] According toLos Angeles Times, Paulekas was the "king of the L.A. 'freak scene'".[17]
On the October 12, 1966 issue of British music magazineRecord Mirror, writer Norman Jopling interviewed musician and producerKim Fowley on the emergence of the freak scene:[18]
Well, back in 1934 or something there was this artist called Clay Vito, who lived in California. He had aBeatle hair-cut and all that, and he was the big hippie of the time.Time went by, and Clay made a solid reputation and he began to get interested in music. Well, when rock 'n' roll came along about 1954 him and his crowd began to get interested. There were different stages of rock, you know, the British sound, and Clay had this reputation as a patron. Groups started coming to him. for guidance. One day, five guys came along and were broke-they asked if they could sleep at his studio. They were the Byrds. He also discovered groups like Love andthe Leaves, who made "Hey Joe." Nowadays, if anyone opens a new club on the West Coast they have to invite Vito and his crowd. They all wait there eagerly to see if Clay turns up. If he does every thing's OK. It makes the place. You see, Vito's been with thisFreak Out movement for years.
In 2003,Barry Miles, who had been one of the founders of the underground newspaperInternational Times, wrote a retrospective on the early hippie and freak scene inHollywood, California, stating:
The first hippies in Hollywood, perhaps the first hippies anywhere, were Vito, his wife Zsou [sic], Captain Fuck and their group of about thirty-five dancers. Calling themselves Freaks, they lived a semi-communal life and engaged in sex orgies and free-form dancing whenever they could."[19]
Frank Zappa said of Vito's freaks:[20]
As soon as they arrived they would make things happen, because they were dancing in a way nobody had seen before, screaming and yelling out on the floor and doing all kinds of weird things. They were dressed in a way that nobody could believe, and they gave life to everything that was going on.
In 1970, music criticNik Cohn published the bookAwopbopaloobop alopbamboom, which briefly discussed Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention's debut albumFreak Out! (1966): "Bearded and gross and filthy, entirely obscene, they [The Mothers of Invention]...were freaks. They were meant to be. They were playing the same old game again,épater la bourgeoisie, but this time round it wasn't calledDada orExistentialism orBeat, it was Freak-Out. 'On a personal level', wrote Zappa, 'Freaking out is a process whereby an individual casts off outmoded and restricted standards of thinking, dress and social etiquette in order to express CREATIVELY his relationship to his environment and the social structure as a whole'".[21] The album's opening track "Hungry Freaks, Daddy" was written by Zappa for L.A. freak Carl Franzoni, whichLouder magazine described as a "self-styled leader of the L.A. freak scene".[22][23]
According toThe Quietus,Freak Out! was "pivotal not only in Zappa's story but the LA freak scene it documents".[2]Pitchfork stated that the album was "Birthed by the theatrical Los Angeles 'freak' scene—a cousin of the Bay Area hippies".[5] Additionally,The Independent claimed Zappa had been a part of the "Los Angeles freak scene," adding, "His disdain for the hippies' cosily acquiescent way of life thrust him closer to the more bizarre outgrowths of the freak scene, which he documented in a series of albums on hisBizarre andStraight labels by such as the groupie collectivethe GTOs and the sad, mad street buskerWild Man Fischer".[3]
Louder magazine referred to Zappa andCaptain Beefheart as "two giants of the late-60s LA freak scene," along with claiming that musicianAlice Cooper during the late 1960s "acclimatised their lifestyle to that of the burgeoning Los Angeles freak scene".[6][4]
In February 1967,the Beach Boys'Mike Love in an interview withRave magazine, briefly spoke about the L.A. freak scene, stating: "This incomprehensiblefreak-out scene is not for me.Brian [Wilson] went to a session in the States with this guy calledVan Dyke Parks and he claimed his ears were still ringing after seven days!"[24]
In 1967, musician Rusty Evans, formerly ofthe Deep, formed the groupthe Freak Scene releasing the albumPsychedelic Psoul.
Shindig! magazine used the term "freak scene" to refer to theBritish underground'sLadbroke Grove scene, referring to it as the "Ladbroke freak scene".[25] They further stated the scene had "somehow even made its way to Texas".[25]
In 1988,Dinosaur Jr released their third studio albumBug which includes the track "Freak Scene", which in turn has given its name to restaurants owned by chefScott Hallsworth.[26]
mcgowan2 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).