Los Angeles freak scene

Last updated
Freak scene
Years active1960s–1970s
Location Los Angeles, California
Major figures
Influenced Hippie

The Los Angeles freak scene (also known as the L.A. freak scene or freak scene) was a movement and subculture that emerged in Southern California during the early-to mid 1960s. The scene was led by Vito Paulekas, who in 1961, along with his wife Szou, established a clothing boutique on the corner of Laurel Avenue and Beverly Boulevard in Hollywood, close to Laurel Canyon. Paulekas assembled an expanding group of associates who were referred to as "freaks" or "freakers". His main partner would be Carl 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 of free-form dancing which noted them in Sunset 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.

Contents

Paulekas has been described as the "King of the L.A. freak scene". His freakers would invade rock concerts for prominent local acts such as the Byrds, Love and the 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. Writer Barry 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 album Freak Out! which was a concept 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 musician Kim Fowley and Suzy Creamcheese as "The Mother's Auxiliary". According to The Independent , Zappa had been a part of the "Los Angeles freak scene".

Artists such as Alice Cooper, the GTOs, Captain Beefheart, Kim Fowley, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band and Wild Man Fischer have been noted by music journalists as associated with the L.A. freak scene.

Etymology and characteristics

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 musician Frank Zappa, who had previously been a part of the L.A. freak scene, [6] [3] was interviewed by Rolling 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 in Orange 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 to Shindig! magazine, the movement's "key players" were Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Captain Beefheart, Kim Fowley and Vito Paulekas. [8] While other acts such as the GTOs and The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band were also noted as associated. [8]

History

1960s: Origins

In 1961, painter, sculptor and former marathon dancing champion Vito Paulekas and his wife Szou established a clothing boutique on the corner of Laurel Avenue and Beverly Boulevard in Hollywood, close to Laurel 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 with hippie 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 eccentric free-form dancing in Sunset 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 as the Byrds in 1964 and later Love. [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 a harem of predominantly young female 'freakers'". [16] According to Los Angeles Times, Paulekas was the "king of the L.A. 'freak scene'". [17]

Kim Fowley in the October 12, 1966 issue of British music magazine Record Mirror, labeled "Prince of Freak Out" Prince of Freak Out Kim Fowley.png
Kim Fowley in the October 12, 1966 issue of British music magazine Record Mirror, labeled "Prince of Freak Out"

On the October 12, 1966 issue of British music magazine Record Mirror , writer Norman Jopling interviewed musician and producer Kim 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 a Beatle 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 and the 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 this Freak Out movement for years.

Musicians

In 2003, Barry Miles, who had been one of the founders of the underground newspaper International Times, wrote a retrospective on the early hippie and freak scene in Hollywood, 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.

Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart (left) photographed in a 1975 concert. They have been described as" two giants of the late-60s LA freak scene" Frank Zappa - Capt. Beefheart - crop.jpg
Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart (left) photographed in a 1975 concert. They have been described as" two giants of the late-60s LA freak scene"

In 1970, music critic Nik Cohn published the book Awopbopaloobop alopbamboom, which briefly discussed Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention's debut album Freak 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 called Dada or Existentialism or Beat, 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, which Louder magazine described as a "self-styled leader of the L.A. freak scene". [22] [23]

According to The 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 his Bizarre and Straight labels by such as the groupie collective the GTOs and the sad, mad street busker Wild Man Fischer". [3]

Louder magazine referred to Zappa and Captain Beefheart as "two giants of the late-60s LA freak scene," along with claiming that musician Alice 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 with Rave magazine, briefly spoke about the L.A. freak scene, stating: "This incomprehensible freak-out scene is not for me. Brian [ Wilson] went to a session in the States with this guy called Van Dyke Parks and he claimed his ears were still ringing after seven days!" [24]

Other uses

In 1967, musician Rusty Evans, formerly of the Deep, formed the group the Freak Scene releasing the album Psychedelic Psoul.

Shindig! magazine used the term "freak scene" to refer to the British underground's Ladbroke 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]

Legacy

In 1988, Dinosaur Jr released their third studio album Bug which includes the track "Freak Scene", which in turn has given its name to restaurants owned by chef Scott Hallsworth. [26]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention's Previously Unreleased 180g 5LP Whisky A Go Go, 1968 Box Set Is a Primo L.A. Freak Scene Time Capsule, as Showcased on Remarkably Quiet Optimal-Pressed BioVinyl". Analog Planet. 2024-08-09. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  2. 1 2 Quietus, The (2012-10-08). "Voracious Stylistic Promiscuity: Frank Zappa Reissues 1966 - 1972". The Quietus. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  3. 1 2 3 "A Life in Focus: Frank Zappa, genre-defying musician who was the epitome of noncomformity". The Independent. 2019-06-04. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  4. 1 2 Fortnampublished, Ian (2023-05-05). ""It was like Dorothy landing in Oz" - what happened when Alice Cooper went to Los Angeles". Louder. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  5. 1 2 3 Pitchfork (2017-08-22). "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  6. 1 2 Barnespublished, Mike (2015-06-26). "Frank Zappa: The Torture Never Stops". Louder. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  7. ↑ Hopkins, Jerry (1968-07-20). "The Rolling Stone Interview: Frank Zappa". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2018-08-08. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  8. 1 2 Gregory, Sarah (November 2023). "LA Freak Scene". Shindig! . No. 105. pp. 62–68.
  9. ↑ "John Trubee, Last of the Freaks: The Carl Franzoni Story, Scram magazine". Archived from the original on June 21, 2006.
  10. 1 2 McGowan, David (2008). "Inside The LC: The Strange but Mostly True Story of Laurel Canyon and the Birth of the Hippie Generation". Archived from the original on April 3, 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Carl Franzoni, Last of the Freaks". Archived from the original on 21 June 2006.
  12. 1 2 Carl Franzoni, Last of the Freaks, archived from the original on 21 June 2006
  13. ↑ "The Byrds Flock to Illinois on First U.S. Tour (July 1965)" . Retrieved 2025-12-05.
  14. ↑ Rogan, Johnny (August 31, 1997), The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited : the Sequel, Rogan House, p. 66, ISBN   9780952954019 – via Google Books
  15. ↑ Walker, Michael (May 1, 2010), Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock-and-Roll's Legendary Neighborhood, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, p. 14, ISBN   9781429932936 – via Google Books
  16. ↑ Breznikar, Klemen (2022-06-07). "Various Artists – 'Heroes & Villains – The Sound Of Los Angeles 1965-1968'". It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine. Retrieved 2025-12-05.
  17. ↑ "Miss Mercy, colorful L.A. rock fixture and cofounder of Frank Zappa's GTOs, dies at 71". Los Angeles Times. 2020-07-31. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  18. ↑ Jopling, Norman (12 October 1966). "Freak Out! The latest West Coast way of life—rebels with a cause, & their music" (PDF). Record Mirror. p. 5.
  19. ↑ Barry Miles, Hippie, Bounty Books, 2003, p. 60, ISBN   978-0-7537-2456-9
  20. ↑
  21. ↑ Nik Cohn, AwopBopaLooBopaLopBamBoom: Pop from the Beginning (Paladin, 1973), pp. 222-223.
  22. ↑ Wallpublished, Mick (2023-08-19). ""People thought the Beatles were God. That's not correct": the genius of Frank Zappa, the rock'n'roll icon who had no time for rock'n'roll". Louder. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  23. ↑ "carl franzoni". www.united-mutations.com. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  24. ↑ Backpages, Mike Grant from Rock's (2011-10-11). "'Our influences are of a religious nature': the Beach Boys on Smile". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2026-01-21.
  25. 1 2 Mills, Jon 'Mojo' (2024-02-28). "Exclusive Shindig! Qobuz playlist #11: If You Don't Like It, Here's Something For You: The Road To Punk 1964-1975 -" . Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  26. ↑ Lauren Fitchett, "Food with attitude: the story of Freak Scene", Great British Chefs, 16 March 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2024
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