arthur barrow

Arthur "Tink" Barrow played bass for Zappa from 1978 - 1980, and was Zappa's "Clonemeister" (he ran the rehearsals in Frank's absense) from immedieately after the '78-'79 tour through the '81-'82 tour.

His childhood nickname, Tink Walks Amok, provided the title for a track on The Man From Utopia.

Arthur provided bass for Joe's Garage Act 1, Joe's Garage Acts 2 & 3, Tinsel Town Rebellion, Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar box set, You Are What You Is, Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch, The Man From Utopia, Them Or Us, Thing-Fish, Frank Zappa Meets The Mothers Of Prevention, Guitar, You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 1, You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 4, You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 6, The Lost Episodes, Frank Zappa Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa, and Halloween. He provided bass overdubs for the '84 re-release of "We're Only In It For The Money and "Cruising With Ruben & The Jets". He can also be heard on Anyway The Wind Blows (BTB), Saarbrücken 1978 (BTB), and At The Circus (BTB) from the Beat The Boots series.

Early 2010, a couple of YouTube movies showed The Theoretical Five, recording an improvised set at the Lo-Tek Studios in Mar Vista. The Theoretical Five were: Tommy Mars (keyboards,vocals), Warren Cuccurullo (guitar,samples), Arthur Barrow (bass), Larry Klimas (saxophone) and Andy Kravitz (drums,percussion).
Also in 2010, Arthur Barrow and Tommy Mars recorded and performed with Robby Krieger. Both of them can be heard on Robby Krieger's "Singularity" album and performed with the Robby Krieger Band.

January 18, 2012, Canadian CKCU-FM radio did broadcast an interview with Arthur Barrow as part of their Frank Zappa series.

May 2019, Arthur did a short tour with The Furious Bongos, performing the music of Frank Zappa.

	the doors: american prayer (1978, lp, ??, ??) - feat. arthur barrow on synthesizer & programming
28	frank zappa: joe's garage act I (1979, lp, usa, zappa records)
29	frank zappa: joe's garage acts II & III (1979, 2lp, usa, zappa records)
	robert williams: buy my record (1981, 12", usa, a & m records sp-12401) - feat. various zappa & beefheart alumni
30	frank zappa: tinseltown rebellion (1981, 2lp, usa, barking pumpkin)
31	frank zappa: shut up'n play yer guitar (1981, lp, usa, barking pumpkin)
32	frank zappa: shut up 'n play yer guitar some more (1981, lp, usa, barking pumpkin)
33	frank zappa: return of the son of shut up 'n play yer guitar (1981, lp, usa, barking pumpkin)
34	frank zappa: you are what you is (1981, 2lp, usa, barking pumpkin)
	frank zappa: shut up 'n play yer guitar - box set (1981, 3lp, eur, cbs)
	noisuf: noisuf (1981, unreleased, usa, rhino) - the album was announced by rhino in 1981
	robby krieger: versions (1982, lp, usa, shangai records) - feat.don preston, arthur barrow, sal marquez
35	frank zappa: ship arriving too late too save a drowning witch (1982, lp, usa, barking pumpkin)
	robert williams: late one night (1982, lp, usa, a & m records amlh 64889) - feat.bruce fowler, arthur barrow, denny walley
	arthur brown: requiem (1982, lp, ??, ??) - feat. arthur barrow on synthesizer & vocals
	acid casualties: panic station (1982, lp, usa, rhino rnlp 850) - feat.tom brown, arthur barrow
36	frank zappa: the man from utopia (1983, lp, usa, barking pumpkin)
	irene cara: what a feelin' (1983, lp, ??, ??) - feat.arthur barrow on bass & keyboards
40	frank zappa: them or us (1984, 2lp, usa, barking pumpkin)
	heavenly bodies: heavenly bodies (1984, ??) - feat. arthur barrow as producer
	janet jackson: dream street (1984, ??) - feat. arthur barrow as arranger, and on bass & keyboards
	metropolis: metropolis (1984, ??) - feat. arthur barrow as arranger
41	frank zappa: thing-fish (1984, 3lp, usa, barking pumpkin)
	the mothers of invention: we're only in it for the money (3) (-) - bass overdubs on the 1984 release !!
	the mothers of invention: cruising with ruben & the jets (5) (-) - bass overdubs on the 1984 release !!
	robby krieger: robby krieger (1985, lp, usa, ??) - feat.don preston, arthur barrow
	frank zappa: frank zappa meets the mothers of prevention (44) (1985, lp, usa, barking pumpkin) – american version (1985, lp, eur, emi) – european version
	philip oakey: philip oakey & giorgio moroder (1985, ??) - feat. arthur barrow on synthesizer, bass & drum programming
	e.g. daily: wild child (1985, ??) - feat. arthur barrow on synthesizer, bass & keyboards
	the motels: shock (1985, ??) - feat. arthur barrow on synthesizer & fretless bass guitar
	charlie sexton: pictures for pleasure (1985, ??) - feat. arthur barrow on bass, keyboards & programming
	the breakfast club: the breakfast club (1985, ??) - feat. arthur barrow on synthesizer, bass & keyboards
	arthur barrow: in the mood / glenn miller and his orchestra: in the mood (1985, 7”, australia, mca 7-52753)
	arthur barrow: in the mood (1985, 7", usa, mca)
	joe cocker: joe cocker (1986, ??) - feat. arthur barrow on synthesizer & bass
	eddie money: can't hold back (1986, ??) - feat. arthur barrow on bass & keyboards
	greg rolie: gringo (1987, cd, ger, columbia / point music) - feat. vinnie colaiuta, arthur barrow
	ike willis: shoulda gone before i left (1988, lp, us, enigma records 3292-1) - feat.ray white, arthur barrow, jeff hollie
50	frank zappa: guitar (1988, 2cd, usa, ryko)
51	frank zappa: you can't do that on stage anymore vol.1 (1988, 2cd, usa, ryko)
	new frontier: new frontier (1988, ??) - feat. arthur barrow on keyboards
	kenny loggins: back to avalon (1988, ??) - feat. arthur barrow on synthesizer & bass
	robbie krieger: no habla (1988, ??) - feat. arthur barrow on synthesizer, bass, guitar, keyboards & programming
	billy idol: charmed life (1989, ??) - feat. arthur barrow on bass, keyboards & programming
57	frank zappa: you can't do that on stage anymore vol.4 (1991, 2cd, usa, ryko)
	frank zappa: anyway the wind blows - disc 1 (1991, cd, usa, rhino foo-eee records r2 70541)
	frank zappa: anyway the wind blows - disc 2 (1991, cd, usa, rhino foo-eee records r2 70541)
	frank zappa: saarbrucken 1978 (1991, cd, usa, rhino foo-eee records r2 70543)
	frank zappa: at the circus (1991, cd, usa, rhino foo-eee records r2 71020)
1	arthur barrow: music for listening (1) (1991, cd, usa, tom&slev's new masters green 01) - feat.walt fowler, bruce fowler, tom fowler, robert williams
	spirit: chronicles (1967-1992) (1991, ??) - feat. arthur barrow
59	frank zappa: you can't do that on stage anymore vol.6 (1992, 2cd, usa, ryko)
	mona lisa overdrive: mona lisa overdrive (1993, cd, usa, max-bilt 01005-84000-2) = arthur barrow
	don preston: vile foamy ectoplasm (1) (1993, cd, ger, muffin records muffin cdmr 003) - feat. ex-moi and ex-zappa bandmembers
	ike willis: should'a gone before i left (1994, ??) - feat. arthur barrow on bass, keyboards, enginering & linn drum
2	arthur barrow: eyebrow razor (2) (1995, cd, usa, muffin records productions mrp 024) - feat.lots of zappa alumni
	joe cocker: best of joe cocker (1993, ??) = sampler / feat.arthur barrow on synthesizer & bass
	pointer sisters: only sisters can do that (1993, ??) - feat. arthur barrow on bass & programming
	the band from utopia: a tribute to the music of frank zappa - live vol.1 & 2 (1994, cd-pro, muffin records) - all compositions by frank zappa, feat.lots of zappa alumni
	the band from utopia: the band from utopia (1) (1995, cd, usa, muffin records productions) - all compositions by frank zappa, feat.lots of zappa alumni
64	frank zappa: the lost episodes (1996, cd, usa, ryko)
66	frank zappa: frank zappa plays the music of frank zappa (1996, cd, usa, barking pumpkin)
	neglected orphans: dances with weasels (1996, cd, ??) - feat. arthur barrow
	robbie krieger: versions/robbie krieger (1996, cd, ??) - feat. arthur barrow on bass, arranging, keyboards & fretless bass
67	frank zappa: have i offended someone? (1997, cd, usa, ryko)
	robert williams: date with the devil’s daughter (1998, cd, us, casual tonalities) - feat.jeff morris tepper, bruce fowler, arthur barrow, wild man fischer
	thom teresi: street smart (1998, cd, usa, rhombus) – incl. ‘son of mr. green genes’ (frank zappa); feat. a.barrow, erroneous
3	arthur barrow: ab3 (3) (1999, cd, usa, cydonian music 1003) - feat.tommy mars, bruce fowler, robert williams
	various artists: eyeinhand sampler volume 1 (2001, cd, spain, vaso music vm 032) - all zappa related artists
	zoogz rift: born in the wrong universe (32) (2001, cd, usa, sci) - feat.arthur barrow & danny mathys; incl.'stinkfoot' (frank zappa)
	the band from utopia: a tribute to the music of frank zappa (2001, dvd, ger, tdk dv-jtbfu) - all compositions by frank zappa
	ike willis: selected works (2002, cd, usa, uwanna records) = compilation album
	the banned from utopia: so yuh don't like modern art (2) (2002, cd, usa, favored nations) - various compositions by frank zappa; feat.various zappa alumni
71	frank zappa: halloween (2003, dvda, usa, dts entertainment 69286-01101-9-9)
	j. d'amour: yellow mind, blue mind (to be released) - feat. arthur barrow
4	arthur barrow: on time (2003, cdr, usa, private release) - feat.vinnie colaiuta, tommy mars, bruce fowler, robert williams and don preston
79	frank zappa: trance-fusion (2006, cd, usa, zappa records)
	various artists: the frank zappa aaafnraa birthday bundle (2006, itunes, -) - feat. frank, moon, dweezil, ahmet & diva zappa
80	frank zappa: buffalo (80) (2007, 2cd, usa, vaulternative records)
	don preston: vile foamy ectoplasm (2007, cd, usa, crossfire publications) - feat. frank zappa, ex-moi and ex-zappa bandmembers
	jon larsen: strange news from mars (2007, cd, norway, zonic entertainment) - feat.various ex-zappa bandmembers
83	frank zappa: one shot deal (2008, cd, usa, zappa records)
	jon larsen: the jimmy carl black story (2008, 2cd, norway, zonic entertainment) - feat.jimmy carl black & tommy mars
	various artists: the frank zappa aaafnraaa birthday bundle 21 dec 2008 (2008, itunes, -) - feat. frank, dweezil, ahmet & diva zappa
	the mar vista philharmonic: no forest fire (2009, cd, norway, zonic entertainment) - feat. t.mars, w.fowler, b.fowler, k.mcgettrick, a.barrow, v.colaiuta
	robby krieger: singularity (2010, cd, usa, oglio ogl89160-2) - feat. bruce fowler, sal marquez, arthur barrow, vinnie colaiuta, walt fowler, tommy mars and albert wing
	various artists: the frank zappa aaafnraaaa birthday bundle 21 dec 2010 (2010, itunes, -) - feat. frank, dweezil, ahmet zappa
	jon larsen / tommy mars: willie nickerson's egg (2011, download, norway, hot club records / zonic entertainment)
	taxxi: traxx (2011, cd, usa, melorirock records) - feat. arthur barrow, the fowler brothers
	bunk gardner: the bunk gardner story (2011, download, norway, zonic entertainment) - feat. don preston, arthur barrow
	bunk gardner: the bunk gardner story - part 2 (2011, download, norway, zonic entertainment) - feat. don preston, arthur barrow / artwork by ed seeman
	don preston: the don preston story (2012, download, norway, zonic entertainment) - feat. bunk gardner, arthur barrow / artwork by ed seeman
	dr.mumbai: the adventures of dr.mumbai (2012, cd, usa, private release) - feat. marco minnemann, arthur barrow, aaron arntz, scheila gonzales, bryan beller, pete griffin, dweezil zappa, billy hunting
	jon larsen / terje stromdahl: willie nickersons egg (2013, cd, norway, zonic entertainment zen 2011) - feat. tommy mars, arthur barrow, jimmy carl black / artwork by cal schenkel (= the norwegian version) / includes frank zappa theme
	don preston: out of the vault (2014, cd, usa, brain records) - feat. bunk gardner, dave parlato, arthur barrow, bruce fowler, walt fowler, tom fowler // incl. 'eric dolphy' (frank zappa)
	various artists: rare episodes (2014, cd, uk, cordelia) - all compositions by frank zappa
	wolfram klug: burt, the nerd (2014, cd, switzerland, private release)- feat. ike willis, tommy mars, arthur barro, robert martin, albert wing, ed mann // incl. 'chunga's revenge' (frank zappa)
	documentary: frank zappa - eat that question (2017, dvd, ger, arsenal filmverleih) - includes interviews with frank zappa, tommy mars, arthur barrow, bruce fowler, tom fowler, ed mann, kurt mcgettrick, chad wackerman and robert martin
	frank zappa: poughkeepsie (2018, cd, uk, smokin' smcd963) = 1978/09/21 poughkeepsie concert

	plus various other recordings (of which I don't have the release dates) big trouble- big trouble (synthesizer) krieger, robby- robbie krieger (bass) red 7- when the sun goes down (bass, keyboards) q sixteen- about face (synthesizer) rolie, gregg- gringo (synthesizer) secret of my success- secret of my success [o.s.t.] (producer) beverly hills body snatchers (o.s.t) nina hagen- fearless

THE CLONEMEISTER SPEAKS

This interview-ette is from the margins of "A Definitive Tribute To Frank Zappa" (1994), which was produced by the publishers of Guitar Player and Keyboard magazines.

Frank Zappa's daily work schedule was legendary, consuming nearly every waking moment. Almost as grueling was the rehearsal schedule he set for his band, which amounted to eight hours a day when they were preparing for a tour. After bassist Arthur Barrows' first tour with the band in 1978, Zappa bestowed upon him the title of Clonemeister, which carried with it the awesome responsibility of running rehearsals in Frank's absence. Here Barrows recounts some Mothers stories and reveals his, uh . . . advanced rehearsal techniques:

"Frank would always show up for the last four hours of rehearsal, and I would tape that part. He'd say to various band members 'Okay, now you do this here, and you make that fart noise there, and you do that here.' So after the rehearsal I'd sit down with a notebook, listen to the tape again, and make notes about who was supposed to make what fart noises and stuff. The next day, we'd start to rehearse that song, and of course everybody had forgotten where they were supposed to make the fart noises. So I'd stop and say, 'Now don't forget, you were supposed to make that noise here,' and they'd say, 'Oh, right.' You run it three or four times until everybody remembers where to put their noises. It was like being a drill sergeant, kind of.

"One tour, Frank gave us this huge song list, with some ridiculous number of songs, like 200 songs. It was absurd, and I knew there was no chance in hell that we'd ever learn them all. Of course, my assignment was to teach them all to the band. I knew Frank well enough by then to know that he'd come in, look at the song list, pick a song, and say, 'Let me hear THAT song.' We'd play it, and if it sounded crummy, he'd say, 'Well, you can just take that one off the list!' So I rehearsed the band only on those songs that I liked. The songs that I didn't care for were way down on my list, since I knew I couldn't do them all anyway. Sure enough, he came in and asked for a tune that we hadn't rehearsed. It stank, and he said, 'Well, that sounds like shit. You can just take that off the list.' And I'd go, 'All right, great!' So we ended up with this tour of all my favorite Frank Zappa songs, like 'Florentine Pogen,' 'Inca Roads,' and a bunch of other real cool music.

"When Frank was there at the rehearsal and inspired, he would write with the band the way someone else might write at the piano, or with a piece of score paper, or at a computer. He would yell out stuff, like do this, do that, go to A minor. After the band had been together awhile, it was like being able to talk to a computer and tell it how you want the song to go. It was really amazing how quickly he could get stuff together, and get really good players to interpret it and make it sound like Frank Zappa music.

"He'd always keep us on our toes. About a month into the tour, you'd think, 'Okay, I've got this down, I can do it in my sleep.' But just then, 'Band meeting in Frank's room!' Frank would tell us, 'You guys are getting too comfortable with this. We're going to change the whole show tonight.' So we'd do all this stuff that we hadn't done since rehearsals a month before, and suddenly put together a whole new show.

"Frank's just about the only guy who did not compromise his music at all, and still made a living at it. That's pretty amazing. Now that he's gone, I don't know if anyone else could do it. I didn't always like what he did, but by God, he was doing it his way."

they did at least one concert as "the friends of frank" at the baked patato in hollywood, usa.

arthur barrow was zappa's "clonemeister" after the 1978 tour. he had the responsibility of running rehearsals in frank's absence.

last i heard of barrow, he was touring with ex-doors guitarist robbie krieger, as was don preston, but that was some time ago. appears on krieger's "no habla" cd (1989).

had a solo album 'music for listening ' released in 1992 on tom and slev's new masters, which has since folded, though arthur has copies (but i have no address for ab). had some sort of underground rap hit late 1993 in the california area. worked with disco king giorgio moroder in the 1980s (god help us).

mark your calender! program your vcr!
on sunday, june 8, 1997, the cable tv channel turner classic movies (tcm) will air "the torrent", a 1925 silent film with a brand new music sound track composed and performed by yours truly, arthur barrow. (check your local listings for air times.)
"the torrent" is a full length mgm silent feature starring the fabulous and gorgeous greta garbo in her first mgm role. she plays an opera singer from a small town in spain who becomes a star, but alas, can never find true love. apparently a high budget movie for 1925, it includes some interesting early special effects for the flood scene. i composed the score (almost 90 minutes of music) during april and march of 1997 here at my studio in los angeles. i decided to take the film seriously and treat the score like i would if it were a current film, not in the usual cheezy out of tune tack piano diminished chord arpeggio manner. i hope you will enjoy the resulting music.

"the torrent has recently surfaced on tcm in a beautiful print with a superb new score by arthur barrow."

"the print quality, as noted previously, is superbly crisp, and arthur barrow's excellent score with a latin flair will have viewers tangoing up and down their living rooms."

both pat o'hearn and arthur barrow played. also at halloween 78 shows. denny walley says that some band members were dissatisfied with the new bassist barrow. therefore fz re-hired o'hearn.

hi there, i suppose it's time i put something on the record and try to clear this up. when we got to ny in 78, fz and gail came into my hotel room to inform me that ike had been fired and that patrick o'hearn would be joining the band temporariliy for the ny gigs. since patrick did not know many of the arrangements, i played most of the parts and some guitar, and patrick did a lot of the jams. yes, i have to admit that not all of the band members seemed to like my playing, notably peter wolf. it seems that it was too much for mr.wolf to stoop to playing with a "zappa fan" - that i didn't know how to jam right, or something.

however, as vinnie pointed out to me, no matter what anybody else thought, what mattered was that frank thought i was good enough to be in the band.

(correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe that you will find me more on the "guitar" series jams than peter wolf, and by 1980, i was still in the band.)

patrick and i got along just fine - he's a great guy. i think some of the band members missed him - his sense of humor and overall personality. as far as who had problems with the drummer - it was ed mann who couldn't tell where vinnie's "one" was and would hold up the sign that said "where's one?". hope this will clarify a bit.

it's great to see you here, and i hope you'll forgive a fanboy-ish question or two, or three;
1) what fz work on record are you proudest of?
from: arthur barrow (bigear@netcom.com)
hard to say - i guess "joe's garage", "tinseltown rebellion" are up there.

from: chris ekman (working-papers@worldnet.att.net)
2) what live performance in your tenure with fz do you think the world most needs to hear?
from: arthur barrow (bigear@netcom.com)
maybe parts of "tinseltown" or some of the "guitar" album jams.

from: chris ekman (working-papers@worldnet.att.net)
3) speaking of must-hear performances, during the halloween '78 run, was it at all awkward sharing bass duties with patrick o'hearn? or did you two just click?
from: arthur barrow (bigear@netcom.com)
a bit of both

from: chris ekman (working-papers@worldnet.att.net)
4) how'd you enjoy working with robert williams on "date with the devil's daughter"? that is your latest project, isn't it?
from: arthur barrow (bigear@netcom.com)
it would be an exageration to say it is my latest project. my participation was very minimal. i am just finishing a 3rd album, i hope to get it out before the end of the year. ('98)

from: arthur barrow (bigear@ix.netcom.com)
i finally got my web site up! check it out at:

thanks to "dutchaadh" for noticing, piet de doelder for publishing, and of course arthur barrow for giving this candid interview.

of course i said yes ! - the amazing adventures of a life in music by arthur barrow (2016, book, uk, cydonian music / amazon)