The Soots

The Soots were, to all intent and purpose, a result of musical collaborations which revolved around the early work of Frank Zappa and Don Vliet - both of whom had been connected via their attendance at Antelope Valley's seats of learning. It was here that Vliet had been coaxed into his first known vocal work, a 'field recording' of "Lost In A Whirlpool" with Frank Zappa, his brother Bobby and a class tutor. A rather avant-garde number in which the boy (like a dead pet goldfish) is flushed down the toilet by his girlfriend and comes face-to-face with a large brown eyeless fish.

The band referred to as "The Soots" existed in the early to mid 1960's. The period during which Zappa was residing in Paul Buff's PAL Studio in Cucamonga, then finally purchasing it in the summer of 1964 and officially turning it into 'Studio Z'. Vliet would drop by on his Helms Bread truck delivery route and hang out with the various musicians at the studio.

Don Vliet had yet to officially adopt the lyric-writing nom de plume of "Don Van Vliet" and the persona of "Captain Beefheart" on a recording. Zappa, meanwhile, was busy developing concepts that would get his work a contract, one of which was a tentative 'operetta' entitled "Captain Beefheart & The Grunt People". The script of this being inspired from the germ of Vliet's nickname Beefheart and Vliet's family, 'Marvel' comics, TV sci-fi and America's growing fascination in space exploration.

Such inspirations led to The Soots recording of "Metal Man Has Won His Wings" and other recordings in the given period. Some can be found on Zappa issues, such as "The Lost Episodes" or "Mystery Disc" [on which "The Birth Of Captain Beefheart" can be found] or on several unofficial recordings.