“There was a certain amount of desperation in Frank returning my call and saying, ‘I don't believe you, but get over here and prove it'”: How Mike Keneally landed the Frank Zappa gig – after cold-calling his guitar hero

Mike Keneally has looked back on the time he scored the Frank Zappa gig – after cold-calling his guitar hero and impressing him with a photographic-like memory of his musical catalog.

Keneally was unknown to Zappa when he called his office out of the blue in an attempt wrangle an audition. But when he said he had a “Zappa jukebox” in his head, the man himself knew it had to be seen to be believed.

The revered session ace joined Zappa’s band in 1988, and he turned out to be tailor-made for the gig. He was a Zappa fanatic. Zappa’s melodies were etched deep into his brain, and he was eager to prove it.

“I was really passionate about his music when I was a kid, and being mostly self-taught, I developed my ears more than my eyes,” Keneally tells Guitar World. “So, I had what I basically would refer to as a 'Zappa jukebox' in my brain.

“If somebody mentioned a Zappa tune, I would say, ‘Give me a second.’ And I'd push the button for that song in my head and then just kind of play along with it,” he expands.”

This particular spot was his dream gig. So, what did Keneally do? He took action. He called up Zappa HQ asking for a job.

“I called his office and said, 'Hey, I don't know if Frank's looking for anybody, but I play guitar and keyboard and I sing, and I'm familiar with all of Frank's work, and if he needs anyone, I'm right here,'” Keneally admits.

Zappa called his bluff and invited him for an audition, just to see how familiar Keneally actually was with his material. The years of practice paid off.

“That's what served me well in the audition for Frank,” Keneally continues of his Zappa jukebox. “He had heard from the guy that I called in his office when I called up to ask for a job that I was familiar with all of his music, and he didn't believe it.”

In 1984, Zappa had sworn never to tour again, as his tours were proving financially unviable. So, when he announced he was putting a new band together in 1987, Keneally made his play.

“There was a certain amount of fate involved, and a certain amount of desperation in Frank returning my call and saying, ‘Is this true? I don't believe you, but get over here and prove it,’” Keneally believes.

Zappa, Vai, Satch, & Mike Keneally! The Guitar World interview - YouTube

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He says he was “terrified on the drive to the audition.” His brother was behind the wheel, and Keneally was sitting in the back, practicing every single Zappa song he could think of.

“I was panicking, and my brother, in a show of extreme wisdom and kindness, pulled off the freeway so he could stop the car, turn around, look me in the eye, and say, ‘You're never going to be more ready for this than you are right now.’”

The audition songs were Sinister Footwear, a song he knew well, and What's New in Baltimore?, which he scrambled together in 24 hours – it was a rare glitch in his jukebox.

When bass player Scott Thunes laughed in delight at his chops, he knew his dream gig was within reach. He was hired.

Keneally once said his mind was blown daily working with Frank, and last year, he gave Guitar World readers a wicked insight into his ability to memorize songs.