FREAK OUT HOT SPOTS! Celebrate Frank Zappa w/ Domenic Priore & Dan Konoske

Join us for an engaging event where we delve into the cultural significance of Frank Zappa’s 1966 “Freak Out! Hot Spots!” map and its connection to Domenic Priore’s Riot on the Sunset Strip: Rock ‘n’ Roll’s Last Stand in Hollywood.

The map, produced as bonus material companion to the Mothers of Invention’s debut album “Freak Out!”, offered a satirical depiction of Los Angeles’ cultural landscape, highlighting nightclubs, record stores, and other countercultural venues. This map mocked LA’s mainstream glitz and celebrated the underground scene that Zappa was a part of. His criticism of authority, shaped by the Watts riots and his own personal encounters with the police—including a notable arrest in 1965 where he was set up by undercover officers—left Zappa distrustful of law enforcement and fueled the anti-authoritarian views often expressed in his music. The map aligns with themes in Domenic Priore’s Riot on the Sunset Strip: Rock ‘n’ Roll’s Last Stand in Hollywood, which explores the conflict between 1960s youth counterculture and the establishment on LA’s Sunset Strip. Both works emphasize the importance of these cultural hubs as spaces for artistic freedom and the tension between these communities and authorities.

Both Zappa’s iconic map and Domenic Priore’s book explore the intersection of art, music, and rebellion in 1960s Los Angeles. This event will examine how Zappa’s satirical lens and Priore’s historical narrative capture the spirit of the era and the battle for cultural expression that defined LA’s rock ‘n’ roll scene. Don’t miss this opportunity to uncover the stories behind the hot spots, the music, and the social tensions that shaped a generation!

Domenic Priore is a writer and television producer specializing in pop culture, sociology and music. He is the author of Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock ‘n’ Roll’s Last Stand in Hollywood (foreword by Arthur Lee of Love), Pacific Ocean Park: The Rise and Fall of Los Angeles’ Space Age Nautical Pleasure Pier (with Christopher Merritt, foreword by Brian Wilson), Shag: The Collected Works (introduction), Beatsville (with Martin Macintosh), Pop Surf Culture: Music, Design, Film and Fashion from the Bohemian Surf Boom (with Brian Chidester, forewords by Kathy Kohner aka Gidget and Billy Al Bengston) and Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson’s Lost Masterpiece (forewords by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks). As a result of that project, Domenic wrote the liner notes, sourced photographs and helped sequence the music for The Beach Boys: Smile Sessions box set (Capitol Records), which won the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Historical Album. He did the booklet inside Penelope Spheeris’ documentary box set Decline of Western Civilization and was also the primary writer of the AMC documentaries Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The Early Years 1955-1970(narrated by Ringo Starr) and Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s (narrated by David Bowie). A Los Angeles native, Priore has returned to SoCal after living in New York City and San Francisco.

Documentary (and film) Domenic has been involved with research-wise (and sometimes on camera) include Helter Skelter: An American Myth (2020), Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), Manson: Music from an Unsound Mind (2019), CSNY: Fifty By Four (2014), The Byrd Who Flew Alone: The Triumph and Tragedy of Gene Clark (2013), Sunset Strip (2012), Brian Wilson: Songwriter 1969-1982 (2012), Brian Wilson: Songwriter 1962-1969 (2010), Tales of the Rat Fink (2006), Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of Smile (2004), Mayor of the Sunset Strip (2003).

Dan Konoske is the head of construction and facilities for Levi’s Strauss & Co, and a local cultural historian. He is a native southern Californian, raised in Glendora, the home of Gumby, the Rubel Castle, and The Donut Man. Dan has visited PRS previously while presenting, “LA as Colossus: Opulent Grandeur Prior to the Decline of Western Civilization” with Domenic Priore. When he’s not in the office designing & building retail stores all over the world, he’s researching LA history, and visiting our historic businesses & restaurants to keep them alive & kicking.

Ticket Price: $10 (in-person event only)

Please email [email protected] or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions.