FZ was born on December 21, 1940 in Baltimore. His dad worked at Edgewood Arsenal, a chemical weapons facility, so FZ remembered growing up with family gas masks. When he was 10, the family moved to out to California. Much to Frank's misfortune, they eventually settled in Lancaster; he would later call it "one of the worst places I've lived in". Upon (barely) graduating from Antelope Valley High School, Frank drifted. He moved to Los Angeles and scored a western B-movie, then returned to Lancaster to attempt college and marriage. Neither worked out. After purchasing a defunct studio (which he named "Studio Z"), and a brief run-in with local law enforcement (bogus charges), in 1964 FZ hit the L.A. scene once again. And this time with a band.

FZ's early musical influences included such diverse personages as Edgard Varèse, Lightin' Slim, Stravinsky, Howlin' Wolf, Johnny "Guitar" Wilson. His first foray into music was with a drum set his father gave him in 1952. He eventually settled in with the electric guitar and he played in a band, the Blackouts, during high school.

Still under construction...

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