Gender, Sexuality, and the Boundaries Between Fandom and Activism in Los Angeles Freak Rock ‘n’ Roll, 1966–67

The message and music of the Mothers of Invention, rock ‘n’ roll mainstays of the Los Angeles freak countercultural scene in 1966 and 1967, were often dominated by the antagonistic political and aesthetic visions of bandleader and freak luminary Frank Zappa. Fans played a crucial role, however. Their 1966 album Freak Out! explained this role by defining freak countercultural ideology in communal terms that could be applied to local, national, and transnational settings: if many individuals “freaked out” together, the combined powers of youth, music, sex, and dance became potent and radical strategies of resistance against a dominant political, social, and cultural order. However, the frequent disconnect between this ideology and the varied desires of an increasing base of suburban youth who flocked to West Hollywood to experience the immediacy of rock ‘n’ roll did not always allow Zappa’s well-blueprinted political anchor a clear translation with the band’s fans. Instead, young men and women conceptualized freak music, fashion, and dance styles in a variety of ways. Fans accessed the implicit and explicit political messages in the music with varying degrees of comfort or interest, often choosing to forgo political associations at all or to reframe the liberating aspects of freak music in ways that supported their own political, social, and cultural values. Some fans became freaks. Some fans participated in the Mothers’ fan club, United Mutations. Other fans participated in alternate forms of labor required to promote this non-commercial music beyond local boundaries, whether as groupies, band house managers, concert promoters, or artists who helped the band in other ways. This presentation examines various countercultural fan identities and emphasize the differences both gender and sexuality made in fans' attempts to access, interpret, embody, and subvert freak countercultural ideology.