Arthur Barrow

Arthur Barrow (born February 28, 1952, San Antonio, Texas) is a multi-instrumental musician, best known for his stint as a bass guitar player for Frank Zappa in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Barrow was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1952 and grew up in a part of town there called Alamo Heights. His father played piano and organ, as had his father, Arthur Barrow of Buffalo, New York, a strict piano teacher and organist. When he was 13, he washed neighborhood cars until he had saved enough money to buy his first electric guitar (an Alamo) and his first amplifier (a Kent). He learned how to play music by ear by copying surf guitar records like The Ventures, and later, Jimi Hendrix, and still later, Frank Zappa. He played in local bands through junior high and high school during the 1960s. He began to study classical organ in 1970.

While attending Alamo Heights High School, Arthur Barrow cut his musical teeth playing lead guitar with a rock band known as Wisdom, playing fraternity parties, high school dances, and small concerts in the San Antonio area. His fellow band members (Ian "Toby" French (singer), Raymond Tolbert (bass), Alfred Toerney (keyboards), and others) knew that Arthur was "marked for greatness" due to his outstanding talent and ability to quickly pick up songlines (source?).

He attended North Texas State University (now University of North Texas) in Denton, Texas from 1971 to 1975 where he studied composition and organ. He began teaching himself bass guitar in 1974 while at school there. He spent many hours in the electronic music labs learning about analog synthesis on the Moog modular systems there. He graduated cum laude, receiving a bachelor of music degree with a major in composition, specializing in electronic music.

In 1975 he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a professional music career, with one of his main goals being to play in Frank Zappa's band. He took whatever kind of musical work he could get - night clubs, weddings, high school dances, a few sessions. He met Robby Krieger in 1976 and recorded synthesizer with The Doors on an album called American Prayer. He formed a jazz group with Bruce Fowler and Don Preston called Loose Connection in the latter 1970s. They made some recordings in Echo Park and performed a few times in Los Angeles. They did some recordings in Hollywood with Vinnie Colaiuta in December 1978.

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