I think often when considering whether a musician or other type of artist has AS, far too much attention is paid to how 'shy' they seem or how eccentric.
From what I've read about Frank Zappa, I think he may have AS.
But there are alot of different factors like
motor control problems nd what they were like as a kid.
Now take David Byrne, at the mo' I'm reading 'Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa' (it's about the adventures of Talking Heads), as a kid he was always perculiar and quite withdrawn, however he'd seem withdrawn in an aloof but none the less out going manner, like at 'Rizz-Dee' (RISD) Tina Weymouth said something about how she remembers seeing him around and thinking 'that guy is somebody to steer clear of'.
Also he had a problem with the pitching of his voice when he started out singing in bands.
Another noteworthy thing is that when they initially played gigs as Talking Heads his movements where quite jerky, and though these devloped so he seemed less like a 'deer caught in head lights' as the band played more gigs, it took him until about 1980 when he was hanging around with Toni Basil and TwlaTharp (can't spell her name, they both dancers/dance instructers) and he had dancing lessons until his movements become more fluid (like what you ee on 1983's Stop Making Sense Concert_.
His interests where also quite perculiar, as a kid he wanted to be either an astronaut or secret agent or peven better both at tghe same time.
Once he covered his younger sister in stamps.
Tina Weymouth also commented about how the greatest trauma in his life was the birth of his sister when he was about 8, as he wasn't any longer an only child.
His dad was an enginer who apparently once fixed a submarine engine ith a coat hanger, his favourite drug was cocaine as it made him talk lots (a stimulant drug, he was also known as an inattentive and implusive driving so perhaps he was a little ADD?).
AnywayI hope you enjoy that little ramble... I know it is a bit of a mess...
13 Apr 2007, 1:32 pm
