Circus

Circus is a classic pop magazine which has gone through numerous changes in focus over the past four decades. It got its start at the height of the British Invasion, in 1966, as Hullabaloo magazine. Founded by Gerald Rothberg, who remains the publisher/editor-in-chief more than 30 years later, Hullabaloo became Circus in March of 1969. Jimi Hendrix graced that first cover. In its initial 15 years the mag was famous for full color, pull-out centerfold posters, many of which are desirable collectibles. (CBub)
Hullabaloo had 23 issues in total, Oct 1966 - Feb 1969.
Circus had 33 issues in total, Mar 1969 - Feb 1972.
Hullabaloo launched in 1966 (the decade's pivotal year), and successfully managed to renew itself at the same moment (March 1969) that its predecessor and early competitor TeenSet folded in disarray over its own identity. (BeatBooks)

1969 June

Hello boys and girls, my name is Frank ...
By Jonathan Kundra, 10 pp

"I like to make instant music; I never know exactly what's going on to happen on stage, but believe me, what ever it is, we'll find a way to put it into the music. But most of it is going right over their heads. I talk to a lot of them afterwards, and I know what they see. I know what they hear. it bears very little resemblance to what we do. Audiences are all different, and they're all the same. They don't hear music. They're not trained to hear music. They're trained to be entertained. They come to see a show. The visual aspect of what we do is more accessible to that audience than the audio aspect. Of course it's much better now than earlier; and we're getting through to more people than before, but we've been doing this for five years. We're just now beginning to see it happen. Some of the people in the audience are listening to the music rather than waiting for weird lyrics, or waiting for some kind of bullshit to happen ..." (read more)

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1980 February 19

Mecanic of 'Joe's Garage' father of 'Baby Snakes' – Zappa Lives!
By David Fricke, pp 38-39

A lump of colored clay in the form of a misshapen human face is rapidly transformed into an angry clay cheeseburger that turns to the clay face next to it and quickly devours it like some mad Marquis de McDonald's. Not long after that, a very human Roy Estrada – an ex-Mother of Invention – gives an inflatable life-size rubber doll a grotesquely hilarious bath by stuffing the doll's head facedown in a sink and, with a look of hedonistic glee, turns on the water full blast.

This, apparently, is what Frank Zappa means when he advertises his latest film Baby Snakes as "a movie about people who do stuff that is not normal." What animator Bruce Bickford does with those lumps of clay is worlds away from Disney and what Estrada does with that doll is not exactly standard dating etiquette. But according to Zappa, the film's producer, director, scriptwriter (what script there is), composer, star, and sole financier, there's a lot more to it. (read more)

Mag scans