I think I probably still know all of the old stuff lyrics by heart, could probably sing them in my sleep. No other artist has ever influenced me and my music more than Zappa. That’s really really cool that you were in a band that could cover them. I’m a pro bassist and lifetime guitarist and singer but finding players that understand Zappa and Beefheart I’ve found impossible.
That's true for me as well.
I'm amazed my parents put up with that band for so long. They were mystified about what I and the other guys were doing down in the basement making these weird noises in between the surf tunes, Hendrix, Yardbirds, Airplane... My Dad had a clue because he was a 50's jazz fan...
Back then I played an early 60's Gibson Melody Maker customized to within an inch of its life, later a '63 SG which I still pull out at times, though most of my performing and recording these days is on a triple-pickup Black Beauty Les Paul Custom.
I play keys and bass in addition to guitar, so after high school (where I played mainly guitar) I had the opportunity to rediscover a number of these tunes playing keys (mainly Fender Rhodes piano and early monophonic synths) in a jazz lounge band. We snuck in Zappa material whenever we could get a chance, typically towards the end of the evening when the management had faded out. :-)