Zappa Plays Zappa
| Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa | |
|---|---|
Zappa Plays Zappa, North Sea Jazz Festival, Ahoy, Rotterdam, 2008.
|
|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Zappa Plays Zappa (2006-2016) |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genres | Rock, experimental rock, jazz-rock |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels | Razor & Tie |
| Website | zappaplayszappa.com |
| Members | Dweezil Zappa Scheila Gonzalez Ryan Brown Ben Thomas Chris Norton Kurt Morgan |
| Past members | Aaron Arntz Pete Griffin Billy Hulting Jamie Kime Joe Travers |
Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa (formerly known as Zappa Plays Zappa) is an American tribute act led by Dweezil Zappa, the eldest son of late American composer and musician Frank Zappa, devoted to performing the music of Frank Zappa.[1][2][3][4]
History
The band debuted in 2006 with shows in Europe, Canada, and the United States during May and June (the tour was also known as Zappa Plays Zappa: Tour de Frank'). The shows presented a collection of Frank Zappa's rock-oriented compositions from the 1960s to the late 1970s.[5] Apart from Dweezil Zappa on lead guitar, many of the band members previously played with Frank Zappa. Among those, Napoleon Murphy Brock (sax, flute, and vocals) was an integral part of the band, while drummer/vocalist Terry Bozzio and guitarist Steve Vai performed as guests in parts of the shows. At several shows the live band played along with audio and video recordings of Frank Zappa himself, notably portions of "Chunga's Revenge", "Dumb All Over", "Cosmik Debris", and "Muffin Man".
After a break, the band played again in the U.S. during the fall of 2006, including a show in New York on October 31. This revived Frank Zappa's tradition of playing Halloween shows in New York. A DVD documenting the 2006 tour was released in early 2008.[6]
In July and August 2007, the band played a North American tour, with a core lineup similar to that of the 2006 band. The band then played in Europe during September and October before returning to the US, starting with another Halloween show in New York. Special guest on the tour was vocalist and guitarist Ray White, a Zappa stalwart performer in the 1970s and early 1980s.[7] They ended the 2007 tour in Australia in early December before doing a handful of shows in Japan in January 2008. Steve Vai returned as a guest on those shows. A brief tour of U.S. and Canadian dates was then scheduled for the Summer of 2008 with the same lineup as the 2007 tour.[8]
At the 51st Grammy Awards in February 2009, Zappa Plays Zappa won Best Rock Instrumental Performance for their performance of the Frank Zappa instrumental classic "Peaches en Regalia".[9]
Frank Zappa's bands underwent many changes of members, and Zappa Plays Zappa has done the same. The first changes came in 2009-2010, starting with the departure of Aaron Arntz from the keyboard chair, followed quickly by the replacement of guest vocalist Ray White with the hiring of full-time singer/multi-instrumentalist Ben Thomas. Shortly thereafter, keyboardist/singer Chris Norton was added to the lineup.
After the first few tours an additional event was added to the touring cycle. A music bootcamp created by Dweezil, aptly named Dweezilla, afforded the band the opportunity to teach students in a totally immersive environment. Dweezilla also created the opportunity for certain alumni to participate in a performance.
After more evolution in 2012, the band landscape changed again. Original core band bassist Pete Griffin was let go. He was quickly replaced by Zappa alumni bassist Scott Thunes, who also used to be in Dweezil's band Z. He stood in while a permanent replacement was found. The next transformation of the band was complete when bassist Kurt Morgan joined.
Just as Frank Zappa's bands changed size year after year, Zappa Plays Zappa once again followed suit, reducing its membership to six rather than eight musicians. Original core band members Jamie Kime and Billy Hulting went on to other projects at that time.
The 2014 Zappa Plays Zappa tour is a tribute to the classic 1974 album Roxy and Elsewhere. ZPZ performs the material from Roxy in its entirety, in the same order as the original album.
The 2015 tour was also a tribute, this time to the album One Size Fits All and like the Roxy tour it celebrates its 40th anniversary. The show starts with a full performance of the album in its entirety, in the original order. The main set includes songs by the original lineup of The Mothers of Invention including "Who Needs the Peace Corps?" and "What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?"
Name Change
In April 2016 Dweezil Zappa announced that he would be changing the name of the band to Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa. This is being done as the result of his siblings, Ahmet and Diva Zappa gaining control of Frank Zappa's estate following the October 2015 death of Gail Zappa. Dweezil Zappa stated that "earlier in April, [he] received legal notice from the Zappa Family Trust that continued use of the name Zappa Plays Zappa could result in copyright infringement damages of $150,000 per song performed."[10]
Albums
In 2012, ZPZ (consisting of Dweezil and an eight-piece band) released a double live album, F. O. H.—the abbreviation of "front of house", the technical term for the sound as it is mixed and amplified for the audience at a live venue. The tracks were recorded directly in two tracks, and no dubbing took place. Dweezil Zappa explained, though, that Universal Audio software was used to make individual compositions sound as if they were recorded with the equipment that his father used for those compositions.[5]
Musicians
Group:
- Dweezil Zappa - lead guitar, vocals
- Scheila Gonzalez - saxophone, flute, keyboards, harmonica, vocals
- Ryan Brown - drums, percussion, vocals
- Ben Thomas - lead vocals, trumpet, trombone, rhythm guitar
- Chris Norton - keyboards, violin, vocals
- Kurt Morgan - bass, vocals
Former members:
- Aaron Arntz - trumpet, keyboards, vocals
- Pete Griffin - bass
- Billy Hulting - marimba, mallets, percussions
- Jamie Kime - rhythm guitar
- Joe Travers - drums, vocals
Guests on most 2006 shows:
- Napoleon Murphy Brock - vocals, saxophone, flute
- Terry Bozzio - drums, vocals
- Steve Vai - guitar
Guest on 2007, 2008 and some 2009 shows:
- Ray White - vocals, guitar
Guests on some 2010 shows:
- George Duke - vocals, keyboard
- Scott Thunes - bass
- Jeff Simmons - bass, vocals
- Moon Zappa - vocals
Guests on some 2011 shows:
- Mark Volman - vocals
- Howard Kaylan - vocals
- Jean-Luc Ponty - violin
- Chick Corea - keyboards
- Frank Gambale - guitar
- Guthrie Govan - guitar
Guest on some 2012 shows:
- Scott Thunes - bass
- Allan Holdsworth - guitar
- Sioned Eleri Roberts - clarinet
References
- ↑ Planer, Lindsay. Zappa Plays Zappa at AllMusic. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ↑ Kantor, Ira (May 13, 2015). "Live Show Reviews: Zappa Plays Zappa, Berklee Performance Center, Boston, MA", Elmore Magazine. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ↑ Ezell, Bruce (February 3, 2014). "Live Review: Zappa Plays Zappa Gels with the Portland Weird at the Roseland Theater (January 31st, 2014)", Glide Magazine. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ↑ Brandow, Barry (April 24, 2015). "Zappa Plays Zappa Concert Review: Glenside, PA", Live Music Daily. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Kreps, Daniel (April 29, 2016). "Zappa Family Trust Threatens Dweezil Zappa over Band Name", Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
