Waas Zappenin'

John Swenson has a good write-up over at Stereophile.com titled 'Zappa Returns!' It deals with the current state of the Zappa vault. Good read.

Also, to note, that Lumpy Money, the quasi-40th anniversary release of Lumpy Gravy and We're Only In It For The Money (and possibly Civilization Phase III) is scheduled for release tomorrow.
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Harder Than Her Husband*

*credit Weird Jon

So, according to a release from Frank Zappa cover band 'Project/Object,' the Boston show that was supposed to happen last night was canceled due to the Zappa Family Trust:

Due to Adelaide Gail Zappa and her incessant, worldwide legal attacks on fans honouring Frank Zappa's music, and attempts to negate his request (according to the Zappa hotline, Dec 1993) to “Play my music”, the Project/Object show for Friday 21 November 2008, at Bill's Bar in Boston, has been canceled.

Stand by for further details on the threatening letters. All other shows, have proceeded fantastically or are proceeding as planned, since what we do is 100% legal under US law. It's sad that lawyers are being enriched every year by this useless letter-writing campaign (all clubs also get threat letters).

I've seen P/O a handful of times, once or twice when Don Preston played with them, multiple times when Napoleon Murphy Brock was there. Ike Willis was always there, as well as André Cholmondeley, who usually is the mouth-piece for P/O's legal problems with the ZFT. He is also a champion for tribute/cover bands.

FYI - The band Ugly Radio Rebellion, who you'll remember was under attack for Dec. 2007 shows, just had to cancel all their Nov 2008 shows due to a couple of clubs’ unfounded fears of Adelaide Gail Zappa suing them. Bogus Pomp in Florida also recently was attacked for celebrating this music. Artists in Germany also continue to be attacked. What a waste of good money that could be used to release more Zappa music…

Because it's all too easy to burn out on FZ music, especially if you've been listening to it for a good part of your life, I've cut back before 'Zappadan' where the insane plan of mine, to listen to everything (EVER) released by, for or about the man, takes place. I have picked up a couple of the FZ related books I've collected over the years but never got around to fully digesting. There's only one part of The Words and Music of Frank Zappa, written by Kelly Fisher Lowe, that I've read - specifically, the part about my favorite album 'Burnt Weeny Sandwich.' KFL, like everyone else, has little to say about the release (there's even a part in the write-up that says how every other biographer doesn't say shit about the album nor 'Weasels Ripped My Flesh.')

There is a part of the write-up that sticks out, specifically mentioning Frank Zappa-influence, Igor Stravinsky:

"...[I]n The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Stephan Walsh notes that Stravinsky had an "astonishing ability to absorb other idioms without ever sacrificing the integrity of his own. He himself was well aware of the trait, and made a joke of it. 'I am probably describing a rare form of kleptomania' " Zappa was also practicing a kind of self-kleptomania at this point in his career. Although many former band members have made a cottage industry accusing of stealing their ideas, if one sees Zappa's use of works in mixed genres as a willingness to be influenced by what was going on around him, it creates a much more complex explanation for how Zappa operated as an artist." (Fisher Lowe 79)

I'll probably mention this passage a couple more times, especially since it's legitimate that a lot of former Mothers and such have stated that Zappa "ripped them off." It was the basis for '200 Motels,' after all. This absorbing kleptomania is relevant for the latter half of the P/O release:

I am conducting research into where and when Frank Zappa got permission to perform, record or parodise ALL of these and many, many other various artists’ music. Of course sometimes he sought permission, and when RECORDED and RELEASED, he certainly paid mechanical royalties. But certainly many times he didn't.

For a guy who has a LARGE part of his art based on USING THE MATERIAL OF OTHERS, his estate is strangely, hypocritically opposed to any one else doing the same!

The first thing we, the readers, must keep in mind is that Frank Zappa doesn't equate his estate, and I'll simply accredit the last line there to Andre's frustration. But, if I weren't be lenient, I would say Andre isn't showing a deeper understanding of Zappa, his art or art in general. Having read some of Andre's writing, my opinion of him is higher. I think he's a smart guy. I think he has a great understanding. The last half of the press release was poor representation on his part of that understanding.

The Zappa Family Trust's actions in regulating the work of Frank Zappa is a matter of representation. It's mainly about controlling that representation, as is any legal action dealing with intellectual property. When Zappa Plays Zappa started, it was billed as 'the First time in a decade to officially hear Frank Zappa's music played live.' Of course, P/O took that as anyone would, printing up a series of UNOFFICIAL t-shirts.

It's all about control. Take the Zappandale v. ZFT issue. Recently, they released a newsletter. Translated, thanks to Barry at Kill Ugly Radio:

if the festival’s organizers wish to keep the festival going, they are to report — at the earliest occasion — name and location of any artists playing, as well as any (FZ) tunes on their playlist.

It would then be GZ’s deity-given, exclusive prerogative to veto any artists she feels “violate the integrity and intentions” of FZ, from playing at Zappanale.

Barry's translation is a bit harsh, but his site, KillUglyRadio.com, received a Cease and Desist letter from the ZFT. So, it's easy to understand where the anger comes from. I do disagree with the anti-blog tactics. KUR had a beautiful layout that was stripped away of its FZ imagery. Things like KUR, P/O and even this moderately small showing of a blog here and there are done out of love for the subject matter. If this site were to proliferate to the extent where I had a layout featuring OUR FOUNDER extensively, there's no reason as to why the inbox SHOULDN'T receive a C&D letter. But, how does one have a FZ fan site with no pictures/lyrics/samples/videos of FZ?

Gail is often demonized, but I think it's not totally her fault. These practices of INTENSITY were made by Frank. Think about it: he was notoriously strict and demanding as a bandleader. The rehearsal schedule was intense and he had a long history of legal battles of his own. From the acocunts of the biographies written about him, Frank was a stickler. From these accounts, Frank was controlling. Listening to the music, yeah. It makes sense. You need a tight band to get the sound out. You need a tight organization to get the shit from one town to another. You need to have a tight stomach to face a congressional hearing or to fight against bootleggers or to make a movie or to work with an orchestra.

Gail is helping control the shape and size of Frank Zappa's body of work. I don't think having KUR take down its format helps, though. Having sites, festivals, cafes with pictures on the walls creates a culture that lasts longer. There needs to be some public sphere in the art to help it substain. Or else, it just becomes a product to be sold. And siccing the lawyers on fan sites, well. All that does is create a legion of disenfranchised fans - pretty much alt.fan.frank-zappa (YOWZA!)

I want to think that Gail is terribly happy with the current situation. I want to think that if given the choice, she would pick that the cancer went into remission, that he recovered and together, they would continue living today. Perhaps he would take residency in a few higher-scale theaters on the west coast, some sparse performances (one or two a year) around the world. He would be there to give Moon away at her wedding, to see the birth of his grand-daughters, to see Diva graduate high school. I think that this would be preferable to the situation Gail faces today: fifteen years spent without him, a world full of his vocal fans, and what might be the horrendous task of managing his estate. Fifteen years of moving the catalogue over from Ryko, back to Barking Pumpkins; putting out the Baby Snakes DVD; going through the mythological vault. Fifteen years of HARD. WORK, of being harder than her husband.

Of course, I don't know shit. I don't know what goes on in Gail, Moon, Dweezil, Ahmet, Diva or any one at the ZFT thinks. And I don't know what Project/Object has done to work with the Zappa Family Trust. I don't know what the ZFT thinks of tribute bands. There's a lot of going-on's that never get fully explained. I'm sad that the Project/Object show got cancelled. They're pretty fun to watch and you get a three-hour show for your ticket price. I got a lot of good Zappa-related CDs off of them, like the German release that Napoleon Murphy Brock put out with a bunch of FZ fans. I would hope that there can be some better understanding and better representation between the two (of many) sides, with each giving a little way on their sides for a compromise in the middle.

Wowie Zowie. Or, we can all go marching into the sea.


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Dweezil Refuses

Starting off the real posting in the two weeks before Zappadan, I figure I would set the bar up with something written a year ago about 'Zappa Plays Zappa.' It was the second time around that the act came to the state of Connecticut. Having missed the first (ticket prices. yowza!) I had the scratch to get a decent seat for this showing. ZPZ has been around twice more since then. I haven't gone to either showing.

I've always worry about kids of famous people, or at least, the kids of famous people whose work I enjoy. I can't imagine talking to them, saying "Hey, how about your mom? Ain't she something?" or "Wow, your dad - like, your dad was so cool." It's a bit unfair for those kids, having a handicap when it comes to developing their own persona. Look at Hank III. At least, he's having fun. And I think all the Zappa kids are having fun, too. They seem to be doing alright for themselves. I was happy to see Dweezil and Ahmet do their thing on the couple of cable-tv shows they had. Diva, I found out, has a unique hat business on the side. And Moon's been acting, writing, and living happily (I hope.)

So, when ZPZ came about, with the Zappa kids (Dweezil, and if my memory doesn't fail me, Ahmet did some appearances on the first run. I know Diva has a tour diary you can purchase at zappa.com) starting to take up THE MUSIC and THE MANTLE, it kind of freaked me out. What came out of it was the piece below the cut: an attempt at racid fraudulent literary journalism, I guess.


November 2, 2007
Dweezil Refuses

"Man, I'd love to play 'Watermelon,' but that song's a little too heavy for me right now," said Dweezil Zappa to the crowd attending the second showing of 'Zappa Plays Zappa' at the Chevy Theater in Wallingford, Connecticut. "Maybe in a few years, we'll see." During the few breaks in the straight three-hour set, the stage is pelted with requests as everyone calls out the song they want to hear, from 'Montana' to 'My Guitar wants to Kill Your Mama.'

The shouted song request Dweezil notes is for 'Watermelon in an Easter Hay,' the climax of 1979's 'Joe's Garage.' In context of the rock opera, it is the last song ever played, before the final musician conforms to life without music. It's a high point of the album musically as Frank's guitar playing is never more beautiful than in the quick flowering of notes in between the slow, repeated theme. On the surface, it's a pretty song to listen to. With further knowledge about how Frank was invested in music, specifically in the type of 'air sculpture' guitar solos that comprise songs like 'Watermelon,' it becomes more than just a pretty sound. It’s a way to know what made Frank happy and sad, to better understand another human being - the utmost goal of art.

'Watermelon..' also shares a distinction from Frank's body of work. With two other songs, 'Black Napkins' and 'Zoot Allures' from the '76 album of the same name, Frank considered 'Watermelon' a summation of his life's work. Despite gaining radio play and national fame with songs like 'Don't Eat the Yellow Snow,' 'Dancin' Fool' and 'Valley Girl,' Frank wanted his work to be represented by three highly orchestrated, instrumental pieces. Frank Zappa always wanted to be considered a serious musician with a funny side, not a comedy group that occasionally quit fooling around. The posthumous release 'Frank Zappa plays the Music of Frank Zappa' explains this in the liner notes, notes written by Frank's son Dweezil.

Seeing Dweezil on stage play the rhythm sections along with the audio track from one of his father's concerts was a swell of mixed joys. Dweezil watches the screen just like how everyone else watches, with head titled and eyes raised in attention. In that, it was strange, as to anyone else in the building, they are watching footage of a favorite musician play, dead for nearly 15 years but immortal. But for the eldest Zappa son, it's home movies time. He's watching his Dad. With that are all the moments he shared with his father, from growing up with the man until the very last days before his death in '93.

For the last fourteen years, Dweezil Zappa has lived without his father. He was seventeen when his first album, 'Havin' a Bad Day' came out. He's spent time as an actor and a television personality, or simply as the only kid in the world named ‘Dweezil.’ Though they all have collaborated together musically, of the four Zappa children, Dweezil has taken to Frank the most. As a musician, Dweezil's guitar is tight and noted. During the concert, he performs an effortlessly rendition of 'Ship Ahoy,' a trance-fusion piece where the drums and bowing of an electric upright bass barely detract the attention away from Dweezil's light-fast hands. The song is Dweezil and Dweezil alone.

Though eldest daughter Moon Unit was the voice behind the highly successful 'Valley Girl', she has gone on to write a novel and raise a family. Younger brother Ahmet appeared with Dweezil in a handful of related projects but like Moon Unit, he's gone on to write children’s fiction. Youngest child Diva specializes in high fashion knitted goods. For the last two years, Dweezil has taken upon the mantel of his father by organizing the 'Zappa Plays Zappa' tour, a celebration of Frank's music. In viewing, this celebration is bittersweet.

During the concert, Frank is projected upon a screen. Footage of 'Cosmik Debris,' a crowd favorite, is played from 'The Dub Room Special' DVD. Frank is playing an oak brown Gibson SG guitar. It’s the same guitar Dweezil plays. During the solo, the footage of Frank dukes it out with Dweezil in a conversational exchange of guitar solos. Frank whips off a quick barrage of notes and Dweezil responds in kind. It's a wonderful display of technology and legacy mired with metaphor, as a fifteen-foot tall Frank towers over the band, specifically his son in the front.

Watching Dweezil look up to his dad, figuratively and literally, inspires admiration spliced with worry that Dweezil Zappa can't escape his own name. If there's another person named 'Dweezil' out there, they're doing nothing to make themselves known. Being unique with the Dweezil moniker is one, but the last name of Zappa carries the weirdness and the weight of a musically prolific and profound father. Had Dweezil not ventured out into many different projects in all sorts of media, it would be easy to adopt a cyncial view of 'Zappa Plays Zappa' as a child cashing in on a famous name. But looking deeper, this is not the case. It has never been the case.

Frank and Gail Zappa never had any outlandish motive or bizarre parenting habits. When it came to their children, they were always honest, caring and respectful. The Zappa children, despite having far-out names, might have the most grounded and developed childhood available when it comes to their parents. In the end, Frank was a head-of-household who nurtured a sense of individuality within his children. If they developed an interest in music, Frank supported it and helped it but didn't let his children rest on their laurels, or coast by on their name. Frank was known to be a hard teacher and a demanding musician so if anyone wanted to work on music with them, it would have to be out of an honest and sincere desire to do it.

Dweezil is sincere and honest when he talks about his late father, both at the Wallingford concert and on the 'Over-Nite Sensation/Apostrophe(')' DVD that discusses those two albums. Dweezil breaks down the audio tracks of a few songs on the DVD, marveling at the complexity of the arrangement. His appreciation is visible. When he laughs, he maybe going through the five stages of grief at once in less than a second, settling on accepting before, love.

Sincerity keeps Dweezil from playing 'Watermelon'. There's no doubt that he could, physically. But emotionally, Dweezil says he isn't ready yet. There's a line he can't cross, a step he can't take yet. Hearing him say that was the high point of the concert because it was reaffirmation that there's a point where Dweezil stops from becoming Frank. A child with less integrity would have no reservations from playing the song, complying with the paying customer to ensure they come back the next time the tour rolls through town. But turning down the request for such a reason as it being too heavy, to personal, is a sign that Dweezil actually cares about this music. He's not living off the name. He's an active participant in supporting the living being of music.

The concert ends three hours after starting with an encore performance of 'Muffin Man' that brings everyone to his or her feet. By this time, the voice that called out the request is one of the many cheering at the crescendo of sound at the concert's end. Patrons exiting talk, some mournful that their favorites weren't played. One or two voices are caught talking about Dweezil's kind refusal, each marked with a smudge of disappointment that's wiped away at how awesome it was to hear 'G-Spot Tornado' live. One day, Dweezil will play 'Watermelon in an Easter Hay.'

No matter how many are in attendance, it will be an intimate performance ‘tween father and son, two individuals coming together as family, the long divide of death rendered powerless by a the strength of a son’s love wrapped tightly around in music.

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