Posted on 10/22/2017 4:00:46 PM PDT by Eddie01
It's soundcheck time at the Capitol Theatre, just north of New York, and Dweezil Zappa is leading his band through the songs of his father, Frank. Dweezil, 46, has been regularly performing his dad's music for a decade, but his current tour is stranger and more tense than any before it. Unplugging his guitar, Dweezil looks out at the empty hall. "Sometimes people in the crowd yell things out, so I talk about it onstage," he says. "I feel like people are choosing sides."
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This should be a year for honoring the legacy of Frank Zappa, who died in 1993. A new, acclaimed Zappa documentary, Eat That Question, is in theaters, and a series of deluxe reissues and archival releases just hit shelves. Dweezil's tour features songs from Frank's landmark debut, Freak Out!, released 50 years ago this summer. But instead of celebrating, the four Zappa children are locked in a drama that has bitterly divided a once-close family and exposed its quirks. "I was hoping to keep the fact that we were a Grey Gardens family a secret," says oldest daughter Moon, 48, an actress and novelist. "Oops!"
Last year, Gail Zappa Frank's widow, who had controlled his estate since his death was dying of lung cancer, and began to say "weird things," according to Moon. "She said, 'Do you forgive me for what I've done?' I said, 'Sure,'
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at rollingstone.com ...
I’m not a huge Zappa fan (I’m not sure you can be a casual Zappa fan so I guess that means I’m not a fan).
However, Dweezil is an insanely talented guitarist. He’s probably the only person who can actually perform Frank’s music in any meaningful way.
Frank Zappa & Steve Vai (I think this is the snip I’m thinking of, can’t check it here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEnzdp71U78
and, similar, both amusing:
Steve Vai Talks About Zappa Audition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx1RguHA4XE
Berklee Online Interview: Steve Vai On His Audition for Frank Zappa’s Band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6cplMM3d_Q
Zappa family drama: A look at where Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet and Diva are today
I’m with Dweezil
My parents certainly liked playing one kid of another.
My dads brother on the other has 5 kids and no complaints. They visit one another and I have never heard any arguments ever from them.
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