Posted on 05/02/2016 9:10:54 AM PDT by Wolfie
Zappa Family Trust Threatens Dweezil Zappa Over Band Name
This summer, Dweezil Zappa and his backing band will once again perform the music of his father Frank Zappa on a nationwide tour, but unlike the past decade, the guitarist will be playing under a different moniker. Instead of Zappa Plays Zappa, the touring unit will now be dubbed Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa, stemming in part from a bitter feud between Frank Zappa's children over their father's copyright, the New York Times reports.
In the wake of matriarch and longtime estate executrix Gail Zappa's death in October, son Ahmet Zappa was tasked with handling the day-to-day operations of his father's estate with help from youngest daughter Diva Zappa. Dweezil and Moon Unit Zappa are not trustees, but remain equal beneficiaries of their father's estate with their other two siblings.
Earlier in April, Dweezil Zappa 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. Gail Zappa had previously allowed Dweezil to use the Zappa Plays Zappa in exchange for an "exorbitant fee."
"My last name is Zappa; my father was Frank Zappa," Dweezil said. "But I am not allowed to use the name on its own. I'm not allowed to use a picture of him. I'm not allowed to use my own connection with him without some sort of deal to be struck."
Dweezil added, "I just hope people will understand that the only thing I'm changing is the name."
The Zappa Family Trust issues have created a rift between brothers: Dweezil and Ahmet released a pair of albums together in the Nineties; now, they only communicate through lawyers. The siblings have also split over the upcoming authorized Frank Zappa documentary.
Speaking to the New York Times, Ahmet Zappa said the trust's stance against Zappa Plays Zappa isn't personal and that they're only preserving the integrity of their father's legacy. "I am not standing in the way of Dweezil playing the music," he said. "He would just have to be in accordance with the family trust."
I have the ZPZ concert on DVD, it is pretty good. Napoleon Murphy Brock was a nice familiarity on the 2006 tour. I can’t tell if he will still be with them (admittedly I haven’t paid a lot of attention to ZPZ lately).
No Napoleon left after the first tour. They replaced him with Ray White (lead vocals on Illinois Enema Bandit and others of that era). Then they went with no alumns for a while. Then their bass player quit on short notice and they brought in Scott Thunes (Valley Girl era) for a tour. For the most part they’ve gone without alumns, which I like, alumns kind of turn it into a museum piece. I’ve seen every time they’ve come to Tucson and up in Phoenix when they didn’t come down here. Really they just keep getting better, 10 years of practice has tightened them up, as long as he keep Scheila Gonzalez (keyboards, horns and vocals in the DVD) they’ll be alright.
Ahmet— named after famous founder of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Etrtagun
Diva Zappa—because she was a loud baby
Dweezil—Ian Donald
Moon Unit—because when she was born, the family became a “family unit.’
What I know about it is this.
Brock was a guest on most of the 2006 shows.
White was a Guest on 2007, 2008 and some 2009 shows.
aside from that, Scott Thunes was my favorite bass player in the Zappa fold.
Yeah Scott’s amazing. Apparently kind of a dick though, generally credited to be one of the big reasons (along with FZ being distracted by political stuff he’d gotten involved in) the ‘87 tour band imploded making Frank swear off touring. It’s cool seeing the alumns, especially since I didn’t get into FZ until late ‘86 and never had a chance to see him, but it does feel more living when it’s all Dweezil’s folks in the band. If they get to your area give them a shot, there’s no better way to hear FZ’s music than by a band that improvises so it’s never been like this before and never will be again.
I will try like mad to get to see Dweezil, I never got to see Frank live either.
I heard Thunes is a prick as well, you can see where the reputation comes from in some of the interviews that can be found on youtube.
I really want to see Robby Krieger too, but I think I just missed an opportunity about a month ago.
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