Dweezil Zappa carries on father's musical legacy
It's only taken 50 years, but the "futuristic," "ahead of its time," "out there" music of Frank Zappa might have finally landed in the right era. As the golden anniversary of his bold musical entrance approaches, considerable focus is being paid to the artist, including a rumored 2017 documentary by filmmaker Alex Winter and the Oct. 30 release of the much-awaited "Roxy: The Movie" live concert DVD.
While Zappa's devout fans have already voiced their approval for the new attention, perhaps the one person it's most personal for is son Dweezil.
The second child of the late musician and his widow Gail wasn't even born when his father launched his career with Mothers Of Invention's 1966 debut "Freak Out!", yet Dweezil Zappa has always kept a protective shield over his father's legacy. It's why, in 2006, he launched the Zappa Plays Zappa tribute project, a "repertoire ensemble" that has since embarked on a series of tours to keep a massive 60-album catalog fresh for a new generation.
"It was really aggravating to see my father's music being relegated to a novelty kind of forum or find that he was being remembered as the guy with the wacky songs and the kids with the wacky names," Zappa says referencing fellow entertainer siblings Ahmet, Moon Unit and Diva. "That was not OK with me, and I wanted to do something to change it."
The idea, he says, is to play a wide variety of Frank's music in a live setting that focuses on the opposite of the casual exposure type of songs like "Valley Girl" and "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow." "With all of his contributions to music, if that's the only thing you've ever heard it's really a disadvantage," Zappa said.
Instead, the six-piece group (which has in the past included notables such as guitarist Steve Vai and Frank's own drummer Terry Bozzio) will focus on the 40th anniversary of "One Size Fits All" on their latest tour, headed to the Genesee Theatre for a Sept. 24 show. The 1975 classic is the last Mothers album and a personal favorite for Zappa.
"All the records that were being made around that time were really my earliest memories where I was able to see some of that stuff being made and hear it being worked on and edited. It felt like a part of the fabric of my childhood," says Zappa.
"One Size Fits All" starts with one of his father's most iconic songs, "Inca Roads," a verifiable feat with unusual time signatures, experimental percussion and odd-ended solos that ponders the idea of alien landings. "There are very challenging parts in that song alone, so to play the whole record and start with that one every night, you gotta be on your toes."
Zappa admits he has worked for years at deconstructing the complexities of his father's music, sharing the experience for other novice players during instrumental "Master Classes" he arranges for the public before each tour date.
"He was the first guitar player I ever saw, so I loved his guitar playing but I always knew that you had to know a lot of stuff to do what he did," Zappa says.
The expense however has often been his own solo work, which has only produced seven total albums since his first in 1982. This summer though, Zappa released his first new work in almost a decade. Called "Via Zammata" it features a cheeky heavy metal track called "Dragon Master," the only song he ever wrote with his father that's been sitting in the vault since the '80s and had him pondering about what might have been if Frank had lived past 1993 when he lost his battle to prostate cancer.
"If he was still alive today I think (Frank) would probably be pretty heavily involved in politics and also would certainly still be composing his classical music," he says. "I don't know that he would do a lot of rock 'n' roll touring being in his 70s and all … but at least this tour exposes people to the music who otherwise would never have had a chance to see Frank play."
Zappa Plays Zappa: “One Size Fits All” 40th Anniversary Tour
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24,
Where: Genesee Theatre, 203 N Genesee St., Waukegan
Tickets: Start at $29.50