ONLINE PETITION

Let's make it clear to the ZFT that we don't agree with how they're dealing with zappa devoted websites, bands that play zappa's music and festivals where they play zappa's music.

www.petitiononline.com/ZFT/

We endorse the Aggressive Action by the Zappa Family Trust Petition to Zappa Family Trust.

Read the Aggressive Action by the Zappa Family Trust Petition

---

2008 11 16

Unglaublich - aber wahr! Die Urteilsverkündung im Rechtsstreit ZFT ./. Arf-Society e.V. ist auf Antrag der Gegenpartei nochmals verschoben worden.

Nachdem die Anwälte Gail Zappas dem Gericht mitgeteilt haben, dass " es zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt recht aussichtsreich erscheint, zu einer außergerichtlichen Einigung zu kommen, allerdings insoweit noch mehr Zeit benötigt wird", hat das Gericht den Verkündungstermin nunmehr auf den

17.12.2008, um 14.00 Uhr
Raum 602
Landgericht Düsseldorf

verlegt.

Steht uns so kurz vor Weihnachten doch noch eine Überraschung ins Haus? Nimmt Frau Zappa ihre nicht zu akzeptierenden Forderungen zurück? Oder ist dies einfach nur Hinhaltetaktik weil man fürchtet das Gesicht zu verlieren?

Lasst es einfach kommentarlos stehen - es lohnt sich einfach nicht hierzu unnötig Energien zu verschwenden!

-------------------

A couple of months ago, it looked like the ZFT wanted to come to an agreement with the Arf Society. 

As for now, it looks like the ZFT could tolerate the Zappanale festival, as long as the ZFT can say who can and who cannot play at Zappanale... How about that...
One might call this Total Control...
Would you like that?
I sure wouldn't.

The result is that another court meeting has been scheduled: December 17 in Düsseldorf.

to be continued

-

http://united-mutations.blogspot.com/

GREAT CARD

I received this great card from Nikolai.
Happy New Year, everyone !!

CUNEIFORM RECORDS PREVIEW

-
Due out on Cuneiform:

• Cheer-Accident: Fear Draws Misfortune

• Gutbucket: A Modest Proposal

• Forgas Band Phenomena: L'Axe du Fou - Axis of Madness

• Univers Zero: Relaps

• Fast 'n' Bulbous album: Waxed Oop

PEKKA POHJALA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pekka_Pohjola

-- info: Jan van Kemenade

URR 2008 12 28

2008 12 28

Tour succes

  Despite all the 'challenges' presented to us the 08 Christmas tour was an amazing success... we did about 2000 miles and got about 20,000 smiles... everyone was just great and the shows were a total blast, Ike was awesome and on Saturday 12/20 we were an actual licensed Zappa band!!! we learned a lot from the legal aspect such as we can keep the name Ugly Radio Rebellion with no legalities and we can also promote our shows by saying we play the music of Frank Zappa... we did our 100th show on 12/18 in Greensboro, NC and was a milestone for us to be proud of... the whole band played their asses off and we are all looking forward to continue playing the music we love for people who love to hear it... thanks to EVERYONE for all their help and support!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

DIE AUSTERNPRINZESSIN

• movie: die austernprinzessin
      (2008, dvd, bel, filmarchive)
  
  • In our brand-new inflatable series "things you really should have seen and heard in 2008", here's The Oysterprincess, a silent movie by Ernst Lubitsch from 1919, with music from The Flat Earth Society.
    The movie tells the story of the daughter of a very rich oyster salesman who wants to marry a prince. It's a great and very funy story, and it's perfectly suited for a soundtrack by the Flat Earth Society.
    OK, so even if you won't be able to see this DVD in 2008, you really should try to see it in 2009 !
    Highly recommended!!

MORE FES

PONTIAK

Pontiak performed Captain Beefheart's 'Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles' in concert at the Illini Union Courtyard Cafe in Urbana, IL, usa.

Picture below was taken by Rhinowing at the 2008/09/18 concert.

• 2008/09/18 Pontiak - concert Illini Union Courtyard Cafe, Urbana, IL, US
  • Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles [Captain Beefheart] - 4:24, Maker - 2:54, Paris is a Planet - 7:54, Sun on Sun - 4:48, White Hands - 8:25

GIANLUCA PETRELLA  & THE COSMIC BAND

FM broadcast by "RADIO3 SUITE - FESTIVAL DEI FESTIVAL", Radio Tre RAI [third channel of italian national radio], on monday 21 July 2008.

• Gianluca Petrella, conductor, trombone
• Beppe Scardino, baritone sax
• Francesco Bigoni, tenor sax
• Mirko Rubegni, trompet
• Giovanni Guidi, pianoforte
• Alfonso Santimoni, fender rhodes & synths
• Gabrio Baldacci, guitar
• Francesco Ponticelli, bass
• Federico Scettri, drums
• Simone Padovani, percussion

tracklist:

1. unannounced
2. We Sing This Song [Sun Ra] 
3. Bassism [Sun Ra] 
4. L'Elefante Vs L'Ippopotamo [Petrella]
5. Slow Bars [Petrella]
6. Prelude & shade of light [Sun Ra]
7. Second Star The Right [Sun Ra] 
   (incl. band's intro)

--

Appearantly, the broadcast wasn't perfect as the taper mentions some glitches and skips on the original broadcast.
However, still worth checking out for the Sun Ra fan.

Here's a YouTube sample of the Umbria Jazz Festival performance

ROMA - Auditorium Parco della Musica 26/04/08

• Gianluca Petrella direzione, trombone

• Beppe Scardino sax baritono

• Francesco Bigoni sax tenore

• Mirko Rubegni tromba

• Giovanni Guidi pianoforte

• Gabrio Baldacci chitarra

• Alfonso Santimoni sintetizzatori

• Francesco Ponticelli basso

• Federico Scettri batteria

• Simone Padovani percussioni

THE DIVERTIMENTO ENSEMBLE

Not only the music of John Cage was performed. During the concert of the Divertimento Ensemble at the 'Auditorium' in Milan on 2007/10/01, Frank Zappa's 'G-Spot Tornado' got played.
This concert was broadcast on italian fm radio on Sunday, 2007/11/18.

This was the second concert of the festival:

---------------------
----E V E N T 2----
---------------------

RADIO3 SUITE - IL CARTELLONE 

Personnel:
Divertimento Ensemble
director, Pierre-André Valade

1. intro [07.04]
2. Mauricio Kagel - "Ludwig van" (Hommage to Beethoven for variable ensemble) [11.46]
3. radio comment [02.59]
4. John Cage - "Seven" (for ensemble) [20.08]
5. radio comment [01.37]
6. Aldo Clementi - "Informel 2" (for 15 instruments) [09.31]
7. radio comment [02.14]
8. Bruno Maderna - "Serenata per un satellite" (1969) (for ensemble, version by Claudio Ambrosini,1985) [09.46]
9. radio comment [03.24]
10. Stefan Wolpe - "Chamber Piece n.1" (for 14 instruments) [08.49]
11. radio comment [00.13]
12. Stefan Wolpe - "Chamber Piece n.2" (for 13 instruments) [03.24]
13. radio comment [01.41]
14. Frank Zappa - "G-Spot Tornado", (for ensemble) (arrangement by Ali N. Askin) [04.11]
15. outro [00.50]

KELLER & THE KEELS

FRANCOIS DRENO & FRANCOIS BODIN

http://www.myspace.com/fdreno

http://www.myspace.com/francoisbodin

concerts

• 2008/07/06 François Dréno & François Bodin - concert 'Le Passage vers les étoiles', Cité Joly, Paris, France
• François Dréno (violin) & François Bodin (acoustic guitar) (*)
• Intro, Improvisation, Intro, Improvisation on FZ interview, Willie the Pimp (*), Irish Song (*), Outro

-- info: Cosmikd

ENSEMBLE ASCOLTA

The Ensemble Ascolta recently performed in the UK.

Here are Ob's notes of the concert:

Eric Borgir - Cello, Electric Cello
Andrew Digby - Trombone, Euphonium
Martin Homann - Percussion
Boris Muller - Percussion
Markus Schwind - Trumpet
Hubert Steiner - Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Electric Basses
Karin Schweigart-Hilario - Flute
Lukas Schiske - Drums
Matthius Stich - Saxaphone, Bass Clarinet
Philipp Vendre - Keys

• 2008/11/29 concert " Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival", Bates Mill, Huddersfield, UK
  • Ascolta are a Stuttgart based septet, though there were 10 on stage this cold November night. As a contemporary music ensemble they have been at the fore of playing modern music. The two percussionists, Martin Homann and Boris Muller were involved in Zappas infamous Rage and Fury recording of Varese (yet to be released). 
    After sending Gail Zappa the recording of two arrangements of synclavier pieces from Civilisation Phase 3 (Reagan in Bitburg and Im in a Drum), Gail invited them to LA to see whether they could arrange some other synclavier tracks - not yet released! They played a load of tracks, which Ascolta claim were completely unplayable, apart that is from 2 tracks which they took away, arranged and recorded last year for ZFT. Those tracks were Samba Funk and Uncle Sam. Ascolta play Samba Funk along with the synclavier recording from the vault. 
    All four of these got their UK Premier tonight. 
  • Big Swifty, Reagan at Bitburg, Sinister Footwear, Samba Funk, The Black Page Drum Solo, I was in a Drum, Uncle Sam, Medley, The Black Page Band Introductions, The Black Page #2, Peaches en regalia

-- picture & info by Ob

BURGER AND THE BEASTS

Burger Simon on bass
Julian on guitar and vocals
Rob on guitar and falsetto
Darek on drums and whiskey

The setlist:

Chunga's Revenge
Cheep Thrills
The Funky FZ Jam
3 Hours Past Midnight
The Mitch and Jimmy Tribute
Black Napkins
Call Any Vegetable
La Grange
Apostrophe
Whipping Post
The Closer You Are
Cheap Thrills
Outro Chile

[3 Hours Past Midnight is by Johnny Guitar Watson, La Grange is by Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill & Frank Beard, Whipping Post is by Gregg Allman, The Funky FZ Jam and The Mitch and Jimmy Tribute is by the Burger and the Beasts, Outro Chile has a hint of Jimi Hendrix, All others by Frank Zappa]

-- info: zappateers site

BOUD DEUN

Boud Deun performed Frank Zappa's 'Andy' in concert on 1996/09/14 at the 'Orion Studios' in Baltimore, MD, USA.

Shawn Persinger - guitar
Rocky Cancelose - drums
Matt Eiland - bass
Greg Hiser - violin

discography

Boud Deun: Fiction and Several Days (1995)
Boud Deun: Astronomy Made Easy (1997)
Boud Deun: A General Observation (live) (1998)
Boud Deun: The Stolen Bicycle (1998)

FRANK ZAPPA'S MUSIC PERFORMED IN ISRAEL IN 1997

SUZY CREAMCHEESE

I saw this little youtube snippet over at the Stadsradio Breda site...

ZAPPA RADIO AVOND

2008/12/14 "Zappa Radio Avond",
Stadsradio Breda, NL

• a 4 hour radio show about Frank Zappa

• on a local radio station in the Breda, NL, area (also broadcast on the internet)

• hosted by Joost Houwaard and René Oomen

ZAPPA BOOTLEG NEWS 2008 12 28

Zappa's "Joe's Menage" album has been bootlegged on vinyl:

• black wax

• grey marbled wax

• red marbled wax

• blue marbled wax

LUMPY MONEY PROMO

ZAPPA BOOTLEGS NEWS 2008 12 14

There's a new Frank Zappa bootleg CD out: "It Conquered The World"
= rerelease on frunobulax records fr005 (resolver * brutality) in a limited jewel case edition
limited to 40 copies

The "Great Wazoo" 3LP bootleg has been seen in split wax: one half of the record is green or red or blue and the other half is marbled wax.
There are copies of: 
- one box with 2 green and one blue lp
- one box with 2 green and one red lp

Another 3LP bootleg box has been assambled: "No Question". It's 3-LP-set + 1 EP
This set was released a time ago as single lps (petit halloween/instrumental and improvisation and petit wazoo = nq 9001, nq 9002 and nq 9003)

tracklist:

• side 1 : improvisations (16:53)*

• side 2 : big swifty (7:56) #, son of mr. green genes (16:11)*

• side 3 : farther oblivion (16:11)*

• side 4 : little dots (26:58)*

• side 5 : imaginary diseases (7:05) willie the pimp ((15:19) @

• side 6 : farther oblivion (16:13)@ duke of prunes (5:46)@

• ep a : berlin blues (3:18)**, regyptian strut (3:18)**

• ep b : new brown clouds (6:48)**

* portland, oregon 12-9-1972
# austin, texas 10-26-1973
@ passaic, new jersey 10-31-1972
** berlin, germany 9-15-1972

This one has been released as a colour vinyl set, and as a multi-colour vinyl set.

The above mentioned EP has been made available seperately, in 5 different colours:

-- info: Hans-Peter

ZAPPA - 200 MOTELS BOOTLEG DVD

I received a bit of extra info from Thomas Marrot who told me that this 'plastic box' release is from 2008 (and not from 2004 as I thought it was).

So it should have read:

• frank zappa: 200 motels
      (2008, dvd-bootleg, ??, wow corporation wow-037)

-- info: Thomas Marrot

FINNISH ZAPPA DISCOGRAPHY

Juha Pouttu, who runs the impressive www.jukeboxshop.net, added a bit of extra info to the "zappa books" section:

zappa äänitteillä - esittelevä diskografia 1961-1995
(recorded zappa - annotated discography 1961 - 1995)

by heikki poroila and heikki karjalainen
    (1995, book, finland, suomen musiikkikirjastoyhdistys)

= a 380 page , soft cover book, written in finnish

-- info: Juha Pouttu

Besides the above mentioned book, a supplement got published in 1996:

the supplement one

by heikki poroila 
    (1996, book, finland, private release)

= released in september 1996 as a supplement to "zappa äänitteillä - esittelevä diskografia 1961-1995";
18 pages, soft cover , in finnish

-- info: Juha Pouttu

MARK HARP

Mark Harp resided in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He started playing music in 1969 and has contributed to numerous LPs, EPs, singles and compilation tracsk.  He also recorded a couple of Frank Zappa compositions over the years. And also a Residents track.

• Recorded 'Magic Fingers' in 1979 on a cheap 2 track.
• Bought a home studio in 1988
• Recorded The Residents' 'Perfect Love' in 1989
• Recorded 'Carolina Hard-Core Ecstasy' in 1995
• Recorded 'Peaches En Regalia' in 1997
• Recorded 'Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance' in 2003 as Corky Niedermayer with some help from The Diamondheads' drummer
• Recorded Any Way The Wind Blows in 2003 as a member of The Diamondheads.

The latter two appeared on the Zappa Surf compilation that got compiled by Alan Jenkins. It got released in 2004.

December 3rd 2004, Mark Harp passed away after a sudden and catostrophic illness.

The picture on the right is taken from the below mentioned website:

http://www.markharp.com

If you go to the markharp website, be sure to take a look at "24 hours of Mark Harp" where you can actually download 24 hours of music by Mark Harp !!

-- info: Brandon Welch

SCOTTPARKERBOOKS

http://www.scottparkerbooks.com/

-

SUN RA - WHAT PLANET IS THIS

• sun ra and his space arkestra: what planet is this ?
      ( 2006, 2cd, usa, leo records gy 24/25) 
  
  • Here's another recent Sun Ra release.
    "What Planet Is This?" brings you a 1973 concert of Sun Ra and his Space Arkestra. This combination of well-known Sun Ra tunes, a top Arkestra with four female vocalists, and wild improvisations and solos results in a breathtaking show.
    'The Shadow World' clocks in after 20 minutes!!, 'Watusa' is almost 9 minutes, and 'Discipline 27-II' goes one for almost 18 minutes.

THE ZAPPA SUPPLEMENT ONE

by scott parker
    (2008, book, usa, private release)

• Last year, Scott Parker released two books:
  • hungry freaks daddy - the recordings of frank zappa and the mothers of invention - volume one 1959 - 1969
  • strictly genteel - the recordings of frank zappa - volume two
    1970 - 1971
    
• Both volumes dive into Zappa's music, taking a very close look at the various albums, bootleg recordings, and also at all the recordings that are known to circulate among fans. Furthermore, there's a transcription of all the spoken parts of these recordings.
  This must have been a hell-of-a-lot of work, but it's a delight to read and to browse through.
  -
• More recently Scott produced an extra volume: the first supplement called "A Box Of History And The Mud Shark Saga". 'Box Of History' refers to the 12-LP set 'History And Collected Improvisations Of The Mothers Of Invention' that Frank Zappa had compiled in 1969. This project went through various changes, and some of the material actually got release, but the real 'box' project never happened. Scott tries to retrack the history of the original 12-LP box, using all the info that he could find: interviews, acetates, and more...
  The second half of the book (I find it hard to call it a supplement as it's over 130 pages!!) takes a look at all the albums that came out on the Mud Shark bootleg label, including the 10-LP "The History And..." box  that got released in the early eighties as the magnum opus of the Mudshark label.
  It even has an interview with Studebaker Hoch, the man behind the Mud Shark bootleg label, and also unravels some mysteries about the fabulous (late) Mother People magazine.
  Excellent reading. It's nice to see that all of the pieces of the puzzle have been fit together in one book. Thank you, Scott.
  (Did you send a copy to Vaultmeister Joe? It might give him an idea for a new release... Joe's History Box...)

LISA POPEIL

She'll be giving another sessions, called "The Total Singer Workshop", on February 14 - 16, 2009, in Los Angeles.

www.popeil.com

IN THE 1960S

Haven't seen it yet, but it is said to include some old Mothers footage and a bunch of interviews.

More info soon.

PROJECT OBJECT IN 1997

A twenty something minute video recording of this concert recently got seeded at the Zappateers site.

SHARK

The picture on the right should be the cover of the second issue, published in January 1995.
Any further info on how, who, when, how many, etceteras is very welcome.

DEUS

Exactly one month ago, November 25, 2008, Canvas +, a belgian digital tv channel, did a broadcast of a dEUS concert.
The concert took place at the Antwerp Vantage Point Studio at 2008/11/20. It was a performance for belgian radio station Studio Brussel.

• Tom Barman

• Klaas Janzoons

• Stéphane Misseghers

• Alan Gevaert

• Mauro Pawlowski

• Lies Lorquet (#3)

• Karin Dreijer Andersson (#5)

• Guy Garvey (#9)

If don't know dEUS, you should really check them out. It's about the best that Belgium has to offer. 

1. When She Comes Down

2. Oh Your God

3. Eternal Woman

4. Favourite Game

5. Slow

6. The Architect

7. Is A Robot

8. Smokers Reflect

9. The Vanishing Of Maria Schneider

10. Popular Culture 

HOTEL CALIFORNIA

True, I didn't know that C, S, N & Y lived in Laurel Canyon; I didn't know that The Troubadour was the place to be for all the folkies, and I didn't know that the David Geffen (who started The Roxy) was a manager & owned a record company. But I'd like to know so much more.
Lots of very interesting info & great footage (Linda Rondstadt singing Lowell George's 'Willin' '), but I still have the feeling that there's too much left untold.
A missed opportunity.

-
thanks to JP for the DVDR copy

AAAFNRAAA FZ BIRTHDAY BUNDLE 2008

http://www.zappa.com/fz/aaafnraa/2008aaafnraaa.html

Tracklisting:

1. Dancin' Fool (Disco Version) 6:18 - FZ

2. More Trouble Every Day 5:48 - FZ

3. Gorgeous Inca 3:25 - FZ

4. Ancient Armaments 4:09 - FZ

5. America The Beautiful 3:35 - FZ

6. You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch 3:12 - Ahmet & Dweezil

7. Saturday Girl 2:50 - Dweezil

8. Alice 5:12 - Diva

9. Espanoza 3:26 - Diva

10. Dumb All Over 5:46 - Melanie Starks

11. Twenty Small Cigars 5:59 - Joe Travers

12. Lacksadaisial 5:44 - Joe Travers

13. Dirty Love 4:04 - Linda Perry

So there's a new entry at UM for this:

• various artists: the frank zappa aaafnraaa birthday bundle 21 dec 2008
      (2008, itunes, -) - feat. frank, dweezil, ahmet & diva zappa

It's a pretty impressive little album. Don't hesitate. Buy it.
I'm listening to Cree Summer's version of 'Dirty Love' right now. Great. 

FRANK ZAPPA BIOGRAPHY ON GERMAN RADIO

-
German Radio SWR2 is doing a Frank Zappa Biography. It started on 2008/12/23

There will be 6 parts about 1 hr each ( and of course it's in german language ).

Announcement:

http://www.phonostar.de/radiomagazin/radioprogramm/detail.php?id=1422&datum=2008-12-23

SWR2 stream:

http://lsd.newmedia.nacamar.net/bb/redirect.lsc?content=live&media=mp3&stream=swr2live/livestream.mp3

- 

-- info: DrZurkon, over at the Zappateers site

SUN RA - COSMO SUN CONNECTION

• sun ra and his arkestra: cosmo sun connection
      (1997, cd, uk, recommended records)
  
  • Originally released in 1985 as a limited edition vinyl release, here's the story that goes with the 1997 CD release, as told by Chris Cutler (from Recommended Records):
    "Back in the late 70s and early 80s Recommended imported a great numbers of Saturn records to Europe. The Arkestra would press them up to order and then i'd collect when I was in New York. We always paid in full and in advance to cover their pressing costs. Then came an occasion when there was nothing to collect; The Arkestra had urgently needed money and ours had been there - so they had spent it. I could hardly be angry - keeping The Arkestra afloat was a miracle at the best of times - but Recommended was also poor and such a loss was not really sustainable for us. In a spirit of generous compromise, Sun Ra gave us, in lieu of the unpressed LPs, The Cosmo Sun Connection mastertape, which we released in a small edition in 1985. This is the first time that this legandary recording has been widely available."
    The album itself is superb: Sun Ra and his Arkestra at their wildest best.
    The label says it all: recommended!
    
    

SUN RA - AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD

• sun ra sextet: at the village vanguard
      (1993, cd, usa, jazz door 12125) 
  
  • Recorded November 1991 at the Village Vanguard in New York City, this album is one of the most straight-forward Sun Ra jazz albums I've heard to date. The Sun Ra Sextet consists of Sun Ra on synth, Chris Anderson on piano, John Gilmore on tenor sax, John Ore on bass, Buster Smith on drums and Bruce Edwards on guitar.
    Actually, it's more like a quintet with Ra noodling on his synth in the background. If the info that I have is right, the band was booked as the John Gilmore Quintet, and Sun Ra joined at the last minute.
    Nice.

SUN RA - THE SOLAR MYTH APPROACH (VOL 1)

• sun ra and his solar-myth arkestra: the solar myth approach (vol 1)
      (2002, cd, italy, sunspots)
  
  • "The Solar Myth Approach (Vol.1)" originally got released in 1971 on the French BYG label. It got re-released on CD (in a mini-LP cardboard record sleeve) in 2002 in Italy on the Sunspots label.
    As the title suggests, you get the solar, but especially the myth side of the music of Sun Ra: experimental and spacy free jazz.
    Sun Ra's keyboards (clavinet, moog,...) are the main instruments on this album. 
    Not the easiest of albums, but a very interesting one.

SUN RA - DESTINATION UNKNOWN

• sun ra & his omniverse arkestra: destination unknown
      (1992, cd, austria, enja cd 7071-2) 
  
  • This is one of Sun Ra's last records. It's a live recording from the 1992 tour: a concert in Aarburg, Austria, on 1992/03/29.
    It's a superb show. Sun Ra, Marshall Allen, Michael Ray, Bruce Edwards, ... are all making this a very powerful set.
    Highly recommended.

SUN RA - SPACEWAYS

• sun ra: spaceways
      (1998, cd, ger, freedom cd741047)
  
  • "Spaceways" is part two of a 3cd box entitled "Calling Planet Earth". It's another one of the odd albums in the Sun Ra discography as it's a re-issue of the 1974 saturn vinyl album "Outer Spaceways Incorporated", but released with a new name. To confuse things even more, the first disc in the 3cd box is entitled "Outer Spaceways Incorporated", which is, in fact a re-issue of "Pictures Of Infinity".
    "Spaceways" is available as disc 2 in the 3cd box, but also seperateley.
    But despite the lousy cover and the confusing album titles, it does give you some great Sun Ra music from the mid 60's.
    

SUN RA - LIVE FROM SOUNDSCAPE

• sun ra arkestra: live from soundscape
      (1994, 2cd, japan, diw-388)
  
  • Originally released in 1994 on the Japanese DIW label, this album includes (part of) the concert at the 'Soundscape' club in New York City, November 11 in 1979.
    It's an excellent concert with nothing but Sun Ra classics: 'Astro Black', 'Living In The Space Age', 'Watusi', 'Space Is The Place', 'We Travel The Spaceways', and more.
    Beautiful melodies, lots of vocals and stunning solos.
    Essential.
    The second disc of the 2CD set presents a lecture that Sun Ra did at the same Soundscape club, one day earlier. To be honest, I've listened to a small part of it, but that's not really my cup of tea.
    Anyway, you should consider disc two as the bonus disc, as disc one is a good enough reason to find this album.
    Recommended!!

RONNIE CUBER

According to a review in Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant, Cuber played a hell of a concert, but he only got to perform in the second set, and he didn't get enough space fro soloing by Orchestra conductor Vince Mendoza.
Anyway, it's good to hear that he's still playing his baritone sax. I'll have to give "Zappa In New York" another spin one of these days...

-- thanks to François Kneepkens for the info & the newspaper clipping

MINOR AUTHORITY

- 
Nate Harris, the son of Bob and Thana Harris, is also into music!

The name of his band is Minor Authority.

Here are some links:

His record label and link to his free download "Nuttin' for Xmas" by Minor Authority

http://www.popsweatshop.com/

His myspace:

www.myspace.com/punksideup

Check it out.
-

NEIL YOUNG

Watching these documentaries was a bit like going back in time.

Thanks to JP for the DVD snail mail copy. I really enjoyed it.

• 2008/10/31

  • 21:30 -22:00

    • "In Concert" Neil Young :Footage of the singer-songwriter from 1971

  • 22:00-23:00

    • "Don't Be Denied": Neil Young traces his 40-year musical journey, utilising unseen performance footage.

  • 23:00-00:30

    • "Deja Vu" Document of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's 2006 'Freedom of Speech' US tour.

SUN RA - OUTER SPACE EMPLOYMENT AGENCY

• sun ra and his intergalactic arkestra: outer space employment agency
      (1999, cd, usa, alive! total energy records ner3021) 
  
  • Sun Ra and his Arkestra have performed at the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival on numerous occasions. "Outer Space Employment Agency" will take you back to the 1973 edition of this festival.
    The Arkestra had three (!!) drummers at the time and combined experimental and free jazz soloing with the typical laid back big band melodies and heavy percussion.
    Recorded live for an audience of 15 000 people, this must have been quite an event.
    I love it.

SUN RA - HOLIDAY FOR SOUL DANCE

• sun ra and his astro infinity arkestra: holiday for soul dance
      (1991, cd, usa, evidence 22011)
  
  • Originally released in 1970 on Sun Ra's Saturn label, this obscure album got the cd reissue treatment in 1991 on the evidence label, where it was the first of a series.
    "Holiday For Soul Dance" will take you back to the 1940's and 50's as Sun Ra and his Astro Infinity Arkestra take on some great jazz standards.
    'Dorothy's Dance', 'Body And Soul', "But Not For Me", ... they're all there.
    Supposing that it would be necessary, this album would get me in the right mood for christmas...
    Beautiful.

SUN RA - OUT THERE A MINUTE

• sun ra and his arkestra: out there a minute
      (1989, cd, uk, blast first)
  
  • "Out There A Minute" is another one of these great Sun Ra albums. The disc is a collection of outtakes, alternate takes and live fragments. Most of the tracks are from the early sixties, but that's about all they have in common. You will find classic jazz tunes next to experimental stuff. And yet, it fits together perfectly.
    If you're not too familiar with Sun Ra, "Out There A Minute" will show you what his music was all about.
    Recommended listening.

AN OLD ZAPPA BOOTLEG DVD

• frank zappa: 200 motels
      (2008, dvd-bootleg, ??, wow corporation wow-037)
  
  • About four years ago, Zappa's "200 Motels" got released as a DVD-bootleg. The Wow Corporation released it as a 'limited edition digipack'. Last week, I came across the normal plastic box edition. Does this mean that all of the Wow Co titles came out as both a digipack and a plastic box? Do you care? Does anyone care?
    Well, maybe someone does, so I added the info to the FZ Bootleg DVD section.

THE YELLOWJACKETS

My latest great find was the North Sea Jazz concert by The Yellowjackets and the Metropole Orchestra.

1996/07/13 The Yellowjackets and The Metropole Orchestra - concert "North Sea Jazz Festival 1996", 'Tuinpaviljoen', The Hague, The Netherlands

If The Yellowjackets don't ring a bell, maybe mentioning Russell Ferrante, Bob Mintzer, Jimmy Haslip and William Kennedy does. Superb.
-

SUN RA - THE SINGLES

• sun ra: the singles
      (1996, 2cd, usa, evidence 22164-2)
  
  • Released a bit over ten years ago, "The Singles" collects (almost) all the singles that have been released by Sun Ra, or to which Sun Ra contributed. There's a lot of very interesting early material from the mid-fifties: both standard jazz tunes and great doo wop tunes.
    Even in 1954, the first signs of Sun Ra intergalactic adventure were already visible, calling the band The Cosmic Rays...
    Essential Sun Ra material.

CENTRAL SCRUTINIZER BAND 2008 12 19

It looks like The Central Scrutinizer Band did a last minut concert yesterday.
Even more important is the fact that they released a DVD entitled "Live In São Paulo".

2008 12 19

lançamento do dvd:

"Live In São Paulo"

comemorando o aniversário de Frank Zappa.

Domingo dia 21 de dezembro,

show no Avenida Club, Av. Pedroso de Moraes 1036, Pinheiros, tel.3814.7383,3031.3290, 21,00hs, ingressos 20,00 .

O dvd foi gravado dia 01/06/08 no Centro Cultural SP

www.scrutinizer.com.br

www.myspace.com/thecentralscrutinizerband

www.avenidaclub.com.br

-

UGLY RADIO REBELLION 2008 12 20

a day too late...
hope you were able to catch them...

2008 12 20

The show for 12/21 has been changed from The Magic Bag to Club Bart... for additional info please contact either of the venues...

Thanks to everyone for all your help and support and for helping us play the music we love for people that love to hear it...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

BROKKENFESTIVAL IN AMSTERDAM

2008/12/28 "Brokkenfestival", 'Bimhuis', Amsterdam, The Netherlands

• ALAN PURVES & ANTON GOUDSMIT
  Alan Purves-percussie & things, Anton Goudsmit-gitaar, tv

• MALLETMAN MEETS MALLETWOMAN AGAIN
  Hans Hasebos & Tatiana Koleva-marimba, vibrafoon, percussie

• NAOMI SATO & PIETER JAN CRAMER
  Naomi Sato-sho, Pieter Jan Cramer-accordeon

• ERIC VLOEIMANS, YONGA SUN, HEIN OFFERMANS & CORRIE VAN BINSBERGEN
  Eric Vloeimans-trompet, Yonga Sun-slagwerk, Hein Offermans-bas, Corrie van Binsbergen-gitaar

• BROKKENFABRIEK 'WHAT ARE THEY BUILDING IN THERE?'
  Angelica Vazquez-harp, Esther Kurtz-hobo, Camille Verhaak-klarinet, Wouter Vroege-trompet, Matthijs Thuin-gitaar, Sophie van Eck-basgitaar, Heleen van der Hoeven-viool, Darius Timmer-piano, Hans Hasebos-percussie, muzikale leiding

• WE WERE NOT TALKING
  met o.a Paul Pallesen, Rene van Barneveld, Wouter Planteijdt, Wiek Hijmans, Alfredo Genovesi, Anton Goudsmit, Corrie van Binsbergen

• JOOST BUIS & ANDRÉ MANUEL
  Joost Buis-trombone, lapsteel, André Manuel-zang, gitaar, harmonium

Kick off at 15.30 h !!!

Part of this festival will be recorded by VPRO Radio and will be broadcast on february 13 and 20 on jazz at vpro on Radio 6.
It will also be available as webcast.

-

CRAM & TOURIA HADRAOUI

• Corrie van Binsbergen - guitar

• Rutger van Otterloo - baritone & soprano saxophone

• Arend Niks - drums

• Mick Paauwe - bass  

CRAM performed three pieces. The latest one was with Touria Hadraoui, with whom CRAM is doing a short tour.

• 2008/12/18 CRAM & Touria Hadraoui - concert 'De Werf', Brugge, Belgium

• 2008/12/20 CRAM & Touria Hadraoui - concert 'Mahogany Hall', Edam, The Netherlands

• 2008/12/27 CRAM & Touria Hadraoui with Carlo de Wijs, Vasile Nedea - concert "Festival Stranger than Paranoia", Paradox, Tilburg, The Netherlands

• 2008/12/30 CRAM & Touria Hadraoui - concert 'Grand Theatre', Groningen, The Netherlands

The picture below shows Corrie van Binsbergen and Arend Nix during the "Vrije Geluiden" TV show.

POKEMON SIGHTING AT UM HEADQUARTERS

ZAPPA VIDEO FOOTAGE FROM 1973

1973/07/02 "Monday Conference", ABC TV, Sydney, Australia

It includes music ('RDNZL') from the Melbourne concert from 1973/06/29

1973/07/21 "Four Corners Documentary: Payola", ABC TV, Sydney, Australia

The documentary included a concert fragment and an interview with Zappa on 'Payola', or how dj's get drugs in trade for airplay for certain bands...

1973/--/-- "Get To Know", ABC TV, Sydney, Australia

This special included fragments of the 1973/06/26 rehearsal of the Zappa band in Sydney: 'Fifty-fifty', 'Farther Oblivion (Be Bop Tango)' and 'Cucamonga'

ZAPPANALE 20 - THE RUMOURS

You might see and hear Napoleon Murphy Brock, Don Preston, Ike Willis, Denny Walley, Robert Martin, Roy Estrada, Mats & Morgan, and maybe even Terry Bozzio and Peter Wolf.
Other names that are circulating are Project Object, Sheik Yerbouti, Struber Z'tett, The Grande Mothers and Sex without nails bros.

-

THE SAINT LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

-
The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra performed Frank Zappa's 'G-Spot Tornado' in concert on 2008/11/13 at 'The Pageant' in St.Louis, MO, usa.

• 2008/11/13 The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra - concert 'The Pageant', St.Louis, MO, usa 

  • Intro * Two Billion Lightyears From Home * Stage BAter * G-spot Tornado (F.Zappa)  >  Arcana (E.Varèse) * 100 guitars pt1 * 100 guitars pt2 * 100 guitars pt3 * 100 guitars pt4

" David Robertson and the SLSO host a celebration of one of the most popular instruments in the world. The Guitar Festival makes its way to different venues throughout the city, with extraordinary guest artists and some of the finest local talent to be found. At the Pageant you can hear music of Frank Zappa and Edgard Varèse, along with Glenn Branca's symphony written for 100 electric guitars, with composer/ guitarist Steve Mackey and John Patitucci joining 98 St. Louis guitarists. At Powell Symphony Hall, John Patitucci plays a work for electric bass and electric bass guitar. In November, St. Louis is GuitarLand."

-- info: zappateers

THE BRIDGEPORT JAZZ ENSEMBLE

• the bridgeport jazz ensemble: hairy medley / peaches en regalia
      (1970, usa, 7", private release) - incl. 'little umbrellas', 'it must be a camel', 'son of mr.green genes', 'peaches en regalia'

2008/12, Joe Boerst adds:

In 1969 Bob Mintzer came to my recording studio. He handed me an album and said I had to listen to it!!! HOT RATS !!! 
After listening I began arranging for Mamaroneck High School Jazz Ensemble. Warner Brothers published the arrangements of Peaches En Regalia and Hairy Medley. Later, Warner Bros published my arrangement of Chunga's Revenge.
The 7 inch 45 RPM recording is most likely the Warner Bros demo of the arrangements. Performed by the University of Bridgeport Jazz Ensemble. 
Recorded at Vanguard Studios 23rd Street NYC in the fall of 1970. Somewhere I have a letter from Herb Cohen (Frank's business manager) thanking Warner Bros for the business. I am pleasently suprised to see the arrangements are still getting around.

Thanks,

Joe Boerst

-- info: zappateers

THE COMPLETE WORKS OF EDGARD VARESE IN CONCERT

• The Asko / Schönberg Ensemble
• Capella Amsterdam
• Peter Eötvös
• The Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest
• Gary Hill

PROGRAM

Saturday June 13, 2009

1. Hyperprism (1923), Asko|Schönberg
   voor 9 blazers & 7 slagwerkers

2. Un Grand Sommeil Noir (1906)
   voor sopraan & piano

3. Octandre (1923), Asko|Schönberg
   voor blazers en contrabas

4. Offrandes (1921), Asko|Schönberg
   voor sopraan en kamerorkest

5. Intégrales (1925), Asko|Schönberg
   voor 11 blazers en 4 slagwerkers
   
   Pauze
   

6. Nocturnal (1961), Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest
   voor stemmen en kamerorkest

7. Arcana (1927), Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest
   voor orkest
   
   Pauze
   

8. Tuning Up (1947) arr. Chou Wen-Chung, Rotterdams Philharmonisch orkest
   voor orkest

9. Amériques (1922-1926), Rotterdams Philharmonisch orkest
   voor orkest

Sunday June 14, 2009

Asko|Schönberg en Cappella Amsterdam

1. Ionisation (1930-1931)
   voor 13 slagwerkers en 2 sirenes

2. Ecuatorial (1933-1934)
   voor bas- of unisonokoor, 8 koperblazers, piano, orgel, 2 theremins of ondes-Martenot en 6 slagwerkers

3. Density 21.5 (1936)
   voor fluitsolo

4. Étude pour Espace (1947) nieuw arr. Chou Wen-Chung
   voor koor en ensemble (wereldpremière)

5. Dance for Burgess (1949)
   voor ensemble

6. La procession de Vèrges (1955)
   Film & muziek op elektronische band

7. Reconstructie van Poème électronique
   360° multimedia werk gemaakt voor de wereldtentoonstelling in Brussel (1958) met elektronische muziek van Varèse.

8. Déserts (1949-1954)
   voor blazers, piano, slagwerk en elektronische band

-

• 2009/06/13 & 14 Asko / Schönberg, Peter Eötvös,  The Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest - concert "Holland Festival", Amsterdam, NL 

GEORGE DUKE - FEEL

• george duke: feel
      (2008, cd, usa, verve / mps)
  
  • George Duke's 1975 "Feel" album recently got the "remastered digipack" treatment.
    The album features a certain Obdewl'x on guitar on two tracks. Obdewl'x is an alias fro Frank Zappa.

ZAPPOSTROPHE 112

incl.

• jimmy carl black
• alice cooper
• the frank zappa quartet
• joe's menage
• the latest jimmy carl black releases
• vito paulekas & carl franzoni
• bootlegs
• zappa on ebay
• cal schenkel
• zappa plays zappa

THE RESIDENTS - BUNNY BOY IN CHICAGO

• 2008/10/17 The Residents - concert 'Lakeshore Theater', Chicago, IL, usa
  • set one
    • Enter Stage > I Have Got a Story to Tell * Secret Room * Bunny Boy 1 * Rabbit Habit * The Bunny Boy * Bunny Boy 2 * My Nigerian Friend * Bunny Boy 3 * The Dark Man * Patmos * Bunny Boy 4 * Paintings of a Clown * Golden Guy * Butcher Shop * Bunny Boy 5 *  applause
  • set two
    • Band Intro * I'm Not Crazy * It Was Me * Bunny Boy 6 * Boxes full of Armageddon * Secret Message * Bunny Boy 7 * I Killed Him * Fever Dreams * Bunny Boy 8 * Pictures from a Little Girl * What If It's True? *  Blood on the Bunny * Bunny Boy 9 * The Black Behind/Secret Room *  Applause * My Window * applause > Peter Cotton Tail

WM RECORDINGS 2008 12 11

New free download, online now:

Invertebrata - 4
http://www.wmrecordings.com/releases/wm090.htm

Detuned acoustic guitars, an acoustic bass guitar, a plastic water bottle, bowed strings, some voice, a little black truck called Tonka, a small toy recorder and other (whether or not accidentally) recorded sounds, and no traditional song structure in sight...

Get it now, it's free!

best wishes,

Marco Kalnenek

http://www.wmrecordings.com

WM Recordings
PO Box 26
6400 AA Heerlen
The Netherlands

info@wmrecordings.com

L.SHANKAR

L.Shankar (or Shenkar as he's called nowadays) has been touring with Jonathan Davis (lead singer of Korn).

• Jonathan Davis

• Shane Gibson - guitar

• Michael Jochum - percussion

• Miles Mosely - upright bass

• Zac Baird - keyboards

• Shenkar - violin

An audience recording of the Bochum concert recently turned up.

• 2008/05/28 concert 'Rockhal', Luxembourg, Luxembourg

• 2008/05/29 concert 'VK Club', Brussels, Belgium

• 2008/05/30 concert "Pinkpop Festival", The Netherlands

• 2008/05/31 concert 'Zeche', Bochum, Germany

ZAMPLES

This link http://www.the-breaks.com/perl/full.pl?genre=3&page=Z will take you to a page showing all of Zappa's work sampled by DJs and hippity-hopsters. The list (for those who can't be bothered to click is:

Hot Rats: (Reprise 1969)

* "The Gumbo Variations"

Mr. Dibbs's "Habitat 2nd Segment"

* "Little Umbrellas"

MadKap's "Phuck What Ya Heard"

* "Son of Mr.Greene Genes"

Black Moon's "Act Like U Want It"

Apostrophe: (Rykodisc 1974)

* "Apostrophe"

DJ Signify & DJ Mayonnaise's "Propaganda"

UNKLE's "Guns Blazing (Drums of Death Part 1)"

Info: StatusBaby, over at the Zappateers site

WHERE'S HARVEY

Howdy Residents Friend,

Hopefully you have been staying abreast of the Bunny Boy episodes. It's getting a bit dicey, and by his own admission, a little too weird for Bunny himself. Priests! Bunny drawings! The end of the world! And it all boils down to one key figure: Harvey.

Where is he? Well, maybe you can help by picking up the latest holiday package of a Where's Harvey bumper sticker and tee shirt (or long sleeve thermal...to keep ya warm!) Brand new, and for a limited time only, we have the Where's Harvey sticker and shirt deal.

And to keep it interesting, we found some older limited edition titles in our secret storage lair (we were looking for Harvey too), and thought we'd make them available to you. There are very few available, so don't be surprised if you get an email later saying that the item you ordered was out of stock by the time your order went thru.

Also, the USPS online rate calculator is down (likely because of online holiday shopping - this happens every year.) So we had to improvise with a stop gap flat rate option for your ordering needs. This will probably only happen for the next day or so, but simply choose your location for flat rate postal service (USA, Canada, Europe (that includes UK sorry), Japan, Australia/New Zealand etc). If your country is not listed, simply send us a mail at orders@ralphamerica.com and we'll give you further instructions.
This is just a temporary problem, hopefully. I'm surprised the USPS has taken so long to fix it, however.

So stop by http://www.ralphamerica.com for your HARVEY purchases.

And swing by http://ralphamerica.blogspot.com to chime in with yer latest conspiracy theory (Priests! Bunny drawings! The end of the world!) on the Bunny Boy series. And comment if you were at a recent show, such as London (we heard it was great). The tour is winding down...let us hear how it's going. We don't get this opportunity too often.

The Ralph Gang

PS- sorry about the spelling error in the last email blast...we're so dedicated we send these things from the road and couldn't drive, drink coffee, eat bagels and type all at the same time. That's how everyone drives in California.

HUGH JASS 2008 12 08

Hugh Jass has announced that he will be issuing the first volume of a seriously limited multi-LP set of the Frank Zappa Halloween 1978 show entitled THE BIG ONE.

The set is hand-pressed onto black metal acetate and is limited to 11 copies each (!).
The finished set will stretch to 4 or 5 LPs and will be completed next year.
The sales are first come first served.
Buyers will be notified by Hugh of future volumes.
The cost of volume 1 is $100 US plus shipping.
For more info, or to purchase a copy, email Hugh Jass at tispnea@sbcglobal.net

-

POSTCARDS FROM PATMOS

"Postcards From Patmos" is the latest Residents CD. It's the original soundtrack for the Residents' Internet video series. You know, these little movies that add pieces to the Search For Harvey puzzle...

• the residents: postcards from patmos
      (2008, cd, usa, santa dog records)

THE CZECH FZ FAN CLUB

ZAPPATIKA 2008 12 04

This (WINOMAN) was the first track of the night...possibly why its the first ready...hhmmm?  the rest will follow as and when edited by the editing dudes ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJbnG_IDKS4

Nice that its today as i am drinking lots of wine to remember FZ !

N-joy 

M

2008 12 04

1988 05 01 - Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden

FZ, Ike Willis, Mike Keneally, Scott Thunes, Chad Wackerman, Ed Mann, Bobby Martin, Bruce Fowler, Walt Fowler, Paul Carman, Albert Wing, Kurt McGettrick.

Guest appearances by Mats Öberg on Keyboards (*), Morgan Ågren on drums (*), and Dweezil Zappa on guitar (**).

Secret words: Dragonmaster & Fernando

• Tuning

• Heavy Duty Judy

• Packard Goose Medley

• Any Kind Of Pain (q: T'Mershi Duween)

• Trouble Every Day (incl. Thirteen vamp, q: T'Mershi Duween)

• Penguin In Bondage

• Hot Plate Heaven At The Green Hotel

• Cosmik Debris

• Inca Roads (q: Fernando)

• Advance Romance

• Bobby Brown

• Keep It Greasey

• The Torture Never Stops Medley (q: Fernando) [incl. Gorgo, TRF]

• Big Swifty* (incl. T'Mershi Duween)

• Joe's Garage

• Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?

• Peaches En Regalia

• Stairway To Heaven

• Whipping Post** (q: Handsome Cabin Boy)

• I Am The Walrus (incl. Jam**)

• Sofa

www.zappateers.com

-

CB - IT COMES TO YOU IN A PLAIN BROWN WRAPPER

• captain beefheart: it comes to you in a plain brown wrapper
      (2008, 2lp, usa, sundazed)
  
  • Recorded in 1967, and now, finally released as it was meant to be: "It Comes To You In A Plain Brown Rapper".
    Nice package, great music and a fine story by John French on the inner cover.
    
  • on the right: the fold-out cover of the album
  • below left: the cover of the wrapper
  • below right: the back-cover of the wrapper

DON'T PUSH THE CLOWN

2003/06/09 concert Sweetwater, Mill Valley, CA, usa

• Ray White- guitar, vocals * Terry Hagerty- guitar * Bobby Vega- bass * Prairy Prince- drums * John Lee (*)- sax, & vocals on Inner City Blues
• Set 1
  • Burn it up * It's Your Thing * Waterfall * Let Me Love You, Baby * Spring Water * Shotgun House
• Set 2
  • Express yourself(*) * We're in the Same World * Use Me(*) * Illinois Enema Bandit * Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)(*) * City of Tiny Lights ->SuperBad(*)

CHRISTOPHE MONNIOT

2008/11/07 Christophe Monniot - concert 'pole sud', strasbourg, france

In 2007 saxophonist christophe monniot created a new version of vivaldis "four seasons" with the knowledge of 300 years of music citing vivali, tschaikowsky, evan parker and frank zappa.
Mostly deep in jazz, the show smells a little classical add some contemporary music and some baroque music..
sylvie gasteau wrote some french words about time, the seasons and a world in changes .... you can hear the words between the music

christophe monniot: tenor-, alt- and baryton-saxophone
michael massot: tuba
emilspanyl: piano, keyboards
eric echampard: drums

+

archanes saxophone quartet:
vincent david: sopran-saxophone
grégory demarcy: alt- and sopran-saxophone
erwan fagant: tenor- and sopran- saxophone
damien royannals: baryton-saxophone

ZAPPA BOOTLEG UPDATES

Check out www.arfarf.de and go to "NEUes". Even if you don't speak German, you'll get an idea.

Here's a list of the new items:

• zappa / beefheart: 200 years special
  (I mentioned this one a little bit further on)
• frank zappa: great wazoo  //  mcv (multi coloured vinyl) split wax
• frank zappa: great wazoo  //  coloured & multi-coloured vinyl
• frank zappa: great wazoo - advance box  //  black vinyl
• frank zappa: lumpy gravy  //  acetate - ltd.edition of 30 copies - u.s. release
• frank zappa: lumpy gravy  //  acetate - ltd.edition of 5 copies - euro release (= acetate for the euro release)
• frank zappa: lumpy gravy  //  black vinyl - euro release
• frank zappa: mannheim - philadephia 1988  //  4-lp box, white, clear & marbled vinyl - ltd. edition of 12 copies
• frank zappa: great wazoo  //  the 7" ep
• frank zappa: le stadium, bourges, france vol. 1 - 4   //  4 lp's on clear vinyl
• frank zappa: spanish trip vol. 1 - 4  //  4 lp's on clear vinyl
• frank zappa: the missing ritz tracks  //  mcv
• ...

MATS / MORGAN NEWSLETTER 2008 12 02

Mats/Morgan Newsletter December 2008

======================================================================

Mats/Morgan Band gigs coming up!
(Lineup: Mats Öberg, Morgan Ågren, Gustaf Hielm)

2008/12/03 Mats/Morgan Band - concert 'Metropol ', Köpmannag. 11, Härnösand (ph. 0611102 01)

2008/12/04 Mats/Morgan Band - concert 'Studion', Idunteatern, Umeå  (ph. 090156200)

2008/12/05 Mats/Morgan Band - concert 'Musikhuset', Hamnplan 4, Örnsköldsvik  (ph. 066019100)

2008/12/06 Mats/Morgan Band - concert 'Pipeline', Kyrkog. 6, Sundsvall  (ph. 060619940)

2008/12/17 Mats/Morgan Band - concert 'Fasching', Kungsg. 63, Stockholm  (ph. 0853482960)

2009/06/04 Mats/Morgan Band - concert 'BLAEST', TMV kaia 17 / 7014, Trondheim (www.blaest.no)

Also

* Congrats to Mats for receiving the Jan Johansson award!

* Vic Firth has just uploaded a clip from the Montreal Drumfest, click here to watch

http://www.vicfirth.com/features/montreal_drumfest08/video/montreal08_agrenHQ.html

* Morgan, Gustaf and Jimmy Ågren are featured on Tina Ahlins new CD "12 sånger av Allan Edwall"

It is grammy-nominated!! If you want to vote, click here

http://vote.grammis.se/kategorier/arets-folkmusik.aspx

For more sounds and sights:

www.myspace.com/morganagren
http://drummerworld.com/drummers/Morgan_Agren.html
www.myspace.com/matsmorganband  
www.myspace.com/jimmyagren
www.myspace.com/tinaahlin  
www.myspace.com/fredrikthordendalsspecialdefects

-

WM RECORDINGS 2008 12 02

Marco says:

Hi everyone,

A little while ago I was invited by my friends at Op3n.net, a Spanish mixtape netlabel, to submit a netlabel mix.
The result is a 45 minute selection of WM Recordings tracks, now online at: http://tinyurl.com/op3nnet 

Artists include The Rabbits, brunk, Jan Turkenburg, Lee Rosevere, Phil Reavis and Otis Fodder.

Have a listen, it's free!

best wishes,

Marco Kalnenek

http://www.wmrecordings.com 

WM Recordings
PO Box 26
6400 AA Heerlen
The Netherlands
info@wmrecordings.com 

NEW ZAPPA DVD ANNOUNCED

http://www.abstractlogix.com/xcart/product.php?productid=24002&cat=277&p

ZAPPA IN THE PAPERS

Yes, here we are again with the beautiful Zappa In The Papers series.
Thanks to slime.oofytv.set, we get another glimpse of FZ in and on the magazines...

• formule 1, no.32
      (1976/08, magazine, france)
  

  • The August 1976 issue of French mag Formule 1, included a 2-page article and a 3-page fold-out poster of Frank Zappa & Napoleon Murphy Brock.

• record collector news, v.1 no.4
      (2008/11, magazine, usa)
  
  • This issue of Record Collector News included a 1-page review of the "Joe's Garage" performance in L.A. plus a 5-page review of the "Mystery Disc" & some photos/quotes from a '77 san diego interview.

• t magazine, n.1
      (2004, magazine, uk)
  
  • This magazine included "The Maths Of Music", an article by M.Blacklock with commentary on Zappa's investigation of the mathematical pop music.

• rock & pop
      (1990/05, magazine, czech republic)
  
  • The May 1990 issue of Czech magazine Rock & Pop included a 4-page article on Frank Zappa by P.Druzka, and 1 page of lyrics translation.

• muzikus
      (1996/01, magazine, czech republic)
  
  • The January 1996 issue of Muzikus included a 4-page article on Frank Zappa by K.Weiss.

• pop
      (1972/04, magazine, switzerland)
  
  • This issue of Pop included "Die Frank Zappa-Story part1", a 4-page article by U.Gwerder.

• oor, n.16
      (1971/winter, magazine, the netherlands)
  
  • Issue number 16 of Dutch Oor magazine featured a 1-page on 200 Motels & on FZ as filmmaker.

• soundi no.12
      (1984/12, magazine, finland)
  
  • Issue number 12 of Finnish magazine Soundi included "FZ Ei Kainostele Kitarasooloja Ja Tuhmia Juttuja", a 3-page article by E.Koivio.

• coq v.1 no.2
      (1974/02, magazine, usa)
  
  • This magazine included "Dialogue: Frank Zappa", a 5-page interview by P.Salvo.

• musikbox v.2 no.17
      (1998/05, magazine, italy)
  
  • This issue of Musikbox included a 7-page article on Frank Zappa by G.Meloni.

• ord & bild
      (1988/04, magazine, sweden)
  
  • This magazine included "Teenybop Och Avantgardism", an 18-page article by L.Mjøseth on Frank Zappa.

• schlager no.42
      (1982/09, magazine, sweden)
  
  • This magazine featured 2-pages on Zappa: an article, a Stockholm concert review & a "Drowning Witch" album review by B.Eriksson & G.Fitzapatrick.

• mousiko expres
      (1980/02, magazine, greece)
  
  • This magazine featured a 3-page article on Frank Zappa.

• la repubblica - l'america del rock no.6
      (1994, magazine, italy)
  
  • This issue includes a 2-page article on Frank Zappa.

• l.a.weekly no.44
      (2008/09, magazine, usa)
  
  • This issue included a 4-page article on the Joe's Garage theatrical premiere by S.Morris.

• musikbox v.3 no.30
      (1999/06, magazine, italy)
  
  • The June 1999 issue of Musikbox included a 7-page article by G.Meloni: "Frank Zappa: Il Moschettiere Elettrico".

• holnd festvl
      (2000/06, free newspaper, the netherlands)
  
  • This Holland Festival program was made available as a free supplement to De Volkskrant (a Dutch newspaper).
    I had a paint-shopped Zappa picture on the cover and a 2-page article on several different performances of Zappa music and film.

• hitweek no.12
      (1966/12/02, magazine, the netherlands)
  
  • Issue number 12 of Dutch Hitweek magazine had a cover story on the release of "Freak Out" !!

• hitweek no.40
      (1968/06/21, magazine, the netherlands)
  
  • This issue of Hitweek included a review of "Lumpy Gravy".

• hitweek no.36
      (1968/05/24, magazine, the netherlands)
  
  • This issue of Hitweek included a 1-page article on "We're Only In It For The Money".

• stereophile v31 n11
      (2008/11, magazine, usa)
  
  • The November 2008 issue of Stereophile included a 6-page article 'Zappa Returns', on the recent & upcoming fz album releases by J.Swenson.

THE WRONG OBJECT AT THE JAZZSTATION

http://www.jazzstation.be/

• 2008/12/18 The Wrong Object - concert 'Jazzstation', Brussels, Belgium

JIMMY CARL BLACK ON CROSSFIRE PUBLICATIONS

Can I Borrow A Couple Of Bucks Until The End Of The Week?  -  http://cdbaby.com/cd/jcblack

If We'd All Been Living in California...  -  http://cdbaby.com/cd/jcblack2

Where's My Waitress?  -  http://cdbaby.com/cd/jcblack3

I'm Not Living Very Extravagantly, I'll Tell You For Sure...  -  http://cdbaby.com/cd/jcblack4

All of these are compilations, but they sure carry some rare stuff.
I've re-arranged the data so that it fits my crappy own way of displaying albums on UM, and added the albums to the JC Black discography.

Here you go:

• jimmy carl black: can i borrow a couple of bucks until the end of the week?
      (2008, download, - , crossfire publications) = download only
• jimmy carl black: if we'd all been living in california...
      (2008, download, - , crossfire publications) = download only
• jimmy carl black: where's my waitress?
      (2008, download, - , crossfire publications) = download only
• jimmy carl black: i'm not living very extravagantly, i'll tell you for sure
      (2008, download, - , crossfire publications) = download only

NEW ZAPPA VINYL BOOTLEG - 200 YEARS SPECIAL

• frank zappa: 200 years special
      (2008, lp-bootleg, ??, hedgehog records)
  
  • Here's a bit of extra info on the new zappa bootleg that i mentioned yesterday. It's on lilac vinyl.

-- info & pics: Dieter J.

THE MOVING TONES IN BREDA

Benoît Moerlen - Michel Delville - Ivo Sans - Frank van der Kooij - Guy Segers - Catherine Smet

The setlist included a fine batch of Zappa tunes...

LIDOVE NOVINY

• The 2008/11/29 edition of Czech newspaper Lidové Noviny included a three page article on Frank Zappa, his Czech fans and his view on the Czech Republic.
  The article was entitled "Salute Zappa", written by Jan Cap.

-- info: Bohous

ZAPPATIKA SETLIST

• 2008/11/14 Zappatika - concert 'QBUS', Leiden, NL
  • mcinnes: lead vocal & lead guitar * zomby woof: rhythm guitar & vocals * bongo fury: percussion, xylo, tabla, vocals * battatutti: drums * dr.lau: keys, syth, sequencer * the kid: bass
  • drum roll.......bringing in the sheaves > wonderful wino man * space flipping * leroy *spanish highwayz * rainy day dub * thru the wormhole * my guitar wants 2 kill your  momma * frankies tune * evolution nation (hip hop) * everything must change (indian rag) * city of tiny lites * black napkins * my little pony > dark room * it aint necessarily so * crocodile smile * bamboozled by love > torture never stops * watermelon in easter hay * titties n beer * cozmik debris
  • interview & concert got broadcast on a local radio station

X-LEGGED SALLY

• x-legged sally: slow-up  (1)
  (1992, cd, bel, sub rosa)

• x-legged sally: killed by charity  (2)
  (1993, cd, bel, sub rosa)

• x-legged sally: eggs and ashes  (3)
  (1994, cd, bel, sub rosa)

• x-legged sally: the land of the giant dwarfs  (4)
  (1995, cd, bel, bang)

• x-legged sally: fired  (5)
  (1997, cd, bel, bang) - incl.'city of tiny lites' (frank zappa)

• x-legged sally & the smith quartet: bereft of a blissful union  (6)
  (1997, cd, bel, megadisc)

ZAPPATIKA - LIVE IN HOLLAND

The good news, however, is that the concert got broadcast & streamed as part of the Wiebe and Sjoerd radio show (a local radio show), of which I received an mp3 recording.

The radio show started with an interview with ZombieWoof & McInnes. It's a nice and funny little interview about the history of the band, the players, the new album, influences, future plans, ...

The concert itself sounded very impressive: great tunes, laid-back vocals, excellent solos,... what else does one need?
Yep, this Zappatika sextet is something I really would like to see live.

The band will be touring the UK somewhere around March next year, and will also be playing some festivals. Try to catch them, and check out their Dodo album as well!!

www.myspace.com/zappatika

MARKUS STAUSS

From: Delville Michel
2008 11 27

Subject: !!SOIREE ZAPPA A L'AQUILONE CE SAMEDI 29 NOVEMBRE!!

L'AQUILONE asbl   Centre Interculturel
BD SAUCY, 25 4020 LIEGE    Tél.0496/21.50.46  www.aquilone.be
Cette semaine à L'Aquilone

Samedi 29  Novembre à 20h30

SOIREE D'HOMMAGE a FRANK ZAPPA

Des compositions déjantées, des riffs endiablés, des influences mêlant le jazz,  le punk et la musique médiévale, un hommage à un des plus grands et des plus espiègles compositeurs du 20ème siècle. Au programme de cette soirée des compositions zappaïennes tirées principalement du répertoire de la fin des années 60 du grand moustachu !

• Markus STAUSS : saxes

• Michel DELVILLE: guitare, guitare-synthé

• Damien CAMPION: basse électrique, contrebasse

• Laurent DELCHAMBRE: batterie, percussions

Paf : 6/7 euros

From: Delville Michel
2008 11 27

Subject: Zappa night at '' L'AQUILONE' on Saturday November 29!!

L'AQUILONE asbl   Centre Interculturel
BD SAUCY, 25 4020 LIEGE (belgium)   Tél.0496/21.50.46  www.aquilone.be
This week at 'L'Aquilone'

Saturday November 29 at 20h30

An evening dedicated to the music of Frank Zappa

• Markus STAUSS : saxes

• Michel DELVILLE: guitare, guitare-synthé

• Damien CAMPION: basse électrique, contrebasse

• Laurent DELCHAMBRE: batterie, percussions

• 2008/11/29 Markus Stauss - concert 'L'aquilone', Liège, Belgium

BROKKEN NAMIDDAG 2008 11 30

• 2008/11/30 Brokken namiddag - Brokken Fabriek / Kamal Hors & Hermine Deurloo - concert 'Zaal 100', Amsterdam, NL - 15:30 h

SUN RA ON PICTURE DISC

• sun ra: the heliocentric worlds of sun ra vol.1
      (1998, picture disc, italy, abraxas / esp / get back get1004p) - vinyl picture disc reissue of the 1965 vinyl album

• sun ra: nothing is
      (1998, picture disc, italy, abraxas / esp / get back get1007p) - vinyl picture disc reissue of the 1970 album

• sun ra / henry dumas: the ark and the ankh
      (2002, picture disc, usa, ikef02)

BENEFIT CONCERT FOR JCB IN CALIFORNIA

THE RESIDENTS ON DUTCH RADIO 6

2008/11/06 at 24.00 h, or 2008/11/07 at 00.00h, a one-hour special.

BILLBOARD - LUMPY MONEY

-
Early Zappa Albums Due In Expanded Editions
-

  oktober 21, 2008

Gary Graff, Detroit

The Zappa Family Trust will kick off a comprehensive campaign to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the late Frank Zappa's albums next month. "Lumpy Money," a three-CD "audio documentary" due out Nov. 25, is the first offering in the series -- and, according to Zappa's widow Gail, the most unique.

"These two records happen to be Frank's masterworks," Zappa tells Billboard.com, "so this is the most ambitious of all the (40th anniversary) projects. The challenge is how to educate the audience to understand what 'Lumpy Gravy' and 'We're Only in It for the Money' are, and what they're part of.

"So in this particular case we have to be more about the process than the outtakes. You're going to be listening to how Frank worked, all the little developments of these pieces as opposed to just an outtake or another performance of that particular piece. You're going to hear how he got there from here."

The "Lumpy Money" package will feature two separate mixes of each album, done by Frank himself. It will include feature the first official release of the instrumental, Igor Stravinsky-influenced orchestral "ballet" version of "Lumpy Gravy" that Zappa recorded in 1967 for Capitol Records but decided to revamp, adding rock musicians and eventually releasing it on MGM/Verve four months after "We're Only in it For the Money" in 1968. Gail Zappa says a "sister" project will be released shortly after "Lumpy Money" that will contain more music from those sessions.

Other releases in the series will be treated "more as individual albums," drawing material from the Sequin Mines vault underneath the Zappa family home. A new version of "Cruising with Ruben and the Jets," Frank Zappa's third 1968 release, is also being prepared, while the Zappa Family Trust is working on other projects such as a vintage live album from the Roxy in Los Angeles and a set of Zappa's renditions of the compositions French composer Edgar Varese.

"With the 40th anniversary projects, it's not as much about 'Can we make a date?' as 'Can we make it? Do we have vault material we can put together for these?'" Gail Zappa explains. "That's something we have to do if these are going to be worth anything to people."

-

GZ IN VANITY FAIR - LUMPY MONEY

Gail Zappa on Frank's New Reissue, Lumpy Money

by Michael Hogan

October 21, 2008

Before you completely tune out the endless procession of 40th-anniversary tributes to 1968's rock 'n' roll landmarks (hey, it was a big year), reserve a little head space for Lumpy Money, a three-CD package honoring Frank Zappa's historic one-two punch of Lumpy Gravy and We're Only in it for the Money.

The albums have always been linked, thanks to Zappa himself, who insinuated on the album covers that they were Phase One and Phase Two of a single work. (The final phase came decades later, with the posthumous release in 1993 of Civilization Phase III.)

Conceived as Zappa's first solo record, Lumpy Gravy was originally recorded in 1967, as a 20-minute orchestral work. After a legal tangle with Capitol Records prevented its release, Zappa, whose prowess with an editing razor was second to none, chopped up what he had and tossed it with a bunch of crazy sounds and weird conversations. The result is a 30-minute mindfuck that blurs the boundaries between rock, classical, and noise.

We're Only in it for the Money, released six months earlier, flirted with those same boundaries but ultimately cast its lot with rock 'n' roll. The cover is a crude send-up of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the music twists familiar genres into sonic pretzels, and the lyrics viciously ridicule everyone from weekend hippies ("Oh, my hair's getting good in the back!") to frigid housewives ("You're phony on top, you're phony underneath/You lay in bed and grit your teeth"). Zappa was calling out the hypocrites and fakers, no matter which side they were on.

At least that's how it's always seemed to me.

To get a more authoritative read, I spoke to Frank's widow, Gail Zappa, who is known for her tireless (some have said extreme) efforts on behalf of her husband's legacy. She runs Zappa Records and has been overseeing the 40th-anniversary releases.

VF Daily: How would you explain these two albums to somebody who isn't all that familiar with Frank Zappa?

Gail Zappa: Lumpy Gravy and We're Only in it for the Money are part of what Frank called his master work. For him, every album was just part of the same composition and everything was all one big piece of music. But the three particular pieces that he considered his absolute masterwork were Lumpy Gravy, We're Only in it for the Money, and Civilization Phase 3, the last album that he actually finished. They're constructed in a similar way.

Lumpy Gravy is Frank's first outing on his own as an artist, and We're Only in it for the Money is his first outing as a producer. It was supposed to also be his first outing as a rock 'n' roll artist, but the record company insisted on it being a Mothers album, for marketing reasons. [The Mothers of Invention were Zappa's band.] But technically these are both Frank's first ventures as rock 'n' roll artist and also as a classical composer.

How does this fit in with the rest of the re-release series you're working on?

We want to honor all the re-releases in the 40th anniversary. But the exception is these two, because they are also part of the masterwork. Because they belong with Civilization to be seen properly. So in this particular case what we're going to try to do is to be more focused on the process on Frank's work, as opposed to [including alternate] versions [of individual songs]. If you look at a score, sometimes you'll see sketches of what's going to be in the score before the score is written. That's kind of what we're going for with this record. Little sketches of it, as opposed to completely other versions that didn't "make it to the record."

Will Civilization be sold separately?

Yeah. Although we are going to do a special edition of these three records, shortly. We didn't announce that because we thought it would be too confusing. And it already is confusing. I'm going to be really surprised if I manage to get through this alive.

If you don't like confusion you should probably step away from the Frank Zappa discography. That's part of the fun of it, don't you think?

Confusion I'm not fond of. But chaos I thrive on.

You're very conscientious about protecting Frank Zappa's legacy. What's the thing that worries you the most about that legacy and how it's being treated?

Identity theft. I'm glad you asked me. No one has asked that before. And that's what it is: Identity theft. Because everybody imagines who Frank Zappa is. And then they go on, some of them, to imagine, I could make some money if I reinvent Frank Zappa in my own image. Which may suck, by the way. So people write books and they make records and they do this stuff. So every day my job is to protect and serve, like the L.A.P.D. Protect the integrity of the work itself. And serve the intent of the composer.

How does that work out, pragmatically speaking?

It's a lot of squabbling over copyright issues. The real reason why I do this is because it's just my obligation to Frank Zappa, who really believed in the Constitution of the United States of America, and one of its provisions covers copyright. And I don't like people fucking with Frank's last word, and his last word is his music.

I know that you've had some issues with iTunes, and that you object to the MP3 format because it requires music files to be so compressed. Do you ever worry that if people can't get MP3 downloads, you're going to miss a chance to reach new fans?

Well, you know, I'm of two minds there. First of all, this is a concept that Frank thought up in 1983 and published a copyrighted document on, that was filed with the copyright office. The idea was to deliver music over phone lines. As usual, he's prescient. I don't know how it would be different had Frank lived. Or how he would necessarily feel about it. But I do know his intention was that his music should not be massively compressed. And for that reason he insisted that his masters be sold in a specific format; anything less than that format was not permitted under the agreement. And iTunes was way below 16-bit technology [when Rykodisc, which had the rights to the Zappa catalogue, made it available there]. So I'm not having an argument with iTunes. I was always having the argument with the delivery by Ryko of something that they weren't entitled to do, which is the digital download of less than 16-bit technology.

I don't want to fault delivery systems. Really what is happening with music-because people steal it more and more, I think they just want to have it. They don't want to listen to it. Because if they wanted to listen to it, they wouldn't buy it that way.

You mean compressed?

Yeah. It's like you want a knock-off of something. You just say that you have it. To appear as if you're hip or cool, whatever it is. You want to hear the musical idea. But you don't want to hear the music.

Frank makes fun of hippie culture a lot in We're Only in it for the Money. What do you think he'd be making fun of today?

Well, anybody who takes themselves seriously. Nobody was spared, including himself. He was certainly relegated to that sort of-it's hard for you to imagine, because you sound like you're about 12.

I'm 33.

Very close, from my perspective. I have a son your age. When these records were made, everything in the media was about them and not us. We were excluded. And if we were talked about at all, they pointed the finger: those are them and they're dangerous. So we were a little separate community, everybody under the age of 25 in 1965. It's hard to imagine for people now, especially your age, that your whole country, your parents and everybody, would be against you if you behaved or looked a certain way. It's so pervasive now that no one cares anymore.

The mainstream culture has also become very adept at co-opting anything that's at all creative or "edgy."

Absolutely. That's absolutely true. Frank never intended to be psychedelic or avant-garde or any of those titles that have been visited upon him by everybody else in retrospect. That wasn't what he was trying to do at all. He was just saying, This is what I think about that, and this is how I'm going to show you what I think.

Speaking of your children, I caught one of Dweezil's performances of the Frank Zappa catalogue a year or two ago at the Jammies.

You have to see it now! It's nothing like that now. That was when they first started out. And there was so much pressure for them to have original members that played in Frank's band. And it was just so heartbreaking for all of us-especially the family-that we had to do that. Because we just believe in the music and that it's alive and well, and that it doesn't need those guys to hold it up anymore. Or to participate in any way. If it can't be played by people of your generation, then what's the point?

ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA - THE TOURDATES

• 2008/12/10 Zappa plays Zappa - concert 'The Roxy', West Hollywood, CA

• 2008/12/11 Zappa plays Zappa - concert 'The Roxy', West Hollywood, CA

• 2008/12/12 Zappa plays Zappa - concert 'The Roxy', West Hollywood, CA

• 2008/12/13 Zappa plays Zappa - concert 'The Roxy', West Hollywood, CA

• 2008/12/31 Zappa plays Zappa - concert 'War Memorial Opera House", San Francisco, CA

• 2009/01/02 Zappa plays Zappa - concert 'Hawthorne Theatre", Portland, OR

• 2009/01/03 Zappa plays Zappa - concert 'Triple Door', Seattle, WA

• 2009/01/04 Zappa plays Zappa - concert 'Triple Door', Seattle, WA

• 2009/01/06 Zappa plays Zappa - concert 'Arts Club Theatre', Vancouver, BC

THE RESIDENTS  -  BUNNY BOY

• 2008/12/02 The Residents – concert ‘Roxy’, Ulm, Germany

• 2008/12/03 The Residents – concert ‘Muffathalle’, Munich, Germany

• 2008/12/04 The Residents – concert ‘Mousonturm’, Frankfurt, Germany

• 2008/12/05 The Residents – concert ‘Het Depot’, Leuven, Belgium

• 2008/12/06 The Residents – concert “Trans Musicals Festival”, Rennes, France

• 2008/12/07 The Residents – concert ‘Forum’, London, UK

• 2008/12/09 The Residents – concert Pontevedra, Spain

THE NEW DRUMBO ALBUM

2008 09 04
from Proper Records

Drumbo release date / sound clips

http://www.proper-records.co.uk/artists.php?action=alview&alid=2116

City Of Refuge

1. Bogeyman

2. Bus Ticket Outta Town

3. Blood On A Porcupine Quill

4. City Of Refuge

5. Abandon

6. Get So Mean

7. Maybe That'll Teach Ya

8. To The Loft Of Ravenscroft

9. The Shirt Off My Back

10. Wicked Witch Of War

11. Whose Side Ya On

12. The Withered Hand Of Time

RELEASED 10th NOVEMBER 2008

Here's the paradox of John "Drumbo" French: his influence has been sizable and significant, while remaining largely invisible. As the drummer and music director for revered iconoclasts Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band, Drumbo made central contributions to a handful of LPs - notably 1969's mind-altering, revered masterpiece "Trout Mask Replica," on which French first acquired the antic stage-name "Drumbo" - that vastly expanded the parameters of contemporary music. Yet while the group earned droves of ultra-impassioned admirers, its music was too unusual and idiosyncratic to spawn many direct descendants.

The same is true of Drumbo himself. While his hugely energetic, exceptionally disciplined playing told us new things about the drums and their possibilities, it was too personal, and context-specific, to be taken up by many other players. But what Drumbo did - memorably, gorgeously - was to provide a model for musical invention. After exposure to Drumbo's extraordinary reinvention of his instrument, a generation of drummers responsive to innovation felt liberated to go their own ways. French sired not so much a school of playing as a possibility of freedom.

-

NEW BOOK ON ZAPPA BY GUY DAROL

More recently, he was responsable for the excellent Frank Zappa special in Jazz Magazine.

And next september will see the release of his next book on Frank Zappa:

----

frank zappa / one size fits all  -  cosmogonie du sofa

by guy darol
    (scheduled, book, usa, atheles)

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