Sunday, May 31, 2009

DELICIOUS

DELICIOUS

André Cholmoneley (guitar player in Project/Object) plays the guitar in DELICIOUS, a noisy, spaced-out, rock trio.
  • FRI JUNE 5 2009 - Asheville NC -- Stella Blue, 11pm
www.satansjamband.com
www.myspace.com/delicious

PROJECT/OBJECT ON TOUR IN JULY & AUGUST

PROJECT/OBJECT - the music of Frank Zappa
featuring IKE WILLIS & DON PRESTON
and special guest RAY WHITE (on July 4 only!!!!)

André Cholmondeley/guitar, Eric Svalgard/keys, Eric Slick/drums, Robbie "Seahag" Mangano/bass.

Ray White will join us on July 4 only, we have had the pleasure of performing with him a few times since 2000.

JULY 2009 USA
  • WED 1 NJ hoboken maxwells
  • THU 2 NY tba-- upstate ny--tba
  • FRI 3 PA phila world cafe live
  • SAT 4 PA acme love&peace festival
  • SUN 5 OH cleveland beachland ballroom
  • MON 6 PA pittsburgh club cafe'
  • TUE 7 MD annapolis ram's head live
  • wed 8-thu 9 TBA

AUGUST 2009 EUROPE

  • THU 6-SAT 8 TBA
  • SUN 9 NL eindhoven effenaar
  • TUE 11 ES laredo
  • WED 12 tba
  • THU 13 DE berlin dot club
  • FRI 14 DE bad doberan 20th annual zappanale

ADRIAN BELEW POWER TRIO IN CONCERT IN CHATTANOOGA

ADRIAN BELEW POWER TRIO

WED JUNE 10 2009 - Chattanooga TN -- Riverfest, Bud Lite Stage 7:45pm
www.adrianbelew.net

Friday, May 29, 2009

BROKKENAVOND IN AMSTERDAM

I've mentioned it before, but as it is happening tonight, I thought I'd mention it again.

Tonight at Zaal 100 in Amsterdam, Corrie van Binsbergen is hosting another Brokkenavond.

De BrokkenFabriek will be performing Corrie's 'Zoot-Suit', her hommage to FZ, and Darius Timmer's Stinkfoot band will be performing the music of FZ

Since the latest update, the line-up of Stinkfoot has slightly changed.
The band will consist of:

Darius Timmer: keys
Jelle Viser: guitar
Jur Vermijs: guitar
Morgan Knibbe: drums
Jasja Offermans: bass
Wouter Vroege: rumpet
Boyd Allen: vocals

I still haven't decided if I will be trying to atted these concerts. We're having a long weekend here in Belgium and in Holland, so tonight they're expecting traffic jams all over the place...
When there's no traffic, it takes me about one hour and a half to drive to Amsterdam. Unfortunately, there will be lots of traffic.

I remember being one hour late for a Residents gig once. Also in Amsterdam. When I finally got there, the band hadn't even arrived. They were also caught in traffic. Lucky me.
I also remember being blocked halfway when I wanted to go to the "Fathers Of Invention" concert years ago. Tickets on the back-seat, still 100 kilometers to go, not moving and knowing that the band (Metropole Orkest, Sinfonietta, ... don't remember) had already started. Eventually, I made a U-turn and drove back home. Not the happiest moment.
Haven't decided yet...

Thursday, May 28, 2009

MANUELE ATZENI FREE DOWNLOAD

There's a new free download available from WM Recordings.

Manuele Atzeni - The Miyazaki Tour EP

"Manuele Atzeni a.k.a. Miyazaki is a dj/producer from the underground music scene in Florence, Italy. Born as a hard-techno dj, since 2001 he has been spinning and scratching in parties, clubs and festivals around Italy mixing hip hop, funk and drum 'n bass.Manuele Atzeni's music is heavily hip hop/electro influenced with a strong jazz/funk taste."

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

STEVE VAI MASTER CLASSES

a message from Steve Vai:

Hello Friends,

Just a quick note to tell you that tickets are now on sale for Steve Vai's Alien Guitar Secrets Master Classes in Europe in June.
These are in addition to Steve's sold-out classes at the London International Music Show, and Steve's class at Culture Palace in Tel-Aviv, ISRAEL: <http://www.hatarbut.co.il/English/Index.htm>

The dates are:

June 18: Lisbon, PORTUGAL - Centro cultural Olga Cadaval Tickets: <http://www.ticketline.pt/>

June 19: Madrid, SPAIN - Auditorio del AIE , C/Torrelara 8, Madrid Tickets: <http://www.musicmania.es/>

June 20: Tiel, NETHERLANDS - Twentietoe Tickets:
<http://www.twentietoe.nl/>

June 21: Roermond, NETHERLANDS - Muzikaza Tickets:
<http://www.muzikaza.com/steve-vai-masterclass.html>

June 23: Aarburg, SWITZERLAND - Moonwalker Music Club Tickets: <https://www.starticket.ch/start.asp?eventid=244&language=D>

June 27: Neustadt A.d. Aisch, GERMANY - Meinl Guitar Festival Tickets: <http://meinlguitarfestival.com/index.php?id=18>

Tickets will sell fast - don't miss out!

For more information, visit the Tour Dates page:
<http://www.vai.com/News/tourdates.html>

For a general information page on the Alien Guitar Secrets Master Classes, click here: <http://www.vai.com/News/ags/index.html>

See you in Europe!

www.vai.com

FZ'S LUMPY MONEY ON VINYL BOOTLEG


  • frank zappa: lumpy money
    (2009, 3lp-bootleg, ??, ??)

This comes as no surprise. The latest Zappa album has been bootlegged on vinyl.
It doesn't look bad if I may say so: 180 g vinyl, available in three colours (blue, black and yellow) - limited to 100 copies - and in black vinyl - limited to 200 copies.
Plus a booklet and two posters...

THE NASAL RETENTIVE ORCHESTRA

The Nasal Retentive Orchestra is no longer with us. The band seized to exist in 2008, but did leave an impressive batch of albums.

In case that you don't have them, you might like to know that these albums are still available through Christophe Delbrouck's website:

http://christophe.delbrouck.free.fr/musique.htm

PROPER RECORDS

Last week, when I reviewed the new John French album, I messed up the link to Proper Records.
Here's the right one: www.properuk.com

OCTAFISH - DOKTOR FLEISCH


Octafish has a new album out. You might consider this quite spectacular, as their previous album got released about 10 years ago.
"Doktor Fleisch" is the third Octafish album and it's absolutely great.

Doctor Meat is a supber mixture of contemporary angular rock rhythms, jazz noises, eastern influences, and something that one might label "instrumental zappa weirdness".
Good grief... This is good...

Think of The Muffins, The Wrong Object, Flat Earth Society, X-Legged Sally, ... and add a little extra spice.

"Land Unter" and "Hai Girls" were pretty impressive albums. "Doktor Fleisch" beats them.
It's the best album I've heard this year!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Track 5 is a Zappa tribute. It's called "Thxfz" and it's nice little guitar piece that has Heiner Willers (on guitar) toying with various Zappa quotes and licks.
The icing on the cake.

http://www.octafish.de/

ALEMBIC ELECTRIC FESTIVAL 2009 08 21 & 22

If you happen to be in France next August, you might be able to get a good dose of Canterbury & Zappa music.
Check out the Alembic Electric Festival:

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/alambicelectrique

The Alambic électric Festival is back!
Canterbury & Zappa music,
Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd of august,
4 bands per night.

Free camping on site.
Book your weekend right now !

Friday august 21 2009 19h00
  • GOWY (F)
  • CHILDREN OF INVENTION (F)
  • HERE & NOW ­(GB)
  • PROJECT OBJECT feat. Ike Willis (USA)

Saturday august 22 2009 19h00

  • AME-SON (F)
  • JACK DUPON (F)
  • Shyamal Maitra / TÉHÂÏ (F)
  • THE GRANDMOTHERS feat. Roy Estrada, Don Preston & Napoleon Murphy Brock (USA)

Prices : 20 € by evening. 2 evenings: 30 €

24 HOUR FZ MARATHON ON KFJC RADIO

Bobo Z says:

KFJC 89.7FM WILL BE HOSTING A 24-HOUR F.Z. MARATHON ON 31 MAY 2009

Sunday starting at 12:01 AM Pacific time (GMT-8) going through 11:59PM

http://www.kfjc.org/netcast/index.php

24-Z Hosted by Art Crimes, Jawbone, Max Level, Maybelline, Nancy Reagan, Studebaker Hawk, Ann Arbor, Bobo Z, and Burnt Weenie.
Frank Zappa, American Composer (1940-1993), has a catalog of over 80 official albums and several times that many unofficial ones. Numerous tribute bands, as well as some very brave orchestras, have kept his repertoire alive, both onstage and in recordings made after his passing. We can’t possibly play it all, but our crew of specialists will investigate their favorite aspects of the Zappa oeuvre.

Monday, May 25, 2009

ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA CONCERT UP ON DIME

The Ghent concert of the Zappa plays Zappa band is up on Dime.

http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=250874

And a day before yesterday's recording of a Keneally concert as well.

http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=250895

FINALLY


As in "Finally, I'm back".

I had some troubles with my internet connection, but these seem to be solved now...
I guess that's what you get when you live in Belgium. Don't get me wrong, Belgium is a great place to live, but the internet services suck big time.

Last week took me to the Zappa plays Zappa show in Ghent. To the Handelsbeurs.
The Handelsbeurs is one of the finest venues that I know. A beautiful environment (both in- and outside), a nice concert hall, and a polite audience. What else does one need?
Well, I'll tell you...
The only thing that you need (and it's an essential thing) is a good soundman, and boy, did I miss a good soundman.

Why does the guy behind the p.a. system think that loud is better?
Well, I'll tell you that as well...
'Loud' = 'Better', because extreme loudness makes your body produce aldrenaline. It's a safety precaution / reaction. Extreme loudness is considered dangerous by your brain, so the brain makes your body produce an extra dose of aldrenaline to keep you alert; to keep you from going into shock. And this adrenaline makes you go "Wow, this is a great concert..."...

To be honest, I did think of the Ghent show as a fine concert, but not because of the loudness.
It was way too loud. My hearing didn't come back to 100% until the day after.
The sound was completely saturated. One big blurry ball of sound.
Too bad.

Ghent was Friday, so Saturday we went to Eindhoven.
Hadn't been to the Effenaar in ages. Guus Veldhuis used to organise his Zappa-Days over at the Effenaar in the early eighties. Hadn't been there since.

The Effenaar was packed. Sold-out.
The show was better than the Ghent one. Dweezil's solos were better and new singer Ben Thomas really went for it. He did some great improvisational stuff in King Kong.
The entire band was in great shape and played the Zappa stuff as if they had been doing it for years.

Here are some youtube links that I got from Bazbo:

Theme from Lumpy Gravy - Peaches En Regalia
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LzqbM-0NUw



And here's the link to Bazbo's photo page:

I know, the ZFT is very aggressive towards bands that play Zappa's music and towards festivals and websites that want to do something with Zappa's music.
And I don't like that. I don't like that at all.
Still, I like Zappa's music too much to boycot the ZpZ concerts.
In a couple of months Project/Object will be at the Effenaar as well. And they will be bringing along Ike Willis and Don Preston.
You know where I will be :-)

JOHN HINDS - THE STRANGEST SECRET


A bit over 10 years ago, John Hinds released "The Strangest Secret", the third album on the Omni Sonic label. Taking care of guitar, bass, keyboards and percussion, and aided by Peter Hinds on drums, John Hinds made one great album.
Where "Connections" and "Another Curiosity Piece" were very free and experimental, "The Strangest Secret" has a more jazz / blues / rock approach. The music itself reminds me a lot of Zappa's music.

This is the kind of stuff that I like: freaky solos, improvisations and motheresque fun.

PLONSEY, HINDS, HINDS, YA-AKOVA - ANOTHER CURIOSITY PIECE

This second release on the (John & Peter Hinds / Sun Ra Research) Omni Sonic label features the four musicians that could already be found on John Hinds' "Connections" album. This time, all of the compositions are by Plonsey / Hinds, and all of the musicians participate on the entire recording.

Experimental stuff. Worth diving into!!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

JOHN HINDS - CONNECTIONS


1996 saw the first release on the Omni Sonic label: multi-instrumentalist John Hinds's "Connections".
This is experimental guitar music at its best. There's lots of influences all over the place: from free jazz and Sun Ra to noise and surf music ('Cosmo Surfing') or fusion ('Shifts').

I like it.

Monday, May 18, 2009

BEAT THE BOOTS III

Brainpang (over on the Zappateers site) mentioned:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=frank+zappa+beat+the+boots+III

mp3 ?!?!?
WTF indeed...

It looks like the ZFT is releasing a third set of bootleg recordings.
Taken from 'original bootlegs', as the previous two series?
Or are these vault recordings?

As soon as they're FLAC, I'll probably join.
Probably, as in 'I still hope they'll release this on CD'.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

DINK BRIDGERS & RAY WHITE

In 1984, Ray White participated in a couple of recordings with Dink Bridgers.

The songs were never published, but are now available on Dink's website.

http://www.dkbridger.com/dkmindsweeper.html

Direct links of the songs Ray sang on:

http://www.dkbridger.com/American%20Portrait.html

http://www.dkbridger.com/She%20Lies.html

http://www.dkbridger.com/Hold%20Me.html

THE BOGUS POMP SOCIETY

The friends of Bogus Pomp can be found in this digital social network:

http://boguspompsociety.ning.com/

Check it out (you only have to register).

FLASHBACK TO 1969


Javier says:

I found out some nice info, pics & posts about the Atlantic Pop Festival & Laurel Pop Festival ( between others) where Mothers played at:

http://www.e-rockworld.com/AtlanticCity.htm


FRANK NUYTS - THOUGHTS ABOUT STACKING, STOMPING AND STARTING OUT


"Thoughts about stacking, stomping and starting out - 3 Sonatas for Piano" is the latest Frank Nuyts album.
I have seen Frank Nuyts performing contemporary music, I've seen him performing rock music with Hardscore and I have heard his compositions being performed by various arists.
Each and everytime Frank Nuyts keeps amazing me.

"Thoughts..." is a great piece of music. It's very hard to describe as the music changes and evolves all the time.
Melodies, rhythms and musical styles are mixed and blended. All for solo piano.
The result is an album that I will never be able to whistle, and I don't consider that a bad thing.

Recommended !!

www.hardscore.be

FRANK NUYTS DISCOGRAPHY UPDATED





Belgian contemporary composer Frank Nuyts has a new album out.
I don't know if you're familiar with his work, but you should really check him out.
Zappa influences are obvious throughout his work, and suprise and humour are keywords.

GUY DAROL


In 1996, Guy Darol wrote a book on Frank Zappa, entitled "Frank Zappa, La Parade de l'Homme-Wazoo". It has been out-of-print for a number of years already.

The book has been revised and updated and is being re-released by Castor Music.

JIMMY ZITO


Jimmy Zito was a part of the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra around 1967 when Frank Zappa recorded the orchestral parts for "Lumpy Gravy".

The above picture shows Jimmy Zito with singer and actress June Haver. (picture from 1947)
-- info & link to picture: Charles Ulrich

Saturday, May 16, 2009

NAPOLEON MURPHY BROCK & THE PGSOR IN CONCERT


  • 2009/05/30 - Paul Green School Of Rock & Napoleon Murphy Brock - 'Music', South Hackensack, NJ, usa
  • 2009/05/31 - Paul Green School Of Rock & Napoleon Murphy Brock 'Mexicali Blues Café', Teaneck, NJ, ua

STANDISH LAWDER

Brainpang says:

Filmmaker Standish Lawder used a bit of Frank Zappa's "Absolutely Free" as a soundtrack to COLORFILM. I wonder if Frank gave him quiet approval? I wouldn't doubt it. The film reminds me of young Frank's early experimental film where he drew on the film stock with colored markers and projected it.

There's another SL film up which uses Terry Riley music, too.

Friday, May 15, 2009

TRANK ZAPPA GRAPPA IN VARESE?


When I reviewed this album a couple of days ago, someone mentioned that the tracks of this album are also available on Markus Stauss' site.

http://www.fazzulmusic.ch

Here's some extra info from Markus on the subject:

- The mp3 downloads are for clubs and concert promoters and for the hardcore fans that couldn't wait etc. to hear a splash of our music. These files are in low quality (not only about the fact that mp3 is always lower quality than a real 16bit CD!!!). The final mix on the CD contains some aditional work e.g. to get more pleasure when play it very loud. The mp3 files sound horrible when you play them very loud on stereo equipment with real speakers. -

STINKFOOT PERFORMS THE MUSIC OF FRANK ZAPPA


The next Brokkenavond will feature Stinkfoot, a band that will be performing the music of Frank Zappa.
  • Darius Timmer: keys
  • Jelle Viser: guitar
  • Jur Vermijs: guitar
  • Mathijs Tieken: drums
  • David Stapel: bass
  • Boyd Allen: vocals
In concert at Zaal 100 in Amsterdam on 2009/05/29 !!

BLAST 4TET HAS A NEW ALBUM OUT

The Blast 4tet has a new album out. It's called "Sift" and it's out on Recommended Records.

THE MOVING TONES IN CONCERT

MOVING TONES
http://www.myspace.com/themovingtones

featuring
  • Frank VAN DER KOOIJ: tenor sax, EWI
  • Michel DELVILLE: synth guitar, vocals
  • Catherine SMET: keys
  • Guy SEGERS: bass
  • Dirk WACHTELAER: drums
will be performing a couple of concerts at the Sazz'n Jazz club in Brussels in the near future.
The band will perform and improvise on the music of Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, David Bowie and others.

2009/05/29 - 22h30 - concert 'Sazz 'n Jazz', Brussels, Belgium
opening act: Yoshka

2009/05/30 - 22h30 - concert 'Sazz 'n Jazz', Brussels, Belgium
opening act: Sibel

Sazz ‘n Jazz
241 Koningsstraat
1210 Brussels
Belgium

http://www.sazznjazz.be

Thursday, May 14, 2009

2009 05 29 ZAPPAIAANSE BROKKENAVOND

The last Brokkenavond of season 2008-2009 will have a Zappa flavour.
Corrie van Binsbergen will be directing the BrokkenFabriek and they will be performing Corrie's 'Zoot Suit' (Corrie's hommage to FZ).
Furthermore, Darius Timmer's band Stinkfoot will be performing various Zappa pieces!!

More info soon.

THE JIMMY CARL BLACK STORY

Jon Larsen's "Jimmy Carl Black Story" is featured in Rolling Stone Brasil.

FROM THE ARCHIVES --- ZAPPA AND THE MOTHERS IN THE PAPERS

Straight from the KRLA Beat magazine web archives, here's a couple of REALLY early issues that mention Zappa and The Mothers.
I added links to pdf files of each (complete) magazine, about 10MB, but what a great way to get a glimpse of the atmosphere around the time...

-- info & links: Javier Marcote

KRLA BEAT -- 1965/10/16 !!!!


  • krla beat
    (1965/10/16, magazine, usa)

    Issue number 31 (of volume 1) of KRLA Beat magazine included a tiny ad on page 12 for a band called The Mothers.


    LINK

KRLA BEAT -- 1965/10/23


  • krla beat
    (1965/10/23, magazine, usa)

    Issue number 32 (of volume 1) of KRLA Beat magazine included an ad for The Mothers, including Frank Zappa's name and phone number.



    LINK

KRLA BEAT -- 1967/03/25

  • krla beat
    (1967/03/25, magazine, usa)

    The March 25, 1967, issue of KRLA Beat magazine included an article on the generation gap entitled "It's Widening..." that carried a picture of The Mothers with Carl Franzoni.

    LINK

KRLA BEAT -- 1968/02/10


  • krla beat
    (1968/02/10, magazine, usa)

    The February 10, 1968, issue of KRLA Beat magazine included a small article entitled "Zappa Voted Top Musician" on Zappa's result at the Pop & Jazz magazine poll.

    LINK

THE RESIDENTS - ICKY FLIX LIVE DVD 2nd pressing

RalphAmerica added:

THIS IS THE 2nd PRESSING - the first pressing of 500 sold out, and they were numbered. We made another 350 with a DIFFERENT cover than the first pressing. The 2nd pressing is not numbered, apart from a note on the back cover noting that this was the 2nd pressing and that we made 350.

It's a new Ralph America limited edition product! Icky Flix as recorded by 5 cameras at the Experience Music Museum in Seattle. We were there, this was a crazy show, with a HUGE video screen behind them, and all sorts of crazy added lights and effects that weren't at any of the other shows on the tour. This is the entire show, and here is the list: The Third Reich 'n' Roll, Harry the Head, Renaldo & the Loaf, Kick a Picnic, He Also Serves, Hello Skinny, Man's World, Bad Day on the Midway, Where is She?, Constantinople, One Minute Movies, The Gingerbread Man, Burn Baby Burn, Stars and Stripes, Just 4 U and the encore, Benny the Bump. This was esentially a "GREATEST HITS" tour, if there could be such a thing, and we may never see The Residents performing some of these songs live again.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

TRANK ZAPPA GRAPPA IN VARESE? - LIVE IN WAREMME


When I first heard the TZGIV demo in 2006, I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it was a nice little one-time-project. Who would have thought that this project would actually tour and would release a couple of albums...
November 2007, I saw TZGIV in concert in Baarle Nassau and I was really impressed. The band played a very varied set and there was a lot of room for improvisation.

One year later, the band performed (at least) two concerts where they performed a set of Zappa material. It's a part of the Waremme concert (2008/11/28) that surfaces on this album.

The choice of compositions is great:

  • Willie The Pimp
  • Mother People
  • The Gumbo Variations
  • Mom & Dad
  • Apostrophe (')
  • King Kong

The performance great to say the least. Four top musicians and the band has found a fine equilibrium between the beautiful themes and melody lines on one hand, and free and freaky improvisations on the other. I love it.

Essential !!

http://www.fazzulmusic.ch

BOBBY JAMESON, FRANK ZAPPA AND GAIL SLOATMAN

Plain gossip, or music history...
Decide for yourself:
(but i thought it was quite a funny story)

http://bobbyjameson2.blogspot.com/2009/04/thursday-april-3-2008-part-50-zappa.html

-- thanks to Avo Raup for the link

MOTHERMANIA AVAILABLE AS DOWNLOAD

The Zappa website says:

"Mothers' Day Presents the re-release of a special 4tieth Anniversary edition of Mothermania!"

You can download the Mothermania album in FLAC format for US $ 25.00.

Yes, you read it right: US $ 25.00 !!

I've bought every Zappa release so far. On vinyl and on CD.
This will be the first thing that I won't be buying.
US $ 25.00 for a download...
Do they think I'm crazy or what??
I still prefer an actual factory pressed album over a download, and US $ 25.00 is way too much.
And I can imagine that it won't be long before a CD-bootleg turns up...

Monday, May 11, 2009

VEENCE HANAO SAMPLES ZAPPA

Veence Hanao samples Zappa on his latest album, "Saint-Idesbald".
Check out 'Sexentrex' and 'Force Et Honneur '.

--info: Zjakki Willems

SMINKY AT WM RECORDINGS

Here's a nice message from Marco:

Hello friends,

It's time for another free album download from WM Recordings:

Sminky - Lizard's Tale
http://www.wmrecordings.com/releases/wm094.htm

Electropop from Siberia! The mysterious Sminky returns after a 3 year hiatus. Her new album includes a cool reworking of a very famous track (check track 5).

Happy downloading.

best wishes,
Marco Kalnenek
http://www.wmrecordings.com
WM Recordings

Sunday, May 10, 2009

ZAPPANALE 20


Your life won't be the same...
Terry Bozzio, Gong, The Grande Mothers, Steve Hillage, Project Object, Acid Mothers Guru Gong, Mats & Morgan, Capt. Cheese-Beard, The Paul Green School of Rock, Struber Z'tett, ...
featuring Ike Willis, Don Preston, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Roy Estrada, Robert Martin, Denny Walley, ...

Saturday, May 9, 2009

40 YEARS AGO --- ZAPPA IN JAZZ MAGAZINE

40 years ago, Zappa was 'hot' in jazz circles. No wonder as it was around the time that he released "Uncle Meat" and "Hot Rats".

Thanks to Javier, below are a couple of covers of the French Jazz Magazine that have articles on Zappa.

JAZZ MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 1970


jazz magazine
(1970/02, magazine, france)

The February 1970 edition of Jazz Magazine featured cover & 9 pages dedicated to J.L. Ponty. Nice shared pic of J.L.Ponty & FZ watching him.
-- info & picture: Javier

JAZZ MAGAZINE DECEMBER 1969


jazz magazine
(1969/12, magazine, france)

The December 1969 edition of Jazz Magazine had a chapter on the Amougies festival.
-- info & picture: Javier

JAZZ MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 1969


jazz magazine
(1969/09, magazine, france)

The September 1969 edition of Jazz Magazine had a special on theNewport ´69 Festival.
There is a b/w pic of FZ & a paragraph about the concert FZ & the MOI played on Saturday morning on the 5th of July.
-- info & picture: Javier

JAZZ MAGAZINE APRIL 1969


jazz magazine
(1969/04, magazine, france)

The April 1969 edition of Jazz Magazine had a special on the fourth edition of the Boston Globe Festival.
There is a small article by Alan Heineman about FZ & the MOI jamming together with Roland Kirk with a b/w pic ( known but nice).
-- info & picture: Javier

Thursday, May 7, 2009

the ZpZ tour is about to start...

2009/05/16 ZpZ - concert ‘Jahrhunderthalle’, Bochum, GERMANY
2009/05/17 ZpZ - concert ‘Capitol’, Offenbach, GERMANY
2009/05/18 ZpZ - concert ‘Olympia’, Paris, FRANCE
2009/05/20 ZpZ - concert ‘Les Docks’, Lausanne, SWITZERLAND
2009/05/21 ZpZ - concert ‘Rockhal’, LUXEMBOURG
2009/05/22 ZpZ - concert ‘Handelsbeurs’, Ghent, BELGIUM
2009/05/23 ZpZ - concert ‘Effenaar’, Eindhoven, NETHERLANDS
2009/05/24 ZpZ - concert ‘De Oosterpoort’, Groningen, NETHERLANDS
2009/05/25 ZpZ - concert ‘Paradiso’, Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
2009/05/27 ZpZ - concert ‘Grosse Freiheit 36’, Hamburg, GERMANY
2009/05/28 ZpZ - concert ‘Huxleys Cap’, Berlin, GERMANY
2009/05/29 ZpZ - concert ‘Theatrefabrik’, Munich, GERMANY
2009/05/30 ZpZ - concert ‘Alter Schlachthof’, Dresden, GERMANY
2009/06/01 ZpZ - concert ‘Archa Theatre’, Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC
2009/06/02 ZpZ - concert ‘Arena Wien’, Vienna, AUSTRIA
2009/06/03 ZpZ - concert ‘Stodola’, Warsaw, POLAND
2009/06/04 ZpZ - concert ‘Forum Palace’, Vilnius, LITHUANIA
2009/06/06 ZpZ - concert ‘House of Culture’, Helsinki, FINLAND
2009/06/08 ZpZ - concert ‘The Circus’, Stockholm, SWEDEN
2009/06/09 ZpZ - concert ‘Sentrum Scene’, Oslo, NORWAY
2009/06/10 ZpZ - concert ‘Vega’, Copenhagen, DENMARK
2009/06/11 ZpZ - concert ‘Kulturbolaget’, Malmo, SWEDEN
2009/06/12 ZpZ - concert ‘BKZ Oktyabrskiy’, St. Petersburg, RUSSIA
2009/06/14 ZpZ - concert ‘02 Shepherds Bush Empire’, London, ENGLAND
2009/06/15 ZpZ - concert ‘Symphony Hall’, Birmingham, ENGLAND
2009/06/16 ZpZ - concert ‘Colston Hall’, Bristol, ENGLAND
2009/06/17 ZpZ - concert ‘Bridgewater Hall’, Manchester, ENGLAND
2009/06/18 ZpZ - concert ‘HMV Picture House’, Edinburgh, SCOTLAND
2009/06/19 ZpZ - concert ‘Vicar Street’, Dublin, IRELAND
2009/07/01 ZpZ - concert ‘Bardavan Opera House’, Poughkeepsie, NY
2009/07/03 ZpZ - concert ‘House Of Blues’, Cleveland, OH
2009/07/04 ZpZ - concert ‘Rothbury Music Festival’, Rothbury, MI
2009/07/06 ZpZ - concert ‘Turning Stone Casino’, Syracuse, NY
2009/07/07 ZpZ - concert ‘Rex Theatre’, Pittsburgh, PA
2009/07/08 ZpZ - concert ‘Venue TBA’, Columbus, OH
2009/07/09 ZpZ - concert ‘Motor City Casino’, Detroit, MI
2009/07/10 ZpZ - concert ‘Forecastle Festival’, Louisville, KY
2009/07/11 ZpZ - concert ‘Crossroads’, Kansas City, MO
2009/07/24 ZpZ - concert ‘Fillmore @ Jackie Gleason Theatre’, Miami Beach, FL
2009/07/25 ZpZ - concert ‘Hard Rock Live’, Orlando, FL
2009/07/26 ZpZ - concert ‘Ruth Eckerd Hall’, Clearwater, FL
2009/07/28 ZpZ - concert ‘Tabernacle’, Atlanta, GA
2009/07/29 ZpZ - concert ‘Thomas Woolfe Auditorium’, Asheville, NC
2009/07/31 ZpZ - concert ‘Tower Theatre’, Philadelphia, PA
2009/08/01 ZpZ - concert ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’, Washington, DC
2009/08/02 ZpZ - concert ‘Bank Of America Pavilion’, Boston, MA
2009/08/04 ZpZ - concert ‘The Palace’, Albany, NY
2009/08/05 ZpZ - concert ‘Oakdale Theatre’, Wallingford, CT
2009/08/07 ZpZ - concert ‘Conventional Hall’, Asbury Park, NJ
2009/08/11 ZpZ - concert ‘Agora’, Quebec City, QC
2009/08/12 ZpZ - concert ‘Bell Centre’, Montreal, QC
2009/08/14 ZpZ - concert ‘Molson Amphitheater’, Toronto, ON
2009/08/16 ZpZ - concert ‘Burton Cummings Theatre’, Winnipeg, MB
2009/08/18 ZpZ - concert ‘MacEwan Hall’, Calgary, AB
2009/08/19 ZpZ - concert ‘Shaw Conference Centre’, Edmonton, AB
2009/08/21 ZpZ - concert ‘Orpheum Theatre’, Minneapolis, MN
2009/08/22 ZpZ - concert ‘Riverside Theatre’, Milwaukee, WI
2009/08/23 ZpZ - concert ‘Chicago Theatre’, Chicago, IL
2009/08/25 ZpZ - concert ‘Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre’, Denver, CO
2009/08/27 ZpZ - concert ‘Event Center @ San Jose’, San Jose, CA
2009/08/28 ZpZ - concert ‘The Joint’, Las Vegas, NV
2009/08/29 ZpZ - concert ‘Greek Theatre’, Los Angeles, CA

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

THE RESPECT SEXTET

The Respect Sextet has a new CD out. The album is called "Sirius Respect - The Respect Sextet play the music of Sun Ra & Stockhausen".
It's out on ModeRecords.

Monday, May 4, 2009

DRUMBO - CITY OF REFUGE


John French worked, toured and recorded with Captain Beefheart from the early years (1967) until Beefheart's "Doc At The Radar Station" (1978) album. The fact that he was also an important factor in how Don Van Vliet ideas and thoughts were to be translated and transcribed into music is still highly underrated.

During the late 80's John did two impressive progressive / experimental rock albums with Fred Frith, Henry Kaiser and Richard Thompson.
In 1995, he released his first solo album "Waiting On The Flame", followed by the Japanese-only "O Solo Drumbo" (a solo drum album !!) album in 1998.

In 2002, John was asked to put The Magic Band back together for a couple of shows. In the end, and not without any troubles, this evolved into more gigs and even some touring, the result of which can be heard and seen on two CDs and one DVD.

"City Of Refuge", John's latest album, links perfectly to the Magic Band project and to his early Beefheart days. For one, it's 'Drumbo' and not John French who made the album, and second, as he states on the sleeve notes: "I have returned to my roots."

It was 2004 when Malcom Mills of Proper Records learned that John French had been writing original material. He asked if he could hear some of it, and was impressed.
With the aid of Zoot Horn Rollo (Bill Harkleroad), Rockette Morton (Mark Boston), Ella Guru (Greg Davidson) and John Thomas, John French was able to have the music performed as he wanted it.The result is fantastic.

From the first note of 'Bogeyman', the music has the unmistakable sound of Drumbo's drumming. Zoot Horn Rollo's guitar on the left and Ella Guru's guitar on the right make it all sound like the pumping Magic Band blues train we all love so much.

Great songs, fine arrangements and superb performances. I've played the albums two times in a row, and I'm pretty sure that I'll be playing it a lot more in the near future.

Highly recommended.

http://www.properuk.com/

THE EITHER / ORCHESTRA PERFORMED SUN RA

During their 10th anniversary concert, 1995/12/17, experimental big band the Either / Orchestra performed Sun Ra's 'Planet Earth'.

The show is torrented on DimeADozen.
I had never heard of the Either / Orchestra before. What a nice way to make an acquaintance.
(Mark Sandman is special guest; they perform King Crimson's 'Red'; ...)

More on the Either / Orchestra:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Either/Orchestra

Sunday, May 3, 2009

MOON ZAPPA IN GERMAN PLAYBOY


The above picture was used in German Playboy magazine, in an article on daughters of famous rock stars.
-- info: Harmless Ted over at the Zappateers site

ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA PERFORMING ON A CRUISE

Yes, you read it right.
Posted on Zappateers by Drew, and pasted into this very blog as soon as I stopped laughing...

January 2010, the ZpZ band will be performing on the Poesia, a so-called Jam Cruise...

Ft.Lauderdale - Jamaica - the Cayman Islands...

http://www.jamcruise.com/2010/24.php

STS9 • The Word feat. John Medeski, North Mississippi Allstars & Robert Randolph • Zappa plays Zappa • Galactic • Karl Denson's Tiny Universe • Maceo Parker • Dark Star Orchestra • JJ Grey & Mofro • Railroad Earth • Steve Kimock's Crazy Engine • Lotus • Fantastic 4 feat. Robert Walter, Adam Deitch, Eric Krasno & Cheme Gastelum • Toubab Krewe • Eric Krasno & Chapter 2 • The Motet plays the Talking Heads • Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue • Hot Buttered Rum • John Brown's Body • Kyle Hollingsworth Band • Mike Dillon's Go Go Jungle • The Mother Hips • Break Science feat. Adam Deitch • Dragon Smoke feat. Robert Mecurio, Ivan Neviile, Stanton Moore & Eric Lindell • Johnny Sketch & The Dirty Notes • George Porter Jr's Super Jam • DJ Logic • Pretty Lights • Special Guests: Col. Bruce Hampton • Skerik • Will Bernard

PROJECT / OBJECT UPDATE

Project/Object (featuring Ike Willis & Don Preston) will be performing at Zappanale next August.
Their journey to Bad Doberan will include some stops, and one of them will be in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

Project/Object will be performing at De Effenaar on 2009/08/09 !!

http://www.effenaar.nl/event.php?e_id=1355

BOGUS POMP UPDATE

Bogus Pomp will play at Skipper's in Tampa on Friday June 5.

FRANK NUYTS HAS A NEW ALBUM OUT

The new Frank Nuyts album is called "Thoughts about stacking, stomping and starting out" and it includes pianosonates 4, 5 & 6 !
The music is performed by Elisa Medinilla, Marc Masson and Benjamin Van Esser.

More info soon.

DON SUGARCANE HARRIS

Last year, Don Sugarcane Harris' 1972 album "Sugar Cane 's Got The Blues" got re-released in the mini-LP sleeve format edition.

-- info: Jan van Kemenade

PEACH NOISE & FATTORE ZETA IN CONCERT IN PARIS 2009 06 11


June 11 (that's next month, folks !!), Peach Noise and Fattore Zeta will share the bill at Le Triton in Paris, France.
LE TRITON
11 bis, rue du Coq Français
93260 Les Lilas
France
I've heard a couple of audience recordings of Peach Noise, and these guys really rock.
Fattore Zeta, on the other hand, takes the jazz approach.
I saw Fattore Zeta in concert last year at Zappanale, and this was one of my favourite Zappanale concerts. And not just of the 2008 edition.
So if you're in the neighbourhood, this is something that you'll absolutely want to check out.
Thanks to Les Fils de l'Invention for organising this event.

OCTAFISH - DOKTOR FLEISCH MUSIC VIDEO

Didn't I mention the fact that Octafish will be releasing a new album?
Well, here's the music video that goes along with it.
Directed by Dominik Kuhn a.k.a. dodokay and edited by Paul Grizak.



http://www.octafish.de/

CHEER ACCIDENT ON TOUR IN EUROPE

May 4, 2009 - Pilsen, Czech Republic - Cafeteria Jablon
May 5, 2009 - Cancelled
May 6, 2009 - Poznan, Poland - Pod Minoga
May 7, 2009 - Krakow, Poland - Alchemia
May 8, 2009 - Warsaw, Poland - Powiekszenie
May 9, 2009 - Wroclaw, Poland - Osrodek Postaw Tworczych
May 11, 2009 - Zagreb, Croatia - TEATAR ITD
May 12, 2009 - Massa, Italy - TagoMago
May 13, 2009 - Rome, Italy - Sinister Noise Club
May 14, 2009 - Florence, Italy - Ex Fila Connessioni Metropolitane
May 15, 2009 - Milano, Italy - Baraonda

For show updates, please visit
www.cheer-accident.com
www.myspace.com/cheeraccident

ESSRA MOHAWK TALKS OF FZ IN CNBC INTERVIEW IN 1991

First of eventual 3 interviews from 1991 where Essra speaks of 1960's NY, Frank Zappa's biz-like ways & his invite to join The Mothers of Invention on the spot.

Hear their recording "Bizarre Beginnings" @
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw45qc...

Visit http://essramohawk.com/ to see Essra's credits including vocals on School House Rock plus as the songwriter of hit songs on the Pop, Rock, Dance, Rn'B, Country, TV & Kid Video charts.Song in background is "Making Time Stop"
on YT @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvLpmy...

info & YouTube movie: Frank from NY

NEW ON CUNEIFORM

(RELEASE DATE: MAY 5, 2009)
  • LED BIB: SENSIBLE SHOES
    (2008, cd, usa, cuneiform Rune 283)
  • MIRIODOR: AVANTI!
    (2008, cd, usa, cuneiform Rune 288)
  • POSITIVE CATASTROPHE: GARABATOS VOLUME ONE
    (2008, cd, usa, cuneiform Rune 286)
  • ED PALERMO BIG BAND: EDDY LOVES FRANK
    (2008, cd, usa, cuneiform Rune 285)
  • UPSILON ACRUX: RADIAN FUTURA
    (2008, cd, usa, cuneiform Rune 284)
Cuneiform artists in concert:

MATS/MORGAN BAND
(www.morganagren.com - www.myspace.com/matsmorganband)
[Mats Öberg and Morgan Ågren with former Meshuggah bassist Gustaf Hilem]
June 4 - BLAEST - TMV kaia 17 / 7014, Trondheim, Trondheim, Norway - www.blaest.no
August 16 - 20 - Zappnale - Germany (with Denny Walley) - www.zappanale.de

The ED PALERMO Big Band
(www.palermobigband.com)
June 3 - Iridium - NYC, NY (record release show)

Saturday, May 2, 2009

ZAPPATIKA - LIVE AND KICKING

Early March, Zappatika released "Live and Kicking" to coincide with their UK tour: London, Exceter, the Zappateers party in Manchester, Nottingham, ...
"Live and Kicking" offers 14 tracks, including a couple of Zappa songs.

I like what Zappatika does with the Zappa compositions. They get a bit of psychedelic / 70's treatment: laid back playing, fuzzy spacy solos,...
But the thing that does it for me, is the mix with their own tunes: 'Spanish Highwaz', 'Thru The Wormhole', 'Mahavishnu Mind', the hilarious (and very Cream-like) 'My Little Pony', 'Rainy Days', 'Space Flip' and the instant-classic 'The Ballad Of Leroy'.
Very nice!

You can still order this little nice little dittie throught the band's MySpace site:

www.myspace.com/zappatika

SUN RA RESEARCH CD ONE

Sun Ra talks and Sun Ra explains.
He talks about love, about beauty, about music, his influences and much more.

The album also includes some nice musical fragments, including a short (almost 5 minutes, but still way too short) piece that features Sun Ra, John Gilmore and Avreeayl Amen Ra.
A perfect mix.

The Sun Ra Research CDs are the audio versions of the fanzine with the same name.
Interviews, Sun Ra explaining stuff, and pieces of music.
Essential !!

SUN RA RESEARCH -- THE FANZINE


The Sun Ra Research fanzine was produced on high quality paper & with a cardboard cover. Issue number 38 (of which you can see the cover) counted about 40 pages and presented transcriptions of interviews with Sun Ra (& John Gilmore).
Published by Peter Hinds since the early ninetees, the Sun Ra Research fanzine gives some insight into the bizarre world of Sun Ra.
Amazing!

THE EARTHLY RECORDINGS OF SUN RA


"The Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra - 2nd edition" is the bible for Sun Ra music freaks. Well, bible might not be the best word to use when you want to describe the ultimate book on someone who had his own peculiar way of looking at the world & the entire galaxy, but you know what I mean.
The book deals with every known recording of Sun Ra and says on which format it can be found (vinyl, CD, tape, audience recording, radio show, ...).
Although the book got released in 1998, it's still the reference guide you need.
It not only includes tracklistings and line-ups, but also nice and short commentary on earch entry.
(Still) Essential.

IKE WILLIS & THE CENTRAL SCRUTINIZER BAND


Next week, Ike Willis will be performing with the Central Scrutinizer Band !!
2009/05/09 The Central Scrutinizer Band feat. Ike Willis - concert Aldeia Turiassú
1st show at 22.00 h, second show at 01.00 h

THE SUN RA ARKESTRA IN CONCERT

I've been adding concert data to the Sun Ra entry over at United Mutations recently.
Nothing shocking, and not to be compared with the Campbell & Trent book :-)
but hey, I thought you'd like to know.

The 2003 edition of the Uncool Festival was dedicated to Marshal Allen.

The 2008 edition of the ZXZW festival had the Arkestra performing almost every day of the week.

HINDS BROTHERS - DUBMIXER


John and Peter Hinds are known for their excellent Sun Ra Research CDs, and for the beautiful Sun Ra Research fanzine.
I only recently discovered that the Hinds Brothers not only had a great taste in music, but that they are great musicians as well. Search the YouTube catalogue for Hinds Brothers or for Sun Ra Research and you'll get some great sounds...

Imagine my suprise when "Dubmixer" hit my mailbox last week. "Dubmixer" is a CD by the Hinds Brothers. It got released in 2002 on their Omni Sonic label.

Reason enough to do a bit of investigation.
After a bit of googling, I think I've got the Omni Sonic label discography sorted out:

  • john hinds: connections
    (1995, cd, usa, omni sonic 001)
  • dan plonsey: another curiosity piece
    (1996, cd, usa, omni sonic 002)
  • john hinds: the strangest secret
    (1998, cd, usa, omni sonic 003)
  • hinds brothers: the brilliant sound
    (????, cd, usa, omni sonic 004)
  • hinds brothers: 420 haight street, san francisco
    (????, cd, usa, omni sonic 005)
  • hinds brothers: dubmixer
    (2002, cd, usa, omni sonic 006)

"Dubmixer" features John Hinds on piano, synth, bass clarinet, organ and percussion, and Peter Hinds on percussion and bass.
The music has a very electronical sound (as the synth is the main instrument) and it uses a lot of hypnotic and trance patterns.
"Dubmixer" probably is what dance music sounds like on the planet Saturn.
Interesting!

Read a feature on the Hinds Brothers in the SF Weekly:

http://www.sfweekly.com/2003-04-30/music/to-sun-ra-with-love/1

Friday, May 1, 2009

SUN RA - LIVE AT MONTREUX


"Live At Montreux" got recorded during the Arkestra's 4th Europeon tour, live at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland on 1976/07/09.
The concert got taped and broadcast by Swiss television in the same year.

Also in 1976, Sun Ra released a 2LP set with recordings from this concert on his Saturn label. In 1978, Inner City Records re-released the album, and last year, the same Inner City Records label issued "Live At Montreux" on a 2CD set.

Free Jazz fans will probably have this album high up in their charts. It's a superb recording and has the familiar Sun Ra mixture of straight jazz tunes and free improvisions.

SUN RA - COSMOS


Originally released in 1978 (or was it 1976?), Sun Ra's "Cosmos" got released on CD in France on the Spalax Music label in 1999. A couple of years after that, it was made available on CD in Japan on the P-Vine lable. And last year, finally, it got re-released in the usa.

"Cosmos" is a Sun Ra classic. If you want to check out Sun Ra and his Arkestra, "Cosmos" is the path you want to take.
Swinging tunes with hard bop soloing. I love it.

Essential Sun Ra.