A MIKE KENEALLY UPDATE

Word has it that Mike Keneally's SuperDeluxe reissue of "Sluggo!" is going fast.
So you'd better hurry if you want one of these...

The 2DVD, 2CD package includes the original album, a new stereo mix version, the new album in various audio formats, including 5.1 surround, a couple of bonus tracks, over two hours of live and studio video material, and a bonus live album...

http://www.keneally.com/

A RESIDENTS UPDATE

Following The Residents' musical output isn't the easiest of tasks.
The above pictured "Lonely Teenager" is one of the fine examples.
Originally issued as a CD-On-Demand album (RZ1101) in 2011, it was made available during the Talking Light Tour with a bonus track in a limited edition of about 200 copies (RZ1101-A, and sold out during the tour). Later that year, the CD-On-Demand version got withdrawn and the album was released by MVD (MVD5180A).

The Residents' most recent excursion is giving us "Radio Thoreau", a series of remixes that isz available from various digital platforms.
Check it out here:
http://www.residents.com/home/page2/

ANOTHER NEW ZAPPA CD RELEASE

"A Token Of His Extreme" soundtrack CD

http://barfkoswill.shop.musictoday.com/Dept.aspx?cp=971_64324

GRYPHON LABS IN CONCERT TONIGHT

GRYPHON LABS will be performing two shows at The Baked Potato tonight, 2013 11 27.

GEOFFREY FARMER

Contemporary artist Geoffrey Farmer's installation : "Let's Make The Water Turn Black"



http://www.nottinghamcontemporary.org/art/geoffrey-farmer

THE THEORY OF ZAPPA

The Theory of Zappa
with Paul Carr

http://www.nottinghamcontemporary.org/event/theory-zappa

2013 11 28
Nottingham, UK

AN ARISTOCRATS UPDATE

a message from The Aristocrats !

Hello Aristocrats fans. It's been too long, right? We agree. So consider this us getting back in touch, and with good news for fans who have been waiting to see the "Culture Clash" tour live for the first time - starting with the U.S. West, and our very first shows in Mexico!

The Aristocrats "Culture Clash" Tour

U.S. West/Mexico Leg - January 2014

1/13 - Denver, CO - Quixote's True Blue

1/15 - Albuquerque, NM - The Dirty Bourbon

1/17 - Phoenix, AZ - Pub Rock Live

1/18 - Mexicali, Baja, MEXICO - Casa De La Cultura

1/19 - Tijuana, Baja, MEXICO - Rock House

1/21 - San Diego, CA - Brick By Brick

1/25 - Whittier, CA - The Center Theater (CalProg) -

double bill with The Stickmen (Tony Levin, Pat Mastellotto and Markus Reuter)

1/26 - San Pedro, CA - Alvas Showroom

1/28 - Mexico City, MEXICO - Centro Cultural Roberto Cantoral

1/30 - San Luis Obispo, CA - SLO Brew

2/1 - San Francisco, CA - Biscuits & Blues

These will be first-ever live performances for The Aristocrats in every city outside of California, so if you're local, or even if you're not...come on out and bring a friend who likes guys with facial hair playing lots of notes. :-)

Then, we're heading off to Europe for an epic 10-week tour that's still being booked, but currently looks like this:

The Aristocrats "Culture Clash" Tour

Europe Leg - Winter 2014

February 6 - Bilbao, SP - Cafe Antkozia

February 7 - Madrid, SP - La Sala Live

February 8 - Valencia, SP - Sala Loco

February 9 - Barcelona, SP - Luz de Gas

February 12th - La Valette du Var, FR - Le Vox

February 13th or 14th - Paris, FR - TBA

February 15th - Eeklo, BE - JH de Route

February 17th - London, England, UK - The Garage

February 18th - Bristol, England, UK - The Fleece

February 19th - Leamington, England, UK - The Assembly

February 20th - Manchester, England, UK - Band on the Wall

February 21st - Newcastle, England, UK - The Cluny

February 23rd - Edinburgh, Scotland, UK - Liquid Room

February 24th - Dublin, IE - The Grand Social

February 26th - Tilburg, NL - Paradox

February 27th - Verviers, BE - Spirit of 66

February 28th - Zoetermeer, NL - De Boerderij

March 1st - Esch Sur Alzette, LUX - Kulturfabrik

March 2nd - Munich, DE - Backstage Werk

March 4th - Berlin, DE - Frannz

March 5th - Hamburg, DE - Fabrik

March 6th - Worpswede, DE - Music Hall

March 9th - Dortmund, DE - Domicile

March 10th - Cologne, DE - Kantine

March 11th - Ludwigshafen am Rhein, DE - Das Haus

March 12th - Reichenbach, DE - Bergkeller

March 13th - Dresden, DE - Tante Ju

March 15th - Warszaw, PL - Progresja

March 16th - Krakow, PL - Lizard King

March 17th - Olomouc, CZ - Jazz Tibet Club

March 18 through April 10 - ITALY/EASTERN EUROPE/TURKEY/ISRAEL

& MORE TBA

And for the rest of the year, we're currently working on this:

May 2014: Brazil/South America

August 2014: Southeast Asia

FRANK ZAPPA MEMORIAL BARBECUE IN MILAN ITALY 2013 12 03

GUITARS AND OTHER MACHINES

GUITARS AND OTHER MACHINES

http://www.neilcampbell.org.uk/live/

FRIDAY 22ND NOVEMBER

Concert taking place at New Brighton Floral Pavilion, Marine Promenade, CH45 2JS, as part of the International Guitar Festival of Great Britain.

FRIDAY 29TH NOVEMBER

Concert taking place at De Spot, Beddewijkstraat 15, 4331 LP Middelburg, The Netherlands.

SATURDAY 30TH NOVEMBER

Concert taking place at Flora Theatre, Verwersdijk 1, Delft, The Netherlands. 

Neil Campbell (acoustic guitar) will be performing alongside Carlo Bowry (electric guitar) and Gordon Ross (electronics). The programme will feature a collaborative composition for classical guitar and electronics, a new arrangement of Philip Glass's beautiful Metamorphosis suite for guitar duet, and an innovative original version of Steve Reich's multiple guitar classic Electric Counterpoint performed on classical guitar using projected visuals. 

You might / could / should know Carlo Bowry from his work with Kevin Ayers, The Muffin Men, Jimmy Carl Black, Ike Willis, the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the 10:10 Ensemble !!
(Check your Zappa data files for most of these names.)

OMSQ * * THE MIGHTY PROGERIANS

OMSQ and The Mighty Progerians share a split EP entitled "Vertigo".

Pure, raw energy. Check it out at the Antée Records website.
http://antee.bandcamp.com/album/the-mighty-progerians-omsq-vertigo-split-ep-ant-003

Also available in a limited 10" vinyl edition of 300 copies.

GRANDSHEIKS - FLIES ALL GREEN AND BUZZIN'

• grandsheiks: flies all green and buzzin'
      (2012, cd, ger, gscd 2012)

When german band Sheik Yerbouti did their last concert in 2011, three members decided that they wanted to keep on playing the music of Frank Zappa.

The result is called the GrandSheiks.

* Jörg Heuser (guitar, keyb, voc)

* Daniel Guggenheim (saxes, keyb)

* Maximilian Hilbrand (lead-voc)

* Thomas Schmittinger (guitar, voc)

* Andi Mertens (bass, voc)

* Christian Majdecki (drums)

Sheik Yerbouti was one of the top bands that performed the music of Frank Zappa. The Grandsheiks keep up this high standard.
About a year ago, the band released "Flies All Green And Buzzin'", presenting a set of Zappa classics: Dirty Love, Stinkfoot, I'm The Slime, Florentine Pogen, Outside Now, Trouble Every Day, Bamboozled By Love, Pojama People, and The Torture Never Stops.

http://www.grandsheiks.de/

SUE DANIELS - PARIS

• sue daniels: paris
      (2001, cd, bel, heavenhotel 7243 8 10360 2 0)

Rudy Trouvé founded the Heavenhotel record label some twenty years ago, kicking off with Kiss My Jazz's "In Doc's Place Friday Evening" in 1996. Since then, the label has released albums by Rudy Trouvé, Gore Slute, Dead Man Ray and many other interesting combos.

It's the Heavenhotel label that made me pick up Sue Daniels' "Paris" album. Released in 2001. Nice.
Multi-instrumentalist & singer/songwriter Sue Daniels makes a fine impression.
Fans of the dEUS / Zita Swoon / Moondog Jr. scene will like this.

The album also features Elko Blijweert, Mauro Pawlowski and Rudy Trouvé on a couple of tracks.

Here's a link to 'Constant (Raving)', the 2nd track on the disc:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knPTgFR9fZk

ALICE FREDENHAM

BILL IN THE TEA -- I WANNA BE FRANK ZAPPA

-- info: Nikolai Zaharov

THE BANNED FROM UTOPIA LIVE IN BRNO

BANNED FROM UTOPIA - 17.11.13 - METRO MUSIC BAR

Brno, Czech Republic

THE NATIONAL CYNICAL NETWORK - THEY SAVED ZAPPA'S MOUSTACHE

• the national cynical network: they saved zappa's moustache
      (2012, download, usa, ncn)

This program, 'They Saved Zappa's Moustache' (also known as 'Zapped' as coined by co-creator of the program Don Joyce of Negativland) is the full, official, re-mastered release of this sound collage show mixed live on the air by Don Joyce and Phineas Narco (of The National Cynical Network).
It was broadcast in March of 1995 on Negativland's KPFA radio show, 'Over the Edge'.
It is an almost 5-hour experimental remix of, and tribute to, Frank Zappa and his music. The program primarily focused on the music Frank Zappa created early on in his career.
It is available for the first time in lossless (and other) formats on a name-your-own-price basis at The National Cynical Network's bandcamp site. This program was recorded directly from the KPFA headphone feed (at the time of broadcast) onto Hi-Fi VCR tape, and directly transferred from that master to this digital copy for maximum sound fidelity.

Get it over here:
http://nationalcynical.bandcamp.com/album/they-saved-zappas-moustache


-- info: Ive Hapers

TRIO OF STRIDENCE

If you're not familiar with the Trio Of Stridence and their excellent version of Zappa's 'Zoot Allures', you might want to check out the following link.

http://overdoseoffingalcocoa.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-trio-of-stridence.html

-- link: Jan van Kemenade

HENRY KAISER RELEASES NEW ALBUM

• henry kaiser: requia and other improvisations for guitar solo
      (2013, cd, usa, tzadik)

Henry Kaiser is releasing a new album. Today. On the Tzadik label.
One of the compositions is called:
'Sun Ra, Stockhausen and Feldman walk into a bar on Saturn'
for solo guitar !!

FLAT EARTH SOCIETY'S MODERNSKI PROJECT

December 14, 2013, Flat Earth Society will present "Modernski" at 'De Bijloke' in Ghent, Belgium.

FES re-wrote and/or re-constructed contemporary classical pieces by Stravinski, Scott Joplin, Disselvelt, Kagel, Morricone, Poulenc, and others.

The set will also include new material by Peter Vandenberghe, Tom Wouters, Peter Vermeersch,, Fulco Ottervanger and Lisa Cay Miller.

ZAPPA VIDEO PACKAGE OUT ON EAGLE VISION

• frank zappa: the torture never stops / the dub room special / baby snakes
      (2013, 3dvd, usa, eagle entertainment)

After their recent release of "A Token Of His Extreme", Eagle Entertainment has now released three essential Zappa videos in one nice cardboard box.

NEW ON KINDRED SPIRITS / ART YARD

The Kindred Spirits and Art Yard record labels teamed up to release "Egyptian Jazz" by Salah Ragab and the Cairo Jazz band, as well as the second volume of "The Lost Arkestra Series" by Sun Ra & his Arkestra.
The first on is a 12" LP, the second one a three track 10".

SPACE IS THE PLACE // THE ARKESTRA AT THELINCOLN CENTER

SPACE IS THE PLACE composed by Sun Ra

Sun Ra Turns 100: Sun Ra Arkestra with Marshall Allen

October 5, 2013

The Allen Room

Sun Ra incorporated elements drawn from black vaudeville, modern dance, Egyptian cosmology, Eastern philosophy, numerology, surrealism, kitsch, and the Bible to serve a corpus that deployed African rhythms, atonal melodies, electronic timbres, raw blues expression, unfailing swing, and one-for-all discipline drawn from the big bands that Ra internalized in his youth. Sun Ra lives on in the current edition of the Sun Ra Arkestra, led by original member, alto saxophonist-woodwindist Marshall Allen.

Featuring Artist Michael Arthur whose live drawings are projected in real- time during the performance. 

SUN RA TRIBUTES

• various artists: sun ra dedication - the myth lives on
      (2003, 2lp, nl, kindred spirits)

• ig culture: space is the place
      (2003, 12", nl, kindred spirits)

10 years after Sun Ra's passing, the Kindred Spirits label released a tribute album called "Sun Ra Dedication - The Myth Lives On". The album was made available as a 2LP set (with a total of 20 tracks) and as a CD (16 tracks with one that was not released on the vinyl edition).
Shortly thereafter, a follow-up got released: IG Culture's "Space Is The Place", a 12" maxi that had two versions, two different mixes, of 'Space Is The Place'.

Here's Offworld with their version of 'Astro Black', taken from the "Sun Ra Didication" LP release.

CLEAR SPOT

• clear spot: moonman bop / psycho's blues
      (1998, 7", uk, duophonic super 45s)

15 years ago, the Duophonic Super 45s label released a 7" by Clear Spot, a name that definitely has a nice ring to it.
The 7" presents 2 tracks: 'Moonman Bop' and 'Psycho's Blues'.
Here they are:

SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA - THE LOST ARKESTRA SERIES VOL.2

• sun ra & his arkestra: the lost arkestra series vol.2
      (2013, nl, 10" ep, kindred spirits) 

Kindred Spirits, the Dutch label, has released the second volume of their "Lost Arkestra Series".
10" vinyl.

The EP got added to the Sun Ra discography over at the United Mutations Archives.

FLYING LOTUS

April 2010, Flying Lotus released "Cosmogramma", an album that shows that Flying Lotus has listened to Sun Ra.
Here's a snippet.

WARREN CUCCURULLO

from Zappateers:

Warren Cuccurullo interview on The Notorious New Wave Show.

http://www.mixcloud.com/ginaachord/the-notorious-new-wave-show-host-gina-achord-november-14-2013/

He talks about his TV Mania project and about 1 h 10 minutes into the show he mentions this new project called The Rose Vortex (with Azar Lawrence, Joe Travers and Tommy Mars !!).

ZAPPATIKA IN CONCERT 2013 12 21 IN THE HAGUE (NL)

performing the music of Frank Zappa

200 MOTELS

Adding data to the United Mutations Archives, here's a picture of the program booklet of the recent 200 Motels peformance in London, UK.

ARF DOSSIER 77

A bit late maybe, but the September issue of The Arf Dossier arrived at the United Mutations Headquarters last week.
Published by the Arf Society, this latest issue is mostly about Zappanale. In words and pictures.

the arf-dossier no.77  -  2013/09

incl.

• leserpost
• the hot platters heaven from the arf office by volkmar mantei
• zappanale #24 - was für ein fest! by burkhard schempp
• news from belgium - live from United Mutations
• have you heard the news? muffin productions usa by reinhard preuss
• ullis ecke by ulli schäfer

BFU

The Band From Utopia was a group of about ten musicians who for many years performed and recorded with Frank Zappa. 
As The Band From Utopia, they recorded and performed Zappa's music.

July 1994, the Jazz Open Festival was held in Stuttgart, Germany. The Band From Utopia headlined the festival. I remember seeing the Band From Utopia in Cologne, a couple of days after the Jazz Open Festival. These were the only two concerts in Germany at the time.

Fortunately, the band did some more concerts in the states, but as time passed, the project dissolved.

But now they're back!!

The BFU, or Band (Banned) From Utopia are touring Europe as you're reading this. The tour even got a pre-tour concert at Zappanale. I might not be able to catch the band now, but I was glad that I saw them at Zappanale.

the setlist

Zoot Allures, Montana, Marqueson's Chicken, Society Pages, Dupree's Paradise, Inca Roads, Black Page #2, Zomby Woof, Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue, Doreen, What's New In Baltimore?, Cosmik Debris, City Of Tiny Lites, Big Swifty, Whippin' Post, The Illinois Enema Bandit

Familiar sounding vocals by Robert Martin and Ray White; Ed Mann on the electronic marimba;  Ralph Humphrey on drums; Mike Miller on guitar; Albert Wing on saxes, and the great Tom Fowler on bass.

Their latest tour started at the Zappa Union festival earlier this month.
This time with Morgan Agren on drums.


Check out Robert Martin's website for the dates:

http://multimartinmusic.com/bannedfromutopia.htm

THE SUN RA ARKESTRA MEETS SALAH RAGAB - IN EGYPT

• the sun ra arkestra meets salah ragab: in egypt
      (1999, cd, usa, golden years of new jazz gy 1)

From the liner notes of "Egypt Strut", a vinyl Sun Ra compilation album, by Hartmut Geerken:

"In June 1971, I sent an invitation to Sun Ra from Cairo and six months later the Arkestra came to the land of the pharaohs in order to play for the first time at the foot of the pyramids. When Sun Ra and his Arkestra played in my living room in Heliopolis on December 12, 1971, Salah Ragab was one of my guests. It was their first personal contact.

Sun Ra set out again 12 years later to gaze into the eyes of Sphinx. In May 1983 he went into El Nahar Studio in Heliopolis with Salah Ragab in order to record two compositions of Salah Ragab. To my knowledge it had never happened before that Sun Ra and his Arkestra played compositions of a contemporary musician from outside. Maybe he was taken with the initials of Salah Ragab which were the same as in his own name, or he was fascinated with the fact that his own name was part of Ragab's name. To my knowledge, Salah was the only non Afro- American, apart from Leah Ananda from Kashmir and Roger Aralamon Hazoumè from Dahomey, to be documented on record with Sun Ra.

In 1984 Sun Ra came to Egypt for the third time. Also for this last visit Salah played the drums in the Arkestra when the band played at the small Jazz club Il Capo (later renamed as Il Boko) in Zamalek.

WATUSA, recorded in 1984 in the intimate atmosphere of the El Capo Club in Cairo, is a composition for bigband, large percussion ensemble and dancers from the year 1967. During the long middle section all musicians of the Arkestra play percussion instruments. After Jacson's solo on the big "infinity drum" and Matthew Brown's conga-break, Salah Ragab takes an extensive drum solo.

The second drum solo is by Clifford Jarvis. The screams of the dancers Myriam Broche and Gregory Pratt can only give a vague impression of the visual aspects of this Egyptian March."

(Hartmut Geerken)

Originally released in 1983 on vinyl, the "In Egypt" album got re-released in 1999 with two bonus tracks.
Data has been added to the United Mutations Archvives.

DWALMACAT 539

This week's Dwalmacat radio show !!

http://www.mixcloud.com/Dwalmacat/dwalmacat-539-karolien-polenus/

IGOR STRAVINSKY / THE FALL / THE BELL ORCHESTRA - Capriccio for piano & orchestra / Blindness/ Recording a tape (typewriter duet)

OSAMU KITAJAMI - Tengu

BARIS MANCO - Baykoca destani

OMAR KHORSHID - Rakset el fadaa

GABOR PRESSER & ANNA ADAMIS - Dream yourself away

AMANAZ - History of men

THE OSCILLATION - All you want to be

CAN - Millionenspiel

THE FAT TRUCKERS - Superbike

SUICIDE - Shadazz

FAUST - Baby

STEVE GUNN - Trailways ramble

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART SPECIAL ON DUTCH RADIO 6

Next Sunday on Dutch Radio 6,
from 20:00 until 01:00 h, a Captain Beefheart special !!

-- info: JP

GARY HUSBAND & ALEX MACHACEK - NOW

• gary husband & alex machacek: now
      (2013, cd, usa, abstract logix ablx 041)

Contemporary jazz and improvised music meet on "Now", the beautiful collaboration between Gary Husband and Alex Machacek.
For the occasion, multi-instrumentalist Gary Husband sticks to the piano, while Alex Machacek switches between acoustic and electric guitars.

The Abstract Logix website mentions 'original compositions', 'borderline-telepathic interplay' and 'dazzling unison runs', and I couldn't have said it better.
"Now" is a very impressive album. It presents nine fine compositions and shows the beauty of the unusual combination of piano and guitar.

Gary Husband's piano playing was a big surprise. I'm familiar with his work as a drummer, but his piano playing is superb as well.
I have seen and heard Alex Machacek in various settings (Eddie Jobson, Terry Bozzio, UK, Marco Minnemann,...) and he keeps impressing me each and every time.

Essential listening.

Out on Abstract Logix.

To get you in the mood, here's Alex Machacek at the New Universe Music Festival.
(from the Abstrack Logix Live DVD)

A ZAPPATIKA UPDATE

a message from Zappatika!

With a little sadness,but very many great memories, we must report that our wonderful & talented violinist Annemarieke Schoonderwalt (Ke) will be getting off the bus very soon and will not enter 2014 as a member of ZAPPATiKA.

This tough decision is based on various factors, but our parting is on the very best of terms and we wish her extreme wellness !

We are currently completing some studio projects and these will be Ke's last "official" work as a band member,though of course, we never say never to her appearing out of the blue on stage with us in some corner of the globe in the future - Ke ,we luvz ya !

SUN RA VISITATION SERIES

http://www.joespub.com/component/option,com_shows/task,view/Itemid,40/id,6990

EMIL RICHARDS

Percussionist Emil Richards was a part of the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra (Feb - March 1967) when Frank Zappa recorded the orchestral parts for "Lumpy Gravy". In the late seventies Emil took part in recordings that can be found on various Zappa albums.

In 1967, Emil Richards recorded "New Time Element", an album that also included 'Happy Together'.

You can check it out here:
http://hippy-djkit.blogspot.nl/2013/11/emil-richards-new-time-element-1967-us.html

-- info: Jan van Kemenade

ZAPPANALE 2013 - - - PART FOURTEEN: AUGUST 3 - ALLI BACH

Thanks to Hank Woods for the recording,
here's Alli Bach's performance from Zappanale.

In  memory of Glenn Leonard.

200 MOTELS ON BBC RADIO

Just in case that you're not able to download Ob's exellent recording of the BBC Radio broadcast of last month's 200 Motels concert from the Zappateers website, here's a link to the stream:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03h3kk5

And here are some pictures (by Harald Häring) to get you in the right mood.

JIMMY CARL BLACK'S MEMOIRS

INKANISH PUBLICATIONS are pleased to announce that For Mother's Sake, the epic, blockbuster of a memoir from the one and only "Indian of the Group", the unforgettable Jimmy Carl Black, will be available from November 1st to commemorate the 5th anniversary of Jimmy's sad demise.

Copies can be purchased at the outrageous but reasonable price of $19.95 plus postage through CreateSpace.com as a print on demand service.

https://www.createspace.com/4495126

A CORRIE VAN BINSBERGEN UPDATE

"Corrie en de Kleine Brokken"

Belgium has big band of which all the musicians are children. These kids are somewhere in between 9 and 16 years of age, and hail from Brussels, Liège and Leuven. Especially this last part is interesting as it means that the big band collects musicians with a different mother tongue.

Believe it or not, but this big band is called Zappa. As bizarre as it seams, the name has, as far as I know, nothing to do with our favourite composer.

The Zonzo Compagnie invited Dutch guitar player and composer Corrie van Binsbergen to share the stage with the Zappa big band.

For the occasion, Corrie reworked the Odysseus saga into a roadmovie for which the Zappa big band would provide the soundtrack.

Last Saturday, Corrie and the Zappa big band, were presented as "Corrie en de Kleine Brokken". A play on her "Corrie en de Grote Brokken" band, where 'klein' translates as 'little', or 'small'.

The piece itself was fascinating. Three girls told the story (in both dutch and frech) while the children were asked to make music outside their usual boundaries. Besides playing music, they also had to shout, to dance, and to make weird noises with their instruments. It was fun.

In support of the Zappa big band, Corrie had not only brought her guitar along. She had also invited percussionist Alan Purves. Beautiful.

Fun was had by all.

MIKE KENEALLY'S SLUGGO GETS A RE-RELEASE

Mike Keneally is re-releasing his Sluggo! album.

It's available in different packages.

http://store.keneally.com/

Remixed and superdeluxed and all that jazz !!
Check it out!

THE MIKE KENEALLY BAND WILL BE DOING FOUR CONCERTS IN DECEMBER

the Mike Keneally Band

 Mike Keneally: guitar, keyboards, vocals
 Rick Musallam: guitar

 Joe Travers: drums
 Bryan Beller: bass

Mike Keneally California Tourette 2013

Friday, December 6, 2013

The Baked Potato, Studio City, CA 91604

Tickets: $25 - Doors open: 7:00 p.m.

Showtimes: 9:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

The Loft, La Jolla, CA 92093

Tickets: Advance $22.50 - Doors open: 7:30 p.m. Showtime: 8:00 p.m.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Biscuits & Blues, San Francisco, CA 94102

Tickets: $24 and $20 - Doors open: 5:30 p.m. Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

Friday, December 13, 2013

The Jambalaya, Arcata, CA 95521

Tickets: $15 - Doors open: 8:00 p.m. Showtime: 9:00 p.m.

I COME FROM NOWHERE

Zappa Plays Zappa, Amsterdam, 2013 11 09



thanks to unicapb21 !

ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA IN GHENT 2013 11 08

Zappa Plays Zappa, the Ghent concert.

There's nothing like a fine concert to start the weekend.

Last Friday, the Dweezil Zappa Plays Zappa band landed at 'De Vooruit' in Ghent. The only disadvantage of a Friday concert is that the biggest part of Belgium turns into one gigantic traffic jam every Friday. We knew, so we arrived well in advance.

As for the concert, it was great. The band played for almost three hours (not counting the 20-minute break). They started with the complete "Roxy" album and continued with a bunch of great songs, including the fabulous 'I Come From Nowhere'.

The band seemed very relaxed and it showed in the performance. One word: fabulous. Did I mention that there was some audience participation as well? People on stage, dancing to the Be-Bop Tango.

I loved it.

The concert ended with 'Muffin Man', and Dweezil sneaked in the intro of another classic in his guitar solo. Now that's what we want to hear!! Yes, humour does belong in music.

line-up

Dweezil Zappa: guitar
Scheila Gonzalez: saxophone, flute, keyboards & vocals
Ben Thomas: vocals, trumpet, trombone, percussion
Chris Norton: keyboards, vocals
Kurt Morgan: bass
Ryan Brown: drums

set one

01 - The Gumbo Variations
02 - Penguin In Bondage
03 - Pygmy Twylyte
04 - Dummy Up
05 - Village Of The Sun
06 - Echidna's Arf (Of You)
07 - Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?
08 - Cheepnis
09 - Son Of Orange County
10 - More Trouble Every Day
11 - Be-Bop Tango (Of The Old Jazzmen's Church)

set two

12 - The Torture Never Stops
13 - Teenage Wind
14 - Teenage Prostitute
15 - The Black Page #1
16 - The Black Page #2
17 - Flakes
18 - Broken Hearts Are For Assholes
19 - Wino Man
20 - I Come From Nowhere
21 - Florentine Pogen

encores

22 - Cosmik Debris

23 - Muffin Man

Saturday, ZpZ performed in Amsterdam.
I wasn't there, but I did receive some nice YouTube links !
Thanks to unicapb21, here's some snippets !!

'Florentine Pogen'


'Cosmik Debris'

'Muffin Man'


'Zomby Woof' with Richard Hallebeek !

'Be-Bop' audience participation

FIDO PLAYS ZAPPA

FiDO at Gare du Nord: Filthy Habits

A little Häppchen from the upcoming video.

DISTURBING THE PEACE

Alcatrazz 1985 "Disturbing The Peace" album featured Steve Vai on guitar.
The album is getting a re-release as a 2CD set and will feature new artwork as well.

RONNIE CUBER IN CONCERT IN RIJKEVORSEL (B) TONIGHT

The Rein de Graff Trio, featuring Ronnie Cuber, will be doing a concert at 'De Singer' jazzclub in Rijkevorsel (Belgium) tonight.

If you can't make it, maybe you should give "Zappa In New York" another spin.

Here's Ronnie Cuber with Bill Evans and Randy Brecker Soulbop project.

ROBERT WYATT - '68

• robert wyatt: '68
      (2013, cd, usa, cuneiform)

Member of the Daevid Allen Trio, The Wild Flowers and Soft Machine.

Solo recording artist and founding member of Matching Mole.

Collaborated with Henry Cow, Hatfield and the North, David Gilmour and Björk to name just a few.

His name is Robert Wyatt and he's one of the founding fathers of the Canterbury scene.

From the Cuneiform website:

In September, 1968, the Soft Machine had just finished their second, exhaustive tour of the USA supporting the Jimi Hendrix Experience. At the conclusion of the tour, vocalist/drummer/multi-instrumentalist Robert Wyatt stayed, working on recordings in Hollywood and New York City. Upon Robert's return to England, these documents lay forgotten...

Now, for the first time, all four of the recordings Robert made in '68 are collected together and released, all carefully worked on and presented in the best possible sound quality - and the recorded sound here is surprisingly excellent overall!

The bulk of the material - the two long suites - were later re-recorded by the Soft Machine; ‘Rivmic Melodie’s later became the basis of side one on Volume II (1969) and ‘Moon In Jun’e showed up as Robert's showcase on Third (1970).

These tracks serve as a template for the post-psychedelic Soft Machine's career as founders of European jazz/rock and the entire release is a precursor to Robert's post-band, solo career.

Out on the Cuneiform label
www.cuneiformrecords.com

Available from Mandaï

www.mandai.be

ZAPPANALE 2013 - - - PART THIRTEEN : THE ZAPPANALE EXHIBIT 7”

• various artists: zappanale exhibition 7 inch 2013
      (2013, 7"-promo, ger, arf society)

One of the main attractions of the latest edition of the Zappanale festival was the Zappa 7" exhibit.
And what's the best way to show what such an exhibit is all about? That's right, you release a 7" for the occasion.

limited edition of 300 copies on black, red and grey vinyl

recorded at the zappanale festival, bad doberan, germany

[1] 2002/07/27 wolfhard kutz at zappanale #13

[2] 2003/07/25 the jack and jim show (jimmy carl black & eugene chadbourne) at zappanale #14

[3] 2009/08/16 jim cohen at zappanale #20

[4] 2012/08/03 fried dähn & the yellow string quartet  at zappanale #23

cover art by helmut king

side one

1. wolfhard kutz at zappanale #13: a public service announcement part 1

2. the jack and jim show (jimmy carl black & eugene chadbourne): willie the pimp (frank zappa)

3. jim cohen at zappanale #20: a public service announcement part 2

side two

1. fried dähn & the yellow string quartet at zappanale #23: sofa  (frank zappa)

NDV - KARMA

• ndv: karma
      (2001, cd, ger, ear candy records)

Quite by accident, I came across Nick D'Virgilio's "Karma" album last week. It had been a while since I had listened to it. When I gave it another spin, I noticed that the entry over at the United Mutations Archives was incomplete. For some reason, I hadn't linked Mike Keneally, Bryan Beller and Rick Mussallam to the album.
Rest assured, tt has been fixed.

Here's 'Forgiven', with Rick Mussallam on the guitar.

THE CLAUDIA QUINTET - SEPTEMBER

• the claudia quintet: september
      (2013, cd, usa, cuneiform)

Quirky rhythms, puzzling tempos and nicely layered but unlikely melody-lines.
That can only mean one thing : John Hollenbeck's Claudia Quintet is back !

The release of "September" marks the 15th anniversary of The Claudia Quintet.
If my counting is correct, "September" is the ensemble's 7th album and it's as groundbreaking as the previous ones.
My favourite piece is 'September 29, 1936 : Me Warn You'. It sounds as relevant now as it did then.

Congratulations are in place.

Highly recommended.

Out on the Cuneiform Records label.
www.cuneiformrecords.com

Available from Mandaï.
www.mandai.be

ANOTHER RESIDENTS UPDATE

Later today, The Residents will be releasing a new album:
"The Delta Nudes - Greatest Hiss".
It's a new album, but it will present older material.

Big Brothers says:
Blame me for this one. Last year I came up with the "brilliant" idea for the ERA B4-74 web site. As a product idea I assembled some of the old poorly recorded music from the late 1960s and early 1970s. I made a download mp3 collection. Of course there was actually little interest in the B4-74 web site, or its many products, other than some kind of perverse attraction in the old recordings. So here is that collection of old stuff, only cleaned up and lossless. Additionally there is music that has never been heard outside of the archive collection. Perhaps with good reason. Tapes that hiss are no longer considered an obstacle. So here it is. A collection - no, an expanded collection - of music from a time when there was no thought of record companies, touring Europe, or selling refrigerators for a living. Welcome to the world of The Delta Nudes.

And there's more:
The Residents are offering various, seperate tracks through the typical download channels.

www.residents.com

SARAH CAHILL - A SWEETER MUSIC

• sarah cahill: a sweeter music
      (2013, cd, usa, other minds records om 1022-2)

On "A Sweeter Music", Sarah Cahill performs various contemporary pieces on the piano: Terry Riley, Meredith Monk, Yoko Ono, ... and The Residents.

In the liner notes, Sarah Cahill explains how she missed hearing the anti-war movement during the Iraq war. Voices that were present during her youth in the 60s.
She contacted various composers with strong political convictions, and got eighteen pieces commissioned for her project.

She performs 'Drum No Fife', composed by The Residents, and narrated by The Residents.
It fits the album and the concept.

Very impressive.

More info:
http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/318421-pianist-sarah-cahills-sweeter-music-call-peace/

http://www.sarahcahill.com/

RESIDENTS UBS UPDATE

UBS = ultimate box set

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/weird/100000-Ultimate-Box-Set-Sold-and-Delivered-228739581.html

TATVAMASI - PARTS OF THE ENTIRETY

• tatvamasi: parts of the entirety
      (2013, cd, usa, cuneiform)

"Parts Of The Entirety" is the debut album of Polish band Tatvamasi.

The band traces its origins back to a devastating 2003 car crash that left their guitarist and composer hospitalized for many months. During his long recovery, he constructed a vividly detailed, emotionally probing and spiritually numinous musical world that he christened Tatvamasi.

The result, "Parts Of the Entirety", is an instrumental album in which the quartet (guitar, sax, bass and drums) invites the listener to a musical adventure.
This is good. This is very good. Modern jazz.

Recommended.

Out on Cuneiform
www.cuneiformrecords.com

Available from Mandaï.
www.mandai.be

SPALTKLANG - IN BETWEEN

• spaltklang: in between
      (2013, cd, italy, altrock alt037)

The italian Altrock record label keeps popping up in these pages. Earlier this year, the label released Alter Huevo's "Cucamonga" album with Zappa-inspired music from Argentina. The latest Humble Grumble disc, "Flanders Fields", is also out on Altrock.
And now there's Spaltklang's "In Between", another fine addition to the Altrock catalogue.

It has been three of four years since Spaltklang released "En Suite". For this new release, bandleader and composer Markus Stauss changed the line-up and the setting quite drastically.
In his own words: "The music has a different sound because of the new instrumentation. The composition technique is quite the same as on the last 2 Spaltklang albums. I just had more possibilities thanks to the 5 piece line up."

Besides Markus Stauss (tenor and soprano saxophones) and Rémy Sträuli (drums), the quintet is made up of trumpet player Ritschke Koch, guitarist Francesco Zago (Yugen, Zauss) and double bass player Christian Weber (Kurai). The expansion of the ensemble does indeed have a postive effect on the overall sound.
"In Between" is a very impressive album. Each of the five musicians stands out. Each one has a disctinctive voice and fits perfectly into the whole.
I love it. I love the intensity of the drive and the dynamics of the improvisations.
If you are familiar with Markus Stauss' output, you know that you will have to check this out.
Highly recommended to fans of experimental rock / jazz-rock / modern jazz music. 

Out on Altrock
http://altrock.highsite.it/?wpsc-product=i-between

Also available through the Markus Stauss website
http://www.fazzulmusic.ch/english/news.php?4v=4:1395

More info on Spaltklang (in German)
http://www.fazzulmusic.ch/deutsch/spaltklang.php

ELLIOTT SHARP - HAPTIKON

• elliott sharp: haptikon
      (2013, cd, italy, long song records)

American multi-instrumentalist and composer Elliott Sharp has been a central figure in the New York avant-garde and experimental music scene since the late seventies.

He has made numerous albums and his compositions have been performed by the HR-Sinfonieorchester, The Ensemble Modern and The Kronos Quartet, to name a few.

His latest release, "Haptikon", is out on the italian Long Song Records label. The electric guitar gets the significant role on "Haptikon". Accompanied by computer generated soundscapes, Elliott Sharp explores jazz, blues, rock and indian music, with a focus on the melodical and lyrical aspects.

Very impressive.

Recommended listening.

Available from Mandaï.
www.mandai.be

Here's a live sample

DUSAN JEVTOVIC - AM I WALKING WRONG?

• dusan jevtovik: am i walking wrong?
      (2013, cd, usa, moonjune)

"Am I Walking Wrong?" is the international debut of Serbian born guitarist Dusan Jevtovic.
Nowadays, Dusan Jevtovic lives in Barcelona (Spain) and for this album, he teamed up with Catalan fretless bass guitarist Bernat Hernandez and Serbian drummer Marko Djordjevic.

The result is a raw and powerful rhythm and blues / power trio album.
Each member of the trio has his distinct contribution to the overall sound, but it's Dusan's playing and experimenting with tonality and rhythm that gives "Am I Walking Wrong?" this unorthodox sound.

Let it be clear that this is not your everyday guitar album. You need to get in to it. Multipe listening session required!

Out on Moonjune.
www.moonjune.com

PIXEL - WE ARE ALL SMALL PIXELS

• pixel: we are all small pixels
      (2013, cd, usa, cuneiform)

Norwegian quartet Pixel has a second album out. The band mixes pop and jazz. Bandleader, bass player and vocalist Ellen Andrea Wang is the driving force of Pixel. She's backed by drummer Jon Audun Baar, saxophone player Harald Lassen and trumpet player Jonas Vemoy.

There's a lot of positive vibes and energy coming from this album.
Nice.

Out on Cuneiform.

www.cuneiformrecords.com

Available from Mandaï.

www.mandai.be

Check it out. Here's 'Space'.

DODSON AND FOGG

"Mystery" by Dodson and Fogg
Taken from the album THE CALL
Vocals, guitars, keyboards and percussion by Chris Wade and song written by Chris Wade
With Ricky Romain on sitar and Chloe Herington of Knifeworld on sax

DWALMACAT 537

The Dwalmacat Halloween special !!

http://www.mixcloud.com/Dwalmacat/dwalmacat-537-halloween-special/

MX-80 SOUND – Halloween
BARRY ADAMSON – The wrong side of relaxation
RICHARD BAND – Bomb shelter (from “Terrorvision”)
THE RESIDENTS – Phantom
RON GEESIN – Song of the wire
LES VAMPYRETTES – Biomutanten
KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI – Utrenja (excerpt from “The Shining”)
BOB McFADDEN & DOR – The mummy
RALPH DORPER – Assault
PIERO UMILIANI – Messaggio elettronico
TWO DAUGHTERS – Return call / We are
THE BEATLES – Revolution n°9
TUXEDOMOON – James Whale
DIE PARTEI – Allerheiligen
EURYTHMICS – Le sinistre
DAVID LYNCH – In heaven (excerpt from “Eraserhead”)
CAROLINER – Fingers of the underworld
FIBONACCIS – Terror vision
HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS – Bloodfeast
THROBBING GRISTLE – Beachy head
BAUDOUIN OOSTERLYNCK – Schuilhoek
R.ROOM & K.KANGAROO – Il est minuit

SINFONIEORCHESTER BASEL PLAYS FRANK ZAPPA

Sinfonieorchester Basel spielt Ausschnitte aus The Yellow Shark (1992) und The Adventures of Greggery Peccary

Feat. Jonathan Stockhammer, Leitung & David Moss, Stimme

Sa 09. November, 21.00 Uhr, Kaserne Basel www.kaserne-basel.ch

NORWEGIAN WIND ENSEMBLE TO RELEASE ZAPPA ALBUM

The Norwegian Wind Ensemble presented their new 'all-Zappa' album, "The Brass From Utopia - A Frank Zappa Tribute" during their Oslo, Horten and Sarpsborg concerts.

It's a ZFT-approved release and might be available during the ZpZ-tour.
That would be nice.

-- info: http://www.idiotbastard.com/news.htm

ALEX MACHACEK & GARY HUSBAND

Gary Husband (piano) and Alex Machacek (guitar) teamed up to create "Now".
The album is out on Abstract Logix.

http://www.abstractlogix.com/xcart/product.php?productid=25923

ZAPPANALE DVDS

Someone is offering some older DVDs and CDs of Zappanale Concerts on german ebay for a very 

friendly price - and there are some real gems to be found there.

Here's the link

http://www.ebay.de/sch/benaulin/m.html?item=321238548142&pt=DE_DVDs&hash=item4acb4f3eae&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

Unfortunately (for those in other countries) they seem to only send these to Germany.

-- info: Michael Bronner

ZAPPOSTROPHE 126

Our friends from the Czech Frank Zappa Fan Club have issued another issue of their Zappostrophe fanzine.
Here's a picture of the cover:

RAYMOND SCOTT MEETS SUN RA

OCTOBER 2013 : 200 MOTELS IN LONDON

Earlier this week, We hopped over to London for a couple of days. The obvious reason and scheduled hightlight was to be Frank Zappa’s “200 Motels”. We weren’t disappointed.

Zappa’s “200 Motels” should have been performed in London, at the Royal Albert Hall, in 1971. It got cancelled because someone at the Royal Albert Hall considered the performance “Outrageous filth”.
Zappa brought this breach of contract to trial and did win the case. Unfortunately, he did not receive any financial compensation as the court could not convict a royal institution.
The project got buried in the Zappa vaults…

Flash forward to June 2000.

After a couple of years of vaulternative investigations, and of searching and ordening the original scores (by Todd Yvega, Ali N.Askin and Joe Travers) the “200 Motels” piece did get its world premiere in Amsterdam.
A fabulous and memorable event. Part of the Holland Festival.

Flash forward to October 2013.

So when we heard that “200 Motels” would finally be performed in the UK, almost 15 years after our Amsterdam escapade, we didn’t hesitate too long. Three days of London, built around the concert, were booked.

Day one saw us arriving around 14:00 h at St.Pancras. After solving the subway puzzle and checking in at the hotel, we went for the mandatory walk in Oxford Street. Not exactly my cup of tea. I just followed the other half of the company. (Those of you who know her know that discussion is futile.)
The rest of Monday consisted of meeting up with Zjakki, checking out Denmark Street, enjoying an excellent Korean meal, and strolling through Soho and Chinatown. A fine start that got concluded with a lukewarm British beer.

Day two should have brought us to the Tate Modern museum. Fate (and a lot of guts) decided different.
Charing Cross Road, Trafalgar Square and the Hungerford Bridge took us to the Southbank, where the Royal Festival Hall is located. Following the Thames should have brought us to the Tate Modern. However, we got pulled away by a very impressive expo entitled “Indigenous Arts / Sustainable Acts” at the Bargehouse at the Oxo Tower Warf. Contemporary performance-based art. Loved it.

In the meantime, we had learned that “200 Motels” would have a dress rehearsal in the afternoon. From 14:30 h until 17:30 h.

We took a shot at it, and sneaked in.

picture: Al Fresco

At that time, there were about fifteen people in the hall. I recognised Gail Zappa, Diva, and Joe Travers. People were discussing and everyone was running around. We took a seat.

Musicians were slowly filling the stage. The BBC Concert Orchestra, The Southbank Sinfonia, The London Voices, the rock band (including Scott Thunes and Joe Travers). The various soloists / vocalists were waiting and hanging around next to the stage.

I think I also recognised Annie Whitehead who I once had the pleasure of meeting at my friend’s Danny’s house before a concert by The Wrong Object. My guerilla / camouflage state did keep me from socializing though…

Conductor Jurjen Hempel took the stage and didn’t waste any time. He started with a cut from ‘I’m Stealing The Room’ (?) before going to the very start, the ‘Overture’, and following the set sequence. There were a lot of interruptions and comments. I always thought a dress rehearsal would be more fluent.

To be quite honest, I wasn’t impressed at first. And it wasn’t just the technical (microphone) problems. The whole performance had bad dynamics. Ian Shaw and Brendan Reilly weren’t Flo & Eddie, and the other vocalists could hardly be heard. The rock musicians could be seen, but not be heard at all.

This did not look good.

Shortly before the 20-minute break, though, things started to look brighter again. Mainly because of soprano Claron McFadden. This lady can sing.

When I first heard Claron McFadden (at the 2000 Amsterdam performance), I had never heard of her before. The last ten years, she has been doing a lot of interesting projects. I haven’t seen any of the operas she took part in, but I did enjoy Corrie van Binsbergen’s “Over De Bergen”, and the Artvark Saxophone Quartet’s “Sly Meets Callas”, both of which featured Claron McFadden in a prominent role.

The rehearsal ended with ‘Penis Dimension’ and ‘Strictly Genteel’. Wow…

We left the hall around 17:30 h and returned (after a quick snack) for the pre-concert talk.

Hosted by Gillian Moore (chief of Classical Music at The Roundhouse), the event kicked off with Richard Strange, Jay Rayner & Tony Guilfoyle (three of the “200 Motels” vocalists) to perform ‘Drool, Britannia’, as taken from The Frank Zappa Real Book.
The threesome reenacted a part of the 1971 court hearing. Hilarious.

picture: Al Fresco

Next up was a chat with Jurjen Hempel, Scott Thunes, Joe Travers & Gail Zappa. Nice.

picture: Al Fresco

The concert itself started at 19:30 h. This time, we were seated somewhere around row 40, I guess. The second that the concert started, I knew things would turn out OK. The guys at the P.A knew their job. The London Voices vocal choir had been turned up. Percussion sounded better and the dynamics were good.

This was nice.

Again, the climax got triggered by Claron McFadden.
This was a very fine concert.

Claron McFadden - soprano

Tony Guilfoyle - Frank

Richard Strange - narrator, Rance

Ian Shaw - Mark

Brendan Reilly - Howard, Cowboy Burt

Sophia Brous - Groupie 1 (Janet), Larry the Dwarf

Diva Zappa - Groupie 2 (Lucy)

Jessica Hynes - Good Conscience, Donovan

Jay Rayner - Bad Conscience, Ginger

Scott Thunes - Jeff

BBC Concert Orchestra

Southbank Sinfonia

London Voices

Rock Band (including Joe Travers and Scott Thunes)

Jurjen Hempel - conductor

the program

Overture

Went On The Road

Centerville

Tuna Sandwich Suite

The Restaurant Scene

Touring Can Make You Crazy

What's The Name Of Your Group?

Can I Help You With This Dummy?

The Pleated Gazelle

I'm Stealing The Room

Shove It Right In

Penis Dimension

Strictly Genteel

picture: Chris Christodoulou

Day three had us walking through Soho again and visiting some comic book and record shops. I bought a 7” by Clear Spot, which I thought was a funny  name for a band.

We returned to Belgium in the afternoon.

Three days of London, including Zappa’s “200 Motels”.

Music is the best.

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oct/30/200-motels-frank-zappa-review

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/reviews/classical-review-200-motels-royal-festival-hall-london-8912881.html

http://www.theartsdesk.com/classical-music/frank-zappas-200-motels-royal-festival-hall