Ayu Gusfanz peforms Jeff Beck's 'Cause We've Ended As Lovers'...
A great tune and an amazing performance.
While I was still in awe, YouTube started another video of Ayu. This time performing Joe Satriani's 'Crying'. This girl can play. And she has a great taste in music.
beefus: santa can't (2020, download, --, bandcamp)
I received "Santa Can't" as a bonus (CDR) with my Beefus order a couple of months ago.
"Santa Can't" visits the fairytale world of Santa Claus and his elves. Another fine Beefus album with a thematic approach. As the cover art and album title suggest, the album tells the story of Santa who's having a problem with number two, his visit to the doctor, buying medicine on the dark web, and more. It's another sort of Christmas story...
On their Bandcamp page, Beefus add:
BEEFUS are a self-contained, virulently toxic collective of experienced musicians that were fertilized and grown in a Global Research Corp. lab deep in Lake Mendota near Madison, WI. Led by mutant ape-man Beefus, they make trans-human chest rubbing noises they call music.
The 8th Annual BEEFUS Holiday Radio Spectacular! This year, we present SANTA CAN'T, the suspenseful tale of Santa Claus and his Problematic Posterior! All-original songs and story. A full libretto is included with download.
Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius are returning to the stage.
SHOWS, SHOWS AND MORE SHOWS!!!
Ladies and Gentlemen, Stratospheerius is proud to announce that after a very long hiatus and barring unforeseen circumstances, we will be returning to the stage this fall! Three, count em, THREE NY-area shows!
Friday, Sept 24th - Olive's 118 N. Main St.- Nyack, NY
Sonic Voyage Fest with Ad Astra and Mile Marker Zero
9 P.M.
Tuesday, October 12th - Arlene's Grocery 95 Stanton St. - New York, NY
Sonic Voyage Fest with Ad Astra, Mile Marker Zero, and King Dutch
Thursday, October 21st - Crossroads
78 North Ave. - Garwood, NJ
Fusionfest with Andy Rothstein Band and One More Once
beefus: wrong number of heads (2016, cd, usa, private release)
"Wrong Number Of Heads" got released by Beefus in 2016.
In 2018, the band would release their version of Frank Zappa's 'More Trouble Every Day' on their "Busted Teeth Fandango" album. Listening to "Wrong Number Of Heads", one could have predicted that. Fun. Capital F.
Another audience recording of the Zappa Band turned up.
On Dime A Dozen :
2021-08-24, Symphony Music Hall, Springfield, MA
Mike Keneally, Scott Thunes, Joe Travers, Ray White, Jamie Kime, Robert Martin
Zomby Woof * Peaches en Regalia * Ain't Got No Heart * Marqueson's Chicken * Village of the Sun * Echidna's Arf (Of You) * City of Tiny Lites * Alien Orifice * Florentine Pogen * Andy
jaume de viala: sonoritat de mil miralls (2021, cd, spain, private release)
In the late seventies and early eighties of the previous century, Jaume de Viala was a member of Celobert Màgic, in which he not only played guitar but also provided most of the compositions.
"Sonoritat De Mil Miralls" revisits the music that once got recorded by Celobert Mágic, adding a progressive rock and jazz flavour. For the occasion, Jaume invited Judit Cucala (who was the singer for Celobert Mágic at the time), next to Dusan Jevtovic and Xavi Reija (who have both recorded several albums for the MoonJune Records label).
The result sounds good. Beautiful melodies. I really like the balance between the soothing vocals against the instrumentation and energy of the band.
frank zappa - the nordic stories by erland bekkelund, cege berglund, matti laipio, ole lysgaard, soren gaden (2020, book, norway, absolutt forlag)
The first edition of "Frank Zappa - The Nordic Stories" coffee table book got released in December 2020 in a numbered and signed edition of 300 copies. In the meantime, two more editions have been published.
The second edition saw the light of day in February 2021; 300 copies with 4 extra pages, some corrections and some changed pictures.
The third edition got published in June 2021. 100 copies with some more (minor) changes.
"Frank Zappa - The Nordic Stories" combines great pictures with fabulous stories. I loved reading it. It is indeed a coffee table book. Great to brows through, although I have to admit that I read it completely in one go.
As the book is sold out, the publisher is considering to print another 50 copies. You can pre-order the book at https://www.absoluttforlag.no/produkt/frank-zappa-the-nordic-concerts/? If the book is not to be printed, you'll get your money back. But Yuripean Union countries need to pay attention to the new EU tax rules as goods from Norway will be taxed entering the EU. You'll have to pay tax & handling by customs which might even be more that what the book costs !
Having only listened to Beefus' "Busted Teeth Fandango" album (the one where they cover FZ's 'Trouble Every Day), I was a bit afraid that they were doing their weird version of bluegrass music all of the time.
Fortunately, "The Itching Down Below" proves me all wrong. Released in 2012, the album presented 15 tracks. Experimental rock that will appeal to fans of Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, Zoogz Rift,...
Diane Papalia met Bob Zappa (Frank's brother) in 1986. They got married in 2013. Bob passed away in 2018. Diane wrote a book about her time with Bob: "The Married Widow".
The Jazz à l Villette festival (Paris, France) has been using the "Jazz Is Not Dead" slogan in various posters and flyers the last couple of years. I wonder if it smells funny. Great artwork.
This one's mentioned in the 3rd volume of The Others Of Invention books, but I don't recall mentioning it on the blog, so here we go : Madison, Wisconsin-based band BEEFUS’ instrumentation included a banjo, lap guitar, mandolin, trombone, washboard, and more. The band combined FZ’s ‘Trouble Every Day’ with ‘Freight Train Took Muh Legs’ on the “Busted Teeth Fandango” album.
As the album artwork suggests, Beefus went into BeefGrass mode...
Out on CD, but the album was also made available through Bandcamp.
Captain Cloud Productions put the trailer for "Frank Zappa's Greater Ontario" up on YouTube in 2015. Fascinating ! I do hope that it will be a possible to see the complete thing one day.
Maybe Captain Cloud Productions should contact Ahmet Zappa to see if there are opportunities for this documentary to be finished and/or released?
the norwegian wind ensemble: sketches of spain (2007, cd, norway, nor wind records)
It has been quite a while since I've given Miles Davis' "Sketches Of Spain" album a listen. This beautiful version by The Norwegian Wind Ensemble is making sure that I'll have to dig out the Miles Davis album as well in the near future.
The NWE performs all five pieces of the "Sketches Of Spain" album. Conducted by Maria Schneider and featuring Arve Henriksen on the trumpet. Beautiful.
Here's a recent performance of 'Concierto De Arajuez (Adagio)', the first piece of the album, by The Norwegian Wind Ensemble (AKA Det Norske Blåseensemble). With both Arve Henriksen and Maria Schneider !!
Dutch comic book artist Larie Cook recently released a mini-comic entitled "The White Page #1", a funny little tribute to the music of FZ.
In one of Larie's older comics, "Justin Case - The Geezer Comes Back #2", there is already a mention of FZ: "To Be Frank".
If you want to find out more about Larie Cook's artwork, you can find him on Facebook. Or you can visit comic book shop Lambiek in Amsterdam, NL. (they also have a website / webshop)
zappa - skutecna kniha franka zappy (2021, book, czech republic, czech frank zappa fanclub)
Limited to 150 copies, this Czech paperback book is a translation of The Real Frank Zappa book (plus some extra articles about FZ's relation to the Czech Republic). It looks great and I'm very happy with my copy. Especially as I did one of the prefaces. A fine addition to the United Mutations Archives.
Pierre Vervloesem's latest release is called "The Weight Of A Threatening Blue Sky". The album presents four lengthy tracks on which Pierre plays a melody or soundscape against a polyrhythmic dub vibe.
In the liner notes, Pierre advised using headphones and I totally agree. I love the sound of the bass and the percussion that shifts and moves around. The use of different percussion sounds feels like an injection of exotica flavours, especially in 'The Sky'. With the guitar on top, it results in a beautiful audio adventure.
sendelica: and man created god (2021, 2lp, uk, fruits de mer)
UK-based instrumental space rock / psychedelic band Sendelica caught my attention in 2017 when they contributed their version of Frank Zappa's 'Don't Eat The Yellow Snow" to a split 7" with Superfjord.
The band has just released a new album on the Fruits de Mer record label.
Available on CD, but as a 2LP set or as a digital download from Bandcamp, "And Man Created God", presents 9 tracks. As expected, each piece will take you on a journey. Slow and stretched, with melodies and sound clouds that are produced by the saxophone (Lee Relfe) and the guitar (Pete Bingham). No extra stimulant substances are needed. The music is enough. And that's how I like it.
The psychedelic experiment is continued in the various editions of this album: a picture disc CD, splattered vinyl editions, a clear vinyl edition, and more.
Scott Parker's new book is ready. Or almost ready.
Scott is producing a series of books that looks at all the recordings of Frank Zappa concert recordings that are circulating: setlists, special things that happened during the show, etceteras. He also lists the bootlegs that used material from these recordings. Quite an extensive work & series.
The latest volume, "Preposterous! Frank Zappa On Stage Vol. 8 - 1977-1978" has been announced on his website and should be available soon. The new U.S. postal rates & the new European custom rules might make this a difficult exercise when one wants to order the book.
On a side note, I added another picture of Scott's book series on the United Mutations Archives. I already had a picture up of Volume 2 (the "Strictly Genteel" book) that got published in 2007, but there was an CreateSpace/Amazon reprint in 2010 that had different artwork. I recently got hold of a copy.
In my opinion, the Manifesto record label is doing a fine job releasing Allan Holdsworth concerts on CD/DVD combined sets.
The latest additions to the United Mutations Archives are "Warsaw Summer Jazz Days '98" and "Frankfurt '86".
"Warsaw Summer Jazz Days '98" featured Holdsworth / Carpenter / Novak. It was the 2nd Manifosto - Holdsworth release. "Frankfurt '86" featured Holdsworth / Johnson / Husband / Akagi. It was the 3rd Manifesto-Holdsworth release. Earlier this year, "Leverkusen '97" got released. Next up is "Leverkusen 2010".
A couple of months ago, I ordered a couple of Eugene Chadbourne's latest releases.
Not only has Eugene Chadbourne a very specific and unique style of playing and performing, he's also an accomplished D.I.Y. (do it yourself) artist, producing his albums on CDR, packed in all sorts of paper work (from photocopied papers to reworked old cardboard vinyl covers) and distributing these from his home office or during his concerts.
His output is quite impressive and hard to follow, but I do try to keep track as he did tour with Jimmy Carl Black as 'The Jack And Jim Show" quite some years ago, and he's also known to play a lot of cover versions including tunes by my favorite artists.
Recorded during Jack and Jim’s final tour in Japan in 2008, at the Pit Inn club in Tokyo, Japan. Featuring Eugene Chadbourne on banjo, guitar, vocals and rake, and Jimmy Carl Black on drums and vocals, "Zappa Day" presented an (almost) all-Zappa set.
Part one of two, "The Dust Blows Forward", and including the Captain Beefheart piece with the same name. Featuring Schroeder and Jan Fitsen on a couple of tracks...
Part two of Two, "The Dust Blows Back", including another version of the same Captain Beefheart tune. It also includes two Frank Zappa pieces, featuring Jimmy Carl Black.
penguin cafe orchestra: union cafe (1993, cd, uk, zopf)
I have heard some albums by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, but their "Union Cafe" album was new to me. Fascinating, eclectic.
"Union Café" was their seventh album. The first album by Simon Jeffes & The Penguin Orchestra, "Music From The Penguin Café", got released in 1976 !!
The Penguin Cafe Orchestra (PCO) was founded by British composer Simon Jeffes (1949 - 1997). Born in Sussex, England, and raised in Canada and around Europe, Jeffes began playing the guitar at the age of 13 and then studied classical guitar, piano, and music theory at Chiswick Polytechnic, but dropped out before graduating.
While living in Japan in 1972, he developed an interest in ethnic music, particularly African styles, and decided to try to merge those styles with more traditional Western sounds. He launched the PCO as an outlet for his compositions with this eclectic hybrid approach. He always said that the "Penguin Cafe" concept was one that came to him in a dream while he was suffering from food poisoning in the south of France in the summer of 1972, after which he wrote a poem that began, "I am the proprietor of the Penguin Cafe, I will tell you things at random." He described the music of the group as "modern semi-acoustic chamber music."
miles davis: call it what it is (1995, cd, italy, jazz music yesterday)
Miles Davis' "Call It What It Is" album finds Miles and his band at The Jazz Workshop in Boston, MA. The year is 1973 and the band features Dave Liebman on sax, Reggie Lucas on guitar, Pete Cosey on guitar and percussion, Mike Henderson on bass, Al Foster on drums and James Forman on percussion.
Three tracks, by Miles, totaling over fifty minutes. Wow !!
asaf sirkis: solar flash (2021, cd, usa, moonjune records)
UK-based drummer and composer Asaf Sirkis has just released a new album. "Solar Flash" presents 8 tracks and exhibits some fine jazz-infused prog rock.
Next to Asaf Sirkis, the album features Gary Husband on keyboard and Kevin Glasgow on bass, plus special guests Sylwia Bialas on vocals and Mark Wingfield on guitar.
Great stuff. Beautiful, mysterious, and constantly changing compositions. And having Sylwia Bialas on vocals on three of the tracks adds an extra flavour.
Recommended listening. Available from Moonjune. Both on CD and as digital download from Bandcamp. Check it out.
The Jive Monkey Cartel is guitarist and composer Tory Slusher’s project. The Jive Monkey Cartel's “Cover Conglutinate” album included Tory's version of FZ’s ‘Amnerika’. A digital iTunes release. A fine addition to The Others Of Invention.
On the same album, Tory also did a fusion version of Steve Vai's 'The Crying Machine'.
MAGMA “ESKÄHL 2020 Bordeaux - Toulouse – Perpignan” 2CD Available August 27, 2021!
Music legends Magma will be releasing a new live album “ESKÄHL 2020 Bordeaux - Toulouse – Perpignan” on August 27, 2021!
February 29, 2020, like wild animals, we rushed to the Penmarc'h hall, the first concert of our tour. Then came Nantes, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Perpignan and Saint-Étienne. Each evening, the group, sharp as a blade, asked only to “do battle”! At Besançon, our momentum was broken by a setback, out of tempo.
ESKAHL is a testimony of these concerts, of this new MAGMA with a recomposed line-up, more alive than ever!
Magma is there, will always be there.
And nothing! No, nothing will stop us!
The Zappa Band is touring. A recording of the August 23, 2021 concert, where they opened for King Crimson, has just surfaced.
Zappa Band - 2021 08 23 - Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), Saratoga Springs, NY Recorded by Hunting Sound Man
Ray White (lead vocals, guitar), Mike Keneally (guitar, keys, vocals), Scott Thunes (bassist), Robert Martin (keyboards, sax, vocals), Jamie Kime (guitar) and Joe Travers (drums, vocals).
intro-tuning * Zomby Woof * Peaches en Regalia * Ain't Got No Heart * Marque-son's Chicken * Village of the Sun * Echidna's Arf (Of You) * City of Tiny Lites * Alien Orifice * Florentine Pogen * Andy * band introduction and finale
la filosofia di frank zappa by stefano marino (2014, book, italy, mimesis edizioni)
Adding another book to the personal archive, and a picture to the United Mutations Archive, here's Stefano Marino's "La Filosofia Di Frank Zappa". 150-page pocket book. I really need to learn some Italian...
In the mid-eighties, California-based band Private Parts (featuring Dawayne Bailey on guitar and vocals) recorded FZ's 'My Guitar'. It got released on their "Dancing The Marmara" album in 1986. Out on LP and on CD.
The track could also be found on the 1994 "Produced By Jeffrey Weber - Volume Five" promotional CD sampler where it got re-titled to "My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mother" (!!). I only recently learned about this and was happy to acquire a copy (from the late Tom Brown's collection).
Taking a small leap here to 1982 when Dawayne Bailey released a track called 'The Captain Beefheart Ceremonial Shuffle' as the B-side on his "Revenge Of The Nurds" 7". Dawayne sure has a good taste in music.
In 2002, Dawayne released "Sketch" a collection of rare tracks that featured Jimmy Carl Black and Stefan Signer. Taking a bigger leap now: If you're unfamiliar with Stefan Signer's Infrasteff band, you should definitely try to find his "I Ain't Gonna Work No More At The Gas Station" album !
Eclectic Music Ensemble The Vegetarians Release New Album “Bill Haley”
The Vegetarians is a project lead by Hans Annellsson, composer & musician from Sweden, working together with several different singers such as John Tabacco, Robin Schell, John Crowe, Marc Mollan, John Marshall Gibbs and Napoleon Murphy Brock. The project started around 2000 as a vehicle for recording some prog covers of YES, Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Genesis, ELP, Adrian Belew, Peter Hammill etc. The prog covers can be found on the albums “Remustered & Remixed Salad” and “The Calling”.
The new album, “Bill Haley,” a mixture of Prog/Alternative/Classic Rock, consists of fourteen original songs, mostly written by Annellsson-Tabacco, and one cover written by Susan DeVita. The recording was done by sending files back and forth. John recorded all his vocals at his studio in Long Island and Hans recorded his parts at Annellssongs studio, the mix being done at Studio Loftet in Malmö, Sweden. There are plenty of musicians on the album, most notably Morgan Ågren (Devin Townsend, Mats/Morgan Band, Zappa’s Universe) on drums, Mats Öberg (Mats/Morgan Band, Zappa’s Universe) on keyboards & harmonica and Dan Bornemark on keyboards.
The Vegetarians performed at the “Zappanale Festival” in Germany in 2011, and hope to perform there again in the future.
European band City Weezle will be releasing their second album, "No.2", shortly.
In the meantime, I'm checking out their first album as well as their self-titled demo.
Am I the only one who started humming 'Go Cry On Somebody Else's Shoulder' around 3 minutes and 30 seconds into 'Nimformation', the 9th track on the album?
Cordelia Records did it again ! "Would You Like A Snack?" is another fine tribute to the music of Frank Zappa. Compiled by Andrew Greenaway and released by Alan Jenkins on his Cordelia Records label, the album celebrates the 50th anniversary of FZ's "200 Motels" with contributions of artists that were to appear at the 2021 edition of the Moo-Ah Festival. I love it.
The album kicks off with a couple of amazing performances!! The Fraz Knapp's Fusion Project produced a fabulous mash-up of 'Overture', 'She Painted Up Her Face', 'Half A Dozen Provocative Squats', 'What Will This Evening Bring Me This Morning', 'Magic Fingers' and 'This Town Is A Sealed Tuna Sandwich'; Mike Kidson does an amazing thing with toys, performing 'Mystery Roach'; Z.E.R.O.'s rendition of 'What's The Name Of Your Group' is my favourite track (at least for today), with Juliana Brandon on vocals. Instant goosebumps. Occasional band Johnny Hawk & The Pavement Oysters add 'Would You Like A Snack?': perfect whistling by Andrew G., and superb backing by Treacherous Cretins' Sam Ward & John Parkinson, and Z.E.R.O.'s Kevin Crosby. Burger & The Beast contributed a laid-back version of 'Lonesome Cowboy Burt'. Aunty Owl (Helen Tate & Graham Davis) deliver a short and impressive experimental / psychedelic version of 'Dew On The Newts We Got '/ 'Little Green Scratchy Sweaters & Courduroy Ponce' / 'A Nun Suit Painted On Some Old Boxes' / 'Lucy's Seduction Of A Bored Violinist & Postlude'.
Next up is Hakan Tuna with a medley of 'She Painted Up Her Face' / 'Janet's Big Dance Number' / 'Half A Dozen Provocative Squats'. Impressive but unfortunately a bit shaky in the vocal part. The album continues with Valentina Ciardelli's version of 'Mysterioso'. Great !!
The London Zappa Collective brings a live version of 'Shove It Right In' to the "Would You Like A Snack?" collection. If I'm not mistaken, I was at the Moo-Ah edition where this got recorded. I remember finding their performance a bit sloppy. This recording confirms that I was right. Aunty Owl returns with a rather dissonant version of 'Lucy's Seduction Of A Bored Violinisit'.
The next track is another highlight: Treacherous Cretins with their fine recording of 'What Will This Evening Bring Me This Morning'. And again, Aunty Owl. This time with 'A Nun Suit Painted On Some Old Boxes'. Nice.
The pace is picked up again with Turbulator's percussive version of 'Magic Fingers'. This is great!! The album goes into the final section with Dan Spanner's great version of 'Daddy, Daddy, Daddy'. With the horns supplying a doo-wop backing. Hans Annéllsson & Mats Öberg (and Pia Aprea on vocals!!) are next up with the Zappa-approved translated version of 'Penis Dimension'. Previously released by Hans Annéllson in 2005. Aunty Owl continue with the experimental 'Little Green Scratchy Sweaters' and then it's up to Fred Händl to add a solo piano version of 'Strictly Genteel'. Nice. Very nice. The end, as it should be, is reserved for the Muffin Men with their 'Squats Medley'.
John adds: "Two "love song" types: One, a cover of an early "Wings" song and the other, a reasonable ballad that was relaxing to compose. This coupling seemed like a no-brainer."
prince: welcome 2 america (2021, cd, europe, sony)
I've been playing this album at least once every couple of days for the past couple of weeks. It's another essential Prince album. And than my pal Harald sent me this YouTube link to 'Inglewood Swinging', taken from the blu-ray. I was pretty impressed by it & ordered the deluxe upgrade (2 lp / cd / blu-ray).
The package comes in a 12" hard-cover fold-out that presents the vinyl, the CD and blu-ray (each in a seperate cardboard sleeve), booklet, picture, poster and more paraphernalia (ticket stub,...). Nice, but the cherry on the proverbial cake is the blu-ray !
dave sinclair: hook-line & sinclair (2021, cd, uk, dscincs)
Prog rock / Canterbury legend Dave Sinclair (of Wilde Flowers, Caravan, Matching Mole and Camel fame) has released another solo album. "Hook-Line & Sinclair" presents 12 ballads, most of which were written for his wife.
Here's an example of what Dave's music sounds like nowadays, taken from one of his earlier solo albums.
the kandinsky effect: pax 6 (2017, cd, usa, ropeadope)
International trio The Kandinsky Effect released their latest album (their fourth release) a couple of years ago, already. Warren Walker (sax, synth, effects), Gael Petrina (bass, effects) and Caleb Dolister (drums) create a beautiful sound, melding electronic music and jazz.
The below YouTube video described their music as "The brainchild of saxophonist Warren Walker, the Kandinsky Effect, creates dark, groove-oriented, downtempo jazz soundscapes anchored by the steady pulse of bassist Gael Petrina and drummer Caleb Dolister. "
Aka Moon recorded "Live At The Kaai" in 1993. The album got released the same year. For some reason or another, this amazing CD was not included in the Aka Moon 20 "Constellations Box" that got released in 2017. If I'm not mistaken, physical copies of the "Live At The Kaai" album are still available through label owner Guy Segers' Bandcamp page.
Founded by saxophonist Vincent Brijs, BRZZVLL have been a household name in Antwerp and the Belgian jazz scene since 2008 but after a fifteen-year period, the sextet has decided to embark on a new chapter in their story with a name change and new line-up. Enter Lucid Lucia, named after Brijs’ eldest daughter and also the name of a track which first appeared on BRZZVLL’s album ‘First Let's Dance’.
2021
20.Aug Kulturfestival X, Aachen DE
21.Aug. Musikfestwochen Winterthur CH
11.Sept Festival Onze+, Lausanne CH
17.Sept Festival St.Wendel DE 05.Nov. Murs du Son, La Chaux-de-fonds CH 06.Nov Guggenheim, Liestal CH
11.Nov Le Singe, Biel-Bienne CH
12.Nov Moods, Zürich CH
13.Nov KFM, Glarus CH
19.Dez Bee-Flat Im Progr, Bern CH
2022
20.Jan Tonne, Dresden DE
21.Jan Theaterstübchen, Kassel DE
22.Jan Centralstation, Darmstadt DE
23.Jan Unterfahrt München DE
24.Jan Jazz am See, Allensbach DE
26.Jan A-Trane, Berlin DE
27.Jan Jazzdock, Prague CZ
28.Jan Porgy & Bess, Vienna AT
29.Jan BMC, Budapest HU
The first night of the Ghent-BE-based Boomtown festival is an Unday record label night. August 24, 2021. It will feature Dans Dans and Millionaire to name just two.
Saturday had us driving to Longwy for a concert of ZBMF (short for Zappy Birthday Mister Frank).
When the announcement popped up on Facebook several weeks ago, I didn’t immediately think of going. Longwy is a 260 km drive from where I live.
On the other hand, a dear friend of mine lost his battle to cancer last week. We had been roommates at Zappanale for a couple of years when the Zappateers were all staying in the same house. Fun times and great memories. I have lost too many friends the last couple of years. There’s only one message: Enjoy life while you can.
As a result, we drove from the northern part of Belgium to the most southern part.
Longwy is a small French village on the French/Belgian border. To avoid COVID hassles or extra tests, we decided to book a stay in an hotel on the Belgian side of the border.
Being on the early side, we checked in at the hotel, had a meal and drove to Longwy to stroll around the town. During our walk, we passed the school where the concert was scheduled. To my surprise, there was a soundcheck going on. I could hear it, but I could not see the band. And I did not recognize the music that was being performed. I did remember some Facebook messages about an incorrect date for the ZBMF concert. Was this the wrong date? Was this a different band?
8 PM, two European / Belgian COVID certificates that could not be read by the kind people that worked the entrance (but they let us in anyway), and about twenty people waiting to get in.
8h15 PM, an open-air primary school playing ground, a huge stage and an Ibanez Steve Vai-model guitar on the stage. The booklet said “ZBMF”, so what about that soundcheck? The location looked fine. The weather was great and there was an expo showing artwork by Vincent Vanoli (who also illustrated the program booklet)
8h40 PM, guitar player Sterpi (and his digital pre-recorded backing band) opened. This also explained the soundcheck confusion.
He was unannounced and not even mentioned in the program booklet, but Sterpi delivered a fine set of (mostly) guitar instrumentals. Original pieces plus some feel-good cover versions (Santana, Doobie Brothers). Nice summer evening stuff. http://sterpi.e-monsite.com/
9h++ PM, ZBMF took the stage and played an impressive set for about 50 to 100 people.
Manu Eveno (guitar and vocals), Vincent Milleret (drums), Drayen Labie (7-string guitar), Arnaud Gravet (keyboard & vocals), Stéphane Babiaud (percussion) and Rémi Viala (bass).
Deathless Horsie * I'm The Slime * City Of Tiny Lites * Chunga's Revenge (incl. audience participation) * Catholic Girls * Filthy Habits * Pick Me, I'm Clean * Village Of The Sun * Let's Move To Cleveland * Peaches En Regalia * Cosmik Debris * Zomby Woof * Montana * Dancing Fool encore My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama (with Sterpi)
It was pretty amazing how ZBMF was able to get the Longwy crowd thrilled. Performing a fine set of Frank Zappa tunes, adding a bit of Bee Gees, Manu conducting the band and the audience, a snippet of 'Inca Roads' inserted in 'Pick Me, I'm Clean',... Loved it.
We had a great time. Thank you, ZBMF.
And forget about me telling you about the 260 km drive. ZBMF had to do 600 km to return home...
Zappy Birthday Mister Frank does a great job keeping the music of Frank Zappa alive. The band has not released any albums, although their Zappanale concert from 2016 was made available on DVDR by the Zappanale video team at the time. On a sidenote, and more than just noteworthy: Drummer Vincent Milleret's Chawata project (or Chawata's Brutal Jazz Orchestra as some might call it) released two albums: "Sadovsky Masovitch" (dedicated to Frank Zappa), and "Portuguese Shower". Both should be considered essential listening for Zappa freaks.
As you can imagine, both the ZBMF Zappanale DVDR and the FZ-dedicated "Sadovsky Masovitch" album are mentioned in The Others Of Invention book series.
If you want to check ZBMF out, visit YouTube, where you can also find Manu Evano's special guest appearance at a 2015 Dweezil Zappa Plays Zappa concert !
Manu with his Gibson SG Frank Zappa signature model. He used the same guitar at the Longwy concert (except for his Ibanez Steve Vai signature model that he plugged in for the encore).
The very same Equinox record label that is releasing the Miles Davis' "Live Under The Sky '87" album, recently did a Chick Corea album entitled "Live Under The Sky '79". Should we see this as a trend? Is this a new stream of so-called radio show releases?
The Chick Corea album got recorded in Tokyo in 1979 and features Chick Corea (keyboards), Al Di Meola (guitar), Tony Williams (drums) and Bunny Brunel (bass).
A message from Secret Records: We pressed these new comp / sampler CDs mainly for The Residents - Dog Stab Tour buuuuut the US dates were just cancelled. That's alright. This will be added to any order for free! Listed here for $1 but really just order something else and you will get it for free.
J.M.Smig released the first version of his “Sit On A Single” compilation in 2015, adding tracks on a regular basis. Recently, FZ's ‘Dog Meat’ and ‘Peaches En Regalia’ got added. Both tracks had already been made available on his 2019 “Unsmigitated Audacity” album.