ONE OF THE ZAPPANALE HIGHLIGHTS - - - DAVID CROSS BAND

July 20, 2024

 

PRINCE - WELCOME TO AMERICA

From 2010.
Prince, with Tal Wilkenfeld on bass.
'Welcome to America'

 

DEL CASHER UPDATE

Del Casher, who performed with Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention in their early years, has  recently released more music through Bandcamp.

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PANOPTICON

The Off record label has been releasing albums by Domenico Solazzo's PaNoPTICoN project at a nice pace.
The most recent one in this series of improvised music, "Live @ D.N.A.", presents 8 pieces.

Check it out.

JOHN TABACCO - WHAT'S ALL THIS THEN?

John Tabacco has made another album available on Bandcamp.
It's called "What's All This Then?" and includes John experimenting with AI.

Here's 'Temporal Floundering'

by The Frog Hollow Gumbo Umbrellas

The band name and the (fictional) names of some of the participating musicians do give away what John's intentions were with this track.

Featuring

• Zanky Frappacino : Guitar
• Nian Overwood : Winds
• Garden Variety Bunkster : Winds
• Gianni Guru Guru : Drums
• Bass: Axe Benedict
• JT : Percussion - Edits

 

A RESIDENTS UPDATE FROM CHERRY RED RECORDS

A Residents update from Cherry Red Records

Welcome to another exciting update from the desk (OK, cupboard) of New Ralph Too and all things Residents.

You may have noticed our Eyeballed heroes have announced an unexpected new EP, titled 'Dookietown'. What?! Well yes, it's true - recorded in secret over the spring, the new material actually has its conceptual origins as part of the whole 'Freak Show', 'Bad Day' arc. One way or another it never quite reached fruition at the time, but was recently re-remembered, re-animated and re-worked. The results are delightful, and you can find out all about it, pre-order and generally salivate over the prospect of the group's first new music in a while

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/the-residents-dookietown-10-inch-vinyl-ep

As we speak, our ocular occultists are also busy finishing up their forthcoming sure-to-be-classic new album 'Dr Dark'. Final recording sessions are booked, and the group plan to, and I quote, "get this fucker finally finished" over the summer - the extended narrative album is still shrouded in secrecy, but what we can tell you is that the whole thing revolves around a couple of heavy metal kids and an insomniac Russian physician, and that it features more songs about guns than the average Residents album. More news on all of that as it comes in!

As if that wasn't enough, their recent 'Demons Dance Alone' pREServed release is also ticking all the right boxes, judging by the tsunami (a small one) of complimentary fan mail we've received on the subject - again, you can find out all you need to know and snaffle a copy RIGHT HERE.

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/the-residents-demons-dance-alone-3cd-preserved-edition

And then..... what next? Well, one might imagine some shows for the new album, maybe some more 'Eskimo' live performances, a new film and a new book in the pipeline, a new Record Store Day release already on the table, Klanggalerie's forthcoming 'Dog Stab' tour release and the usual fountain of ideas and inspirations we've all come to expect from The Residents. Oh, and here's one for the extreme collector of all things Residential - a delightful chap named Matti Eklund, Chair Professor of Theoretical Philosophy at Uppsala University, has recently published a new book titled 'Alien Structure - Language And Reality' which features specially commissioned Porno Graphics cover artwork. It looks remarkable, and the subject itself seems like something the average highly intelligent Residents fan might be into - check it out on your search engine of choice.

 
And last but not least, the forthcoming and sure-to-sell-a-million Ralph Records 1972-1982 box set from Cherry Red. Packed with all your Ralph favourites, and some unreleased material from Schwump, Snakey, MX-80 Sound and even the delightful Gary Panter. How lucky we are! Watch the skies for that one. In the meantime, let's all enjoy the ridiculous unlikeliness of our own existences whilst we enjoy another FREE offering from The Residents' basement archive. This is a REALLY weird one, in that nobody recalls anything about it, who was present during the recording, or even what the song is (hence it not being included on any pREServed release). The tape tracking sheet tells us it was recorded sometime prior to May 1978, and carries the title 'Another Unknown Non-Masterpiece', but that's all we have to go on. But it's a fun listen, and may slot into your extensive digital Residents archive somewhere between 'Duck Stab' and 'Buster & Glen', at a guess. You can find it through the link below.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/jtvaxss2wyb5z504fs12k/The-Residents-Another-Unknown-Non-Masterpiece.mp3 

Enjoy, stay cool, and tell your friends!
Your pals @ New Ralph Too

ONE OF THE ZAPPANALE HIGHLIGHTS - - - GONG

Including a couple of Frank Zappa references...

ALIENO DE BOOTES ON BANDCAMP

Unconventional Residents II
by ALIENO DE BOOTES

An excellent tribute to The Residents.

Released on CD on the Klanggalerie record label a couple of months ago,
and now also available on Bandcamp !

 

ONE OF THE ZAPPANALE HIGHLIGHTS - - - ENSEMBLE FUSE WITH NAPOLEON MURPHY BROCK

Fuse plus Napoleon Murphy Brock.
The entire Zappanale concert.
Audience video plus soundboard audio.
Wow !!

Z.E.R.O. - ALTERNATIVES

• Z.E.R.O.: alternatives
      (2024, cdr, USA, private release)

The good news is that Kevin Crosby has gone through the various recordings of the Zappa Early Renaissance Orchestra and that he has compiled an album with demos, alternative versions, etcetera.

The result is album #7 for Z.E.R.O. and a beautiful mix of some of your favourite Frank Zappa tunes.

From sequencer demos, over instrumental versions, to tracks that figure guest from all over the Zappa community.
Kevin prepared a limited number (42) of CDRs that have been distributed (at Zappanale, a.o.), and I'm quite happy that I have number 34.

And it gets even better. The Cordelia Records label is releasing this very same album.
Check out the Cordelia web shop.

https://www.cordeliarecords.co.uk/Pages/Buy%20Records.html

01. King Kong 

02. Dirty Love
03. My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama
04. Oh No
05. Trouble Every Day
06. Who Needs The Peace Corps?
07. Spider Of Destiny \ Zappanale #32.5 Mix
08. Teen-Age Wind
09. Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance
10. Pygmy Twylyte
11. Toccats and Swing
12. Teen-Age Wind (demo)
13. Centerville
14. America Drinks / Bowtie Daddy
15. Village Of The Sun
16. Regyptian Strut
17. The My Dog Supreme Trilogy+

(and a hidden 'answering machine' track no. 18)

PRINCE - THE BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCE

• prince: the beautiful experience
      (1994, cdep, europe, npg records)

The day started with Prince's "The Beautiful Experience" 7-track CD EP.
7 remixes of 'The Most Beautiful Girl In The World'.
7 pieces that sound quite different, and perfect.

 

THE EUROPEAN GUITAR QUARTET RECORDED A ZAPPA TUNE FOR THEIR UPCOMING ALBUM

‘Father O‘Blivion‘ is the first single of the EUROPEAN GUITAR QUARTET‘s upcoming album ‘Fourtune‘ (Doctor Heart Music). Originally written by Frank Zappa, arranged for four guitars by Christian Buchmann and Thomas Fellow. Video by Javier Sobremazas.

 

NEW RESIDENTS EP ANNOUNCED

To be released on the Cherry Red record label.

THE RESIDENTS: DOOKIETOWN, 10 INCH VINYL EP

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART - THE SPOTLIGHT KID

There's a relatively new record store in Turnhout, BE.
Groefwerk.
All new vinyl, including lots of re-issues and more special releases.
They also had a copy of the recent Record Store Day re-issue of Captain Beefheart's "The Spotlight Kid".
2 LP on clear vinyl.
(I said 'had', because they don't have it anymore...)

The second (bonus) disc has instrumental and/or alternate versions.
Nice.

JOHN TABACCO - MUSIC IZ MUSIC

John Tabacco's latest release.

 

DWEEZIL ZAPPA INTERVIEW

From AZ Central

Frank Zappa was a genius. Dweezil Zappa is making sure we don't forget

https://eu.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/07/25/dweezil-zappa-tour-2024-phoenix-interview/74448074007/

-- info: Facebook

FRANK ZAPPA FOR PRESIDENT

"Frank Zappa For President".
Re-issued in three colour variations.White, blue and red.
These arrived a couple of minutes ago. I had ordered two copies, hoping that I would get two different colours, and that worked out fine.

THE 180Gs

 In 2019, The 180Gs released an a cappella version of The Residents' "Commercial Album".

More recently, they reworked Captain Beefheart's "Trout Mask Replica" album.

The 2023 medley:

The 2024 final release:
Also out on CD in a limited edition of 150 copies !

J.M. SMIG RELEASED AN UPDATED VERSION OF HIS 'ZAPPACRITE' PIECE ON SOUNDCLOUD

J.M. Smig:  

Latest revision oF "Zappacrite": 

soundcloud.com/sophischizo/j-m-smig-zappacrite

TAF PROJECT - WE ARE NOT ALONE

TAF Project @ Ikebukuro Jazz Festival
Sunday May 19th, 2024 @ 16:30
Global Ring Theatre
Toshima City, Tokyo, Japan

VALENTINA SCHELDHOFEN CIARDELLI UPDATE

Classically trained musician (and double bass professor at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London), Valentina Scheldhofen Ciardelli performs live on a regular basis.
Check out the dates on her website:

https://www.valentinaciardelli.com/events

Valentina often includes Frank Zappa compositions in her programs, so check out her website.

Next to the Italian locations, Valentina will also be performing in the UK, in Hong Kong and in The Netherlands.

July 27 - Church Stretton Arts Festival String quintet
Church Stretton Arts Festival

September 10 - ORO - How I Met PucciniⓇ 
Oriental fascination and Giacomo Puccini
金 - 我如何遇見普契尼 Ⓡ 
東方的魅力與賈科莫·普契尼
ORO -How I met Puccini
Jockey Club Auditorium
Hong Kong

November 17 - Duo Recital: An evening for double bass and clarinet.
Libanon Lyceum
Stichting Muzikc
Rotterdam

FRANK ZAPPA FOR PRESIDENT RE-RELEASE ON COLOURED VINYL

To be released on the 26th of July, 2024:

 

MAKE WAY FOR MOTHER MALLARD

"Make Way For Mother Mallard - 50 Years Of Music" is the title of the upcoming release by Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co / David Borden on the Cuneiform Records label.

Here's the teaser:

NICK DIDKOVSKY PRODUCED A VIDEO FOR HIS LATEST ALBUM

PROFANE RIDDLES - "What Is Revealed..." (visualization video)

"Profane Riddles" is Nick Didkovsky's new album of electric guitar music, available at Bandcamp.

the Bandcamp page:

TWO NEW PIECES BY EIDON

Eidon
'Beat Mixers'

Eidon
'Niu:Mu'

HOMO ZAPPIENS

The musical guest of recent symposium that was held in Brezno was the project of Martin Novák, guitarist from the well-known band Sto Múch. 

His project is called Homo Zappiens ( Denisa Jelínková - transverse flute (BR), Martin Novák - guitar (BB), Vincent Andreutti - percussion (BR). 

HOMO ZAPPIENS are musicians who joyfully interpret in colourful instrumentation, chamber spirit and their own arrangements selected compositions of Frank Zappa in the sense of the motto "music is the best".

-- info & picture : Bohous

 

AISLES

'Upside Down' from Aisles' "Live In London 2016" album.

ANOTHER TRIP TO ZAPPANALE - PART 8

Another trip to Zappanale – Part 8.

Sunday, July 21
“ Music Is The Best”

The third morning concert at the expo room was Inventionis Mater, the Italian duo / trio that had already performed at the festival ground on Saturday, with special guest Napoleon Murphy Brock.

Inventionis Mater has produced an excellent series of Frank Zappa tribute albums.
Albums that belong in every Frank Zappa music collection.
This concert, once again, proved that they are a top act. On album, but also live.

When we arrived at the Rennbahn / the festival around 13h30, German duo Phyt was playing at the mystery stage.
Sax & drums.
Loops & layers and a fine vibe.
It sounded really good.

Phyt, a YouTube video from two years ago:

Around 14h30 Big Band GveriLLas took the stage. This was a band that I really wanted to check out.
They're from Ljubljana and they don't have an album or a demo out.
When I asked them, they told me that they had recorded some material especially for YouTube.

Here's one of these YouTube vids:

And there original tunes were amazing.
Beautiful melodies, packed in a rich big band sound.

Here's the YouTube / studio version of '121.110':

Big Band GveriLLas, a name to remember.
Here's 'Sinister Footwear', a piece that they als performed during their Zappanale set.

The music continued with Fused Tio, the sax / guitar / drum trio from Lithuania.
Perfect festival music.

The final act of Zappanale #33 was Frank Out!, the German Frank Zappa tribute band.
I've seen these guys in concert a number of times already, and they always deliver.
Having Napoleon Murphy Brock (with whom they toured) as special guest was of course the icing on the cake.

 

In case you haven't seen it, here's Frank Out!'s contribution to the digital / on-line Zappanale that was held four years ago.

After their concert, Frank Out! stayed on the stage to support the final jam session, or Good-Bye session as it's called.
This can be messy and confusing, but the band (and Thomas Jung) did a great job here. Together with musicians from Inventionis Mater, Miserable Husos, Jeff Hollie, Pygmy Twylyte, and with Napoleon Murphy Brock, the expanded rock band soloed through some familiar Zappa tunes.

A very nice ending of an impressive edition of Zappanale.

I didn't even mention all the friends we saw and talked to, the friendly crew and organization, or the fine stuff that I bought or received.
What an amazing experience. Again.

Music IS the best.

Next edition, July 17 - 20, 2025.
See you there.

ANOTHER TRIP TO ZAPPANALE - PART 7

Another trip to Zappanale – Part 7.
Saturday, July 20
“ Who the heck is Chuck Barris”

Zappanale-Saturday opened with a concert by the Jeff Hollie Quartet at the expo room.
Or was it going to be a Fred Händl solo concert?
Opinions were divided (and I guess that even Fred didn’t know until he arrived).
In the end, it was decided that the number of musicians would determine who would actually play.
Lucky for us (although I don’t mind Fred doing a solo concert), the entire quartet showed up and they redid some of the tunes from their Friday concert.
Was it the more intimate setting? Was it the lack of a microphone that limited Jeff’s parlando vocals? It's hard to tell the exact reason, but I liked this concert way more than the Friday / mystery stage one.
Another excellent start of the day.

Later, in the afternoon, we were just in time to enjoy the Miserablen HuSos at the main stage. The MHS perform Frank Zappa’s songs with altered lyrics, in German. They even have a little booklet out with the lyrics, but that didn’t help me much.

Still, fun to see and hear. And the parts that I do / did understand are / were funny.


In the future, this particular edition of Zappanale might be remembered as the Napoleon Murphy Brock edition.
Napoleon performed with Fuse at St Katharinen in Hamburg on Wednesday.
On Friday, he did another show with Ensemble Fuse, this time on the main stage at Zappanale, and on Saturday, he teamed up with Inventionis Mater for a concert at the mystery stage.
And if all goes well, NMB will guest with Frank Out! on Sunday evening, also on the main stage.
Inventionis Mater with NMB, is a fine combination.
For the occasion Pierpaolo and Andra had brought along a double bass player. Add Napoleon and you get a beautiful quartet. The music was approached from a classical angle (clarinet, classical guitar & double bass) but also included some psychedelic fuzz guitar and other mother-esque excursions (including a sequencer / sampler).
I loved it.

The nice thing about Zappanale, is that you get a bit of everything, but all from the same progressive rock, modern jazz, or zappa corner.
For the fans of King Crimson, the David Cross band had been scheduled.
They’re also scheduled to perform at the MoonJune Records festival that will be held in Toledo next September.

And then it was time for another highlight: The Wrong Object.
This time, the band included trumpet player Bart Maris (who one might also know from Flat Earth Society). Original material plus some Zappa stuff.
My cup of tea.
Special guest Steve Kettley (from Orange Claw Hammer & Pygmy Twylyte joined for the final two pieces.
Amazing.

Our day ended with a portion of Gong. I remembered seeing them with Daevid Allen once, and that hadn’t convinced me.
This time, however, fronted by Kavus Torabi on guitar and vocals, they sounded quite impressive.
I caught the ‘Muffin Man’ riff in one of the tunes and Kavus even played the intro to another Zappa tune between two songs, which proved that he knew where he was playing.
As one has to make choices, I only caught the first songs, but I do hope a recording of this concert will surface. I’d love to give it a listen. And I have to check out Gong…
What a day…

ANOTHER TRIP TO ZAPPANALE - PART 6

Another trip to Zappanale – Part 6.
Friday, July 19 – continued
“Green hocker croakin' ” (In the Pygmy Twylyte)

So what does one do after having witnessed a fantastic concert (by Ensemble Fuse)?

Well, at Zappanale, you just walk to the other stage to see another fine concert. Or two.
Friday evening, at 20h30, the Jeff Hollie quartet took the (mystery) stage.
Jeff (who played sax on FZ’s “Joe’s Garage” album) is a great musician. He works and lives in The Netherlands, and has participated in several Zappa-related musical projects the last couple of years. Dutch bands Cucurullo Brillo Brullo, and Zappatiki come to mind, and last year Jeff performed at the Mosae Zappa festival in The Netherlands.
For the Zappanale gig, Jeff had assembled Fred Händl (keyboard), Kevin Crosby (bass), and Armin Beck (drums), plus mystery guest Natacha (vocals).

We went for a meal first, so we missed the visual aspect of the first part, but we were able to catch them mid-show. A fun concert. Not perfect (and the balance of the sound was terrible) but it was fun.
Scottish band Pygmy Twylyte had the honour to do the final Friday concert on the main stage.
Pygmy Twylyte chief / guitar player Chris added that the band had been working towards this concert for a couple of years, and it showed.
The band delivered a solid rock show with lots of improvisations.
Nice.
The audience (and there were many) loved it . 

ANOTHER TRIP TO ZAPPANALE - PART 5

Another trip to Zappanale – Part 5.
Friday, July 19 – First day of the festival
“Home Is Where The Heart Is.” (On the bus)
(‘Fembot In A Wet T-Shirt’)

Visiting Zappanale is like visiting another planet.
Not that I ever did visit another planet, but I came prepared.

Each day of the festival, a special event takes place at the third floor of the expo room. At 11h00 (and not at 12h00 as the folder said).
As a result, we started Friday in the presence of Die Miserable Husos at the expo hall: Frank Zappa’s music with lyrics in Hessisch (a German dialect).
It was a slimmed down version of the band, two guitars and percussion, and a lot of fun to hear.
As a non-native, I didn’t get all of the jokes and puns, but it was still funny.
They’ll probably catch quite the crowd when they will perform at the main stage on Saturday.

In the afternoon, at the festival ground, the program opened with Jazzprojekt Hundehagen. JPH has been the traditional opener for a number of years already. This time, they picked the Zappa tunes from their repertoire . Always nice. 

Next up, at the mystery stage, was London-based Compound Chemistry. They were into the same jazz / fusion sound as JPH, but played original tunes. Quite good. Someone mentioned ‘noodling’, but, personally, I didn’t mind.

The highlight of the day, as expected, was Fuse. We’d seen them in Hamburg, so knew what to expect. Lots of Zappa stuff, some of it with Napoleon Murphy Brock as a guest musician.

Amazing.
One of the biggest surprises was an improvised piece by the percussionist, using FZ spoken word samples and mixing these with percussion. Or vice versa. Adapting the tempo and the rhythm to the spoken word fragments. Or was it the other way around? Percussionist Daniel had done a similar improvisation in Hamburg as well, so this was the second time that I could witness it, and I still haven’t figured out how he did it.

 

ANOTHER TRIP TO ZAPPANALE - PART 4

Another trip to Zappanale – Part 4.
Thursday, July 18 – Zappanale warm-up
The police will say: “You’re Under Arrest”.

Thursday took us from Hamburg to Bad Doberan.
Those of you who have ever been to the Zappanale festival, probably know that there are two important locations when it comes to Zappanale. There’s the little town of Bad Doberan where one can find Zappa’s statue, the Kamp Theater, and the expo venue, and then there’s the festival ground, located at the horse race track, a couple of kilometers outside of Bad Doberan.
Some people stay at the little village (or in one of the neighbouring towns) while others camp (tent or camping car at the festival ground.
Moving between those areas can be done in different ways, although not all of the options are available at all times: car, rental, taxi, bike, the Molli train, or even on foot.

Anyway, we are staying in Bad Doberan and we always start our local adventure with a walk to the statue and a visit of the expo.
This year, the main two topics at the expo are Helmut King’s “The Crux Of The Biscuit”, and an overview (and much more) of FZ’s “Apostrophe” album.

The cover of the catalogue will give you an idea of what to expect (art by Helmut King).

And a snapshot of one of the many (!!) different pressings that can be found on the “Apostrophe” floor.

A Belgian pressing of "Apostrophe"? Wow.

A bit later, at 15h00 in the main tent at the festival ground, the BundespolizieoOrchester Berlin kicked off the festival. All dressed up in their police uniform, they performed a variety of songs from different bands / composers: Deep Purple, Aaron Copland, Led Zeppelin, and of course, Frank Zappa.
It was really nice and created an exuberant atmosphere.
Fun.

I admit that it was a bit strange to see a bunch of Zappa freaks singing along to the Village People’s ‘YMCA’. When I confronted a few of them later on, they all told me that it was their girlfriend that had made them do it…

The warm-up party continued on the Mystery Stage with Dawnation, Blanck Zappath and Birth Control.

We caught Blanck Zappath (covering Zappa and Black Sabbath) and called it a night.

ANOTHER TRIP TO ZAPPANALE - PART 3

Another trip to Zappanale – Part 3. Wednesday, July 17 - evening
Take me to the church ! - With a bit less delay.
(reference: Roland JC-40 Jazz Chorus guitar amp: delay setting “2”.)

After a highly appreciated listening experience (Maceo Parker / Prince), plus an excellent dinner by He Who Can Cook, we headed to St. Katharinen, an old church near Speicherstadt in Hamburg, for the 13th edition of “Zappa Spielt Für Bach”.

“Zappa Spielt Für Bach” (Zappa Plays For Bach) started out as part of a funding project to rebuild / restore the church organ, once played by Bach.
In the meantime, the organ has completely been revised, but as the church society had so much fun organizing the concerts, they keep on doing them.
This year’s program featured the Dutch (string) Ensemble Fuse.
Famous in The Netherlands, as they were the house band in a Dutch TV show, the ensemble features 2 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello, 1 double bass, and a percussionist.
For the Hamburg (and Zappanale) occasion they featured Napoleon Murphy Brock as special guest on some pieces.

The amazing thing about Fuse is not only that they are top musicians, but also that they perform, as they say, music that they like.
Quite a lot of the pieces, if not all, are arranged for Ensemble Fuse. Some of the music was even composed especially for Fuse.

Some of the happy people, or lucky bastards as one might say.
(yours truly, Inge, Harald, Sybille, Till & Jörg)

The concert itself was brilliant. A top performance of some great music (Bach, Brubeck, Kinan Azmeh,… and Frank Zappa).

It was nice to see and hear Napoleon but even without NMB this would have been one of the best concerts that I saw at St Katharinen. (nothing can top Mats Öberg…)

So if you’re at Zappanale, be sure to catch Ensemble Fuse as they will be doing a show there as well.
Or tune in to Rockradio !

This was absolutely brilliant.
And nice to see some Zappa freaks from all over the world.

ANOTHER TRIP TO ZAPPANALE - PART 2

Wednesday, July 17 - afternoon
Another trip to Zappanale - Part 2

With a bit of delay.
(reference: Roland JC-40 Jazz Chorus guitar amp: delay setting “6”.)

We checked the U-Bahn. Much to our satisfaction.
Our first stop brought us to the Rathaus, from where we walked to Michelle Records (Gertrudenkirchhof 10, 20095 Hamburg).
He Who Knows, told us that it one of the oldest record stores in Hamburg and that they also have in-store concerts from time to time. It’s a cool shop and they focus a lot on local artists and their releases. 

Nice. Very nice. They also had a vinyl copy of the latest Zappa/Mothers album on the shelves. I hadn’t seen it yet. My copy probably arrived when we started our Zappanale trip. At least, that’s what I hope.

Recommended by Lex (thank you !), we also went to Slam Records (Schulterblatt 104, 20357 Hamburg). A bit in the middle of nowhere (and that was a pity as visiting record stores is a fine way to get a view of a city), BUT another excellent record store (with a fair amount of Zappa albums, if you consider that a reference).
I do remember visiting this shop in the past, but it had been quite a while. It was nice to be back.
The man behind the counter had Prince on the turntable, and, as if it was meant to be, I found a copy of “The Beautiful Experience”, a 7-track CD EP.
The only record that I bought in Hamburg…

An excellent afternoon, and the best was yet to come.

ANOTHER TRIP TO ZAPPANALE - PART 1

Tuesday, July 16

Another trip to Zappanale - Part 1

Or should I call it “Trippin’ to Zappanale?”
(soundtrack song: ‘Trippin’ by The Wizards Of Ooze).

First stop, Hamburg, to see the Fuse ensemble. Wit special guest Napoleon Murphy Brock. But that’s for tomorrow.

Today, we celebrated out arrival by visiting the Fischkopp record store, Groove City, Zardoz Records, and Ruff Trade Records.

A bit hidden, in the corner of a square, is the Fischkopp record store. It's like stepping through a Stargate. Punk, hardcore,... and even a copy of 'Ship Arriving Too Late...'.

Groove City, with lovely little puppets in the shop window (and inside the shop). Funk, soul, jazz, and more.

And the superb Zardoz Records, with lots of Zappa and Captain Beefheart.

And Ruff Trade (of which I forgot to take a picture) also is in the same neighbourhood. Another fine store if you don't mind being surrounded by boxes of vinyl 

Except for Groove City, each of these shops had at least one Zappa record in stock. Together, they must have had over thirty Zappa records for sale and I didn't even see any of the recent vinyl re-issues. Only older stuff, including Verve Select reissues of Absolutely Free and Cruisin’ With Ruben & The Jets, to name just two.

Quite a nice selection.

Visiting these record stores is becoming sort a tradition, returning every year. And although I didn't find anything that's on my want-list, it was still fun.
Also because there are several alternative little shops that kept the other half of the dynamic duo satisfied.

EIDON - XENOCHRONIC LAYERS

a new piece by Eidon

 

GOWY - REBIRTH

• gowy: rebirth
      (2024, cd, France, private release)

(The CD version of) Grégory 'Gowy' François' excellent "Rebirth" album arrived last week.
Great music in a beautiful package.

The album is out on CD and on LP.
Amazing (mostly) instrumental guitar music.
Essential listening for guitar aficionados. If you're into Steve Vai, Joe Satriani (and Frank Zappa), this will bring you joy.

I can only repeat what I said a little while ago:

The album opens with a dialogue that sounds like a scene from "Les Ch'tis", a weird movie about the people in the north of France, and jumps into some sort of heavy rock song called 'L'apocalimssss (wdywa)'. But there are also lyrical instrumentals, oriental flavours, experimental fragments, a doo-wop song, and even a (short) classical piece.
"Rebirth" is technically stunning but it will also put a smile on your face, and that's what it's all about.

https://gowy.fr

TREY ANASTASIO

"Between Me And My Mind", the 2021 documentary about Trey Anastasio (of Phish fame) is out on blu-ray.
I guess it got released out a couple of years ago already. I just didn't know about it.

LUZIA VON WYL ENSEMBLE - FROST

• luzia von wyl ensemble: frost
      (2014, cd, switzerland, hatology)

Musically speaking, classically trained Swiss jazz pianist and composer Luzia Von Wyl is a jack of all trades.
She mixes classical music with jazz, plays with rhythm changes, and works with an extended ensemble (that includes a marimba). Need I say more?

Discogs lists a solo album (from 2004), but I assume "Frost" (2014) was the first album by her ensemble.
10 pieces.
Quite the discovery.

FRANK ZAPPA FROM THE VAULTS GIVEAWAY

Vintage Frank Zappa Merch and Collectibles Stored for Decades in The Vault Available to Win Monthly From UMe and uDiscover Music

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/vintage-frank-zappa-merch-collectibles-154400908.html

DEVIN TOWNSEND PODCAST #5: MIKE KENEALLY

 Mike Keneally in Ultimate Guitar:

'There Was a Certain Negativity and Cynicism to It': Session Veteran Opens Up on His Time With Frank Zappa & How It Affected Him.

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/there_was_a_certain_negativity_and_cynicism_to_it_session_veteran_opens_up_on_his_time_with_frank_zappa_amp_how_it_affected_him.html

from earlier this year:

VARIOUS ARTISTS - THE WORLD'S GREATEST PINK FLOYD TRIBUTE

• various artists: the world's greatest pink floyd tribute
      (2004, cd, uk, cherry red)

Pink Floyd tribute albums come in various titles and album covers.
Most of them present the same set of tracks, although sometimes in a different order.

This one is from 20 years ago.
"The World's Greatest Pink Floyd Tribute" has Dweezil Zappa with Jason Scheiff, Tony Franklin, Aynsley Dunbar and Tony Kaye on 'Run Like Hell'.
Also part of 'the world's greatest' is Vinnie Colaiuta (with Steve Lukather and Marco Mendoza), performing 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond'.

GREAT WHITE - REVISITING FAMILIAR WATERS (FEAT. DWEEZIL ZAPPA)

• great white: revisiting familiar waters
      (2003, cd, europe, mausoleum records)

American hard rock band Great White has been around since 1977, resulting in quite a discography.
Their 2003 "Revisiting Familiar Waters" album included a bonus track (Van Halen's 'Unchained') that featured Dweezil Zappa on lead guitar.

TOMMY TALLARICO - ADVENT RISING (MUSIC FROM THE VIDEO GAME)

• tommy tallarico: advent rising (music from the video game)
      (2005, cd, usa, sumthing else music)

Dweezil Zappa contributed to "Advent Rising", an album that collects the music of the video game. Music composed by Tommy Tallarico.

A pretty bombastic album.
Dweezil is credited recording one of the tracks: 'Greater Lights'.
He doesn't play on it. He has recorded it.

SOFT MACHINE TOUR DATES

SOFT MACHINE

JOHN ETHERIDGE guitar
THEO TRAVIS flute, sax, electric piano
FRED BAKER bass guitar
ASAF SIRKIS drums

• July 23 - London, UK (Signature Brew)
• August 7 - Teramo, Italy (Piazza Santa Anna, Teramo Music Festival)
• September 13 - Vienna, VA (Jammin' Java)
• September 14 - Baltimore, MD (Orion)
• September 15 - Sellersville, MD (Sellersville Theater)
• September 16 - New York, NY (The City Winery)
• September 18 - Northampton, MA (The Iron House)
• September 22 - North Haven, CT (Small Batch Cellars)
• September 24 - Piermont, NY (The Turning Point)
• September 26 - Albany, NY( Linda WAMC Art Center)
• September 27 - Syracuse, NY (Venue TBA)
• September 28 - Rochester, NY (Lovin' Cup)
• October 01 - Toronto, ON (The Garrison)
• October 02 - Ottawa, ON (Rainbow Room)
• October 04 - Quebec City, QC (Salle D’Youville)
• October 05 - Quebec City, QC (Salle D’Youville)
• October 17 - Wyre Forest, UK (Bewdley Festival)
• October 19 - Great Yarmouth, UK (HRH Prog)
• October 29 - Surrey, UK (The Sound Lounge)

More shows in UK.Europe and Asia to be confirmed for 2025 live season.
www.softmachine.org

GONG TOUR DATES

GONG

KAVUS TORABI vocals, guitar
FABIO GOLFETTI guitar, back vocals
IAN EAST sax, flute
DAVE STURT bass, back vocals
CHEB NETTLES drums

• July 20 - Bad Doberan, Germany (Zappanale Festival)
• August 15 - Eisfeld, Germany (Woodstock Forever 24 Festival)
• August 16 - Tunbridge Wells, UK (The Forum)
• August 17 - Hernhill, UK (A New Day Festival)
• September 24 - Allentown, PA (Chappel at Muhlenberg College)
• September 25 - Charlottesville, VA (The Southern Music Hall)
• September 26 - Raleigh, NC (King's Raleigh)
• September 27 - Asheville, NC (The Grey Eagle)*
• September 28 - Franklin, TN (Mockingbird Theater)
• September 30 - Grand Rapids, MI (The Pyramide Scheme)
• October 01 - Chicago, IL (Reggie's)
• October 02 - Milwaukee, WI (Shank Hall)
• October 03 - Detroit, MI (Token Lounge)
• October 04 - Cincinnati, OH (Ludlow Garage)
• October 05 - Indianapolis, IN (Irving Theate)
• October 06 - Cleveland, OH (Beachland Ballroom)
• October 09 - Rochester, NY (Avant Garde A Clue @ Stutson Street Auditorium)
• October 10 - Homer, NY (Homer Arts Center)
• October 14 - Hamden, CT (Space Ballroom)
• October 15 - Northampton, MA (The Iron Horse)
• October 17 - Hudson Falls, NY (The Strand Theater)
• October 18 - Woodstock, NY (Colony)
• October 19 - Baltimore, MD (Orion Studios)
• October 20 - Rutherford, NJ (Progstock @ Williams Center)
• November 7 - Tilburg, The Netherlands (015 Poppodium)
• November 8 - Zoetermeer, The Netherlands (Boerderij)
• November 10 - Hamburg, Germany (MS Stubnitz)
• November 11 - Copenhagen, Denmark (Hotel Cecil)
• November 12 - Malmö, Sweden (Babel)
• November 13 - Göteborg, Sweden (Musikens Hus)
• November 15 - Stockholm, Sweden Debaser)
• November 16 - Sala, Sweden (Rockland)
• November 18 - Pori, Finland (Validi Karkia Club)
• November 19 - Espoo, Finland (Louhisali)
• November 21 - Warsaw, Poland (Hybrydy)
• November 22 - Bydgoszcz, Poland (Centrum Kultury Zamek)
• November 24 - Katowice, Poland (Kinoteatr Rialto)
• November 26 - Fürth, Germany (Kofferfabrik)
• November 27 - Jena, Germany (KuBa)
• November 28 - Prague, Czech Republik (Akropolis)
• November 29 - Ebensee, Austria (Kino Ebensee)
• November 30 - Vienna, Austria (Porgy & Bess)
• December 1 - Lubiana, Slovenia (Kino Shishka)
• December 3 - Munich, Germany (Bakstage)
• December 4 - Rüsselheim-am-Main, Germany (Das Rind)
• December 5 - Karlsruhe, Germany (Jubez)
• December 6 - Paris, France (Cafe de la Danse)
• December 7 - Colmar, France (Le Grillen)
• December 9 - Bonn, Germany (Harmonie)

* opening act for David Cross Band

A few more shows to be confirmed by August 1st.
North American West-of Mississippi tour is scheduled for the Spring of 2025.
Another East-of Mississippi tour is scheduled for the late Summer of 2025.

More shows in UK.Europe and Asia to be confirmed for 2025 live season.
www.gongband.com

DAVID CROSS BAND TOUR DATES

DAVID CROSS BAND
Plays King Crimson 1972-1974

DAVID CROSS - electric violin
JOHN MITCHELL - guitar, lead and back vocals
SHEILA MALONEY - keyboards, back vocals
MICK PAUL - bass guitar, lead and back vocals
JACK SUMERFIELD - drums

• July 20 - Bad Doberan, Germany (Zappanale Festival)
• August 7 - Teramo, Italy (Piazza Santa Anna, Teramo Music Festival)
• August 18 - Concepción, Chile (Teatro de la Universidad)
• August 21 - Santiago, Chile (Teatro Nescafé)
• September 8 - London, UK (The Camden Club)
• September 14 - Sestu, Italy (Progress One Festival)
• September 21 - Guadamur, Toledo, Spain (MoonJune Festival)
• September 27 - Asheville, NC (The Grey Eagle)*
• September 28 - Louisville, KY (The Hill House, private event)
• September 29 - Nashville, TN (The Vinyl Lounge)
• October 02 - Grand Rapids, MI (The Pyramide Scheme)
• October 04 - Minneapolis, MN (Granada Theater)
• October 06 - Chicago, IL (Reggie's)
• October 08 - Milwaukee, WI (Shank Hall)
• October 10 - Indianapolis, IN (Irving Theater)
• October 11 - Cleveland, OH (Treelawn Social Club / Beachland Production)
• October 12 - Cincinnati, OH (Ludlow Garage)
• October 13 - Detroit, MI (Token Lounge)
• October 15 - Elkton, MD (Music Hall)
• October 16 - Hamden, CT (Space Ballroom)
• October 17 - Sellersville, PA (Sellersville Theater)
• October 18 - Rutherford, NJ (Progstock @ Williams Center)
• October 20 - Pawling, NY (Darryl's House)
• October 23 - Syracuse, NY (venue TBA)
• October 24 - Northampton, MA (The Iron Horse)
• October 26 - Quebec City, QC (Palais Montcalm)
• October 27 - Montreal, QC (Club Soda)
• October 29 - Ottawa, ON (The Rainbow Room)
• October 30 - Toronto, ON (TD Hall)
• November 01 - Hudson Falls, NY (The Strand Theater)

* with GONG as the opening band

A few more North American shows to be confirmed by August 1st.
North American West-of Mississippi tour is scheduled for the Spring of 2025.
Another East-of Mississippi tour is scheduled for the late Summer of 2025.

More sows in UK, Europe and Asia to be confirmed for 2025 live season.
www.davidcrossband.com

PETER THOEGERSEN - HARMIKLOT, AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY

Created and recorded in 1993-1994, Peter Thoegersen’s “Harmiklot, An American Tragedy”, a mini opera in two acts, got released on Bandcamp in 2024.

In the liner notes Peter added:
“These songs were much akin to Zappa's music, and it was difficult to find players willing, or good enough, to perform odd meters, and freeform compositions, so the band aspect of this enterprise never materialized. These songs sat in a lonely file for 30 years until this week. I invented a story line and created all the voices as "interviews" between the songs to tie them all together.”
and
“Yes, there are naughty words in this music. Caution is advised for the sensitive heart, and PLEASE do not take anything personally. Even Frank Zappa had to fight off Al and Tipper Gore back in the day.”

COLLAGES - COLLAGES CLOVER COVER VOL.1

Collages is Jesse Bustamante, a musician from Chicago IL.
He released an album on Bandcamp with only cover versions in 2013 that included FZ’s ‘Doreen’.

 

BERT DOCKX, JOSSE DE PAUW & OTTLA - KRONIEK VAN HET VUUR

Enjoying the excellent collaboration between Bert Dockx and his Ottla ensemble with Flemish actor (narrator) Josse De Pauw.

If you need this on vinyl, better hurry, as there's only a handful of copies left.

TIGRAN HAMASYAN

BILLY MUNDI

Tom Rapp (who was part of Pearls Before Swine) recorded a solo album in 1972 entitled "Familiar Songs".
The album featured Billy Mundi on drums.

Re-released on CD in 2003.

-- info: Jan van Kemenade

THE APOSTROPHE UPDATE

Next to a 3 CD set, the "Apostrophe (')" album will be celebrated as :

5CD + Blu-Ray Super Deluxe

2LP White & Yellow Coloured Vinyl + 7" Glow in the Dark Vinyl

LP - Gold Nugget Color Vinyl

PIERRE VERVLOESEM - LOTTA BOOM BOOM

• pierre vervloesem: lotta boom boom
      (2024, cd, belgium, off records)

Pierre Vervloesem (guitar, keyboard), Teun Verbruggen (left drums), Elie Gouleme (right drums), Bruno Vansina (all saxes).
Or as they say in Brussels: "Lotta Boom Boom".

I mentioned the album a little while ago already, and I keep going back to it.
Belgian exotica.
Check out this exciting musical adventure.

Recommended listening !!

Bandcamp digital, but also out on CD.

WE'RE ONLY IN IT FOR THE MONEY - - - RE-RELEASE ON THE JAPANESE OLDAYS RECORDS LABEL

album cover

obi

• the mothers of invention: we're only in it for the money
      (2024, cd, japan, oldays records)

"We're Only In It For The Money" is the third album in the series of Mothers Of Invention re-issues by the Japanese Oldays Records label.
I don't know (= haven't checked) if this is one of the censored versions, or if this is the original version, but the sound is great, and the packaging superb (although a fold-out cover and a cut-out insert would have been nice).
Oh yes, also includes mono versions of 'Lonely Little Girl' & 'Mother People' as a bonus.

MOVING TONES

Musisian, producer and label-owner Guy Segers keeps on releasing tracks of concerts he participated in through his Bandcamp page.

Difficult to keep up with, and more expensive as buying a regular album, but Guy has released several pieces from concerts by the Moving Tones from November 2008.
The Moving Tones, as you may know, also had Frank Zappa compositions on their repertoire. Guy made several of these available.

• Frank Van Der Kooij (Tenor Sax)
• Michel Delville (E-Guitar, Vocals)
• Catherine Smet (Keyboards)
• Benoit Moerlin (Vibes)
• Guy Segers (Bass)
• Ivo Sans (Drums)

Recently, Guy released 'King Kong' and 'Sleep Dirt' from the Moving Tones' 2008 Paris concert, as well as 'Eat That Question' from the 2008 Breda concert.

But he had already released other material in the past.
I'm not exactly sure when Guy released these, I guess it was in 2023.

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APOSTROPHE 50th ANNIVERSARY BOX SET

From the upcoming "Apostrophe (')" 50th anniversary edition :

The tracklist for this 3 CD set can be found here:

https://music.apple.com/us/album/apostrophe-50th-anniversary-super-deluxe/1756485500

PROGOSAURUS -

• progosaurus: s/t
      (2024, cd, germany, private release)

Featuring Lee (guitar, bass), Lukas Kollross (guitar), Chato Segerer (bass, guitar) & Moritz Luzner (drums), Progosaurus has just released their first album.

As the name and the line-up suggests, this is instrumental, guitar-oriented prog.
Love the artwork, love the music.

Out on CD and available as a digital download / streaming album.
Private release, and word has it that the album will also be distributed in Japan !!

The band has scheduled some concerts, so check them out if you're in the neighbourhood.

• 4th August, Weinturm Open Air, Bad Windsheim, around 1 pm
• 15th September, Newcomer Contest, Fürth, around 3 pm