THE GRANDMOTHERS PROMO BOOKLET

I recently came across this promo booklet for The Grandmothers.
It's about Jimmy Carl Black's The Grandmothers, with whom he recorded "Dreams On Long Play".
The 20-page (plastic ring binder) booklet was probably released around 1990.
It presented a picture of the band and a set of articles, all xeroxed.

THE GRANDMOTHES - THE WEASELS SESSIONS '93

• The Grandmothers: The Weasels Sessions '93
      (2026, download / streaming, --, digital music platforms / muffin records productions)

Featuring Jimmy Carl Black, Don Preston, Bunk Gardner, Roland St Germain, Linda Valdmots, Ener Bladezipper and Sandro Oliva !

1. Progress
2. The Quartet
3. Prelude to the Eric Dolphy Memorial BBQ (Live)
4. I Can't Breath
5. '59 Chevrolet
6. Chest Pain
7. The Austin Chronicle
8. Lady Queen Bee
9. Primal Jazz (Live)
10. Soft Construction with Sharp Interlude (Live)
11. Be All You Can Be
12. Silicone Hump
13. Where Were You (Live)
14. King of My Castle
15. Transitions
16. What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body (Excerpt)
17. My Car
18. Idiot
19. Do You Think My Pants Are Too Tight (Live)
20. Let the Good Times Roll
21. The Eternal Question (Live)
22. Trouble Every Day (Live)
23. Plastic People (Live)
24. Primorial (Hingshammer Version)

Excellent news !!
Check out your digital music platforms for this release !!

A GRANDMOTHERS UPDATE !!

Reinhard Preuss (from Muffin Record Productions" says:

I started looking into the archive and decided to do it because..., long story short: THE GRANDMOTHERS aka THE GRANDMOTHERS OF INVENTION never before released studio sessions from 1993 with Jimmy Carl Black, Don Preston, Bunk Gardner, Roland St Germain, Ener Bladezipper, Linda Valdmets & Sandro Oliva will hit your Ears soon!

THE GRANDMOTHERS - A 20 YEAR ANTHOLOGY OF THE GRANDMOTHERS VOL.2

• the grandmothers: a 20 year anthology of the grandmothers vol.2
      (2008, cd, Germany, inkanish / private release)

The latst Inkanish release that I will be mentioning this weekend: volume two of the Grandmothers "20 year" anthology.
Compiled from several Grandmothers albums and including a couple of Frank Zappa tunes.
Again, at least two different versions of artwork have been spotted.
Released around 2008 and I was very happy to come across this copy last year at Zappanale, 15 years after it was produced by Jimmy Carl Black.

THE GRANDMOTHERS OF INVENTION

at MorYork, L.A.
January 24, 2020
The Grandmothers of Invention

THE NORWEGIAN WIND ENSEMBLE PLAYS ZAPPA

19 September 2019, Oslo, NO
Norwegian Wind Ensemble : "While waiting for Zappa"
http://dnbe.no/hjem/mens-vi-venter-p%C3%A5-zappa-en-frank-zappa-hyllest

and that would be Dweezil Zappa, as he will perform with the NWE in November :

24 and 25 November 2019, Oslo, NO
Dweezil Zappa with the Norwegian Wind Ensemble
http://dnbe.no/hjem/dweezil-zappa-and-special-guests-the-norwegian-wind-ensemble

THE GRANDMOTHERS OF INVENTION - FREE ENERGY

• the grandmothers of invention: free energy
      (2018, cd, usa, private release) 

The most recent Grandmothers tour had Ed Mann teaming up with Bunk Gardner, Don Preston and Christopher Garcia.
The band did a small number of concerts in Europe in April and came back for a final gig at Zappanale. Unfortunately for the Zappanale audience, Ed Mann hurt his pelvis recently and was unable to make it to Bad Doberan.

"Free Energy" has a lot of the tunes that The Grandmother performed during this recent tour. It is obvious that both Don and Bunk don't play as fluent as they used to, but it's nice to hear Ed perform with The Grandmothers.
Private release. Available from Don.

1. free energy (don preston)
2. the eric dolphy memorial bbq (frank zappa)
3. the eternal question (don preston)
4. modern man (george carlin)
5. king kong (frank zappa)
6. flower punk (frank zappa)
7. silicon hump (don preston)
8. evelynn the modified dog (frank zappa)
9. dark matter (don preston)
10. lament (don preston)
11. dr. know (ed mann)
12. talkin' ruth, chris, don, bunk
13. dupree's paradise (frank zappa), incl. ruth (don preston)

THE GRANDMOTHERS OF INVENTION & SHENKAR

Tonight, May 12, in Oslo, Norway :

THE GRANDMOTHERS OF INVENTION, SHENKAR (L. SHANKAR), RONNI LE TEKRØ, and the NORWEGIAN WIND ENSEMBLE

organised by the ZappaUnion team.

Frank Zappa veterans Don Preston, Bunk Gardner, Ed Mann and Christopher Garcia make up the Grandmothers of Invention. May 12 will be the last chance to see them in Norway.

The concert will be unique :
Legend Shenkar (L. Shankar, violin) flies in from India only to perform with The Grandmothers.
On request of The Grandmothers, Ronni Le Tekrø will join the ensemble on the guitar.

Plus, the band will be joined by the Norwegian Wind Ensemble (Norwegian Blåseensemble (DNBE)). The DNBE has played several concerts with Dweezil Zappa and has released albums with Frank Zappa compositions.

I'm assuming that various Zappateers will be attending the concert. Let's hope that an audio or video turns up.

THE GRANDMOTHERS OF INVENTION

I saw The GrandMothers Of Ivention in concert last week. Once in Heerlen and again in Tilburg.

Don Preston, Bunk Gardner, Ed Mann and Christopher Garcia.

The Heerlen concert was quite a disaster, actually. Lots of mixer and monitor sound problems took the vibe away. Not only for the audience, but also for the musicians. Once that the issues had been resolved, the keyboards still sounded saturated... Quite frankly, It was a mess. Despite some fine solos, this concert could not be saved.

Tilburg was quite another story. With no scheduled or unscheduled breaks, the band played for two hours. Tight, or at least more tight then in Heerlen, and with great solos, it was like this was a completely different band. Add a superb sound (tip to the hat for the soundguy) and a fine audience and one gets a great evening.

THE GRANDMOTHERS OF INVENTION - LIVE IN BREMEN

• the grandmothers of invention: live in bremen
      (2018, 2cd, ger, sireena)

Started in the early eighties by Jimmy Carl Black, Don Preston and Bunk Gardner, The Grandmothers have gone through various line-ups and incarnations.
During one or their most recent tours, November 2014, The Grandmothers recorded the concert that they did in Bremen, Germany. Next to the ever-present Don Preston, Bunk Gardner (and Christopher Garcia !!), the line-up included Eric Klerks on bass and vocals and Max Kutner on guitar and vocals.
It's great to have this concert available as on official release, especially since the Grandmothers will be starting their final tour in about a week.
Sure, Don and Bunk are in their seventies and they don't play as fluent as they used to, but the emotional / historical aspect plus the excellent performance by Chris, Eric and Max make up for that.
Love it.

On their final tour, Chris, Don and Bunk will be joined by Ed Mann.
Let's hope they bring a guitar and bass player along as well.

The Grandmothers Of Invention

22 Apr 2018  The Underworld London United Kingdom
23 Apr 2018  The Robin 2 Bilston United Kingdom
24 Apr 2018  Band on the Wall Manchester United Kingdom
25 Apr 2018  Nieuwe Nor Heerlen Netherlands
26 Apr 2018  Blue Notez Dortmund Germany
27 Apr 2018  Paradox Tilburg Netherlands
28 Apr 2018  Jazzclub Nordhausen Nordhausen Germany
29 Apr 2018  Stadttheater Landsberg Germany
01 May 2018  Blue Note Milano Italy
02 May 2018  Burghof Lörrach Lörrach Germany
03 May 2018  Kammgarn Schaffhausen Switzerland
04 May 2018  Mühle Hunziken Rubigen Switzerland
05 May 2018  Treibhaus Innsbruck Austria
06 May 2018  Kino Siska Lublijana Slovenia
07 May 2018  Porgy & Bess Wien Austria
08 May 2018  Metro Music Bar Brno Czech Republic
09 May 2018  Lucerna Music Bar Prague Czech Republic
10 May 2018  Quasimodo Berlin Germany
11 May 2018  Beta Copenhagen Denmark
12 May 2018  John Dee Oslo Norway
13 May 2018  Kulturhuset Stadsteatern Stockholm Sweden
22 Jul 2018  Zappanale Bad Doberan Germany

ERIC KLERKS

Eric Klerks joined the Magic Band as their guitar player in 2009.
In 2014, he did a tour with The Grandmothers and returned to The Magic Band for their final tour in November 2017.

Here's a fine interview with Eric :
http://www.beefheart.com/interview-with-eric-klerks/

You can follow Eric's musical adventures through his blog:
http://ericklerks.blogspot.be/

THE GRANDMOTHERS OF INVENTION FAREWELL TOUR

THE GRAND (as in GRANDIOSE)  MOTHERS OF INVENTION
FAREWELL TOUR SPRING 2018

BUNK GARDNER  (with the Mothers of Invention 1966-1969)
DON PRESTON (with the Mothers of Invention 1966- 1974)
ED MANN (with Frank Zappa 1978 to 1988)
CHRISTOPHER GARCIA (with the Grand Mothers of Invention 2002 to the present)

25 Apr 2018 - Nieuwe Nor Heerlen Netherlands
27 Apr 2018 - Paradox Tilburg Netherlands
28 Apr 2018 - Jazzclub Nordhausen Nordhausen Germany
29 Apr 2018 - Stadttheater Landsberg Germany
04 May 2018 - Mühle Hunziken Rubigen Switzerland
06 May 2018 - Kino Siska Lublijana Slovenia
08 May 2018 - Metro Music Bar Brno Czech Republic
09 May 2018 - Lucerna Music Bar Prague Czech Republic
11 May 2018 - Beta Copenhagen Denmark
12 May 2018 - Stadttheater Oslo Norway

ZAPPANALE #27 - PART 7 - THE GRANDMOTHERS

The 27th edition of the Zappanale festival had a beautiful surprise: The Grandmothers (Don Preston, Bunk Gardner plus Chris Garcia) would be performing together with Fried Dähn's Yellow String Quartet, and would feature special guest Ed Mann.

The combination Grandmothers / Yellow String Quartet had already been tested and approved in Oslo last year.
At the Zappanale, the Yellow String Quartet was able gave Don and Bunk a lot of freedom. The quartet (plus Chris) kept it tight, while the former Mothers Of Invention could do their thing.
It worked.
Add Ed Mann, who added soundscapes and nice improvisations
It was great.

The show got recorded on video and was made available on DVDR at the festival.

• the grandmothers & the yellow string quartet, feat. ed mann: zappanale 27
      (2016, dvdr, ger, arf society)

THE GRANDMOTHERS OF INVENTION - DUKE OF PRUNES

• the grandmothers of invention: duke of prunes - live at the fabrik, hamburg, germany
      (2014, dvd, ger, pinguin)

March 13, 2014, The Grandmothers performed at the 'Fabrik' in Hamburg, Germany.
They also played at Zappanale a couple of months after that and it was at Zappanale that I got hold of this 'limited-presale' DVD.

The Hamburg concert featured former Mothers Don Preston (keys and vocals), Bunk Gardner (sax and flute) and Dave Parlato (bass), plus Chris Garcia (drums) and Mad Max Kutner (guitar)

A beautiful addition to the Grandmothers discography.
Produced by Ralph Kessler (who also did the 2012 "Mothers Day" album).

all compositions by frank zappa, except where noted

1. mother people
2. absolutely free
3. the eric dolphy memorial barbecue
4. the eternal question (don preston)
5. you didn't try to call me
6. the orange county lumber truck
7. who needs the peace corps
8. go cry on somebody else's shoulder
9. hey joe / flower punk
10. duke of prunes

ZAPPOSTROPHE 132

My Czech friends recently released issue number 132 of the Czech Frank Zappa Fan Club Fanzine.
12 pages with pictures and articles, all about the Grandmothers concerts in the Czech Republic.

Issue number 132. That's eleven times twelve. Or twenty-two times six.
Congratulations, my friends.

ZAPPA MUSIC IN DUISBURG

A lot of superb bands are playing the music of Frank Zappa, nowadays.

Check out the schedule of the 'Grammatikoff' club in Duisburg, Germany.
A perfect example of what's touring in the neighbourhood, the next couple of months:

http://www.grammatikoff.de/event/z-a-p-p-a-4-zappaeske-konzerte-im-grammatikoff/

The Grandmothers Of Invention  (November 15)

The Banned From Utopia  (November 18)

The Yellow Snow Crystals  (January 15, 2015)

Fido Plays Zappa  (February 20, 2015)


-- info: Hans-Peter Schmidt

THE GRANDMOTHERS OF INVENTION IN CONCERT IN BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC NOV 29, 2014

ZAPPANALE #25 - PARTS 5 AND 21

This year, the Zappanale expo was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the festival. Dieter, Burkhard and Robert had made an impressive book and were showing a lot of memorabilia, including some very impressive enlarged pictures.

The exposition room was also the space for some concerts.
You have to understand that the expo takes place at the Arf Office, in the centre of Bad Doberan, while the actual festival is held at the horse race track, some five kilometers out of town.
The expo concerts were scheduled around noon so that they wouldn't interfere with the festival.
Successfully, as the expo concerts were well attended.

Friday, July 18, Don Preston and Bunk Gardner performed as The Don And Bunk Show at the expo.

picture by Javier

They played four pieces.

• Twenty Small Cigars (Frank Zappa)
• Free Energy (Don Preston)
• King Kong (Frank Zappa)
• Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue (Frank Zappa)

Afterwards, they did a fine interview with Jim Cohen.

picture by Javier

I thought this was great. There were about thirty people in attendance and they all got a treated to two original Mothers Of Invention playing some fabulous tunes.

Two days later, July 20, The GrandMothers Of Invention performed at the main stage at the festival ground.

line-up

Don Preston : vocals, keyboards and brainwave enhancer

Bunk Gardner : sax and flute 

Eric Klerks : bass 

Christopher Garcia : drums and vocals 

Max Kutner : guitar 

special guest: John French

picture by Javier

Yes, that's Eric Klerks, guitar player in The Magic Band, filling in on bass for Dave Parlato who had gotten ill and had to go to the hospital.

setlist

introduction by jim cohen 

Call Any Vegetable 

Absolutely Free 

Hey Joe 

Who Are The Brain Police 

Uncle Meat 

drum solo 

T'Mershi Duween 

Go Cry On Somebody Else's Shoulder 

Debra Kadabra 

Mother People 

The Eternal Question 

Who Needs The Peace Corps? 

I'm The Slime 

The Orange County Lumber Truck Medley 

More Trouble Every Day 

The Duke Of Prunes  (with special guest John French)

Another fine performance of the Grandmothers. This was fun.

Don Preston explaining his brain wave enhancer. Picture by Pittylabelle.

Here's 'Who Are The Brain Police?' as captured by Clint:


The Grandmothers concert got recorded on video by the Arf Crew and was made available on DVDR in very limited quantities at the festival.

• the grandmothers of invention: zappanale 25
      (2014, dvdr, ger, arf society)

THE DON AND BUNK SHOW - S/T

• the don and bunk show: s/t
      (2014, cdr, usa, brain records)

The latest materialization on Don Preston's Brain Records is a recording of the Bunk Gardner / Don Preston duo.
These guys have been playing together ever since they were in The Mothers Of Invention. Their most recent entanglement was in The GrandMothers.

The Don And Bunk Show.
Their third album.
All three were published by Don Preston on his Brain Records label.

don and bunk:

    don preston: keyboards, vocals

    bunk gardner: saxaphone, flue & bass clarinet

produced by don preston

all compositions by don preston

1. sweet 15

2. amsterdam

3. how are you doing

4. milky way

5. new age mumbo jumbo

6. solo piece

7. eyes of the dead

8. progress

9. barbeque solos

10. not so cute

11. i can't breathe

12. horta babies

Here's Don and Bunk in quite another adventure: jamming with The Muffin Men (in 1993 !!)

BUNK GARDNER - IT'S ALL BUNK!

• bunk gardner: it's all bunk!
      (2014, cdr, usa, brain records)

Bunk Gardner's one-and-only solo album got released in 2007 on Greg Russo's Crossfire Publications label.
The album presented material that Bunk had recorded with various ensembles and band throughout his carreer, but it also included quite a number of previously unreleased tracks.

The album got 'revised' / remastered and got re-released in 2010 by Crossfire as a download-only album.

For the occasion of the recent GrandMothers tour, the 2007 edition got repressed on the Brain Records label. If you want to dive into Bunk's musical history and encounter the likes of Elmer and Fred, Menage à Trois and The Grandmothers shouldn't hesitate and pick up a copy on the next occasion.