Frank Zappa’s music will return to the stage this summer, once again under the direction of his son Dweezil. Zappa Plays Zappa will embark on a North American tour beginning July 18 at Winnipeg’s Centennial Hall. A total of 30 performance dates are set for the tour’s first leg, which concludes in Los Angeles at the end of August. Following a break, Zappa Plays Zappa embarks on a 17-city European tour that includes dates in the U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
In concept and performance, Zappa Plays Zappa offers audiences an opportunity to spend an evening with Frank Zappa’s music, performed by a group of top-flight musicians who have been schooled in its subtleties. Rather than approach Zappa’s music as a tribute band, the musicians in Zappa Plays Zappa perform the late composer’s works as a symphony orchestra would present pieces by a master composer.
Zappa Plays Zappa is an undertaking with a higher purpose in mind beyond filling seats with concert goers. Dweezil Zappa explains, “I think my Dad's music deserves to be heard by a wider audience. I really think he's been misunderstood for far too long, which brings me back to why I'm doing this: I'm so in awe of his accomplishments and want more and more people to know about him, and I think the best way for people to first discover his music is on a visceral level in a live situation. I think you have to be confronted with the complexity and the beautiful subtlety of all of it to fully appreciate the artistry of it."
Frank Zappa died in 1993 after a career that saw him record more than 80 albums. Today, the younger Zappa and his bandmates are taking full advantage of the wealth and breadth of the material contained therein. "What we're preparing to do for this tour is perhaps even more complex than what we did on the first tour," says Zappa. "Last year we learned about 40 songs from a very popular period of Frank's career, and this year we will be learning about 30 more new ones that are somewhat more obscure. The tour will include material from [the albums] We're Only In It for the Money, Absolutely Free, Weasels Ripped My Flesh, Joe's Garage, You Are What You Is, The Yellow Shark and much more, including orchestral works.”
The music will be accompanied by large-screen videos of Frank Zappa. Dweezil will rotate Frank Zappa video performances over the course of the tour.
As with last year’s tour, Dweezil will perform on lead guitar. Performers include veterans from last year’s tour: Joe Travers (drums), Billy Hulting (percussion), Scheila Gonzalez (keyboards, saxophone, vocals), Aaron Arntz (keyboards/trumpet), Peter Griffin (bass) and Jaime Kime (rhythm guitar). Joining the tour this year is Ray White, the vocalist who toured and recorded with Frank Zappa during the period of such albums as Tinsel Town Rebellion, You Are What You Is and Zappa in New York (his is the lead vocal on the song "The Illinois Enema Bandit").
Dweezil is also working on bringing Zappa Plays Zappa into the home with a feature-length performance DVD that documents the 2006 tour. It is expected to be released early this summer, concurrent with the 2007 tour.
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Zappa Plays Zappa 2007 Tour Dates:
July 18 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Centennial Concert Hall 19 Detroit Lakes, MN, 10,000 Lakes Festival 20 Chicago, IL, Centennial Concert Hall 21 Milwaukee, WI, The Rave 22 Indianapolis, IN, Egyptian Room 24 Cincinnati, OH, Moonlite Gardens 25 Erie, PA, Warner Theatre 26 Columbus, OH, LC Pavilion 27 Detroit, MI, Meadow Brook Festival 28 Cleveland, OH, Cain Park 30 Toronto, Ontario, Hummingbird 31 Montreal, Quebec, Metropolis
August 1 Quebec City, Quebec, Albert Rousseau Hall 2 Hampton Beach, NH, Hampton Beach Casino 4 Boston, MA, Fleet Boston Pavilion 5 Red Bank, NJ, Count Basie Theatre 6 Westbury, NY, North Fork Theatre at Westbury 8 Philadelphia, PA, Electric Factory 9 Baltimore, MA, Ram's Head Tavern 10 Norfolk, VA, NorVa 11 Asheville, NC, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium 13 Tulsa, OK, Cain's Ballroom 15 Albuquerque, NM, Kiva Auditorium 16 Tucson, AZ, Fox Theatre 17 Phoenix, AZ, Dodge Theatre 18 Las Vegas, NV, House of Blues 20 Berkeley, CA, Berkeley Community Theatre 21 San Diego, CA, House of Blues 22 Anaheim, CA, House of Blues 23 Los Angeles, CA, Wiltern Theatre
September 25 London, UK, Shepherds Bush Empire 26 Tilburg, Netherlands, Koncerthus 27 Amsterdam, Netherlands, New Melkweg 29 Fribourg, Switzerland, Le Fri-Son 30 Munich, Germany Circus Krone
October 1 Frankfurt, Germany, Jahrhunderthalle 3 Stuttgart, Germany, Beethovensaal 4 Erfurt, Germany, Messehalle 5 Paris, France, Grand Rex 6 Antwerp, Belgium, Elisabeth Hall 8 Arhus, Denmark, The Music House 9 Stavanger, Norway, Koncerthus 10 Bergen, Norway, Peer Gynt 12 Oslo, Norway, Sentrum Scene 13 Lund, Sweden, Olympen 14 Stockholm, Sweden, Cirkus
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