In 2006, Dweezil Zappa began touring as Zappa Plays Zappa, focusing on the music of his late father, Frank, who passed away in 1993.
Across a variety of tours, the younger Zappa was joined by many alumni of his father's touring and recording groups, including Terry Bozzio, Steve Vai and Adrian Belew. The endeavor was successful enough that ZPZ became a top draw on concert circuits in and outside of North America.
With the ZPZ moniker a thing of the past, the guitarist's latest endeavor is a tour titled Choice Cuts, which finds him focusing his attention on some deeper and darker corners of his father's impressive body of work.
His own solo discography is also getting some new life, via the reissue of 1991's Confessions, which featured appearances from alumni of his dad's group, including bassist Scott Thunes and guitarist/keyboardist Mike Keneally as well as then-future Sting and Devo drummer Josh Freese.
Donny Osmond and Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde joined in on a cover of "Stayin' Alive" while Ratt's Warren DeMartini also guested on the Nuno Bettencourt-produced affair. The record is now available in the digital world as Confessions of a Deprived Youth (Deep Fried Youth) via the Fantom label.
Zappa spoke with KMUW from a stop on his current Choice Cuts tour. He performs at Wichita's Crown Uptown Theatre on Tuesday, Nov. 20. Doors open at 6 p.m., show starts at 7.
Interview Highlights
The Choice Cuts is essentially you doing a bit of a deep dive into your dad's catalog.
We keep learning new old things. The real theme behind this tour is finding songs that have been rearranged in unusual ways because that's something my dad liked to do. Either finding the very first performance of a song or finding another iteration where he took it someplace totally unexpected. There's probably four or five songs in the set that fit in that kind of category.
A good example of that would be the very first performance of "Florentine Pogen." We learned that arrangement because we found a recording where he announces the song and says it's the first time it's being played. It's from May of 1974. The song sounds completely different.
Each performance, being the kind of performer he was, offers up a multitude of difference.
One of the things that I find fascinating about my dad's music that is different from other artists is that when he performed live on stage … a lot of the material is arranged in a way so that each time it's played, the song is essentially a different song because of the amount of improvisational elements that are woven into the song itself. That means that if you were going to play a tour that has 100 shows you're going to have 100 different versions of that song. That's why he was heavily bootlegged: People were always looking for a different version of a song. The improvisational elements were there so that that audience that night would hear a unique performance. He carried that into so many of his songs and the theme of how the concerts were put together. That's something we follow as well.
It seems like you're in something of an enviable position because you have an audience that will accept difference from night to night whereas you and I can probably think of 10 bands where if it's not the hits or a very specific setlist there will be a riot.
My dad's music is ultimately along the lines of classical music. A lot of people don't realize that that was his main function as a composer. He was always really writing with orchestral arrangements in mind but often used the rock band as his orchestra. The depths of the compositions and the variety in all of it is what his audience got used to and really appreciated. People are generally more open to hearing music for the sake of music at our shows. They like to hear differences in the songs and aren't expecting to hear a hit parade. My dad didn't play concerts that way and we don't either.
You had a certain guitar technique in place by the time you started performing your dad's music in earnest. What was that like to get that music under your fingers? He had such an unorthodox style, especially as a lead player.
There were several physical techniques that were a challenge, but the biggest change was trying to assimilate and get anywhere near in the ballpark of the kind of overall … the vocabulary that my dad had if you relate it to how someone would communicate in sentences, he was very capable of describing things that were very complicated. He was able to make that succinct and create on the spot in that way. Having that kind of ability to play in a way that reflects his vocabulary, mentally, was the hardest thing. As a composer he has all the harmonic tools and rhythmically, he started a drummer, so he has all the rhythmic tools. Most guitar players don't come from that perspective at all, especially from the rhythm side of things. For me, that was the biggest challenge, to try to get on the same page with having as many options for vocabulary for improvisation. He really was extemporaneous, he didn't have a bag of licks. "OK, lick number one, lick number two," and keep rearranging those things. He was more right in the moment.
You're incorporating female vocalists this time out, which is a little bit different. The lead vocals in your dad's music were traditionally handled by men, with some exceptions.
My goal has always been finding people who had the best attitude. That's more important than somebody having all the required skills. From doing this for a long time, I know I want to be able to have somebody that may not have all the experience but has a great attitude. Then, when they develop the experience and the tools and talents, then they're better than even they expected. When it comes to the new people in the band they all have an amazing attitude and they bring with them a skill set that's very malleable. It really helps bring the music to life.
The women in the band: Sheila Gonzalez has been in the band with me since the start. She's done every single show that we've ever played. She's definitely a fan favorite. She plays a lot of different instruments and she sings, and we have Cian Coey, the other new female in the band. She covers a lot of ground that male vocalists in my dad's bands have done. Almost stunt vocals. In the case of the song "Fifty-Fifty," that has a real rock ‘n' roll, raspy vocal, and "Zomby Woof," which was sung by Ricky Lancelotti, who only ever sang a few songs, Cian replicates that vocal style really, really well. Ultimately, what we have is a band that can focus on any era and get the right timbre and texture of the vocals. Cian fits right in, being able to do the rock stuff, Tina Turner-style stuff, the Flo and Eddie stuff. It's a great combination.
The new guy in the band, Adam Minkoff, he's got everything from Johnny "Guitar" Watson to my dad's vocals to everything in between. He's got a great voice, and he's an even better musician.
How has the fan base changed since 2006, when you first went out as Zappa Plays Zappa?
We definitely see a lot more younger people at the shows. When I started, the audience was mostly late 40s on into middle 60s. We still have a fair amount of people that are in that range, but if you were to say, "Is it the same people from 2006?" I would say, "Probably not." Add 10 years to the people who are in their 60s. We're not seeing people who are in [their] 70s or older at the shows. It's gone the other way. It is being discovered by younger generations. We are happy that people are supporting the music, coming out to hear it.
How often are you struck by your dad's vision of the future? I think of something like ‘Who Are The Brain Police?' which is still as relevant today as when it was recorded in the 1960s.
Take "Trouble Every Day," which came out on the Freak Out! album in 1966. That might as well be ripped from today's headlines. Not to mention that it's probably one of the first recorded rap songs. I don't think my dad specifically set out to be a rapper, but if it is funny if you put it in that context. His observations on how people react to things and behave … I would describe him as the rock ‘n' roll Nostradamus. He had very prescient views and was very capable of predicting the outcome of things. You look at a lot of his interviews in the '80s, talking about politics, and everything he predicted and worse is happening now.
Did I read this correctly that your Confessions album is now available digitally?
Yep.
I really loved the album when it came out (and still do). Do you have any particular memories of making it?
That record was pretty quickly. Probably about two weeks of recording. I worked with Nuno Bettencourt from the band Extreme and the other guys from that band did some background vocals. It was a fun process to jump in and have a lot of material that I was excited about at the time and get to work with some new people. We were in the studio probably 10 to 12 hours a day. You can hear some of the fun that we had. Especially on the song "Return Of The Son Of Shoogagoogagunga." There's another version, "Shoogagoogagunga," but the other one has this dialogue between Nuno and I where we pretended to be two guitar players that don't really know what we're talking about. We play things and then talk about it. We say, "Dude," way too many times.
[Laughs.] A highly quotable track.
"I think I just played the Pentecostal scale, dude!" Dumb stuff like that. The Pentecostal scale? I use it all the time!
Jedd Beaudoin is the host of Strange Currency. Follow him on Twitter @JeddBeaudoin. To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.
