Zappa News

Added week-ending 21 April 2024:

• Great news: Bradley Morgan's book, Frank Zappa’s America: Music, Satire, Politics & The Fight Against Christian Fascism, will be published by Louisiana State University Press in Spring 2025. Having seen an early draft, I can advise it's an absorbing book that successfully contradicts FZ's dismissal of his own lyrics as simply a device to get people to listen to his music.
• Watch FIDOplaysZAPPA featuring Robert Martin perform Sinister Footwear. This is the first single from their live album together, due out on 17 May.
• Podcaster Tony Trombo has a new book out, collecting together his interviews with FZ band members+, called Talking Zappa. Includes his chats with Ike Willis, Cal Schenkel, Mike Keneally, Arthur Barrow, Howard Kaylan and more.
• Dark Horse Records has released new album Dreamers In The Field, a collaboration between Huun-Huur-Tu, Carmen Rizzo & Dhani Harrison. Check it out on SoundCloud.
• FZ & The Mothers live at the Whisky A Go Go, 1968 - a three disc set with just under three hours of music - will be the next official Zappa release. The Duke (Take 2) is the first preview track. You can read about it (and buy merch) here. There's also a more detailed breakdown of the album here. Cal Schenkel commented on Facebook, "I thought this was a bootleg because of the art: the graphics really SUCK!" When told that Miss Pamela had written the liner notes, he added "They should have had her design the cover too!"
• Official Zappa merch (t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, caps) now available in Debenhams!
• On Instagram, Dweezil has posted a few behind the scenes clips of preparations for his upcoming tour. He will be filming all of the rehearsals and in May will create a subscription based mini-series of events leading up to the first concert - at dweezilzappa.com.
• The Percussive Arts Society has assured me that it will be making its recent Zappa article available for public browsing when it launches its new website on 1 May. As noted last week, it's a listening guide to FZ's percussionists, written with the participation of Art Tripp, Ruth Underwood and Ed Mann, as well as additional insights from Chris Garcia and Joe Travers.

Added week-ending 14 April 2024:

• The latest edition of Percussive Notes, the official journal of the Percussive Arts Society, includes an article entitled The Mallets of Invention: A listening guide to Frank Zappa’s percussionists. It includes insights from Ruth Underwood, Art Tripp & Ed Mann, but doesn't appear to be readily available for all to view (your intrepid reporter has written to PAS querying this but in the meantime, members can view it here). The Society has curated this Spotify playlist containing all of the tracks discussed in the article.
• There is a GoFundMe page for Lady Bianca, who has suddenly become unwell and could use a little help.
• Moon Unit on her upcoming memoir: "I used to say having Frank for a father was a bit like having Jesus as a dad – only I viewed his fervent flock keeping our lights on as my competition, and was outraged by the ones filling our earthly father’s coffers with unlimited blow-jobs. Some of the surprises for me in writing the book were empathy for the villains in my life and for myself, along with the mortifying exposure and dismantling of faulty understandings and outdated beliefs. Personally and professionally, this was the most difficult and ambitious thing I have done so far.” Earth To Moon will be published in the UK by White Rabbit on 22 August 2024, in hardback, ebook and audio digital download. Anyone wanting a signed copy (plus as an original illustration by Moon Unit), go here.
• Those who watched the interview with Geoff Wills about his Zappa And Jazz book ⬇️ will have noted that he has a new tome coming out, titled Reed Rapture: The Saxophone on Movie Soundtracks. 

Added week-ending 7 April 2024:

• In the latest Rocktails podcast with Ahmet Zappa, session guitarist Tim Pierce explores FZ's Baby Snakes SG.
• Two very different posts about Robert Fripp appeared on Facebook  this week - by Scott Thunes and Steve Vai, with one describing him as a marvel and t'other as crankypants. See if you can guess who said which.
• For those still cogitating about going to Zappanale, I have posted my handy guide to getting there. Although focussed on travelling from the UK, for those who might fly in to Hamburg or Berlin from elsewhere, it's hopefully still handy.
• When the Universal Music Group acquisition of the Zappa estate was announced, I wondered about what might become of the Zappa Team - specifically, Melanie Starks, Holland Greco, Michael Mesker and Joe Travers. Happily it has been business as usual as regards the latter two gents (still artistic director and Vaultmeister respectively). Meanwhile, both of the ladies became employees of UMe in 2022, where Holland continues in her full-time role as a director of art & media. Melanie (who worked for the Zappa's for 20 years and was Gail's right hand wo-man) though ceased her consultancy role with UMe in January 2024, having acted as production manager on all FZ album releases during her two years with the company. Here's wishing her well as she focusses on her career as a producer, writer and actor.
• Montana-based musician/composer David Frick (no, not the editor of Rolling Stone) recently released his version of Watermelon In Easter Hay on Bandcamp (as did Ohio band Bad Deal).
• Beat (Belew-Vai-Levin-Carey) dates now in the Diary. And here the band talk to Rick Beato.
• Former Magic Band guitarist Moris Tepper will have a new album, Building A Nest, available from all streaming services on 5 April.

Added week-ending 31 March 2024:

• Asked about how Dweezil ended up remixing Machine Head, Deep Purple's Roger Glover said, "It wasn't our choice. The record company wanted Dweezil because of his father's connection. I'd already mixed the album for the 25th anniversary, so I said, 'Well, why do you need another remix?' But they said they wanted Dweezil. I think it's probably a marketing thing. They thought it was a cool idea."
• To cover the start-up costs of his upcoming Rox(postroph)y tour, Dweezil is flogging some of his gear - including the "Hot Rats" World Tour Gibson Custom Replica and Jackson Custom Guitar signed by Madonna. Says Dweezil, "Inflation has wreaked havoc in every sector of our lives the last four years, including the touring industry. I wanted to create a win-win situation by offering some of my favourite guitars for sale as a way to support the tour. There's a lot of variety in the items on auction, guitars, amps, pedals, speakers, studio outboard gear, cases and more." Check it out here. Most of the items for sale have a bespoke demo vid with DZ, and here's one giving an overview of the auction.
• New interview with Zappa And Jazz author Geoff Wills about Frank and, er, jazz here. If you haven't yet read Geoff's great little book, maybe this will encourage you to correct that. 
• The promotional video for the new Joe Satriani/Steve Vai single The Sea Of Emotion, Pt.1 features a guy cross-dressed as FZ on the cover of We're Only In It For The Money.
• Bill Pitts (aka Dr Mumbai) has followed up his first album (The Adventures Of Dr. Mumbai, which featured Bryan Beller, Marco Minnemann, Arthur Barrow, Dweezil, Pete Griffin, Scheila Gonzalez, Aaron Arntz) with Hangar 63. This too features Marco Minnemann, alongside Billy Sheehan and (organ rising music) Mr Ike Willis! Check it out here.
• The line-up for Zappanale has finally been announced. It includes: Ensemble Fuse & Napoleon Murphy Brock, Pygmy Twylyte, Jeff Hollie Quartet, The Wrong Object, David Cross Band, Gong, Inventionis Mater Trio and Frank Out! Full details at www.zappanale.de
• This website is one year old! Since 28 March last year, 82,597 visitors have viewed it 133,637 times. Not bad for an old HTML site, eh? As regards social media, over 17,000 Zappa fans were reached through my Zappa The Hard Way Facebook page during the same period (a 285.7% increase over the previous 12 months), and more than 262,000 of the @idiotbastard's Tweets have been seen on X. Thanks to you all; it's encouraging that there remains so much interest in someone who passed away over 30 years ago. Frank Zappa music is the best!
• Pretend you attended Birmingham Symphony Hall to watch the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra perform Bob In Dacron and Sad Jane on 27 March by downloading the programme here and listening to it here (the FZ portion starts at 23:50). Sorted!!

Added week-ending 24 March 2024:

• After last year's Zappanale lost €150k, the Arf Society has revealed the seriousness of its current predicament, saying "If we do not manage to generate the necessary income, the Zappanale can no longer take place." This year is safe and happening, but it could be the last if regular attendees decide not to go. And if you've always been meaning to make the trip, please do it this year: we can't allow this amazing festival to end!
• Péter Eötvös - who conducted The Rage And The Fury, was musical director of Ensemble InterContemporain for The Perfect Stranger, and composed Psalm 151, In Memoriam Of Frank Zappa - sadly passed away at the weekend. May he rest in peace.
• Here's Scott Thunes on Reddit talking about working with Chad Wackerman again in Banned From Utopia: "I was a little apprehensive, but the second I saw him last year at his house for rehearsals, I just had to give him a hug. For the record, there was never any official bad blood between us. He just never spoke to me during the 88 tour, never said anything to anybody about anything (or defended me) during the past decades." Those who have read Zappa The Hard Way will know that, despite my constant badgering, Chad has indeed maintained a dignified silence about the tour.
• The Official Grandmothers Fan Club Talk Album is now available on streaming services. It features Elliot Ingber, Bunk Gardner, Don Preston, Motorhead, Buzz Gardner and Jimmy Carl Black. Here it is on YouTube.
• Talking of Don Preston, he is Pamela Des Barres' special guest on her latest Pajama Party podcast - here! During their chat, Miss Pamela reveals that she has just finished writing liner notes for a future Mothers 1968 Whisky A Go Go release.
• Watch Dweezil talk about remixing Deep Purple's Machine Head here.
• Magic Band drummer Robert Williams has a GoFundMe campaign, due to medical issues that have rendered him unable to generate an income and he is at risk of homelessness. If you can help, go here.
• According to Joel Selvin's Drums & Demons: The Tragic Journey of Jim Gordon, when Gordon was summoned to Trident Studios to play drums on Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain, he arrived with FZ who stayed and watched him do 60 takes before producer Richard Perry was happy. Apparently Perry did countless takes with other drummers and brought Gordon in as a last resort.
• One Shot Deal's recent show at Campus Jax (with special guest Mike Keneally) can now be viewed at your leisure here.
• Inventionis Mater, the duo who celebrated 13 years together at the weekend, will play at the exhibition hall at Zappanale this year. Their latest album, featuring Napoleon Murphy Brock, is now readily available here.
• Last week, I provided a link to an EP by Dweezil's new singer/guitarist Zach Tabori, which features artwork by Cal Schenkel and Tommy Mars on two tracks. If you don't want to listen to the whole thing, you should at least check out the track Buy My Shirt, which has Tommy all over it.
• Just a reminder that next week sees the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra tackle Bob In Dacron and Sad Jane. The concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio Three.
• Not only is the new Beat-era King Crimson supergroup endorsed by Robert Fripp, but he also says that, "Steve Vai is the only guitarist who could play my parts."

Added week-ending 17 March 2024:

• Joe Satriani and Steve Vai will release their first ever collaborative song, titled The Sea Of Emotion, Pt. 1, on 29 March.
• New Fripp-endorsed supergroup Beat - comprising Adrian Belew, Steve Vai, Tony Levin and Tool's Danny Carey - will play 80s King Crimson at Humphreys in San Diego on 17 September. Hopefully not a one-off!
• Here FZ discusses the impact of the poorly educated on the decline of American democracy.
• Dweezil US Rox(postroph)y tour dates now in the Diary. (As regards a UK tour, DZ sez "hopefully next year".) His band will again include Kurt Morgan (bass), Ryan Brown (drums) and Scheila Gonzalez (sax/keys), plus these two new guys (the chap on guitar is Zach Tabori, who recorded an EP called Ensemble which features Tommy Mars with artwork by Cal Schenkel, while the keyboard dude is Bobby Victor of Pizza Bees - DZ has now confirmed all this here). And here's a video of George Duke telling us what he thought of the Dweez. To celebrate all of this, the Idiot has curated a Spotify playlist of rock classics featuring DZ!
• Suddenly available again on CD: Frankful by Mats Öberg!
• As well as Deep Purple, Dweezil has apparently also been working on ATMOS mixes for Experience Hendrix, and possibly on some Van Halen material too.
• Anyone receiving a basic German pension (or those dependent on social assistance) can now get a reduced price 'social' ticket to attend Zappanale this year.
• Universal's plans for "efficiencies" (that is, reduce its staff headcount by 17%) has impacted on its release schedule. As things stand, the next 'new' Zappa release remains FZ For President on vinyl.

Added week-ending 10 March 2024:

• Dweezil on his Rox(postroph)y tour: "After 4 long years, I'm pleased to announce that next Tuesday I will be able to share pre-sale ticket links for a 30 show US tour! I have a new Rocking Teen-Age Combo and we are going to play a curated list of fan favorites in ways they've never been played. 1974 yielded Apostrophe and Roxy & Elsewhere so of course we will celebrate 50 years of fun and explore uncharted territory within those records. 2 drummers on stage? Don't threaten me with a good time!" One date in Diary already.
• Dates for Banned From Utopia's US summer tour (Joel Taylor replacing Chad Wackerman on drums) with the Paul Green Rock Academy are now in the Diary. Meanwhile, Morgan Ågren and Mats Öberg made a guest appearance at the BFU show in Stockholm on 9 March.
• The Furious Bongos Mother's Day tour dates are also in the Diary.

Added week-ending 3 March 2024:

• In this second recent vlog, John "Drumbo" French appeals to Jack White and the Zappa Trust regarding unpaid royalties for Trout Mask Replica.
• The Road To Halloween 2023 Vol. 1 by The Furious Bongos (feat. Chad Wackerman) is now available to download at Bandcamp - name your price! I am reliably informed that Vol. 2 will be "a batch of other songs, plus alternate versions of the big jam tunes."
• Also on Bandcamp is a third album by Mike Keneally and Marcelo Radulovich, called Tuesday. Keneally's excellent You Must Be This Tall album from 2013 has also been added, with bonus shiz.
• Pygmy Twylyte superfan Chris Lammiman saw every gig on the band's recent tour and is writing a book about it. Why? Says Chris, "I have a terrible memory, so the tour diary aspect came from my desire to have something of a reminder and memento...to have an excuse for talking to people and collecting stories along the way...[and] because I can, and because I want to." He has set up a Facebook page for it: The History And Collected Improvisations Of Pygmy Twylyte.
• Chad Wackerman has shared this great picture of Scott Thunes, Robert Martin, Ray White, Steve Vai and himself together at last weekend's Banned From Utopia shows at the Baked Potato.
• ZappaRap is now available from Bandcamp is currently Rock Radio's CD of the week. I was interviewed about the album, Festival MOO-AH and our dear departed friend, Dave Owen, on Thursday 29th February. If you missed it, you can listen again (without the music) here.

Added week-ending 25 February 2024:

• Moon Zappa's long-awaited memoir (Earth To Moon) now has a UK publisher - with new cover art. Check out the White Rabbit website.
• Conductor score for Bob In Dacron & Sad Jane and musical problems: a video by Chanan Hanspal. A timely reminder that the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra will be playing these two piece next month - see Diary for deets.
• Here's an update on the provisional bands lined-up for Zappanale #33.
• The ZappaRap album is now available to stream on Spotify, YouTube and Amazon Music. It has also been added to Discogs and the rockradio.de music archive.
• Episode 2 of the Over-Nite Sensation 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition ZappaCast is here.
• ZERO's flower-power trio instrumental mix of Who Needs the Peace Corps? is available exclusively as a download when you buy the band's Six Of One CD from Bandcamp.
• New vlog from John 'Drumbo' French covering issues with his book royalties plus upcoming releases, happenings and other cool stuff.
• Lisa Popeil will be 'virtually' in the UK in March. Details here. (And over here also.)
• Guitarist Mike Miller will replace Jamie Kime as he returns to play for Banned From Utopia on their brief tour of Scandinavia in March. All dates in the Diary, plus some of the summer ones (with Joel Taylor on drums).
• As per David Logeman's hopes, the clip of him performing Pick Me, I'm Clean with The Zappa Band has now been put up on YouTube. The link to it has been added to our interview!
• Here's a new video interview with Chester Thompson, talking about his new solo album plus the Zappa years. And here he lists the 10 albums that have defined his career.
• Pygmy Twylyte were on fire last week for their short tour of England. If you missed them, get your arse over to Zappanale in July! They will also be playing two more shows in the North of England later in the year - see the Diary for details.
• Suddenly back in the Idiot's webshop, copies of the AMM All-Stars Play Lumpy Gravy CD. For reasons I can understand, this disc sells better than any of the others in my store! Here's a playlist of some Zappa tracks that All-Stars members have contributed to my CDs for Cordelia over the last 16 years.

Added week-ending 18 February 2024:

• Waiting to hear about the next FZ release - The Mothers 1969 or Zappa '74? - but it looks like it's Zappa For President on coloured vinyl for Record Store Day 😴
• Also on Record Store Day comes a deluxe edition of The Spotlight Kid by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band.
• What do we know about Dweezil's summer US tour so far? It will kick-off in August and last about five weeks. The band will be billed as The Dweezil Zappa Band and is likely to include Scheila Gonzalez, Kurt Morgan and Ryan Brown. They will play the music of FZ, plus whatever the f@%k they want. It will visit Los Angeles (either The Wiltern or The Orpheum Theatre).
• You may recall a young fangirl called Flake wrote a Zappa zine (Zappa Every Day) some months back. Well, there are now just 28 copies left, and once they're gone, they're gone. Flake writes, "For the uninitiated, it's my reactions and reviews of 30 Zappa albums in 30 days and four films. Quite an adventure for someone who had never heard his shit before!" The Idiot says it's a fun read, after all of the more studious Zee tomes out there. Grab one (or more!)  of the remaining copies here.
• Update on Ike Willis' health from Dr. Dot: "Ike is done with the detox and now officially in the rehab centre to complete his journey to sobriety and health. Cross your fingers and toes he makes it through and heals. We love Ike Willis ❤️." Amen to that.
• What the hell was he thinking?! A charity recording of Going Home (Theme from Local Hero) by Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes will be released on 15 March. It features (among many, many others) Steve Vai, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr and Mr Sting. Net proceeds will go to Teen Cancer America and the Teenage Cancer Trust. Read more about it here.
• Vai is also part of another all-star cast of musicians on the song Some Assembly Required by Jason Becker & Friends, hoping to raise money for the ailing Becker. Read all about it here.
• Here’s a video to accompany ZERO (featuring Robert Martin)’s rendition of Teen-Age Wind from the new ZappaRap album. The album is now available to stream in Spotify.

Added week-ending 11 February 2024:

• Just added to Bandcamp is an album of radio ads by The Firesign Theatre, called Jack Poet Loves You. It includes three ads for Hot Rats, two of which can be found on The Hot Rats Sessions box set (Heavy On Your Head and Remain Anonymous as Hot Rats Vintage Promotion Ads #3 & #4), and one that doesn't (track 38, Nifty New Teenage Album).
• Suddenly available: ZappaRap, a new compilation album of Eff-Z covers in a hip-hop stylee, featuring the legendary Robert Martin! More here.
• The Poodle Bites wishes us a Zappy Valentine's Day ♥️
• Just added to the Zappanale line-up for 2024: Inventionis Mater and The Jeff Hollie Quartet (comprising Jeff, Fred Händl, Armin Beck & Kevin Crosby).
• Deep Purple will unleash Machine Head: Super Deluxe Edition at the end of March, featuring new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes by Dweezil Zappa. His remix of Smoke On The Water can be heard here. There's a rumour Dweezil might also be involved in ATMOS remixes of Van Halen's back catalogue. What next?

Added week-ending 4 February 2024:

• I have just conducted a short interview with GTO Miss Sparkie Parker!
• For years, I'd always assumed FZ got a thank you on Stevie Wonder's Songs In The Key Of Life for loaning him some gear. Turns out Frank recorded a guitar solo for the song All Day Sucker. Engineer Gary Adante recalls Frank "Was amazing, but it just really wasn’t as great as we’d hoped it to be." Snuffy Walden recorded the version eventually used on the album.
• The countdown to the release of Part I of Frankly Zappa: An Unauthorized Biography by John Klein Sloatman III has ended, and...nothing yet!
• Name that Zappa tune - Round 4!
• Universal Music Group pulled its music from TikTok on 1 February, meaning all of FZ's official releases can no longer be added to posts (and have also been removed from old ones).
• On Bandcamp Friday, a new Mike Keneally/Beer For Dolphins release became available here. Live at Lynagh’s – Lexington, KY  May 18. 2001 is a live audience recording of the seven-piece BFD that toured in support of the Dancing album. Yes please! Mike will be One Shot Deal's special guest at the next couple of gigs - see Diary.
• Some further clarity re. Dweezil's announcement of a new tour in August. It will be a month long US jaunt and previous band members Scheila Gonzalez (keys, sax), Kurt Morgan (bass) and Ryan Brown (drums) appear to be back onboard. Unfortunately Adam Minkoff is not available so expect one or two new bods.
• The Paul Green Rock Academy will open for Banned From Utopia on their US East Coast tour this summer. Joel Taylor will be returning to the BFU drum stool for these gigs.
• New ZappaCast looking at the recent Over-Nite Sensation box set here - part one of three! 
• The U-M Contemporary Directions Ensemble concert this coming Saturday (3  February), where they will play selections from The Yellow Shark, will be live-streamed. Here's the link.

Added week-ending 28 January 2024:

• Very sadly, there will be no Muffin Men nor Denny Walley at this year's Zappanale. 
• Dweezil is special guest on the latest Guess That Record podcast - here. Recorded before his comment about a new tour in August (see ⬇️), here he hasn't booked anything yet, but talks about wanting to celebrate the 1974 albums, Apostrophe(') and Roxy & Elsewhere. Woo-hoo! 
• Name that Zappa tune - Round Three!!! 
• Dweezil has been responding to questions on his website, which he says will see a lot more stuff added this year: "I spent most of last year going through concerts. I will also be starting a bunch of video content: series, interviews, filmed podcasts, guitar lessons, etc. Also there will be a new tour in AUGUST."
• Watch Marc Atkinson recreate Vinnie Colaiuta's Deathless Horsie drum performance here. (Marc can be heard playing Mo's Vacation with Arthur Barrow and Ed Mann on Cordelia's Rare Episodes CD.)

Added week-ending 21 January 2024:

• When the Sloatman family moved to London in 1959, Gail attended Marymount International School in Surrey until 1962. She later modelled for photographers David Bailey and Terence Donovan, and had brief dalliances with Return Of The Saint actor, Ian Ogilvy, and the co-founder of Track Records, Chris Stamp. On her return to LA, she met producer Kim Fowley and recorded this single.
• Is Big Eyed Beans From Venus the greatest love song ever recorded, asks Brian Neavyn.
• Here you can hear short excerpts from 200 Motels: The Suites as performed by the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra at the Zénith in Strasbourg on 21 September 2018, and the Choir of the Nice Opera and the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra at the Nice Opera on 1 December 2023.
• The always watchable Chanan Hanspal learns us how analyse FZ's 'ugly' melodies.
• 'Name That Zappa Tune', Round 2!
• Andy Edwards asks, was FZ really any good on guitar - here. (Seems he was!)
• Alex Dahl has added another new page to his Life On The Road website about the early 1977 band and their month-long tour of Europe - which takes in my first ever Zappa concert! He's also added reviews for the 1973 shows that were unearthed for the Over-Nite Sensation 50th anniversary release. Tuck in!
• 200 Motels is available to buy on DVD for the first time ever in Japan. Hopefully this signals an imminent worldwide reissue - or not? 
• Apparently after the Universal takeover of all things FZ, Barfko-Swill received a big bunch of old product. As a result, they are currently selling the original Barking Pumpkin Sleep Dirt CD (with Thana Harris' vox) and more. Someone tell Jenna Ortega!
• Mike Keneally appears on a cover of Hall & Oates' Don't Blame It On Love by the Powhida​/​Perdomo Hotline. Check her out here.

Added week-ending 14 January 2024:

• New book, available to purchase now: Not Just Happy Together: The Turtles From A-Z (AM Radio to Zappa) by Mark Arnold & Charles F Rosenay!!! More info here.
• Here's a bit of fun: name that Zappa tune with The Poodle Bites.
• Last month the Zappa Team announced via their socials that A Token Of His Extreme was available for streaming. This caused some confusion as no links were provided and very few people were able to locate it on the various services outside of North America - plus it seemed to be for one day only. They have now announced that Does Humor Belong In Music? is on streaming sites and I can see it on Amazon Prime here in the UK. It's not free, like, but good for those who don't own it on DVD. Earlier this week (on Discord), the Vaultmeister™ inferred that Universal felt nobody buys DVDs anymore (hence no hard copy of the Classic Album Freak Out! thing presumably), but hopefully they will get around to putting things that haven't been released on DVD like Video From Hell, The True Story of 200 Motels, Uncle Meat and The Amazing Mr. Bickford on streaming sites too one day.
• Steve Vai tells Chanan Hanspal how he made Flex-Able and Passion And Warfare - watch.
• Banned From Utopia guitarist Robbie 'Seahag' Mangano has teamed up with former Dweezil side-people Adam Minkoff and David Luther for a third wacky Frankie Valli murder single: I'm So Mad is available on Bandcamp now.
• Chad Wackerman will be playing with It Bites on their short UK tour next week.
• The final Lovers Of Invention track live from Brixton is here, while The Furious Bongos with Chad Wackerman's Find Her Finer can be found here.
• During the Zappa festival at Bozar last month, the Ryelandt Trio played a concert that was broadcast on Belgian Radio Klara on 2 January. You can now 'listen again' here. (Jump to the start of their programme at 09:45 and hear Inca Roads / The Black Page #2 / Penis Dimension / Five-Five-Five / Sofa / The Uncle Meat Theme / I'm Stealing The Towels / Naval Aviation In Art / Florentine Pogen / Sad Jane / Strictly Genteel performed on violin, cello and piano!)