Zappanale (Then & Now) — Gong

Perhaps it’s the French attitude towards music and musical groups, yet I find the sheer number of incarnations that the band Gong has gone through to be truly amazing. Just imagine if each member of the original Mothers of Invention decided to start their own version of the Mothers after Frank called to tell them he was breaking up the band (then you’ll get an idea).

Gong is a progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen in 1967, after Allen—then a member of Soft Machine—was denied entry to the United Kingdom because of a visa complication. Allen remained in France where he and a London-born Sorbonne professor, Gilli Smyth, established the first incarnation of the band.

While the “Classic Gong” line-up retired from regular touring in 2001, there have been one-off reunions since, most notably at the “Gong Family Unconvention” (Uncon), the first of which was held in 2004 in the Glastonbury Assembly rooms as a one day event. The 2005 Uncon was a 2-day affair featuring several Gong-related bands such as Here and Now, System 7, House of Thandoy and Kangaroo Moon. The most recent Uncon was a 3-day event held at the Melkweg in Amsterdam on 3-5 November 2006, with practically all Gong-related bands present: classic Gong, System 7, Steve Hillage Band, Hadouk, Tim Blake & Jean-Philippe Rykiel, University of Errors, Here & Now, Mother Gong, Zorch, Eat Static, Acid Mothers Gong, Slack Baba, Kangaroo Moon and many others.

In June 2008, Gong played a concert in London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall on the Southbank, opening for Massive Attack’s Meltdown festival, with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Miquette Giraudy, Mike Howlett, Chris Taylor and Theo Travis among the lineup (see clip above).

Click on Parts 2/3/4/5/6 for additional excerpts from the June 14th, 2008 show at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Gong will be performing at Zappanale 20.

Zappanale (Then & Now) – The Grande Mothers



Between now and August 16th, 2009, the start of Zappanale’s 20th Jubilee, I am going to feature both past and present participants of Zappanale, beginning with The Grande Mothers.

The Grande Mothers feature Zappa alumni, Napoleon Murphy Brock (lead vocals, tenor sax, woodwinds and choreography), Don Preston (vocals, keyboards and transformations), and Roy Estrada (vocals, bass and pachuco falsetto), along with musicians Chris Garcia (drums, percussion and vocals) and Miroslav Tadic (electric guitar and all the difficult Zappa licks). Over the last few years they have toured to enthusiastic audiences in the US, Canada, Great Britain, as well as various stops in West and Eastern Europe showcasing their special blend of musical mayhem, virtuosic playing, bizarre humor, and as always, their playful love of the music, itself, and each other. And the feeling is contagious and infectious (or so was the sensation when they performed in my little neck of the woods last year).

Just don’t just take my word for it, though. Listen to the interview with the group (first clip). Watch them perform “Pygmy Twylyte” at the Pacific Road Arts Centre, Birkenhead, UK on the 12th March 2008 (second clip). Or perform “Peaches en Regalia” at the Sugar Nightclub for Victoria’s JazzFest ’08.

If those aren’t enough to convince you, click here, here, and here.

Zappanale 20 — Jubilee Edition

Despite all the legal intimidation that’s been going on, German ZapFest Zappanale is ready to roll! Just a couple of the confirmed bands/players for this 20th jubilee are:

Check out the flyer front / back, and the poster for more detailed information.

A Lumpy Legacy

Yesterday, an eight minute feature aired on NPR entitled Frank Zappa: A ‘Lumpy’ Legacy’. From the intro:

Gail Zappa is going after cover bands she accuses of “identity theft.” Her lawyers have sent scores of cease-and-desist letters. But many of the people who continue to perform Frank Zappa’s music say they don’t need permission.

The mini-docu contains quotes from Andre Cholmondeley, Ike Willis, David Fricke, and of course: Gail Zappa… Happy listening! 😉
(thx John W. & Rick W.)

Update 04/11: From the NPR page: “After our story aired, NPR was asked to take down the two Frank Zappa pieces we had been given permission to stream.” Part of the ZFT marketing department’s effort to further promote Zappa’s music, I reckon?

ZFT vs Zappanale: Gail Loses

Taken straight from Der Spiegel (and translated to English by yours truly):

His name belongs to me, thought Zappa widow Gail — and so she started a lawsuit against the music festival “Zappanale”, organized each year in his honor by a Fanclub. She has failed however to convince the Düsseldorf civil court.

Yay Zappanale! So. That was money well spent, wasn’t it Gail?

Here’s the article according to Google Translate, if you’re in for a laugh.
Update: here’s the article in English.

Hat tip: Robert Graf-Waczenski!

As The ZFT vs Zappanale Soap Continues

I received Zappanale‘s 19th newsletter yesterday, which talks mainly about the ZFT vs Zappanale trial. Remember that one? Back in August, there was talk of an out-of-court settlement:

The Zappa Family Trust may be willing to compromise. ZFT lawyers now say that the Zappanale can use the Zappa name if they brand the festival as “Zappa music and more.”

Now, my German is as rusty as an early 90s Russian submarine but as I understand it, here’s how things appear to have evolved since then from the ZFT claim’s perspective: if the festival’s organizers wish to keep the festival going, they are to report — at the earliest occasion — name and location of any artists playing, as well as any (FZ) tunes on their playlist.

It would then be GZ’s deity-given, exclusive prerogative to veto any artists she feels “violate the integrity and intentions” of FZ, from playing at Zappanale.

A hostile take-over, if you will.
Nennt man solch eine Forderung vielleicht Zensur? Ist das nicht unheimlich? (Yes Bob Again, I’m way ahead of you!)

The Zappanale guys beg to differ, and so yet another court meeting is scheduled at the Düsseldorf Landgericht where, as Thomas Dippel puts it, “things are in good hands”.

On a completely off-topic note: yes, I’ve been out of the loop lately and yes, there’s a very good reason for this.

“Oh, do tell Barry!”

Any day now, any day now…

Impressions From Zappanale #19

From FZ tribute band Zappatika:

Sharl’s friend Debutante Daisy performing “Montana” with the Low Budget Research Kitchen:

Low Budget Research Kitchen plays “Inca Roads”:

The Wrong Object with Stanley J. Zappa on sax:

The Paul Green School of Rock All-Stars perform “One Shot Deal”:

The Paul Green School of Rock with Napoleon M. Brock and Denny Walley perform “Advance Romance”:

Many, many more to be found on YouTube…

When Rock Legend Widows Litigate

In November, the plaintiffs demanded that the organizers of the Zappanale be forced to pay a €250,000 penalty or be sent to jail for two years should the festival or the related “Arf-Society” refuse to comply.

Gail Zappa

Cut to the present:

The two sides now have some six weeks to come up with an out-of-court settlement. And the Zappa Family Trust may be willing to compromise. ZFT lawyers now say that the Zappanale can use the Zappa name if they brand the festival as “Zappa music and more.

Zappa music — and more! Them lawyers sure know how to win a case. Our credit card spending at work, ladies and gentlemen.

I’ll just let Der Spiegel do the talking.

To loosely quote Woody Allen though, if I may: “If you need me, I’ll be in the back having an anger attack.”