Kill Ugly Radio | Frank Zappa & Elsewhere
Frank Zappa news, weird links, lumpy gravy. Wanna bun?
Hey kids, just a reminder: WUSB’s Zappathon ’06 airs tomorrow, starting at noon and going til midnight (EST). Co-hosted by John Tabacco and Nigey Lennon it’ll be nothing short of a Zapfest featuring interviews and rare recordings. On top of that our friend SOFA is scheduled to appear on the show (as he did last year). Oh, and you might just hear Dr Sharl and I say a couple of words…
Tune in!
Dial-up stream: mp3 • wma • real
Broadband stream: mp3 • wma • real
Last night was Zappa Plays Zappa’s official opening at the Jammy’s. Judging from this review authored by one Trendmonger at the zappa.com forums, we are in for a treat. A Big Treat:
Chick Corea came out for the Fender Rhodes and Moog solos in Inca Roads and it was plain to see that this band is a tour de force as one listened to Inca Roads & Florentine Pogen with a sound believe it or not that was Thicker and had More Balls than any live Zappa performance I have ever seen and heard. When the band left the stage one could not stop and realize that this Zappa Plays Zappa band had all the right ingredients.
In answer to the comments on Frank Who?, this snappy Gail Zappa quote from Relix Magazine‘s April/May ’06 issue (which was sent to me by its guest editor Richard Gehr — thanks so much for that bud!) should clear things up a bit:
The two concerts seen in the Dub Room Special DVD exist separately on video, and we’re working on releasing one of them in surround sound. This also represents our first foray into another project I’m interested in, which is inviting certain well-known producers and engineers who never had an opportunity to work with Frank, but were well aware of, inspired by, or interested in his work, to get their hands on a Frank Zappa project. In this regard, we turned over the KCET concert to Frank Filipetti. And we’ll still release the Token of His Extreme DVD by the same band.
This just in from our dear pal SOFA. Read carefully!
Greetings One & All!
April is right around the corner and we all know what that means:
(Yeah, it means a shitload of things to a lot of different people, but for our purposes it means)
The Annual “Zappathon” is coming up soon! (April 23rd, to be precise.)
That’s right, you heard right, the 12 hour extravaganza that dares to be Zappa will mangle the air waves in a little less than a month.
(Bring the Band down behind me, Boys.)
For those that have tuned-in in the past, you know that there’s bound to be a ton of tasty FZ to enjoy, much of it rare or difficult to acquire – making the Zappathon a “must listen” in the FZ community. Yup. Uncle Frank gets the radio play he sorely lacked during his all-too-brief lifetime – 12 freakin’ hours worth!
But this is more than just an announcement regarding the program, this is also a “call to arms” (or mouths, if you prefer).
Once again, “Mr. Edison” – the Zappathon’s guiding light (Zappa-List member Bill Amutis) – and Company have asked if I would like to be a “voice” for the FZ Community on the program. I’ve agreed…
But with so many “voices” out there, I couldn’t help wonder “Why Me?” So I concocted this Evil Plan:
Since the Zappathon is truly a global event, as is the FZ Community, why not incorporate some ‘other voices’ into the program?
The Powers at WUSB have deemed this “a BRILLIANT idea” (go figure).
So this is your chance to “share the air” with the likes of Greg Russo, Nigey Lennon, David Walley, Charles Ulrich, Candy Zappa – to name just a few past Zappa luminaries that have appeared; your chance to pay personal homage to the man that brought most of us together; your chance to “plug” your fan club, FZ Tribute Band, FZ website, make a statement or that ‘long distance dedication’ you’ve been dying to make.
“Gee, SOFA, how can I lend MY voice to this year’s Zappathon?”
Glad you asked…
Here’s the deal: the Zappathon is a radio show and – as such – it has certain ‘rules’ it needs to abide, announcing its call letters (WUSB) for one. The show is also part of the annual Fund Drive to keep the station in operation, so there NEEDS to be requests for support.
We (in the FZ global community) can help out by providing these “station breaks”.
For example: “Hi, this is Poodle from theBIGnote and you’re listening to Zappathon 2006 from WUSB Stoneybrook”; or “This is ‘Barry’ from ‘Kill Ugly Radio’ in Belgium. We’re all doing our part to Kill Ugly Radio and no one does more than the hard workin’ folks down at WUSB Stoneybrook… If ya think about it, that’s kinda beautiful. And while you’re thinkin’ about it, why not throw a coupla bucks their way?”; or “This is Bart from Poland and I want to dedicate “Strictly Genteel” to my pal Dimi in Croatia.”
Get the Picture? The possibilities are indeed endless…
All you need to do is simply record your audio message, and email it to me. I will collate all of the submissions, burn them to disk, and send it on to the team at WUSB.
Don’t know what to say? Email me. Want to Freak Out in the Suburbs? Go for it!
(WUSB is a Public Radio operation that can “push the envelope” of “acceptable” radio play; however, the staff retains the right to edit or omit anything patently obscene or profane. We want to Kill Ugly Radio, not WUSB.)
Kinda like registering to vote, this is your chance to let your voice be heard!
Let the taping begin…
Warm Regards,
SOFA
Oh the irony: Warner Music is set to buy “indie” label RykoDisc.
In Relix, with the eternal question, again: “So what’s in the vault and when will you let it out?”
A message to our American friends: check this out…
Rumor has it (from a very good source) that…
Rumor has it (From a very good source) that the Zappa plays Zappa show will debut in the US 4/21 at The Beacon Theatre in NYC. DZ and Napi are on the list for the Jammy’s show 4/20 at MSG Theatre and I know there are a lot of artists playing all over the city prior to and after the Jammy’s.
I’m probably the last to find out — blame it on too much work and a faulty car-battery at 7pm out in the freezing cold — but the ZFT now has a page up with all the (European) tourdates for Zappa Plays Zappa.
Sidenote: am I the only one who thinks the “Accept No Substitute” slogan is a bit of a snide remark at the address of all the “unofficial” tribute bands that have been keeping Frank’s music alive all these years? Maybe that car-battery just got me in a bad mood…
Quickie.
Back in 1997, the ZFT announced on their website the impending release of Frank Zappa’s last completed project, recorded just 5 months before his death: an album of Varèse compositions selected, supervised and conducted by the man himself. Nine years have passed, and behold:
The long-awaited Varèse album may be coming out after all, possibly by the end of this year. “The Varèse album is on hold for a very specific reason,” Zappa’s widow, Gail, said in December. “We documented three recording sessions with a film crew, and they absconded with the film and tapes, and it took me eight years and lawsuits to get the sucker back.
It’s something of a Holy Grail among FZ-fans: Amougies ’69, where Zappa “supposedly” went onstage to jam along with Pink Floyd! In the past, recordings of this gig had surfaced but whether it was really FZ playing remained questionable. Now, apparently a “legit” recording has finally been unearthed which can be downloaded at dimeadozen. See also the related zappateers thread. Anyone get a chance to give this a listen?
Well, since Barry crossed the border to Brazil, here’s a new release:
Jeezis!.. This is what we’ve been waiting for? The Petit Wazoo????
Yes, friends. Just click on FZ’s head at www. zappa.com, and you’ll see.
update:
You can order it here for 17 $. And:
“Liner notes by Steve Vai.”
Steve is a special guest on the Zappa Plays Zappa Tour, and may not perform on all songs. Other special guests include Terry Bozzio and Napoleon Murphy Brock.
So they say…
