I´M Using A Chicken To Measure It – A Tribute To Frank Zappa

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Balint

To celebrate the 70th birthday of Frank Zappa, Hunchentoot presents a group show featuring the work of Pit Noack, Stefan Roigk, Heidrun Schramm, Oliver Schmidt and Nicolas Wiese. All of whom are working with sound installation. Like Zappa they use eclectic assemblage and deconstruction to develop an open form of individual references to Zappa and his multifarious work. Using comic, collage, diapositive projectors and sounds the artists create a joint collage of five individual positions. In the tradition of Frank Zappa they create a situation, in which bicycle sounds, grotesque laughter, guitar solos, notation and utopian ideas combine to an oeuvre between composition and improvisation.

All this happens in Berlin (I love it, I love it!) this december at Galerie Hunchentoot (as I see it this program is not yet on their homepage). Otherwise it opens right before FZ’s birthday:

Group Show 04.12.2010 – 12.02.2011
Opening 03.12.2010 19 – 22 Uhr

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Zappa in the Thicke of it – May 30, 1984

Posted on November 22, 2010 by urbangraffito

In this interview clip, Frank Zappa makes an appearance as a guest on the short-lived talk show, Thicke Of The Night, hosted by Alan Thicke, on May 30th, 1984, promoting his upcoming tour, as well as a never filmed satirical video.

It didn’t surprise me that so much of middle America took to Thicke‘s wholesome image. We Canadians had been tuning out his afternoon talk show, The Alan Thicke Show, since it aired in 1980.

If they’ll swallow Alan Thicke (some network executive must have thought), they’ll swallow anything!

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Sunday Big Note – Listening Session #2

Posted on November 21, 2010 by urbangraffito

It would be another year – the last week of April and the early weeks of May 1973 – before the Mahavishnu Orchestra found themselves on the road opening for Frank Zappa and the Mothers Of Invention on the tour promoting Zappa‘s Over-Nite Sensation album. Yet, as the above clip of Ruth Underwood illustrates, the Mahavishnu Orchestra had a profound effect upon Zappa and the direction which his music took.
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Posted in Miscellany, Music, Personal, Sunday Big Note, YouTubery | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

“MyKeneally Tour” at Emerald Hall, Braintree, MA.

Posted on November 19, 2010 by urbangraffito

Imagine your favorite musician or group performing for you and your friends in your very own living room, backyard, or rented hall? That’s what Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller did last year when they put out the call to their fanbase that they were ready, willing, and very much able to perform in these very intimate venues. They hit the road with their first “MyKeneally Tour“:
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Sunday Big Note – Listening Session #1

Posted on November 14, 2010 by urbangraffito

Over the last few weeks and months, fellow KUR-Meisters, while compiling the various mixtapes for Kill Ugly Radio, I had an idea for an ongoing weekly “listening session” of various artists and groups, both Zappa-related along with his contemporaries, as well as others, from various field recordings, FM radio broadcasts, and internet webcasts.

I brought the idea to Barry who also shared my enthusiasm for a weekly “listening session” and he gave the project an enthusiatic green light. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a near rabid love of recorded live music, so it can pretty much be guaranteed that my contributions to the “Sunday Big Note” listening sessions will be of the “live music” variety. What the other SBN contributors will contribute, though, will be as much a surprise to me as it is to you.

Without further ado, for your listening pleasure, I present The Billy Cobham/George Duke Band at McAlister Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 18th, 1976:

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In Pictures: Zappa At The Roundhouse

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

Our pal Magic Fingers had the good fortune (and a sufficient amount of Pound Sterling) to visit last weekend’s Roundhouse event. Pictural evidence was transferred over to KUR’s head office for your perusal:

For a closer, annotated version, be sure to visit the Flickr set.
Mucho Thx Sir Magic!

Update: Some more pictures, taken by Theydon Bois:

Flickr set over here.

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The Manson Ensemble plays Zappa: 13th of November

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Balint

Conducted by Franck Ollu, who performed with the Ensemble Modern on the original Yellow Shark recording, the Manson Ensemble present a selection of instrumental Zappa classics alongside new transcriptions by Head of Composition, Philip Cashian, and current composition students. The programme includes Peaches en Regalia, Big Swifty, Dupree’s Paradise and new transcriptions of Music For Low-Budget Orchestra and Alien Orifice.

The programme will be broadcast live at www.roundhouse.org.uk/live, again – see the (pretty exciting) programme here.

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Theydon Bois Reviews Zappa At The Roundhouse

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

Over the weekend, Theydon Bois has been posting his experiences and thoughts on the Roundhouse event in this KUR thread. In fact, he did such an amazing write-up, I figured it deserves its own post. Many thanks Mr. Bois!

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Posted in Alumni, Frank Zappa, In Writing, Music | Tagged , , | 31 Comments

New Release: Hammersmith Odeon

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

Zappa live at Hammersmith Odeon, 1978, 3-CD set.
Click image for full barfiness announcement. Pre-order here.

Update: Nov 8 2010: the correct tracklist can be found here.

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“Zappa The Hard Way” Reviewed

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

Quick! Name one artist that deserves a book about his last tour – a tour that ended prematurely? Andrew Greenaway, aka The Idiot, did just that with “Zappa The Hard Way”, a book focused solely on FZ’s ill-fated 1988 tour.

I pre-ordered the book almost instantly, naturally because I’m quite fond of the lusciously arranged live music this tour offers, but also in hopes of finding out more as to why it had to end the way it did: was it all Scott Thunes’ doing? Really?

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Posted in Alumni, Frank Zappa, In Writing, Mike Keneally | Tagged , , | 26 Comments