From the very first time I heard Eddie Jobson perform as a member of Frank Zappa‘s band in 1976-77, I was immediately drawn to the style and playing of this virtuoso violinist/keyboard player. Whether it was Zappa compositions, or those of Roxy Music, Jethro Tull, or even his own solo work or through the supergroup U.K. – Jobson’s style was and is uniquely his very own.
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Tag: 2009
Space Brothers and Mike Keneally @ Red Dock Saloon, 2009
I’d like to dedicate this particular post to my friend, and fellow KUR-Meister, Balint, who recently reminded so well that sometimes it’s worthwhile just to post just for the fun of it all, and for the love of the music, itself. Nothing could come closer to that description than the few videos I recently discovered while surfing about the internet of The Space Brothers and Mike Keneally (also featuring Bryan Beller) performing on August 16th, 2009, at the Red Dock Saloon in Saugatuck/Douglas, Michigan, on the lakeshore of Lake Michigan – a venue well known for it’s good food, cold beer, loud music, and nasty bathrooms. Although the audio is somewhat muddy at times, the guitar work in these videos is often absolutely sublime – especially the guitar work in their cover of Frank Zappa‘s “My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama” (above). There are instances I am reminded how much I miss FZ’s live guitar improvisation, and why Keneally is considered “the leading progressive rock genius of the post-Zappa era”. Listen to their cover of “Cosmik Debris” as well as a riff from “Inca Roads” (both below) and decide.
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“MyKeneally Tour” at Emerald Hall, Braintree, MA.
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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Elvis Has Just Left The Building
Have you ever wondered where Frank Zappa got his inspiration for his song, “Elvis Has Just Left The Building” which appeared on his 1988 Broadway the Hard Way album?
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Best FZ Covers: Battle of the YouTube Muffins, Or, Some People Like Cupcakes Better…
I’m really not certain which of these groups belongs in a compilation of best FZ covers – each has something different and unique in their version of Frank Zappa‘s Muffin Man that the other two groups do not. Give them a hearing and decide for yourself. MazMyth at LMCS Auditorium on January 9, 2009; Zappa Plays Zappa at Villa Arconati, July 15, 2008; or Pappa Plays Zappa at The Upperfloor (known as Stalloftet) in Hamar, Norway, August 3, 2008:
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Best FZ Covers – Panzerballett
Panzerballett is one of the most interesting and totally eclectic bands that I have had the joy of coming across in recent memory. Music critics call their sound “an innovative mixture of jazz, funk and metal, crossing complex polyrhythms with metal guitar riffing, funky grooves and jazz improvisation.” Like the best work of 1970s Brecker Brothers combined with hints of Return To Forever and Funkadelic‘s Maggot Brain, Panzerballett has created a unique heavy metal/ funk/ jazz fusion hybrid of their own design. In doing so, they’ve created Zappa covers just as unique.
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Zappa at Montreux Prog Nights, 2009
Since 2006, the goal of Montreux Prog Nights has been to to promote progressive music in Switzerland, especially in Montreux, by organizing three or four events each year in various venues. In 2009, the band FiDOplaysZAPPA performed a Zappa Night on January 23rd, while French band Lazuli also performed selected Zappa compositions on November 7th. Both performed at Ned’s Music Club.
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Tunes, Treats & Torrents – Peach Noise
Ever so often a cover band comes along that absolutely impresses me with their ability to interpret Zappa’s compositions in fresh, bold new ways. The French cover band Peach Noise is one such band.
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Tunes, Treats & Torrents – Fattore Zeta
Italian band Fattore Zeta describes itself as a “jazz tribute to Frank Zappa” band. Their unique covers, interpretations, and arrangements of Zappa’s compositions – with their use of instruments in unexpected combinations – is really quite extraordinary (Listen to “Oh No” and “Blessed Relief” on their website). The band released their first album in 2006, entitled “(R)umori Jazz“. Their second, entitled “Dio Fa“, released in 2009, captured the band’s concert at Zappanale 19.
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Dweezil Zappa – Dodge Theater, Phoenix, AZ
While Zappa Plays Zappa were performing at the Dodge Theater in Phoenix, Arizona on February 26th, 2009, Dweezil Zappa spoke about his early influence – Eddie Van Halen – the day Eddie called up the Zappa family home wanting to meet Frank Zappa – before performing his cover of “Eruption“.