Tag: zft

ZFT Litigation Frenzy: School of Rock Edition

I kid you not.

Incredibly, having just lost the Zappanale lawsuit, the ZFT is now going after Paul Green’s School of Rock — more specifically Napoleon M. Brock’s envolvement therein. Here’s the Berger-Kahn letter (pdf). Quote:

It recently came to our attention that Napoleon Murphy Brock and the Paul Green School of Rock All-Stars are currently scheduled to perform the music of Frank Zappa […] We understand that this tour is billed as “Napoleon Murphy Brock Performs ZAPPA with the Paul Green School of Rock All-stars”. Please be advised that none of you possess any license, permission or authority to publicly perform the songs of Frank Zappa.

Should you wonder where your precious Barfko Swill dollars are headed for, look no further: this is it.

Unbelievable.

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…

Lumpy Money

Billboard.com reporting:

The Zappa Family Trust will kick off a comprehensive campaign to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the late Frank Zappa’s albums next month. “Lumpy Money,” a three-CD “audio documentary” due out Nov. 25, is the first offering in the series — and, according to Zappa’s widow Gail, the most unique.

“These two records happen to be Frank’s masterworks,” Zappa tells Billboard.com, “so this is the most ambitious of all the (40th anniversary) projects. The challenge is how to educate the audience to understand what ‘Lumpy Gravy’ and ‘We’re Only in It for the Money’ are, and what they’re part of.

Um… okay…

Read all about Lumpy Money here.
Update: related Vanity Fair interview with GZ

Joe’s Menage — Update from the Zappa Family Trust

Apparently, the folks over at Vaulternative Records have heard the rising voices of Zappa fandom and have decided to put out a press release with all the relevant and necessary information regarding Joe’s Menage (as well as Gail’s take on the whole Corsaga series) including tracklist, musicians involved, and location of performance. Better late than never, I say, and a welcome change of direction, Gail.

Straight talk. I dig it, baby.

Looking for a Virgin with Nice Breath.

Releases from the Zappa Family Trust:

In a previous post, I made the comment, rather flippantly, that “In the final analysis, it’s not what Gail (Zappa) says that is of any real importance, it’s her actions that speak volumes.” In this post, I’ve decided to put those smug words to the test.

First, I went to my Frank Zappa collection and identified all those posthumous releases (limited, of course, to those titles actually released by Gail Zappa and the Zappa Family Trust — thus, the list above).

Of these sixteen individual releases, I asked myself, which of them are the strongest, most worthwhile recordings, whether CD or DVD? Easy choice. Live recordings, particularly the full-length, or near full-length shows: FZ:OZ, Halloween, Imaginary Diseases, Buffalo, Wazoo, and The Torture Never Stops.

Next are those long awaited releases, and the archival type releases of interest to any diehard Zappa freak: QuAUDIOPHILIAc, Trance-Fusion, The MOFO Project/Object (the 4 CD version) and Classic Albums: Apostrophe(‘)/Over-Nite Sensation.

What’s left is a series of compilation CDs: Joe’s Corsage, Joe’s Domage, Joe’s XMASage, The Frank Zappa AAAFNRAA Birthday Bundle, The Dub Room Special! (the 2007 CD compilation of the 1982 video) and One Shot Deal. All of which seemingly lack Frank Zappa’s genius for conceptual continuity and compiled in such a hodgepodge of styles of musical eras as to be distracting to listen to overall.

By my simple math (okay, not my best subject), the ZFT released ten winners out of a possible sixteen since they first began. That works out to be 62.5%. Okay. Room for improvement, sure. But not that bad.

Not that bad at all.

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.”

Hot Poop Facelift

Remember Ye Olde Hot Poop?

Back when we received the C&D letter from the ZFT last December, Dr Sharl and I jumped through all kinds of loops to come up with an engaging lay-out, while at the same time attempting to appease ZFT’s scum lawyers. It was “panic football”, to be honest.

Well today I’ve fiddled about a bit with the look and feel of this now abandoned weblog — one which, mind you, had been running since July 2001. My aim was to line up its looks a bit more with current KUR aesthetics, while maintaining a feel for why exactly Hot Poop came to be terminated.

I was originally going to make it an all black/white affair, as if you were to be looking at an old family picture. Dr Sharl then came up with the notion of adding some sepia colour. And so here it is.

Hot Poop Sepia

A seven year work of love abandoned, derelict — gone but not forgotten.

How To Rekindle Your Interest In Zappa?

Steven Harker has a problem. He writes:

I’ve been a long time follower of KUR. During the ZFT bruhaha I expressed the opinion that if it wasn’t for your blog my interest in all things FZ would have disappeared up my own poop chute never to be seen again. I didn’t buy the latest ZFT offering, truth be told after the luke warm stuff I did make the effort to buy recently I felt I’d be better off stocking up on petrol. It’s a sad state of affairs that my interest in Zappa is waning. So, perhaps everyone out there could recommend something that I need to do to rekindle my interest. Is there one album I should dust off and give my undivided attention to or even just one song? Should I buy a blow up doll and stick a gas mask on her? Or should I just give up and go to the Elton John concert tomorrow which is ten minutes down the road from my house? Help!

My first suggestion would be to get an account at Zappateers and act like the kid in the candy store. Anyone else have any good tips? Let’s hear it, freaks!

Zappa – One Shot Deal. Status: Released.

Hello and welcome to another episode of “thank god for those unofficial fan blogs we sent cease & desist letters to, because otherwise us ZFT pumpkins would never get our new releases out in the public proper – {chuckle}”:

Zappa - One Shot Deal

One Shot Deal @ zappa.com
One Shot Deal @ Barfko Swill
One Shot Deal ZFT Newsletter Announcement

Update 14/06: Now with tracklist! Amazing.

  1. Bathtub Man (5:43)
  2. Space Boogers (1:24)
  3. Hermitage (2:00)
  4. Trudgin’ Across the Tundra (4:01)
  5. Occam’s Razor (9:11)
  6. Heidelberg *1987 (4:46)
  7. The Illinois Enema Bandit (9:27)
  8. Australian Yellow Snow (12:26)
  9. Rollo (2:57)