Zappa plays Zappa in Bonita Springs. And trust him: It ain't easy.
Charles Runnells
Sure, Frank Zappa was funny. That’s why songs like “Valley Girl,” “Dancin’ Fool” and “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow” crossed into the mainstream and became unexpected rock hits in the 70s and 80s.
But Zappa was so much more than a novelty act, says son Dweezil Zappa.
“Ultimately, I’ve noticed, the music that accidentally got on the radio is the music that actually confused people the most, in terms of what my dad really was about," he says. “He got the reputation of being a novelty act because of songs like ‘Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow” or “Valley Girl” or “Cosmik Debris” — songs that have a comedic narrative. But the majority of his music is NOT that."
That's why Dweezil Zappa has been touring and playing Frank Zappa's music for more than a decade. He's made it his mission to change people's minds about his late dad, who died in 1993.
"The whole idea for this tour has always been to give people a much more broad perspective of my dad’s music,” he says. “My goal was to present what my dad really stood for, in my opinion, which was being a composer and a guitar player.”
To that end, Dweezil Zappa's new “Choice Cuts!” tour dives deep into the Frank Zappa catalog and unearths some lesser-known gems. You won’t find “Valley Girl” here, but you will find “Torture Never Stops,” “Florentine Pogen,” “Cheepnis,” “Fifty-Fifty,” “Cocaine Decisions” and the super-challenging “Drowning Witch.”
“That song is one of the hardest songs to play,” Dweezil says. “The original version of it that came out had seven edits in it from seven different performances, because it wasn’t played correctly all the way through — because it’s really hard!”
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Dweezil Zappa and his band perform Friday, Oct. 26, at Southwest Florida Event Center in Bonita Springs. Here’s what else the guitarist had to say about:
Why Frank Zappa’s music is special.
It’s unique. It can really only be described as Zappa music. There’s really nothing else that sounds like it.
It’s the combination of the rhythms and the melodies that go with them. He really never repeated an idea. That’s the thing that’s so amazing when you listen to the music.
What he’s learned after studying and playing his dad’s music for years.
Everything is its own unique composition, and that’s what’s so astonishing. There’s only 12 notes in Western music, and arranging them in different patterns and rhythms is really what music IS. And he just had so many more combinations than other people.
There’s no boundaries to it. There’s styles that he mixes together that other people might have said, "Oh, these aren’t supposed to go together!" But there’s no rules to it. If it sounds good, than it is, you know?
The improv element built into Frank Zappa’s songs, and how that translates live.
Because it’s arranged like orchestral music, it’s like a giant puzzle. Everybody has something that they’re adding to it, and everybody’s working off each other.
It becomes a living, breathing thing. And that’s what makes it so much fun play.
The challenge of playing Frank Zappa's music.
The music, it doesn’t set out to be difficult for the sake of being difficult. It’s all very musical. But the thing about it is, my dad was a composer who used a rock band as an orchestra, for the most part. And the music is arranged in a way that is just like how an orchestra would deal with all the music.
The thing that makes it very challenging is that sometimes you might have a part that you’re playing — and you might be the only one who’s playing it — and it’s hard and it’s rhythmically difficult. It’s hard to get your fingers to the right places. It’s fast. It’s hard to remember. It’s all of these things.
So it’s not stuff that you can just walk up and go, “Aw yeah, I kinda know this song! Let’s wing it.” You can’t. Otherwise, it’ll crash and burn.
It demands your attention and it demands your respect. And that’s one of the things that I love about it. It makes you stay focused and be in the moment with the music.
Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells (Facebook), @charlesrunnells (Twitter), @crunnells1 (Instagram)
If you go
What: Dweezil Zappa's "Choice Cuts!" tour
When: 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26
Where: Southwest Florida Event Center, 11515 Bonita Beach Road S.E., Bonita Springs
Tickets: $50-$80
Info: 245-9910 or swfleventcenter.com