Frank Zappa's Widow Taking Legal Action Against Musicians Playing His Music Live

"She insists that anyone who does try to perform it in public needs to pay royalties to his estate."


Listen to Story on NPR


NPR - "I don't really care who's doing it, as long as they get a license," she says. "The people I'm going after are not licensing the music."

Gail Zappa is going after cover bands she accuses of "identity theft." Her lawyers have sent scores of cease-and-desist letters. But many of the people who continue to perform Frank Zappa's music say they don't need permission.

"You or I cannot record that material and sell it for money. But we can perform it," says guitarist Andre Cholmondeley, who plays in a long-running Zappa cover band called Project/Object. "I'm not a lawyer, but that is the opinion and direction I've been given by probably a dozen lawyers at this point."

Cholmondeley maintains that as long as the venues he plays have paid for a blanket license from the performance-rights organization ASCAP, he is not doing anything illegal. Music lawyers consulted for this story agreed. It seems that Gail Zappa has never actually sued a cover band, but she has sued a 20-year-old festival in Germany called the Zappanale for trademark infringement. She lost but plans to appeal.

By all accounts, Frank Zappa was a perfectionist who liked to keep a tight grip on his business and his art. As he told WHYY's Fresh Air in 1989, he struggled with symphony orchestras — and his own bands — to get his music right.

"Goal one for a composer is to just hear what it was that you wrote," Zappa said, "because you like to listen to music, as well as write it. That's always been the main thrill for me, is to come up with a musical idea and have it performed some way, and I'm especially thrilled if it's performed correctly."

That's why Gail Zappa has a problem with some cover bands.

"Somebody goes out there, plays music — it's not played very well; it doesn't sound anything like what the composer intended," she says. "And they are telling the audience that's never heard it before that this is Frank Zappa's music. It's not. It's some wretched version of it."

There are cover bands that the Zappa family does endorse, including Zappa Plays Zappa, a band fronted by Frank's son Dweezil. Gail Zappa insists that she's not playing favorites. But some of the musicians who have been threatened by her lawyers have doubts.

What Would Frank Want?

Many fans point to a message that was left on the hot line for Zappa's record label shortly after he died of prostate cancer in 1993.

The message says, in part, "Just play his music if you're a musician. And otherwise, play his music anyway. That will be enough for him."

The message was read by Zappa's daughter, Moon Unit. Gail Zappa insists that it's not what some fans and musicians have made it out to be.

"We wrote something for Moon to say on the hot line," she says. "But it was not a statement made by Frank. He never said that. He never told anyone that."

Ike Willis would beg to differ.

"The main reason I'm doing this is because I love Frank," Willis says. "I love his music. And he asked me to do it."

Willis is a singer and guitarist who worked with Frank Zappa on and off for 17 years. He now tours with Project/Object and other unauthorized cover bands. Willis says he talked to Zappa a week before the composer died.

"He said, 'I would really like it if you could be one of the people that could actually keep my music played, in some way, shape or form.' Those were his words," Willis says. "He didn't want it to die."

There are performers who have decided that it's simply easier to work with Gail Zappa. Students from the Paul Green School of Rock performed at Zappanale in 2005. A few years later, Green got a threatening letter from Gail Zappa's lawyers. He decided to negotiate.

"I don't disagree with her right to do that — just her opinion on the matter," says Green, whose work gained a wide audience through the documentary film Rock School. "He wrote this music to be played. If Gail opened it up a little more, I think kids would latch on to this music, if it was more readily and easily available."

Rolling Stone's Fricke says the disputes don't help the legacy — which is unfortunate, he says, because Zappa's music deserves to reach a wider audience.

"The legacy hasn't been taken seriously enough since his death," Fricke says. "In a way, I don't think people really understand him. I'm still working on it."

So are other fans, musicians and family members, who insist that they want Frank Zappa's music to thrive. But that's just about the only thing they can agree on.
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Soon to be followed by lawsuits filed by the descendants of Beethoven, Mozart, etc.

 

I'd rather donate money to Sony, Viacom or Time Warner than see a cent of mine go to ZFT in its current state

 

I say good luck to Gail Zappa. She's wasting a lot of money. If they stop people from performing other people's music live......... well forget it.

 

While she may have a legal leg to stand on, she should be grateful people are keeping his music and memory alive and just suck it up. If someone starts making a fortune off his music without paying the appropriate royalties, that's something else. But beyond that, she should count her blessings that there are people who have kept his music from fading away.

I am as big a proponent of intellectual rights as anyone. But you've got to know when to look the other way.

 

Not the first time:

"Zappa's Widow Sues German Fan Club"
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=145760&highlight=gail+zappa

 

I think ALL bad cover bands SHOULD be thrown in jail, and that is coming from someone WHO has played in cover bands period.

I wonder how the courts are going to decide WHAT Frank's real wishes were in regards to performing his music? Where is the hard evidence? These bands must be making a good living otherwise why would she be going after them?

 

I don't know that she has a legal leg to stand on. Her tactics seem more in line with intimidation, pure and simple.

http://www.herald-review.com/articles/2008/01/11/columnists/cain/1029236.txt

 

I Like Ike.

..and he was an integral part of the FZ story.

 

She did get the "Kill Ugly Radio" blog shut down, she lost my respect in the process.

When she runs out of money, she'll send Dweezil back on the road.

 

What would the legal ramifications be for "Monster Zappa" show?

 

Perhaps Monster Cable could sue the estate for "Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet", so we could finally get both these idiots in front of a judge, and that would be the end of it.

Oh, and but, also (a new car!), what if we went to a Project/Object show and heard better playing than the one-off chance we heard the original Zappa band on a bad night? Is Gail liable to the owners of the Project/Object organization? Because, if not, well there goes her whole legal argument...

 

Doesn't the Toyota trucks logo look like the ZFT logo.

ATTACK!

 

Are you sure it's been closed down?

http://www.killuglyradio.com/

 

He IS back on the road. Ad in latest MOJO. I figured that was why she's suing. I don't think she has a leg to stand on. look how many Beatles copycats there are. Guys in their 50's w/ Beatle haircuts (wigs!) doing "I Saw Her Standing There"... I know one very popular one who do the Cruise Ship circuit: $20,000 /wk four shows in all. You wouldn't BELIEVE the response they get! I once heard a passenger tell "John" "I didn't like The Beatles, but I love you" (Wo!)

 

On the nose-y.

It's hard to imagine even the biggest and bestest of the tribute bands (P/O?) make significant money... what's there to gain here?

Strictly from the outside looking in, but... it seems virtually all Zappa sidemen / alumni are persona non grata by now for one reason or another... it all seems to be emanating from Gail, and it looks like Dweezil semi-reluctantly toes the family line (somewhat understandably).

I know attorneys will always recommend vigorous protection of intellectual property – a la Monster... but is this money well spent here? – I don't see Ike Willis featured on Cribs.

I do believe the cover band / tributes should be required to get a courtesy approval from ZFT, just to ensure no major conflicts with ZFT events, maybe even modest license fees for image usage... and in turn, ZFT approval should be very easy to come by... Gail can protest all she wants, but there is no escaping the impression that she is looking to eliminate the 'competition' and keep the performance revenue directed solely to ZFT.

And the competition isn't all that great... I've seen P/O and they're very good, but they're no substitute for a Frank Zappa show... I've got a hunch I'll think the same thing about ZPZ once I get around to seeing them.

Get thee back to the vault, woman.

 

So if you settle with Gail Zappa, does that mean that you get a refund from ASCAP?

 

And while I'm here:

 

I will let this speak for itself, more or less:

http://www.myspace.com/letsmaketragedyhappen

Anyway: Gail has had this myopic approach to the tribute band situation for years now. I can't imagine anything changing her mind, but now that ZPZ it looks an awful lot like a tribute-band attempted embargo...which is pretty sleazy.

 

WWVD (What Would Varese Do)?

I'm a huge Zappa fan, but what's going to happen next? If there are young musicians who proudly state "one of my biggest influences is Frank Zappa", will they sue if their music is not favored by GZ? "No, he has to take out Frank's name in his influences list".

What exactly does she mean by saying:

Is this being said partly because Zappa's music doesn't bring in a lot of royalties from radio airplay, like Creedence Clearwater Revival?

On the other hand, Zappa fought hard for his music, and this is just protection of the works. I just think that sometimes her method of protecting the legacy is a bit too much, but if she wanted to do more, she could easily do more, so that must mean she and the ZFT are happy with where they are.

 

Mrs Zappa sounds a bit unreasonable. Surely a Zappa cover band would help to promote the sale of the original Zappa albums? And I think that if she was successful in her claim it would only serve to kill off Zappa cover bands and any such royalties.

 

I have heard my share of bad cover bands but I never wanted to file a lawsuit... but then I have never been married to Frank Zappa. She must be running out of money.

Our society is becoming sue happy. It is getting to to the point if you fart upwind of someone they will sue you for pain and suffering.

 

Christ, what a dumb argumentation. They don't want Zappa's music to be played by cover bands, because they don't play it as Zappa heard it in his head. By this definition there wouldn't be no classical concerts. It's plain stupid. This woman is just greedy. BTW, how does Gail know what Frank heard in his head? We are talking about music, and music should be played.

 

Would one solution be to exume Zappa's corpse, put him on top of an enormous mountain of all copies of his recordings, released and unreleased, set fire to it and bulldoze the remains into the ground? Then keep an eye on all former Zappa musicians and associates to make sure they never once play in a 'Zappaesque' way for their course of their natural lives?

And if this is not the best solution, can we do it anyway?

 

so should the owners of Louie, Louie, Stairway to Heaven, Purple Haze or all those Beatles songs he did in 1988 sue Zappa for covering them?