The Feuding Zappas

Sad. So very sad that Frank's children turned out to be no different than the children of the people he mocked all his life.

 

Looks like Gail cut a page out of the Sharon Osbourne book.

I always thought Dweezil and Ahmet were very close. What a shame...

 

They have a tape of Hendrix jamming with Frank at his home. I hope they do a deal with the Hendrix estate in the not too distant future.

 

I wonder what kind of uncomfortable position Joe Travers has been forced into with all this.

 

This is exactly why guys like Mike Keneally jumped ship when the ZFT started to get paranoid and cynical.

 

Finally it comes clear that they are the wrong people to run this business. They should sell everything to professional people who know what they are doing. Then they can stay away from Frank's legacy and live their comfortable rich-kids' lives and knit away all day or whatever.

 

This x 2.
How can any of them be so silly to not realize that the more they promote his music the more it will sell to a new generation?
Frank's music is outre to begin with, without continued media exposure his music could wind up as popular as Charles Ives.
He broke so many boundaries while alive, but like Lenny Bruce, how well will the humor hold up generation after generation?

 

The idiot bastard wife never missed a chance to save a buck, even at the expense of FZ's music/legacy.

 

Maybe he was forced to decide between ZPZ and ZFT at one point? Could be – under these now obvious circumstances.

 

I'd read a few mumblings about mild conflicts between Dweezil and Gail, but dismissed them as gossip.

Without being there, I'd suspect Gail being the instigator here.

I believe she had put him in uncomfortable positions over the years when it came to her assessments of who could and could not be considered friends of The Family, often involving former FZ bandmates. One such incident came up when DZ was (seemingly) compelled to remove a former disgruntled FZ roadie (forget his name, but can be Googled) from Adrian Belew's entourage when he and DZ appeared together. It didn't get done, and it put DZ and the always-amiable Ade in awkward spots. Unclear if AB remains a Family Friend™.

The roadie did appear to be something of an outspoken jerk, but these kinds of disruptions are harmful.

And this could put the kibosh on the Kickstarter project, with a couple of (oily) attorney moves. Especially when they've just collected a quick 1.2M in their hip pockets. I almost wonder if Alex Winter wasn't sold a bill of goods in terms of claimed consensus Family support.

Which would be the real tragedy. It seems Vault archiving has taken a serious uptick with the Kickstarter results. One call from an attorney could bring it all to a screeching halt.

And seemingly over personal differences. Petty to me, even if it isn't to them.

Although Dweezil seemed like the logical choice to be caretaker.

 

Ah, the heavy burdon of wealth

 

He quit playing with ZPZ a few years ago and was a key participant in the Kickstarter campaign. I'll let come to your own conclusion.

 

Agreed. There have been VERY good reasons that FZ fans in the known haven't liked Gail for many years, and this is but one.

 

They can't even deal civilly amongst themselves...while I'm with you in wanting to hear it, I wouldn't hold my breath...

 

Just DON'T LET THIS JINX the Alex Winter 'thing'!
I's been a little quiet over there, except this morning, where he said he, Diva, & Ahmet showed the house to those mega-donors.. so, so far, it's still on!

 

This can easily get rubbed between all this ****.

 

All of them? I don't see Dweezil or Moon acting like "idiots" here.

 

Yeah, I noticed his absence when I saw ZPZ last year, but I didn't give it much thought. I have to imagine that being stuck in the middle of all this wouldn't be much fun.

 

Yeah, it really seems that as the years went on, the Zappas became increasingly impossible people to maintain a good relationship with, and I suspect Gail was the primary reason.

 

Carry on, Dweezil!

 

You're right, they're not...I wasn't including them in that. I meant Gail (before she died, obviously), and the two younger Zappa kids.

 

Unseemly.

 

didn't she stop Zappa fan pages from using pictures of album covers even if it was for a discography

 

I'm reluctant to dump on Ahmet for the time being. Mostly because he seems like he is all-in for Vault preservation. Even if he doesn't appear to be supremely informed on the matter. I'm speculating that Gail left specific demands in her will and Ahmet is intent on carrying them out.

Neither daughter seems knowledgeable enough to participate. Without really saying much, Moon has given the impression she wouldn't care to be involved in the business at all, despite respect for the music.

The real head-scratcher is that a direct descendant (DZ) is given punitive marching orders wrt representing his father's musical legacy. Esp when he is THE most musically-capable living Zappa. I still think if there is/was a rift, it was between Dweezil and Gail. For whatever reason.

 

The show near me includes the ridiculous moniker..
Dweezil Zappa & The Zappa Plays Zappa Band: Performing the Music of Dweezil Zappa - Tickets - The Ardmore Music Hall - Ardmore, PA - May 4th, 2016 »