Zappa.com

After seeing the great difficulties of making a performance nowadays of Zappa's music because of the ZFT, it was nice to find a quote in an interview (Mother of Al Interviews, 1992, part 2):



I repeat it, just for the fun of it:



I just remember what a fight a symphony orchestra had to have with Gail, and gettint the permittion only like a week before the show (less rehearsals, stress, nervous breakdowns, promotion-problems...) - it's refreshing to see this up there. I really wonder what Gail thinks of it.

"Since his death people can (and do) make any claim they wish as to what they think FZ would do - or say or think. But I do not wish to waste my time on this. I still work for FZ. And my promise, my duty and my obligation remains - to protect the integrity of the work and the intent of the Composer and in service to this purpose I will defend his identity and the right for his name (image & likeness) to be associated with his work - and the right for the work to remain unaltered, and unabused by others. I will continue to do this for my grandchildren and my children, for all the people who love the music, for all the potential in all those with the ears and insight to hear it - and first, last and always for Frank Zappa. Long may we all laugh."


This is here:

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=13411&p=322558#p322558

and I doubt she's changed her thinking on that.

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You gotta give the people something good to read, on a Sunday

I recall an interview where FZ says that he says yes to all cover version requests because it money for doing nothing and it would be stupid to say no, i know that this thread is about performance but its kinda the same deal.

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Thanks for the quote, Calvin (how sad it is that in this forum the host is only present in quotes from years ago... ).

But there's a bit difference, though: I did not say what FZ "would say", I've said what he did say. . It's such a shame that while "defending" FZ's works("protect[ing] the integrity of the work and the intent of the Composer"), concerts are deleted, bands are banned, festivals are sued. And quality is the last thing that comes into discussion: it's just the habit of saying "no".

I personally know the organisers of some events who GOT the permission finally to make their show, but the FIGHT they had to make, sometimes for YEARS... is just ashaming. Anyway, it was nice to see that FZ were thinking about totally differently. (Funny to think about Dweezil's work, who claims to be the leader of "the only real" FZ-band, and the thing he does: performing whole albums on stage, sounding exactly like the album - is something Frank Zappa never did and never wanted. Oh well.)

A wind ensemble playing "Envelopes". Like the sound of that! I heard a wind ensemble playing "Marqueson's Chicken" once...