Zappa.com

Have you heard the news?
Michael Lang is attempting to promote a 40th Anniversary Woodstock 2009
in Prospect Park Brooklyn. 10 Million $$$ is said to be needed
to get this show up and running. In these ever difficult economic times
this may be a tough corporately funded yellow brick road but if this event ever materializes
I just wonder if ZPZ would have interest and be able to fit that into their 2009 performance schedule?

Progressive Nation 2009 USA Dates and Woodstock 2009
would reach a diverse audience.

Outside of Warren's Basement in Canarsie Brooklyn in the late 70s
I wonder if FZs last Brooklyn performance
was at Brooklyn College in Nov of 1973.
Hopefully one of the AUD Zappateers could clarify that thought.

Prospect Park may host Woodstock's 40th anniversary
- NY Daily News

Updated Monday, April 6th 2009, 2:30 PM
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bro ... 0th_a.html


Long Meadow
Prospect Park, Brooklyn NY
Photo - Rosier/News

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Trendmonger's Moment Of Clarity

FZ "Read It And Weep"
April 17,1981

Frank Zappa left the ZFT in Control of his Vaults and Artistic rights.
We the fans are not in control. We have a choice to use our eyes and ears or read it and weep.

Zappa-related artists opting for a copy of the big 100.000-hippies-whining-in the-mud-while-eating-their-sandals ???? Trendy, you must be out of your mind!

________________________(She's looking much better without sandals)

Hey I'd gladly indulge if given another intimate venue setting such as the YCFOSA tour
but Festivals gives ZPZ an opportunity to showcase their due diligence of FZs work to many newbies in a large crowd.
I am more concerned about the survival of these unexpected perfection type performances
than how many hippie sandals get soaked in the mud or overdose on the brown acid.

When I was younger I did attend quite a few of the Free Shows in Central Park
but at 46 I am not a big festival goer. The closest annual outdoor pasture type of festival
to where I live is Mountain Jam, a 3 day festival with camping at Hunter Mountain NY.
Hunter is only about a 3 hour trip from NYC but I just don't gravitate to that environment.

Regardless I do think it would be good for ZPZ to play these
Festival events so they expose FZs music to the masses
of those reveling in Woodstock 2009, Blues, Jazz, Prog Rock
or whatever as we have seen ZPZ get involved with.

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Trendmonger's Moment Of Clarity

FZ "Read It And Weep"
April 17,1981

Frank Zappa left the ZFT in Control of his Vaults and Artistic rights.
We the fans are not in control. We have a choice to use our eyes and ears or read it and weep.

I will never understand why in our societies the goal is always to "expose things to the masses". There is no need to do this when the masses aren't interested anyway.

Th.

I think the main reason for ZPZ being on the verge of mass-sympathy is the fact that Dweezil looks cute. I will call Sharon Stone and ask for her opinion on that.

What type of mass-sympathy is necessary when discussing festivals.
While it does seem that DZ and his band walk on water
we are not talking about the ZPZ Stations of The Cross where Dweezil Fell Three Times
on his way to crucifixion. I may be a believer of what DZ would achieve long before the first show
but after several years of touring the consensus is that Dweezil has achieved performance goals that
are well within the guidelines of the composers intent for live performance.
As ZPZ enters a new chapter I think the majority are extremely confident
in what has and will continue to be delivered regardless of venue and what musicians
are no longer part of that show.


In general summer festivals attract a crowd that is open to lots of music
from many bands.
In general I don't think we are taking about Lawrence Welk or Country Music festivals
that tend to have listeners that just may have little to no tolerance for Zappa or any
form of unfamiliar music.

It's all about exposure and if festival goers got a chance to hear FZs music done
with the same set of protocols that FZ used for performance I think they have a chance to
buy some albums and get deeper into FZs canon.

In general the average individual needs to be programed as to what they should listen to.
Most get interested by some radio rotation or peer association that is for the most part
programed by TV or Radio rotation. The numbers that go to libraries, listen to public radio
to investigate non commercial music are thin.

A festival be it free or paid is a commercial for those that may have their mind open to listen
to what is going on. Festivals may not be the venue of choice for hard cores that want to see a 3 hour ZPZ
show but fans gotta appreciate the exposure many who never heard Zappa's music performed with
if I may say Unexpected Perfection.

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Trendmonger's Moment Of Clarity

FZ "Read It And Weep"
April 17,1981

Frank Zappa left the ZFT in Control of his Vaults and Artistic rights.
We the fans are not in control. We have a choice to use our eyes and ears or read it and weep.

Dweezil Thinks You're A Jerk, you betcha!

Nevertheless, I kind of agree with your mass-exposure theories, attracting new audiences etc....but the concept of Zappa-with-a-'Woodstock'-tag is kinda funny

Dweezil can think whatever he wants about me.
I am sure his time is ever more valued at doing what he does
as opposed to what my latest forum diatribe is about but if and when the Wish List area
get browsed or that thought of what festivals to participate in is looked at
Zappa Plays Zappa Woodstock 2009 is just a thought.

Opposed to others who perform his fathers music or write books about it
I certainly do not attempt to collect a penny of gate money from the material
that he and his family own so there is no need to bundle me in that camp of those
making a name on Franks work while misrepresenting it at the same time.
I really have been trying just to stay away from this argumentative forum but a few topics
seem worthy of a little Trendmonger Mediterranean Sea Salts .

Who Could Imagine if the Mothers had played Monterey and Woodstock.
Now that would have been exposure in culture and film for decades.
FZ just did things his way regardless of how many festival invitations came his way.
Participation in festivals were not the norm for The Mothers.
I respect FZ decisions for then and DZs decisions for today.

After all these years FZs music deserves that mass exposure as a unique entity of those cultural times.
40 years later I see no reason why FZs music should not be a part of that cultural expression
while at the same time remaining independent from what all that represented.

At some point I'd like to see
We're Only In It For The Money performed in it's entirety
deservedly as a setting for these 60s cultural festivals.
Pre-Amble to WOIIFTM King Kong
Encores- Black Napkins, Zoot Allures Peaches & Regalia

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Trendmonger's Moment Of Clarity

FZ "Read It And Weep"
April 17,1981

Frank Zappa left the ZFT in Control of his Vaults and Artistic rights.
We the fans are not in control. We have a choice to use our eyes and ears or read it and weep.

Most of the audiences were not ready for it then and that probably has not changed so much in the past 4 decades...

If Dweezil feels the urge to play his bongo's in the dirt, then the decision is his.

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Alan Thicke: ''Now Frank, for those of us who have seen you as some kind of guru over the years, that's a kind of nihilistic assesment of music. Where's the hope ?''
Frank Zappa: ''Well, there isn't any...''

If there is a festival ZPZ should really play, than that is the Zappanale.

If ZPZ really wants to show how FZs music should be played to a lot of people, that would be the perfect place and time for it, because there will be thousands of Zappa interested listeners.

In the end this festival then will do good for both parties, the people behind the Zappanale and the ZFT.

This year there will be and perform:
Ike Willis, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Don Preston, Roy Estrada, Bobby Martin, Terry Bozzio... wouldn´t it be perfect to see and hear ZPZ there as well!?

I disagree, MOI would have been a great addition, Country Joe and the boys got as outside and spacey as hell and every one i saw really dug it. The thing to do was to be included in subsequent movies about said concerts. The Keef Hartly band played Woodstock, ever heard of them ? Only one of the best Jazz rock bands of the era, along with Cold Blood, but.... not in either movie.

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Confusion will be my epitaph

The Audience ready or not got the whole enchilada even if the sauce was brown acid and the finest Sullivan County mud.
Be it Sha Na NA , Sly & The Family Stone, The Who or Jimi Hendrix diversity is what those 60s festivals was about.
Woodstock was Three Days of Music and to the best of my knowledge The Mothers did perform at a number of festivals
in the summer of 1969. Personally I wish The Mothers were part of Woodstock. Being there and included in the film would have been exposure for
what they were doing at that time no mater how much FZ moved forward in 70s, 80s and 90s in what set of musicians he had implementing his compositional design.

When it comes to festivals that were filmed that had cultural exposure that has lasted 4 decades unfortunately The Mothers were just not part of those festivals.
As far as Monterey Pop the headliner was The Mamas and The Papas.
As far as live Mamas and The Papas their performance was anything but representing a good one
from their career and all the other acts made a mark on the audience that was far more moving forward
in experimental cultural music of the times far beyond the terminology of POP.

_________________
Trendmonger's Moment Of Clarity

FZ "Read It And Weep"
April 17,1981

Frank Zappa left the ZFT in Control of his Vaults and Artistic rights.
We the fans are not in control. We have a choice to use our eyes and ears or read it and weep.

I gotta agree, Quicksilver really streached out on a couple tunes at moterey.

_________________
Confusion will be my epitaph

Yes, that is great. Have them win over the fans that already are huge fans....err....huh?

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

Calvin,
Compared to many you tend to take notice of what a concept is.
Part of what I had mentioned of these festivals is exactly in not only reaching new fan base
but getting Zappa's music heard in a cultural environment where FZ should get the recognition.

This year is Woodstocks 40th Celebration.
Who knows what percentage of 60s music listeners will even be around in another 10 years.
Maybe they will attend Woodstock 40 with kids and or grand kids.
Maybe groups of friends from that generation will get together where they normally just don't do these things much anymore.
Maybe a major film will be made. I think FZs music deserves historic representation
when people look back on those times.


I could see Woodstock 40 as some family or reunion for many people.
While the newer festivals are a great idea for ZPZ that they reach predominant
younger audiences that were not around when FZ was touring this
Woodstock 40 if it ever gets off the ground may be the
last large gathering of people from that generation who should have gotten the chance
to see how Zappa was decades ahead of anything else throughout his career.
Many of those 60s festivals that became legendary unfortunately did not have FZ/MOI representation .

When bands like Aerosmith & ZZ Top tour filling 15,000 seat venues getting $1,300 for meet and greet and typically $200 a ticket face value
before the broker sales typically at $500 a ticket as of yet ZPZ is not playing this major tour exposure with 70s rock icons.
Thanks to Progressive Nation that form of Union with modern prog rock is starting
but I could see ZPZ touring with Aerosmith or Van Halen in the future.
We know Aerosmth & Van Halen have great respect for Frank Zappa.
Maybe one tour they will have the balls to get ZPZ as an opening act.
These festivals are the way to exposing the music to new people.

_________________
Trendmonger's Moment Of Clarity

FZ "Read It And Weep"
April 17,1981

Frank Zappa left the ZFT in Control of his Vaults and Artistic rights.
We the fans are not in control. We have a choice to use our eyes and ears or read it and weep.

I'd rather they play Woodstock.

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

Better they do the Johnny Cash thing, and play San Quentin. They could do "Thing-Fish". At least it has some Zappa continuity.

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Stay with me flagrantly and we'll have ecstasy for all eternity.

Hope they aren't messin' with confinement loaf down there...or we’d be in for ZPZ performing the Orrin Hatch songbook in the blink of an eye

why?

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"bit of nostalgia for the old folks."

LG,
You may or may not find a 40th Anniversary of Woodstock interesting
or what is needed for any given NYC park's wear and tear, especially in these tough economic times
but I reiterate mentioning news articles as response to your questioning why.

Free is never free. While the musical guest lineup could be quite interesting
the production and clean up costs would be 10 Million and then some
so celebrations may very well take place at several locations including
NYC, Bethel NY(next to original Woodstock in White Lake NY) & in Europe.
Bethel Woods Center For The Arts
http://www.bethelwoodscenter.org/

I don't expect the feasibility of this ever getting off the ground and ZPZ being involved
as a high probability factor but the anniversary does make me think of getting FZs work
performed authentically in that social anniversary celebration.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bro ... 0th_a.html

http://gothamist.com/2009/04/06/woodsto ... ooklyn.php

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/i ... -festival/

http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/ ... bell_6.php

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2 ... ersar.html

http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php ... k_annivers

http://listeningroom.lohudblogs.com/200 ... -in-doubt/

_________________
Trendmonger's Moment Of Clarity

FZ "Read It And Weep"
April 17,1981

Frank Zappa left the ZFT in Control of his Vaults and Artistic rights.
We the fans are not in control. We have a choice to use our eyes and ears or read it and weep.

Zappa music is like Pirate's gold hiden on a mystery island, why should us (the pirates) tell where is our gold

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'N then I might just Jump back on An' ride Like a cowboy Into the dawn to Montana

Saturday, August 15, 2009
Heroes of Woodstock
http://www.bethelwoodscenter.org/bweven ... aspx?id=64

- The Levon Helm Band
- Jefferson Starship
- Ten Years After
- Canned Heat
- Big Brother and the Holding Company
- Mountain
- The Grateful Dead's Tom Constanten
- Country Joe McDonald

_________________
Trendmonger's Moment Of Clarity

FZ "Read It And Weep"
April 17,1981

Frank Zappa left the ZFT in Control of his Vaults and Artistic rights.
We the fans are not in control. We have a choice to use our eyes and ears or read it and weep.

That makes two of us!

And, on a related note, I can't believe they're representing the Dead as "heroes" of Woodstock. The general understanding is that it was one of their worst performances to date and that they were repeatedly electrocuted on stage during the rainstorm. Hendrix lucked out, I tell ya. Now there's a set!

The bootleg of the Dead's set is sonically great. And yeah, probably not their best playing, although at least one of the mics refused to work.

I'm getting the 40th Anniversary DVD set that comes out June 9th. 4 DVDs!

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