Frank Zappa’s heirs are feuding over use of their noted father’s name.
For a decade, Dweezil Zappa, a son of the rock star Frank Zappa and a noted guitarist in his own right, has been paying tribute to his father’s music under the name Zappa Plays Zappa. The project, which features exacting performances of Frank Zappa’s f amously complex music, has toured the world and won a Grammy.
But when Dweezil Zappa takes the project on the road this summer, it will be with a far less catchy name: Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa. “It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue,” he said, “but this is being done under duress.”
The name change is the most visible sign of a rift that has grown within one of the rock world’s most f amous f amilies since the death last year of Gail Zappa, the widow of Frank Zappa, who had managed her husband’s musical legacy with a firm hand since his death in 1993.
This month, the Zappa Family Trust, which owns the rights to Zappa’s music, informed Dweezil that he did not have permission to tour as Zappa Plays Zappa — the name is a trademark owned by the trust — and that he risked copyright infringement damages of $150,000 each time he played a song without proper permission.
“My last name is Zappa; my father was Frank Zappa,” Dweezil said. “But I am not allowed to use the name on its own. I’m not allowed to use a picture of him. I’m not allowed to use my own connection with him without some sort of deal to be struck.”
Business disputes are familiar territory among celebrity siblings.
After Gail Zappa’s death, control of the trust passed to two of the four Zappa children: Ahmet, a son, who controls the day-to-day operations of the business, and Diva, a daughter. Dweezil and his sister Moon are not trustees, but all four children are beneficiaries, and tensions have flared between the two sides over the Zappa Plays Zappa tours and a Kickstarter campaign for a documentary film.