“I WILL NOT BE PARTICIPATING IN ANY WAY.”

Dweezil’s still giving the new Zappa tour short shrift.

“G rowing up, i had the feeling that my dad was coming from a different place than other guitarists,” dweezil Zappa says. “He seemed to mock the guitar hero idea in his physical movements onstage, and he expanded the possibilities of what soloing could be.”

dweezil honours his father by continuing to explore and expand the notion of what a guitar solo can be and digging into tone like an archeologist. He’s always building knowledge based on uncovered and recovered wisdom and utilising the latest technology to “move the project forward”. that was obvious with his 2011 album, Live in the Moment, and it’s in evidence again on Live in the Moment ii, his brilliantly executed and flawlessly documented 2018 follow-up. both albums consist of material culled from his Zappa Plays Zappa tours, on which he performed renditions of frank’s music, often with alumni from his father’s groups. to that end, dweezil has drawn inspiration from shut Up ’n Play Yer Guitar, frank’s seminal

80s album that developed into a trio of records consisting mostly of live guitar solos.

“i love the tones, the playing, the spaces replete with feedback and all of the transitions,” dweezil says. “it represents total freedom of expression and showcases the unique circumstances that helped inspire those improvised moments. Making a collection of them is the real concept behind shut Up ’n Play Yer Guitar and my Live in the Moment records. that type of record could be perceived as gratuitous, but i view it as a way to capture a lifelong journey, showing the snapshots of what took place along the way.”

dweezil has retired the Zappa Plays Zappa moniker in favour of using his own name, but he continues to revitalise his father’s music faithfully with an outstanding ensemble of relatively young musicians. those shows are one way frank’s music remains vital 26 years after his death. they remain separate from ahmet’s the bizarre World of frank Zappa. ahmet has stated his desire to see his brother perform alongside their father’s holographic image, but dweezil, for his part, has confirmed he is “not interested in participating in anything with an artificial version of my father onstage”.

“i can address it with silence,” dweezil says.

“i will not be participating in any way.” JL