Don't think of Zappa Plays Zappa as another classic-rock tribute show, or the gathered musicians as just another cover band.
"This is a repertory ensemble," says Dweezil Zappa, son of the late Frank Zappa and leader of the six-piece group playing Saturday night at the Tower Theatre.
Think of the band — which authentically recreates the music of Frank Zappa — as a rock orchestra. Zappa was a self-taught composer and performer and a fiercely independent outsider artist throughout the late '70s and into the '80s. His music was often inspired and complex, more than even his son knew.
"I was always a fan, but the more I learn about it, the more I'm impressed with what he was able to accomplish," Dweezil says.
In fact, Dweezil had to unlearn 30 years of guitar training and create new picking techniques in order to accurately re-create what his father did naturally.
"Most people would find it a challenge not worth doing," he says.
The preparation for the show was intensive for all the musicians involved. Every song they play is taken from the original hand-written transcriptions and checked against the master tapes. Each note is played exactly as it was written by Zappa.
In that way, the concert is a tribute. It will no doubt draw longtime Zappa fans who are eager to see this music performed on stage again.
The show is also meant to introduce Zappa's music to a new audience, Dweezil says. There is an entire generation — maybe two— who missed the chance to experience Zappa before he died of prostate cancer in 1993.
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