To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention’s final album, One Size Fits All, Frank Zappa’s son Dweezil and his band (who perform as Zappa on Zappa) will play the wacky album in its entirety when they perform at the Kent Stage on Sept. 22. In addition, Zappa & Co. will perform an additional 70 to 75 minutes worth of music from Frank Zappa's vast catalog. Prior to the concert, Zappa will offer a “masterclass” during which he’ll “instruct, guide and share” insight with fans who want to learn to play guitar better. In a recent phone interview, Zappa, who has said the album is one of his favs because of its “incredible arrangements and instrumentation,” took us through the disc track-by-track. “Inca Roads”
It’s a song that is a fan favorite for a number of reasons. For me, the most ingenious thing about it is that it’s one of the pivotal pieces of music in my dad’s career. It’s the foundation for what he did frequently after that which was to make a song that has composed parts but is interwoven with things that are improvised. Sometimes, they even involve hand signals. When you have the combination of written and improvised parts, it means that every time you play the song it’ll be different. Much of his music is created that way, but this song set the foundation. At that phase of his career, it’s something that became really important. When he was touring, he didn’t want to play the same thing over and over. It has an insane melody and very tricky musical passages. It’s one of the hardest songs to play especially if you want to play it 100 percent accurate. It doesn’t easily roll off the fingers.
“Can't Afford No Shoes”
It’s a song that sounds least like any of his songs in his catalog. It has a really cool chord progression that keeps modulating. It’s an infectious and melodic part of the song. It’s one of those ones where if you hear it, you think it’s more simplistic song. But it’s really complicated. [Frank Zappa] plays fretless guitar that sounds like a slide guitar. There’s never a song where you can be on cruise control.
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Frank Zappa is considered to be one of the most influential rock musicians of the late twentieth century. Between the start of his career in the late fifties and his death in 1993 he recorded and rele..
On September 19, 1985, Frank Zappa testified before the United States Senate Commerce, Technology, and Transportation committee, attacking the Parents Music Resource Center or PMRC, a music organizati
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