Frank Zappa, the cutting-edge rock guitarist, has been dead for 20 years, cut down in his prime by cancer. But for Asheville’s Andre Cholmondeley, the Zappa sound is too big to fade away.
And so Cholmondeley plays on with his tribute band Project/Object, performing here again Dec. 22 at the Grey Eagle Music Hall. What makes Project/Object different is Cholmondeley’s mission of playing with former Zappa sidemen. For this Grey Eagle date, the group will include Denny Walley, who worked with both Zappa and Captain Beefheart.
“I am very proud of that aspect,” said Cholmondeley, who relocated here in 2007. “There are a lot of Zappa tribute acts, but I have played with 15 Zappa alumni. That is what defines us. It’s somewhere between a reunion and a tribute band.”
Cholmondeley is passionate about Zappa, who first came to fame in 1966 with the Mothers of Invention and the album “Freak Out!” Zappa continued to push the envelope over his long career. “I have been a big Zappa fan since I was 16,” Cholmondeley said. “I used to have a Zappa birthday party at my house with music and videotape, and people would soak up the Zappa experience.”
The Grey Eagle date will celebrate that birthday tradition (Zappa was born Dec. 21, 1940). Cholmondeley saw Zappa play many times. “He was notorious for surprises,” he said. “You never knew what he would do next.”
Inspired by the popularity of his Zappa parties, Cholmondeley and music cohorts began learning Zappa songs, and that led to Project/Object. He usually plays with Zappa sideman Ike Willis, who won’t be on this Grey Eagle show Cholmondeley described as a one-off performance. But Walley was on such Zappa-Beefheart albums as “Bongo Furry” and Zappa’s “Joe’s Garage” and knows the material well.
And so Cholmondeley plays on with his tribute band Project/Object, performing here again Dec. 22 at the Grey Eagle Music Hall. What makes Project/Object different is Cholmondeley’s mission of playing with former Zappa sidemen. For this Grey Eagle date, the group will include Denny Walley, who worked with both Zappa and Captain Beefheart.
“I am very proud of that aspect,” said Cholmondeley, who relocated here in 2007. “There are a lot of Zappa tribute acts, but I have played with 15 Zappa alumni. That is what defines us. It’s somewhere between a reunion and a tribute band.”
Cholmondeley is passionate about Zappa, who first came to fame in 1966 with the Mothers of Invention and the album “Freak Out!” Zappa continued to push the envelope over his long career. “I have been a big Zappa fan since I was 16,” Cholmondeley said. “I used to have a Zappa birthday party at my house with music and videotape, and people would soak up the Zappa experience.”
The Grey Eagle date will celebrate that birthday tradition (Zappa was born Dec. 21, 1940). Cholmondeley saw Zappa play many times. “He was notorious for surprises,” he said. “You never knew what he would do next.”
Inspired by the popularity of his Zappa parties, Cholmondeley and music cohorts began learning Zappa songs, and that led to Project/Object. He usually plays with Zappa sideman Ike Willis, who won’t be on this Grey Eagle show Cholmondeley described as a one-off performance. But Walley was on such Zappa-Beefheart albums as “Bongo Furry” and Zappa’s “Joe’s Garage” and knows the material well.
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