Zappa Plays Zappa

VIP Tickets: $65 | Dweezil Zappa Guitar Masterclass: $75 (details below)(VIP tickets include a poster and access to a soundcheck party at 5:30pm. VIP ticket buyers should arrive at First Avenue at 5:00pm.)

Zappa Plays Zappa, the Grammy-winning group that has made and recreated history performing the music of Frank Zappa, is set to embark on an epic musical trek across the US, Canada and Europe celebrating the classic Frank Zappa album, Roxy & Elsewhere. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of that pivotal Zappa fan favorite, the entirety of its repertoire — including the provocative rhythms of “Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing?” “Echidna’s Arf (Of You)” and “Be -Bop Tango (of the Old Jazzmen’s Church)” will be performed live on stage.

Since 2006 Dweezil Zappa has led his highly acclaimed group through more than 500 world wide performances and over 275 compositions spanning the breadth of his father’s deep catalog. “I think my father’s music deserves the chance to be discovered by a contemporary audience. His creativity and discipline is inspirational. Since generation X has apparently evolved beyond generation Y, perhaps we’ve reached generation Z. I think this is an appropriate time and place to inherit and adopt Frank Zappa as the musical figure head for Generation Z. Many facets of his music are bold and unconventional and it feels to me like it’s from the future. Generation Z should be bold and unconventional”

Beginning this September, Zappa Plays Zappa will hit the road premiering songs that have not been performed on previous tours and cutting its teeth on additional surprise material. “The Roxy album has always been one of my favorites and I’m excited to play it top to bottom. It has a great balance of musical styles and showcases some of the funkiest grooves and most devilishly frenetic instrumental passages my father ever composed.” Navigating the musical twists and turns of the Roxy & Elsewhere album on stage isn’t the only attraction on offer for the upcoming tour. As a bonus to the tour, a 90 minute personalized guitar instruction session from Dweezil’s annual musical bootcamp, Dweezilla, will be offered as a separate ticket in the afternoon before sound check in every city. Players of all skill levels are welcome to attend. “I really enjoy sharing musical ideas and improvisational strategies with people. In these classes we discuss technique and application as our main topics. People will also get a chance to have a close up look at the newly released Frank Zappa Roxy SG made by Gibson Guitars,” notes Zappa.

Certain to be among the tour’s highlights are performances at iconic venues that resonate with Zappa history. Honoring the long-standing New York City-Zappa tradition, a special concert event is taking place on Halloween night at the famed Beacon Theater. Auspiciously paying homage to Roxy & Elsewhere, Dweezil and his bandmates will perform at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood exactly 40 years, to the day, of the original series of concerts that yielded the album of that title.

Dweezil Zappa Guitar Masterclass – Dweezilla On The Road

$75 – CLICK TO BUYNOTE: This ticket does not include admission to the concert. Concert tickets must be purchased separately.

For the price of a fuzz pedal, learn techniques from the son of Frank Zappa. Dweezil Zappa’s music camp Dweezilla has a motto: “Learn And Destroy.” It refers to destroying the boundaries that confine music creativity. At camp students are in total immersion for 4 days of music instruction. While on tour with Zappa Plays Zappa Dweezil will be previewing some of the guitar concepts he teaches at camp in a special event prior to each concert. “I transformed my guitar technique before starting Zappa Plays Zappa out of necessity to play my dad’s most sophisticated and challenging melodies. I’ve found a lot of exciting new approaches to the guitar. I started Dweezilla music camp as a way to share this information with guitarists. I’m excited to present an opportunity to share thoughts on my approach to guitar with students of all levels before each show on tour.”