Pretty cool news from Dweezil:
Hello Everyone,
For those of you who have been scratching your head and asking yourself, “I wonder what is going on with that ZPZ DVD?” I’ve got good news.
As posted by Dweezil on the ZPZ blog, on May 1st, ’07:
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Hello Everyone,
For those of you who have been scratching your head and asking yourself, “I wonder what is going on with that ZPZ DVD?” I’ve got good news.
I am heading to Montreal to finish up post production so we can make it available to hold in your hot little hands by the time the new ZPZ Tour starts. As many of you know the DVD shoot took place last December in Portland and Seattle. The Portland show was actually on Frank’s birthday. We shot it all in High Definition and used a world class mobile recording studio (Le Mobile) to capture the audio. All 88 tracks will be mixed in stereo and 5.1 surround sound. It may include some special bonus material if there is enough room on the disc(s). That has yet to be determined.
There were great moments from both nights so it became obvious that the DVD would have to include performances from both shows. The interesting thing about the footage is the difference between venues. Portland was more of a rock club while Seattle was a grand old theater. The close proximity of the audience in Portland gives an intimate, late night “Roxyesque” vibe in both performance and appearance, while the Seattle ambiance was more elegant and dignified. It is a very nice contrast.
The DVD show will present itself as a single concert but it will transition a few times between both venues. Based on my previous description of the venues it will be unmistakably evident which concert the viewer will be watching. I can tell you now there will be at least 26 songs included in the multi-disc package. That equals more than 3 hours of Frank’s music!
We changed the setlist for both nights in order to try to capture a broader variety of songs on tape. There could very well be a few unexpected songs on the list. In fact there is one song that was only played once on the entire tour that made it into the DVD. Those of you who were at the show probably already know what I’m talking about.
It goes without saying that this whole ZPZ tour and DVD project has been a labor of love of for me. It has always been and always will be about presenting Frank’s music to all of you in the finest and most authentic way possible.
I thank you once again for your support and look forward to seeing you out there on tour.
By the way we are learning over 25 new songs from a wide range of material. I’m extremely excited about some of the rare selections and some of the video surprises we have in store for you.
Regards, DZ
POSTED BY DWEEZIL ZAPPA AT 2007-05-01 02:16:46
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I’m [i]ecstatic![/i]
A member of the ZFT writing clear, concise and unambiguous English?
This message has to be a fake!
Great news!!!! (Petitwazoo: hehehe…:-) )
I can’t wait.
no more money for Gail
“Roxyesque vibe” — isn’t this sort of rubbing our faces in the fact that the Roxy DVD is nowhere to be seen?
I hope there’s lots of stupid claymation and nose-picking that interferes with the solos and the continuity of the performances generally. Oh, and I hope there is no option of turning that off!
“…isn’t this sort of rubbing our faces…”
Thanks for pointing that out. I was busy looking
for other things to get angry about and I almost
missed that one!
I will just hope for the best.
Peace.
so where’s the love where’s the love where’s the love where’s the love where’s the love tonight?
but there’s no love man there’s no love and the kids are uptight
Roxyesque my ass!!! Why not try and give us some Roxy! Labour of love??? It’s your shows and your performances, it’s your money and your profits… ugh…
Paul Sempschi really put the point across regarding the ZPZ DVD! All I need to and is Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy! Roxy!
Dweezil is doing a good thing, he is bringing the music of Frank “back on stage”. Who could do this better then the son himself! I’m waiting for the dvd of zpz since i walked out of the concert hall. And ofcourse Roxy is more than welcome too.
Good work Dweezil. any change to hit Europe again?
Sure we all want FZ dvd’s (mine with claymation, please) but ya gotta think the ZpZ dvd is the way to go to reach the kids, right?
“The way to reach the kids?” Why would a kid attend a concert (on their own) of music that sounds new (translate “weird”) from a composer they never heard of. The only ones who attend these concerts are people who are already familiar with FZ or at the very least one or two of the other band members (who probably have heard Zappa through that person’s work with him).
Technically, I’m a kid. And I went to this concert. = This propaganda is working.
DeMolay,
I think you’re over-estimating the alienation factor of Zappa’s music. To wit, there is much more to grab onto than you’re indicating. He’s not Ligeti – for one thing – and he’s in the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame.
Your point on passing Zappa on to the next generation is well taken, but don’t forget that Dweezil is already well known in America as, among other things, a voice on Duckman, a 80s MTV presence and a former co-host of a Food Network cooking show with Lisa Loeb.
Moreover, even Frank himself is not the ostracized Schoenberg you’re making him out to be; just last week I heard more than one reference to his Senate testimonial from the mid-80s.
Dan
Ho hum. Excuse me. I’ve got to floss now. Then pluck what’s left of my pocket book with a pair of zircon encrusted tweezers. Personally, I’d rather dig the real thing, the original mix, even if the cover band itself was exceptional.
I’ve never understood the bitching about the ZFT. First of all Frank is dead so we should be be happy that any new material is being released at all.
Secondly, I guess Dweezil would go mad if all he did was remaster and fix up Franks old tapes. I’m sure it must be a difficult job and not as creativly satisfying as performing live. Dweezils a great guitarist and should be performing live, be it Franks work or his own material.
Thirdly, if you accept that the ZPZ tour is a good thing, then surely you have to accept that releasing a DVD to coincide with more tour dates is a commercially sensible thing to do. I’m sure the ZPZ DVD was a lot easy to sort out the the Roxy tapes.
Some people are never happy.
Benedict: I’m with you on this one.
Benedict: Oh I’ll be buying with a smile, as I imagine many of not all of the posters will. I will also be purchasing tickets to a third ZPZ without batting an eyelash.
Best,
Dan
Dan DiPaolo: Hey, I may bitch, I may grumble, I may even take out my frustration on the kind folks at the ZFT — but I am, after all, a Frank Zappa fan, and will be buying said DVD (though probably with more of a grimace at first than a smile until the first notes hit my ears). If you’ve been around as long as many of us old freaks have been, you’ll understand our yearning for a viewing of that classic Roxy show (before old age dementia sets in).
Cheers,
urban
Hi Urbangraffito,
What my trifle of a first comment on this page (right below yours, actually) was supposed to show is that I am anything but an uncritical consumer of both Zappa himself and (especially) the posthumous curatorial efforts of the ZFT. I am a fan and a critic, not a whiner, which is what my second comment was supposed to indicate.
The ZPZ tour was fairly no-nonsense, and by that I mean there was little that wasn’t actually playing. Even during tunes where Frank’s performance would have resulted in “noise,” all of Dweezil’s group’s performances were free of that, as well extended talking, for that matter.
My hope for the DVD is that it will have a “cleanliness” that reflects the group’s performances. I also hope that there will be RELEVANT performances (unlike the several wasted selections, in my opinion, from Halloween, obviously the ones Frank didn’t pick himself) and that they will not be cluttered with inanity that disrupts what ought to be seen and heard (Baby Snakes, Dub Room).
Although I have moonlighted as a Watsonian Zappa author (I’m in the pink book), perhaps I cannot, after all, appreciate the frustration of the eternally postponed Roxy DVD. I’ll wait and hope and buy with you though, bogus DVD teasers be damned.
Best,
Dan
NIIICE!!! I saw ZPZ in Boston last summer, the show was amazing! I badly wanted to goto the Portland show, but never made it. It seems like I’ll be seeing it after all :) I’m excited about this summer tour, and plan on seeing them in NH this Augest, too bad Steve Vai and Terry Ted Bozzio that cute little drummer won’t be here this year.