Other Mixes By Mark Petruccelli
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Mixed Genre
CD
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Mixed Genre
CD
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Mixed Genre
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Theme
Z.U.A.A.
| Artist | Song | |
| Frank Zappa |
Joe's Garage 
|
|
| Lowell George | Easy Money | |
| George Duke | Dukey Stick (Album Version) | |
| Jean-Luc Ponty | Egocentric Molecules | |
| Don Preston | Horta Babies | |
| Aynsley Dunbar | Watch 'N' Chain | |
| Arthur Barrow | Velveteen Timebomb | |
| Adrian Belew | Beat Box Guitar | |
| Warren Cuccurullo | Transylvania Boogie | |
| Ike Willis | (Venting The) Krypton Gas | |
| Steve Vai | For the Love of God | |
| Mike Keneally | Choosing to Drown | |
| Terry Bozzio & Jordan Rudess | Dreaming In Titanium | |
| Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band | The Blimp (Mousetrapreplica) | |
| "Weird Al" Yankovic & Dweezil Zappa | Genius in France | |
Comment:
The Zappa Univwesity Alumni Association. Another concept mix I have been planning for a while and prompted by lofi Jr's "Zapped" mix of a couple of weeks ago. I have long been a fan of Frank Zappa and have been amazed by the talent he surrounded himself with and the variety of their post-Zappa output.Frank was a notorious task-master and perfectionist. To record with The Mothers of Invention or his subsequent incarnations one had to start with superior technical musicianship, follow direction exactly and perform straight (no small task in the late 60's and early 70's). The resultant personnel created an interesting and varied portfolio of output aside from and after their time with Zappa.
Lowell George founded Little Feat. Captain Beefheart created his own niche in music. Jean-Luc Ponty and George Duke went off into the front end of Jazz Fusion. Adrian Belew joined King Crimson and formed The Bears. Steve Vai continued to break ground for solo guitar and did the "Cutting" scenes versus Ry Cooder in "Crossroads". Warren Cuccurullo formed Missing Persons with Dale and Terry Bozzio and Patrick O'Hearn (all Zappa Alumni) and later joined Duran Duran (and eventually starred in adult films.)
Other alumni not included here include Ian and Ruth Underwood, Flo & Eddie (of the Turtles), Jimmy Carl Black, Napolean Murphy Brock, Ray White. Scott Thunes and numerous other. Former band members have also reunited to do tribute projects like the Grande Mothers, Project Object and Zappa Plays Zappa. Frank's sons Ahmet and Dweezil also record together as Z.
As far as the material included here, I chose to use solo material instead of the bands they joined. It covers some ground but you can see the Zappa influence in most of it (or see what they each brought to Zappa's work, I'm not quite sure which.) The opener is a favorite FZ tune of mine which sets the "being in the band" mood for me. I had originally planned on using Dweezil's version of "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama" as the closer, but I saw the "Weird Ai" / Dweezil track on iTunes and it wouldn't leave me alone until I downloaded it. I know a Parody of Zappa is redundant but it's really a great spoof of "Apostrophe" thru "Sheik Yerbouti" Zappa output. Link in case you get any onya.
Feedback:
Interesting history. Bravo!
Love the notes.
Fascinating Mark. Thank you for the opportunity to hear this as I'm no expert on this brigade.
i've never been much of a zappa fan - the overwhelming feeling of self-importance that comes off his records is too much for me to bare - however, this definitely looks well made & interesting enough to make me reconsider my stance...
Zappa (when in the proper frame of mind) is an amazing listen. Which is true of a many artist's work, but crucial in respect to his material, imho.This mix, on the other hand, is greeted with open ears ANY TIME.
zappa was a big part of my teenage development however i wasn't paying attention to the musicians at the time. thanks for the scholarship. i love to learn.
Nice mix... and notes too.
I'll have to listen to this. I've tried, oh how I've tried to dig Zappa. The musicianship, yes, is brilliant. But there was always something that felt a little soulless about much of it - like music made by too many music school graduates. But I'll keep trying.... This is a cool concept, regardless.
I have liked everything I have heard from Zappa and this is a great primer for newbies to appreciate his wide-ranging influence. Cath-o-lic girls!
This looks like a worthy and intriguing exercise that I'm really interested in checking out.
I OD'd on Zappa bout 27 years ago and still have to take him in tiny doses to this day! That said I have a mate in England who and I swear this is true, only listens to Zappa and nothing else (yeh he's crazy believe you me)Thanks for the link I reckon I could handle this even if not in one single hit!
I discovered Zappa as a lad through his more scatological material then grew to admire him for his chops. No argument that he always demanded the best from his bands. My faves were always the freaky original Mothers, but I'm still anxious to check this out.
I'm 31. When I was about 15 or 16 I saw the Mother Of Invention on a re run of the Old Grey Whistle Test. The song went 'Ooh In The Sky' quite repetitively if I remember. I never found out which track it was.. Can anyone help??
Thanks for the link here Mark. I'll listen, and report back..
Thanks for the link here Mark. I'll listen, and report back..
I've long been a fan (and indeed could sing and recite both sides of Just Another Band from LA when I was in high school). He just gets better and more important. Thanks for this. Long live Lowell George, too!
Wonderfully sequenced mix, Mark. Can't say I'm too familiar with Zappa (his discography is too immense), but I shall pursue this man!
I Found The Clip I Was Looking For...
Very interesting. I've never really pursued Zappa alumni, having (rather dismissively) just regarded them as instruments in Frank's orchestra. As such this makes a great mix showing to some extent what each musician brought to incarnations of the group.Myself, I'm a fan of the Mothers to early 70's; when the schoolboy humour arrives, I depart. Although I also like the final line up that "you never heard".I looked at Sammy's video and so found the excellent Steve Allen Show clips that I'd never seen before. Thanks for the mix! :)
Your recent mixes are all winners. Love the Zappa and Beefheart picks especially on this one.