Dweezil Zappa Will Not Be on the Frank Zappa Hologram Tour
The proposed tour featuring a hologram of Frank Zappa and many of his sidemen has the backing of the Zappa Family Trust, but not Frank's son, Dweezil. The guitarist said that he will not take part in it.
On Thursday, he tweeted a clip of Ray Liotta laughing during the famous "I'm a clown, I amuse you?" scene from Goodfellas along with the message, "This seems appropriate at this moment in time." Someone asked, "I take it you won't be in the touring band for this farce?" to which Dweezil responded, "You are correct."
Earlier this week, the Zappa Family Trust announced that they are working with Eyellusion to create a production using many former Zappa sidemen, including Steve Vai and Adrian Belew, playing alongside a hologram of Frank. They plan to stage Joe's Garage the Musical with Frank as the Central Scrutinizer.
Dweezil also tweeted that the reference to him made by his brother Ahmet in the press release -- "How radical would it be to have Moon singing ‘Valley Girl‘ onstage with Frank? Or to see Dweezil side by side with our father playing dueling guitar solos?” -- was unauthorized.
Zappa's four children have been split on how to honor their father's legacy since the 2015 death of their mother, Gail. Ahmet and Diva are trustees of the estate, while Dweezil and Moon aren't. Last year, Dweezil clashed with the Trust over his Zappa Plays Zappa tour, claiming that his siblings threatened to fine him "$150,000 each time he played a song without proper permission.” He eventually changed the name of the tour to "50 Years of Frank: Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the F@%k He Wants – The Cease and Desist Tour."
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