Frank Zappa

[medjuck]

3 hours ago, bertrand said:

I am still trying to understand this concept of use of name. Frank Zappa was a composer, he would be the first to tell you that. So a concert stating that the works of Frank Zappa, composer will be performed should be fine as long as ASCAP/BMI fees are paid. What am I missing? If the family will keep thinking of him as a 'brand' rather than a composer, then he can never be included in the pantheon of composers, something we know he wished for.

Now there was that Puccini estate vs. Bob Belden - was the issue there that they did not like the arrangements? What legal ground did they have to justify the album being pulled?

 

 

I believe (and I could certainly be wrong) that if you want to advertise a concert of Richard Rogers music you need his estate's permission.   Even if your name is Fred Rogers. 

[duaneiac]

1 hour ago, medjuck said:

I believe (and I could certainly be wrong) that if you want to advertise a concert of Richard Rogers music you need his estate's permission.   Even if your name is Fred Rogers. 

Richard Rogers?  Wasn't he part of the songwriting team Rogers & Heart?

[Ted O'Reilly]

2 hours ago, duaneiac said:

Richard Rogers?  Wasn't he part of the songwriting team Rogers & Heart?

I think you may be confusing Rodgers and Hart with (Roy) Rogers and (William S.) Hart.  No problems, as them guys was Straight Shooters!

[medjuck]

8 hours ago, bertrand said:

I am still trying to understand this concept of use of name. Frank Zappa was a composer, he would be the first to tell you that. So a concert stating that the works of Frank Zappa, composer will be performed should be fine as long as ASCAP/BMI fees are paid. What am I missing? If the family will keep thinking of him as a 'brand' rather than a composer, then he can never be included in the pantheon of composers, something we know he wished for.

Now there was that Puccini estate vs. Bob Belden - was the issue there that they did not like the arrangements? What legal ground did they have to justify the album being pulled?

 

 

I believe (and I could certainly be wrong) that if you want to advertise a concert of Richard Rogers music you need his estate's permission.   Even if your name is Fred Rogers. 

 

Or especially if it's Roy Rogers. 

4 hours ago, Ted O'Reilly said:

I think you may be confusing Rodgers and Hart with (Roy) Rogers and (William S.) Hart.  No problems, as them guys was Straight Shooters!

Well I expect it's  equally true for Roy Rogers.  Maybe that's why we see so few Sons of The Pioneers cover bands. 

[Neal Pomea]

My area used to have a rockabilly/swing band named Grandsons of the Pioneers til they were sued for trademark infringement. They changed their name to The Grandsons.

[7/4]

Zappa Family Trust announces auction of Frank Zappa gear and memorabilia — and Dweezil and Moon aren't happy about it

[fasstrack]

In an interview in the documentary Eat That Question he seemed to infer that he was deemed more interesting than his music. He said, more or less, 'I'm famous, but no one seems to know what for'...

[BFrank]

That's a very good doc, BTW. A must-see for any Zappa fan! (or even if you're not)

[Rooster_Ties]

1 hour ago, BFrank said:

That's a very good doc, BTW. A must-see for any Zappa fan! (or even if you're not)

I really enjoyed it, so too did my non-Zappa-fan wife.

[fasstrack]

5 hours ago, BFrank said:

That's a very good doc, BTW. A must-see for any Zappa fan! (or even if you're not)

I heard there's a possibly better one coming out shortly...

[BFrank]

9 hours ago, fasstrack said:

I heard there's a possibly better one coming out shortly...

I know there's one that's being crowd-funded, but I think it's more of a traditional doc about FZ. What's great about Eat That Question is that it's almost exclusively excerpts of interviews he did over his lifetime.

[7/4]

Frank and Gail Zappa Auction Catalog

[Scott Dolan]

Who gets the UMRK? 

[fasstrack]

4 hours ago, Scott Dolan said:

Who gets the UMRK? 

? What's a UMRK?

[Rooster_Ties]

1 hour ago, fasstrack said:

? What's a UMRK?

Utility Muffin Research Kitchen, iirc.

[fasstrack]

5 hours ago, Rooster_Ties said:

Utility Muffin Research Kitchen, iirc.

I assume that is one of Mr. Zappa's creations?

[Ken Dryden]

The ZFT is selling the house and the studio, too. 

 

[mikeweil]

UMRK was Zappa's name for his studio. It almost breaks my heart to see that this unique assemblage will be taken apart; it certainly would have broken the heart of my best friend who died last summer ..... he had an almost complete Zappa CD collection, which was probably dumped for the most part when his flat had to be cleared. 

[six string]

From what I understand, the studio and musical instruments are being handled by a different company.

[Scott Dolan]

19 hours ago, mikeweil said:

UMRK was Zappa's name for his studio. It almost breaks my heart to see that this unique assemblage will be taken apart; it certainly would have broken the heart of my best friend who died last summer ..... he had an almost complete Zappa CD collection, which was probably dumped for the most part when his flat had to be cleared. 

There's always the chance someone will buy the place and keep everything intact. I always thought the kids would do something with it, but they can't seem to get along with each other these days. It would be sad to see it destroyed, but we got a lot of outstanding music from it.

[mjzee]

Not sure what's going on in Zappa-land, but the Estate is putting out a lot of new releases:

  "Little Dots"    

[7/4]

Ahmet trying to generate cash....

I heard 1/2 of Crux today...outtakes and rough mixes. Curious about Meat Light.

 

 

.

[Scott Dolan]

Any good? 

[7/4]

Crux of the Biscuit is out takes from Apostrophe, interesting enough...probably worth another few listens. There's more of the Jack Bruce jam.

Frank Zappa for President is synclavier music and remixes tied together with a political theme. I love that synclavier noodling.

 

[BFrank]

Are these releases full of bottom feeding outtakes and live shows, or is there some legitimately good stuff here? One reason I ask is that most of the albums released during Frank's lifetime were heavily edited and mixed by him. Even the live albums.