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press release
For interviews, review tickets and more information ...
Contact: Randex Communications
Kim Gritzke (518) 797-3341 or
[email protected]
Randy Alexander, Randex Communications (856) 596-1410 or [email protected]
Downloadable color jpegs and complete press info at www.randexpr.com/projectobject
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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by popular demand!
PROJECT/OBJECT Presents:
"22 YEARS OF LIVE INVENTION"
FALL 2003 NATIONAL TOUR ENCORE
3
Generations of Frank Zappa Band Alumni Reunite
to Bring Live Zappa Experience Coast-to-Coast on Eve of 10th Anniversary
of Late Rock 'n' Roll Maestro's "Last Tour"
"As
former Zappa collaborators Ike Willis (guitar/vocals) and Napoleon
Murphy Brock (sax/flute/vocals) took to the stage, the performance
became as much a revival as a tribute." - Creative Loafing
"That's impossible - you can't do that on a Moog" -
Synthesizer design pioneer Bob Moog, commenting on Don Preston's Moog
Synth solo on the WAKA JAWKA LP
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NEW YORK -- Closing in on the first decade since Frank
Zappa left for his "last tour," PROJECT/OBJECT, the
Mother of Frank Zappa Reinvention, is mounting a nationwide encore of
its unprecedented "22 Years of Live Invention"
traveling revue this fall. By popular demand, the two-month fall tour
will reunite the maestro's two most beloved vocalists, Ike Willis
and Napoleon Murphy Brock, with original Mother of Invention,
71-year-old synth and keyboard genius Don Preston.
This marks only the second time PROJECT/OBJECT has had the honor of
presenting three bona fide Zappa band alumni to perform and perpetuate
the music of the man they consider one of the 20th century''s most
important and influential composers. The original "22 Years"
revue, in the spring of this year, was the first time Willis, Brock and
Preston played with PROJECT/OBJECT at the same time. Together, they
represent a 22-year span beginning with Preston's entry into the Zappa
camp in 1966 and ending with Willis' final Zappa tour in 1988.
Needless to say, with the 10th anniversary of Zappa's death (December 4,
1993) arriving within days of the end of the fall tour, this outing
takes on added significance -- as the crown jewel of PROJECT/OBJECT's
ongoing mission to perpetuate his music. As such, PROJECT/OBJECT will be
playing a number two-night engagements along the way, giving the band
more opportunity to present as much of the Zappa canon in those cities
as possible. PROJECT/OBJECT continues to honor the breadth and scope of
Zappa's creative output by making every show different from night to
night -- with completely different setlists.
This tour will see the band also performing some of the classic Sixties
"Mothers of Invention" material and revisiting the legendary
electronic improvisational style that Preston brought to the Mothers
from 1966 to 1974. The band also will be recreating the unique fun,
excitement and political humor of the Frank Zappa concert experience.
The six-week tour, which kicks off October 10 in Trenton, N.J., is by
far the most extensive road trip for this very special PROJECT/OBJECT
lineup. The tour will span the entire U.S., with two-nighters scheduled
in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Atlanta and Philadelphia, once
more conjuring the uniquely progressive musical chemistry that results
whenever Zappa's band mates take the stage. Zappa repeatedly said his
music was meant to be experienced "live," and the band
promises to deliver just that -- legendary music performed by legendary
musicians.
Napoleon Murphy Brock is best known for his contributions to
three of Zappa's most notorious albums, the 1974 double LP Roxy and
Elsewhere and its follow-up, One Size Fits All, plus Bongo
Fury with Captain Beefheart. He provided vocals for Zappa's
top-selling album, 1979's Sheik Yerbouti, and toured briefly with Zappa
for a final time in 1984. Napoleon currently can be heard more recently
on the 2002 Zappa release Oz, and on his own 2002 solo debut, Balls.
Ike Willis (1978-88) is one of Zappa''s most durable and beloved
sidemen, whose soulful vocal hysterics are best remembered as the voice
of Joe on the Joe's Garage rock opera trilogy. He toured the
world six times with the maestro and was the voice of his music for 14
years on countless recordings, many still unreleased. Brock (1974-84)
preceded Willis as Zappa''s first front man vocalist-musician. Brock's
unmistakable voice and stage presence brought an energetic new
theatricality to the band, helping to define the Zappa stage show. Both
musicians played integral roles in Zappa's 1984 Thingfish rock
opera. Preston and Brock overlapped in The Mothers when they toured with
Zappa in 1974's "Ten Years of the Mothers" tour.
Don Preston appears on most of the classic early Mothers records,
and with the GrandMothers, recently released a new live CD of his own
music as well as classic Zappa material. The CD was recorded with an
orchestra in Leipzig, Germany. Don also released an electronic CD with
his Akashic Ensemble. He continues to compose and record new original
music with the GrandMothers. A busy guy at 71 years young!
On this special tour, PROJECT/OBJECT will be playing many authentic
renditions from Roxy and Elsewhere, Joe's Garage, Sheik Yerbouti, One
Size Fits All and We're Only in it for the Money, plus plenty
of other classics, as well selections from the band's own THE DREAM
OF THE DOG.
"Ike and Napoleon are just sounding better and better
together," marvels PROJECT/OBJECT ringleader Andre Cholmondeley
(CHUM-lee). "And Don is basically one of the pillars of electronic
music and modern composition. The guy has done so much in so many areas,
we are especially honored and excited to add him to our nutty band.
Every night is going to be unique."
PROJECT/OBJECT has been gaining notoriety for over a decade for its
on-stage dedication to keep this music alive. The band continues to gain
new fans across generations of improv-oriented and progressive music
heads.
"It's incredible to me that 10 years have passed since Zappa's
death," says Cholmondeley. "What's even more incredible is
that we continue to turn on new generations to his unmatched
genius."
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