That's not , subby, that's

darkhorse23: That's not , subby, that's

Read the story: she's claiming far more rights to control who does and doesn't play the music than is generally considered to be teh case. The cover bands are following the law as it's generally concerned: if the venue has an agreement with ASCAP, and you pay the royalties under that agreement, you can play whatever you want. Gail Zappa wants to go much further and determine what bands can play Frank's music. That's idiotic, and seems designed to keep Frank's music in a tiny little cult that will never grow.

PROJECT/OBJECT is awesome. Seen them about 10 times.

It is specifically P/O & their ilk (as well as intarweb file sharing) that has spawned the recent FZ renaissance, that Dweezil is cashing in on his ZAPPA PLAY ZAPPA tour.

Seen ZPZ twice. 1st time awesome, with Vai, Bozzio & Nappy Brock (who previously was a P/O member).

2nd time ~ very underwhelming!

The ZPZ Band would be a great backup for FZ in his '80s "Make a Jazz Noise Here" era, but Dweezil was an obvious detriment to the lineup. His solos/playing are nothing like the controlled chaos that made his dad a Guitar God.

Though he is good when doing his own thing.

.. and to quote someone else in a Fark TB, Gail is the West Coast Yoko.

jake_lex: darkhorse23: That's not , subby, that's

Read the story: she's claiming far more rights to control who does and doesn't play the music than is generally considered to be teh case. The cover bands are following the law as it's generally concerned: if the venue has an agreement with ASCAP, and you pay the royalties under that agreement, you can play whatever you want. Gail Zappa wants to go much further and determine what bands can play Frank's music. That's idiotic, and seems designed to keep Frank's music in a tiny little cult that will never grow.

Yes.. Thank you. There is a lot of stupid here... Suing bands RECORDING your material for profit is fine, but there is nothing illegal about performing what you want live and the fact that she lost in court and is appealing is just plain retarded from her part

and her argument is that people are not playing the song right, and they might get a wrong impression of Zappa s work... come on

You or I cannot record that material and sell it for money.

Under American law you can sell albums of cover songs without permission as long as you pay the composer the prescribed fee.

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ73.pdf

The best copyright stupidity I ever saw was on myspace, where you couldn't embed Woody Guthrie singing "This Land is your land" on your page, due to copyright restrictions.

/obscure?

Didn't people stop biatching about covers at live gigs in the 80s? I can't remember who had their shorts in a knot back then...

Quite a few of the better-known Zappa tribute bands include members of the Mothers. I know people who've seen these bands and say they're just about spot-on. She needs to sit down and shut up if she really wants Frank's legacy to live on.

Under American law you can sell albums of cover songs without permission as long as you pay the composer the prescribed fee.

Absolutely. It's called compelled licensing. Whenever you hear so and so gave permission to Weird Al to parody a song it's BS. Weird Al doesn't need permission. I believe compelled licensing was part of the agreement that settled the whole song fiasco back in the 40s when no ASCAP music was played on radio for months. That was also the beginning of BMI, the B standing for Broadcast.

Another music oddity is in recording credits. Ever notice how if a big movie star is going to do a five second walk-on bit on a sitcom they promote the crap out of it as "This week's special guest star..." On recordings only the main artist may be featured on the record cover. Herbie Mann's "Push Push" is a good example. Duane Allman was the white hot guitarist at the time and played all over the recording. Nary a word on the cover, just in the small print credits in the liner notes. Had that been a TV show the album would have been promoted as a Herbie/Duane collaboration.

radioman_

According to the copyright office document, compulsory licensing only applies to traditional covers that are faithful to the original.

Goimir: The best copyright stupidity I ever saw was on myspace, where you couldn't embed Woody Guthrie singing "This Land is your land" on your page, due to copyright restrictions.

/obscure?

Or, how about the fact that posting Abbie Hoffman's "Steal this Book" online will get you sued by the Hoffman estate?

radioman_: Whenever you hear so and so gave permission to Weird Al to parody a song it's BS. Weird Al doesn't need permission.

Correct, and Al knows that. He's also nice enough to ask permission anyway, and most times is granted it. Many artists have given Al permission to parody their work.

Yeah, Weird Al just asks so as not to piss people off. But if he didn't care, he could parody anything he wanted.

And to drag this back around to Zappa, I'm surprised FZ's widow didn't have an issue with Weird Al's Zappa style parody, Genius In France.

Although since Dweezil was on it, maybe it was approved.

FTA:'Rolling Stone's Fricke says the disputes don't help the legacy - which is unfortunate, he says, because Zappa's music deserves to reach a wider audience.'

1)Does any musician think that his or her music deserves a smaller audience?

I admit I'm picking nits here but his comment is lame/trite.

2) Gail has a gross misunderstanding of what copyright law does and does not protect

3) Glad to see there is a boomlet in Zappa appreciation but don't think this is gonna turn into some massive resurgence in interest for him. His audience was small-ish when he was alive and I don't see it growing, especially after this much time as passed.

Overture to 'Holiday in Berlin' ftw.

3) Prince has 'turned down' Weird Al a few times. I just wish Al would go ahead and do his parodies; I'd love see what song he does.

Kyosuke: radioman_: Whenever you hear so and so gave permission to Weird Al to parody a song it's BS. Weird Al doesn't need permission.

Correct, and Al knows that. He's also nice enough to ask permission anyway, and most times is granted it.

This is why you never hear a Weird Al parody of a Prince song. As Al put it in an interview, "Certain short purple people have no sense of humor when it comes to their music." (paraphrased)

The only time you explicitly need permission when dealing with other people's music is if you want to print the lyrics as part of the liner notes. But if you just want to play the music live or record it? Go for it, as long as the normal fees are paid, nothing they can do about it.

From his 1993 Today Show interview:


It's not important to even be remembered. I mean the people who worry about being remembered are Reagan and Bush [...] I don't care. (^)

Zappa said that in tons of interviews. He either didn't care about what happened to the music when he was gone, or he felt it should end with him. (I can't really decide.)

Either way, he felt his music was written for a specific time and place. I think Gail is seriously misrepresenting what Frank would have wanted.

ZAZ: radioman_

According to the copyright office document, compulsory licensing only applies to traditional covers that are faithful to the original.

Hmmm...Is Zappa's Stairway to Heaven "faithful" to the original?

I think it's better, but is it "faithful"?

I'm singing Peaches in Regalia right now, Gail. What are you going to do about it?

playing zappa badly should be a crime.

FirstNationalBastard

Style parodies may not be covered by copyright law.

mud_shark

As I recall, Zappa's "Stairway" follows the tune and lyrics of the original.

mud_shark

Hmmm...Is Zappa's Stairway to Heaven "faithful" to the original?

I think it's better, but is it "faithful"?

Well, it has the Carman, Fowler, Fowler, McGettrick and Wing horn section playing Page's guitar solo from the record in unison.

TFA: There are cover bands that the Zappa family does endorse, including Zappa Plays Zappa, a band fronted by Frank's son Dweezil. Gail Zappa insists that she's not playing favorites.

And I'm not typing a comment on a message board.

My handle isn't SynthLord, which, if it was, would be totally not any kind of wordplay based on an interest in Star Wars and synthesizers, both of which I'm totally apathetic about.

(Look G, do what you gotta do, but stop acting like it's not about what it's clearly about. Just bear in mind we still love your husband's music a great deal and want to listen as much as we can; some of us even want to learn how to play it, then play it for other lovers of his music.)

Project/Object kicks ass. I've seen them a bunch of times and look forward to the next time they come through town.

Also, I wonder what Frank would think about the Lagunitas Brewery's Zappa-themed beers?



(yes, they are sold with the permission of the Zappa family trust)

I didn't know that Frank Zappa married Yoko Ono. When did this happen?

Methinks Gail needs spending loot...

mud_shark: Hmmm...Is Zappa's Stairway to Heaven "faithful" to the original?

I think it's better, but is it "faithful"?

All I know is that it sure was awesome to see live. The whole show was great.

IrieTom: Also, I wonder what Frank would think about the Lagunitas Brewery's Zappa-themed beers?

His anti-drug stance on everything else leads me to think he would hate it.

Bukharin: IrieTom: Also, I wonder what Frank would think about the Lagunitas Brewery's Zappa-themed beers?

His anti-drug stance on everything else leads me to think he would hate it.

I disagree.

"We didn't have no dope or LSD, but a couple of quarts of beer."

Oh and Titties and Beer, don't feel like quoting the whole thing.

jhva3: I disagree.

"We didn't have no dope or LSD, but a couple of quarts of beer."

Oh and Titties and Beer, don't feel like quoting the whole thing.

http://www.epinions.com/review/_2001103637/content_298099052164

"Zappa was quite conservative about illicit drugs. He admits to trying marijuana perhaps ten times during the sixties, but didn't find it appealing. He very nearly got bounced from one of his bands because the other members of the group didn't like having the stodgy and sober Zappa spoiling their good times. Interestingly, Zappa lumped alcohol in with other drugs (as any good authority on drug abuse would also), but refused to view tobacco in that manner."

Touche. Seem to remember some anti-drinking lyrics from We're Only in It For the Money now that you mention it.

jhva3: Bukharin: IrieTom: Also, I wonder what Frank would think about the Lagunitas Brewery's Zappa-themed beers?

His anti-drug stance on everything else leads me to think he would hate it.

I disagree.

"We didn't have no dope or LSD, but a couple of quarts of beer."

Oh and Titties and Beer, don't feel like quoting the whole thing.


Zappa disapproved of beer because he thought that the consumption of beer led to "militant behavior".

And in "the real zappa book" he mentions drinking only once, before he got popular... something about spending the last of his money on beans (or maybe rice) and coors... and he ended up doubled-over puking beans and cursing the coors company...

HappyHarryHardOn: cursing the coors company...

That could apply to anyone who's ever tasted a Coors.

Rudy Gail wants to buy you a drink.

everywhere I look on the internet, all I see of Zappa is Zappa plays Zappa. meh!

ZeroCorpse: This is why you never hear a Weird Al parody of a Prince song. As Al put it in an interview, "Certain short purple people have no sense of humor when it comes to their music." (paraphrased)

wow. an article about shiat we always knew for no real reason. keep it up gail,good job! that roxy dvd is just gonna happen any day i guess.


/coont

Thanks Gail, for taking away the incentive for young talented bands to spread your late husbands' fantastic music.

It's not like Frank Zappa was the greatest contemporary composer we've had yet.

FirstNationalBastard:
And to drag this back around to Zappa, I'm surprised FZ's widow didn't have an issue with Weird Al's Zappa style parody, Genius In France.

Although since Dweezil was on it, maybe it was approved.


More like Dweezil GOT PAID to be on it. Only in it for the money.

It seems incredible to me that someone as brilliant and cool as Frank would choose to marry someone who well... isn't.

No wonder he was such a workaholic. I think if I were married to someone like that, I'd try to keep myself busy, too.

DIAF, Gail. But please be away from the vaults when you do.

Also, ZPZ kicks ass. P/O is a great band and a lot of fun, but ZPZ is _much_ tighter and true to the originals.

Wagz:

P/O is a great band and a lot of fun, but ZPZ is _much_ tighter and true to the originals.

'Tight' is boring. 'Tight' is YCDTOSA 5 disc 2. I'll take P/O and YCDTOSA 5 disc 1 anyday, even though Andre is a complete moonbat.