Dweezil Zappa World

The record you have just added to your collection contains live performances recorded over the past 2 years. The majority of the songs are from our 3 night residency at the Morse Theater in Chicago, October 2008. (I'm not sure the place still exists.) "The Torture Never Stops" is from Halloween in New York 2008. "Zomby Woof" and "Montana" are culled from our Manchester England concert in the summer of 2009.

It's always a big challenge to capture the true essence of a live performance. Character, conviction, raw energy and musicality don't always conspire in peaceful co-existence with sonic fidelity. On rare occasions you get lucky and all of the aforementioned details are present in a recording. I think we got lucky this time.

I was inspired to create a record that could accurately represent the Zappa Plays Zappa project. As a band we have evolved musically as well as undergone personnel changes. This is a snapshot of an exciting period of performances by the band as it was and as it is currently. I enjoy hearing the contrast within the compositions as well as all of the contrasting improvisational styles of the musicians. The performances have a few rough edges but I don't mind. I didn't want to sit in a studio and surgically fix every minor discrepancy. It would no longer be a live experience. I wanted the human element to be present. There could very well be better over all executions of parts in some of our other recordings but these versions stood out for other reasons. To me, there seems to be a beautiful synergy between the band and the audience on these tracks.

In closing, there is one last thing I would like to share with you about this record. It contains some lengthy guitar solos - love 'em or hate 'em it's the place where I connect most with my Father's music. Each time I play a solo I try to imbue my own playing with some of my Dad's idiosyncrasies both technically and sonically. At the same time I try to react to the moment and spontaneously compose something melodic and musical. It's not easy to do but I really enjoy the process. I tried to assemble an assortment of songs with solos that best represent the process I just described. Many of them remind me of the "Shut Up And Play Yer Guitar" era solos, that's is why I named the album Return Of The Son Of...

I hope you all enjoy listening to this record. We sure had fun playing the concerts.

Regards, DZ

This live performance double CD set is currently available at the merchandise counter on tour. It will be available worldwide both digitally and in stores within the next 3 weeks.

Razor And Tie is the distributor.