I’m kind of assuming that everyone here who has an interest in Frank Zappa will be aware of this, but if not, this guy Alex Winter is serious and is doing a great job.
The deadline is this Friday to get to a million bucks as the first part of an ongoing project to save the deteriorating tapes in Zappa’s vast vault of recorded stuff. Then there’s a documentary to be made.
The Zappa family are supporting this, and it’s worth a look and a few bucks of anyone’s hard-earned for anyone even vaguely interested in keeping Zappa’s legacy alive.
And if you hate Frank Zappa and have for some reason clicked on this link, there’s plenty of other stuff here to talk about.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alexwinter/frank-zappa/posts/1538463#
I think there’s a few of us here that have backed it. I’ve found it a little confusing – having passed $500k the project shows as funded although the target is $1m. I suppose the more raised, the more funding there is to explore the vault.
Yes it is a little confusing.
However there is a target of $1,000,000 for this Friday, and then an eventual target of $3mil.
Whatever, as I said I think the guy is OK and I hope he gets the project up. I have a certain feeling that the ZFT will prop it up if it’s looking dodgy towards the end, but I couldn’t possibly comment…
Thanks Mousey. Will contribute.
I wonder what FZ would have thought about crowd funding
It may just be me, but I would have thought the obvious question is why the, extremely well-heeled, Zappa clan are not funding this themselves?
My thoughts exactly. It is the four kids’ inheritance after all.
Although I did hear there was an almighty rift between Gail and Dweezil in the last couple of years.
I understand, from an intimate source, that she could be extremely ‘demanding’.
Yes, legally speaking she went after every FZ tribute band and Zappa festival with unflagging zeal
Are they actually that Well-Heeled, or does everyone just assume so?
I don’t.
Hmm. There were more words in the version I thought I had pasted. I doubt they are skint but that’s not the same as having $250k each spare to spunk away on a project with such limited potential. Plus i’ve read that Moon Unit has no desire to have anything to do with the business.
Dweezil was using PledgeMusic to fund his album – suggests he’s not that well set up?
Hmm, indeed. Zappa was already pretty well off by the end of the ’60s even, having already bought the $9m Laurel Canyon house (current estimate) that’s now for sale. A quick Google gives his estimated Net Worth at $40m, though how accurate that is I’m uncertain.
Ahmet has control of the trust. Not sure what Dweezil’s involvement is now.
I wont bother in future – https://theafterword.co.uk/dig-deep-for-bill-and-franks-excellent-fing-movie/
And another thing – Gerry Rafferty’s quiet these days, is he not?
Dunno but I think Blast might be.
Also – https://theafterword.co.uk/utility-muffin-research-kitchen-for-sale/
But the more the merrier I say
@James Blast – sorry, I hadn’t seen your previous post
It’s a pity someone didn’t tap FZ on the shoulder in the dire 1980s and say, ‘Why are you ruining all your old recordings (see ‘Cruisin’ with…..’, ‘Uncle Meat’) by adding overdubs, and that awful instrument beginning with ‘c’ you’re so keen on. Just plonk them out the way they appeared in the 60s, and start saving the tapes out back.’
Just a thought.
“Ruben” and “Money” are still not easily available in their original un-overdubbed form and “Uncle Meat” still has all that added narration at the end.
Fatima told us that the originals are actually available from the ZFT by mail order, but from past experience, they are bound to be hugely overpriced.
Realistically, there’s not enough demand for those original versions to justify issuing them at all, from a strictly business point of view. The casual Zappa listener will be happy enough with the ’80s versions. I don’t think “casuals” are very interested in the early catalogue anyway.
“For completists and collectors only”.
No doubt rips of the originals can be found in good quality on the ‘net for free (once you’ve found the right dodgy sites). I have a pretty good rip of the original “Ruben & The Jets” myself which a friend gave me.
Such a niche item, properly-packaged, is going to be either very expensive or completely unavailable.
I guess that’s true and I have the original vinyl copies anyway. But it just seems like an untidy blot on the catalogue to me.
I know what you mean. Especially as, so rumour has it, the real reason he overdubbed them was spite, because Roy Estrada and Jimmy Carl Black sued him for royalties and had to be paid off to avoid FZ losing a court case.
I too wondered about why the Zappa family weren’t funding this, and a couple of possible reasons have been alluded to above. Yes FZ did make some money, he was a shrewd businessman, and he did make sure he owned all his copyrights, or rather the ZFT did, before he died. But really how can his music make any money now? Certainly not from record sales which as well know have fallen for everyone. Another source of income for composers and musicians is having say an “oldie” hit that gets played endlessly on radio or TV, or songs placed in movies. But none of those apply to Zappa.
Also as someone said above, I doubt whether they want to get involved with the business. And Dweezil – it must cost a fortune to keep ZPZ on the road.
You might want to go here –
http://www.zappa.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=27035
Amongst the usual bitchy comments nastiness there’s some good information. Which basically boils down to:
– Nobody knows. Where your money is going, how long it’s going to be held there, where it will finish up. How much the Zappa kids are putting in, if anything. Exactly what material will be saved from tape degradation (mostly video stock, apparently). Or when. Nobody knows.
Gawd those forums are bloody awful aren’t they, people abusing each other and so on.
FWIW I trust Alex Winter, and obviously the Zappa progeny and Joe Travers do too. I don’t think THEY can know what will be saved until they see what’s there.
There’s a good interview with AW here –
http://zappacast.podomatic.com/entry/2016-03-21T13_00_51-07_00
It seems the kids aren’t united
http://www.jambase.com/article/zappa-family-divided-alex-winters-kickstarter-campaign
any West Country Zappa fans may be interested in this at Bristol’s Watershed next week
http://www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/7286/roxy-the-movie-skype-intro/