PUREHONEY 65

Courtesy ART FTL

Art Fort Lauderdale Leah Brown, Ben Morey, Renda Writer, Sri Prabha, Jenn Clay, Ivania Guererro, Laurence Gartel. While this might sound like a round up of exhibiting artists for an Art Basel event, these are just a few of the artists who will take part in what may become a new Broward tradition. ART FTL will take place mid-January and brings together South Florida artists, galleries, and businesses with aims to anchor and enrich Broward’s growing artist community.

In just under six months, co-founders Andrew Martineau and Evan Andrew Martineau and Evan Snow Snow have organized a multimedia art event with local artists who will exhibit at three separate residential locations accessible only by boat. They’ve nearly finished design of an accompanying app, and they’ve scored a several major sponsors.

It’s not everyday that a first time event gains the support of the likes of Venice Magazine, Oak & Cane - American Craft Rum, Oceanland Investments, BarkinGilman, Greater Fort Lauderdale Conventions & Visitors Bureau and Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority. Yet, this is exactly what the organizers of Art Fort Lauderdale have done.

Martineau notes, “Fort Lauderdale is best known for its Intracoastal Waterways, and this fair highlights the uniqueness of the city in a deeply immersive and engaging way while allowing people to visit and view art in luxury properties only viewed from a distance by most.”

Miami gets a lot of attention for more than one reason, but Martineau and Snow saw an opportunity to showcase all that makes Broward a desired community, from a vibrant arts community to a thriving real estate market. But it’s not just about seeing an opening in the art fair market. Both organizers are long-time Broward residents and have an interest in revitalizing and furthering the cultural scene here.

Martineau has been involved at the cross-section of creative arts and marketing for nearly 20 years and is launching the UniteUS Group with the promising debut of Art Fort Lauderdale. Snow has been promoting Broward arts, music, and tech through his #Choose954 social media campaign.

Snow says, “I’m from Broward, lived in Broward my whole life, and we want to let people know Broward is a great place to live.”

The ambitious fair will have attendees arriving at their destinations via boat with VIPs having the option of being transported by private yacht. Each location is organized around a theme, presenting three distinct exhibition experiences: artGALLERY, artINTERACTIVE, and artINDIE. The first will feature masterpieces by well-known artists alongside artists represented by local galleries. Interpretative dance and high-tech installations will be the focus of artINTERACTIVE. Meanwhile, artINDIE promises to showcase the work of independent artists.

To help attendees navigate through the fair, Art Fort Lauderdale has partnered with Vivid Arts, a West Palm Beachbased app that promotes local arts by providing a platform for discovering local art galleries and public art installations along with learning about artists. Downloading the app will allow guests to access up-to-date schedule information as well as see artist interviews and more.

If you want to attend the fair in VIP style, purchase the VIP pass which includes access to the opening reception on January 11 along with exclusive updates and previews. The unlimited VIP pass is valid on all days which will allow you entry to rooftop experiences with beverages and hors d’oeuvres.

Martineau explains what makes this fair different from the others, “By combining the ultimate Open House at waterfront properties usually viewed from afar, this experience will showcase art in a more intimate setting with the city’s famous intracoastal waterways as its backdrop - thereby providing a fun, and engaging option for people looking for an alternative to the hectic spectacle that is Art Basel Miami Beach.”

As if planning a major art event weren’t enough, the duo have been hosting a Live Art Pop Up series at YOLO in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The series will continue with a different artist each Wednesday leading up to Art Fort Lauderdale. You may still be able to catch a few.

Art Fort Lauderdale begins with a VIP opening reception on January 11. The exhibits are open to the public beginning January 12 from 4pm - 8pm and runs January 13 - 15 from 1pm - 8pm. Tickets range from $25 for a single day pass to $225 for a VIP pass with access to all events for the duration of the fair. Tickets can be bought online in advance or at the door. Learn more about the latest edition to the Broward art scene by visiting www.artftlauderdale.com. ~ Jessica Chesler

Noah Frank Photography

Melancholy Holly For many, the holidays are often a mix of swirling, sometimes conflicting, feelings. There’s the excitement of the surprises that await us underneath the Christmas tree or on the other side of a New Year’s Eve hangover. That same excitement could very well translate into anxiety over an uncertain future.

One band, The Whiskey Wasps, has managed to encompass the turbulent, and occasionally wonderful, wide range of emotions that accompanies winter on their new EP, Melancholy Holly. It’s fitting that around the same time as they celebrate the release of their latest record, they’re preparing for some very difficult goodbyes in their personal lives.

The Whiskey Wasps is a side project from one of South Florida’s most prominent alternative rock bands, Raggy Monster.

Comprised of husband and wife duo guitarist Billy Schmidt and vocalist Rachel DuVall-Schmidt, The Whiskey Wasps began their stint of shows as a stripped down acoustic duo as a way WHISKEY WASPS to reconnect to when they first met in college and began writing music together. While that eventually blossomed into Raggy Monster and a successful career with the band, there was always another set of songs to showcase featuring the couple.

This past fall, Raggy Monster embarked on their first ever national tour to help build their fanbase outside of Florida, with an eye towards some big plans in 2017. Then, life happened.

As one might imagine, this sudden news wasn’t exactly well-received by all of their Raggy Monster bandmates at first, but the pair insist that this is not the end. In fact, not to sound overly dramatic, but this is just the beginning.

Of course, Raggy Monster and their over-the-top style has always have always had a flair for the dramatic.

Noah Frank Photography

This past Thanksgiving weekend, Schmidt announced on his Facebook page of the couple’s decision to move to California in January. Originally the plan was set for a few years down the road, but the timetable was abruptly moved up “due to unforeseen circumstances.” Since then, The Whiskey Wasps have been playing a series of bittersweet shows, including their regular gig at Hullabaloo, to bid their home state and many of their friends farewell. At least for now.

And, even as toned down as their side project has been RAGGY MONSTER in comparison, The Whiskey Wasps are no wallflowers; in particular, this is true on Melancholy Holly, a gorgeous, ethereal, and at times, mesmerizing collection of Christmas covers and originals that simultaneously warm the heart and chill us with goosebumps thanks to an elegantly haunting quality.

In explaining the inspiration for Melancholy Holly, the duo said, “We tend to naturally lean towards melancholy music, and while we enjoy the holidays and the jolly tunes they inspire, we wanted to record an album that has a unique contrast.”

They’ve accomplished just that and as we get ready to say goodbye to Billy and Rachel, this isn’t a time to be sad; instead, it’s an opportunity to enjoy the gifts they’ve showered us with over the years, which includes Melancholy Holly in addition to all the memories, from both their bands, stuffed in our mental stockings. ~ Angel Melendez

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29

RESPECTABLE STREET: Reverend Horton Heat, Jello Biafra, Legendary Shack Shakers

DADA: Flower City Conspiracy BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Artists Opening, Open Mic Night KREEPY TIKI: Enemy of The State, Nekromaniak, Nutcheck, Apocalyptic Assault

MONDAY, JANUARY 9

DADA: Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30

FILLMORE MB: Moscow ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker DADA: Shameless Burlesque

RESPECTABLE STREET: Limitless Lit-Mas Party KREEPY TIKI: AnyOtherColor, Water Colors & Friends

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31

RESPECTABLE STREET: NEW YEARS EVE! Guy Harvey, Wake Up, Dead and Loving It DADA: SpiderCherry CWS: KIDS, Kent Lawler

SUNDAY, JANUARY 1

CHURCHILLS PUB: Denudes, In Oculus, Milkspot, Period Bomb, Sandratz

DADA: Ella Herrera TERRA FERMATA: Jedi Magic Carousel, Freekbase

MONDAY, JANUARY 2

DADA: Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays

TUESDAY, JANUARY 3

DADA: Spoken Word Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Mic PROPAGANDA: Karaoke Tuesday

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4

DADA: William Mercer PROPAGANDA: DugRocks Drag Show TERRA FERMATA: JD Cook & Micky Lynn

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10

DADA: Comedy Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Mic PROPAGANDA: Karaoke Tuesday TERRA FERMATA: Brian Smalley, Nouveaux Honkies

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11

THURSDAY, JANUARY 5

DADA: Jacob Constantakos & Don Capi PROPAGANDA: DugRocks Drag Show TERRA FERMATA: Jonnie Morgan

RESPECTABLE STREET: Black Cousins

JANUARY 12-15

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12

DADA: Migrate

KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke Circus w/ Shelly Novak CWS: Big Harvest PROPAGANDA: Ladies Night TERRA FERMATA: The Broadcast KREEPY TIKI: Mambo Sisters, Laundry Room Squelchers, Ed Matus, Human Fluid Rot feat. Jay Reeves, Two Coin, Period Bomb, StarFarmers, vbit32, WHAT, Lautlos BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Open Mic Night DADA: JL Fulks PROPAGANDA: Bath Salt Zombies, Zoo Peculiar, Kocosante CWS: Electric Kif TERRA FERMATA: Smoking Section, Ryan Owens

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7

PROPAGANDA: The People Upstairs, Jordan Wedding DADA: Xotic Yeyo

FORT LAUDERDALE: ART FORT LAUDERDALE is a revolutionary art fair hosted at properties on the intracoastal waterways in Fort Lauderdale – incorporating a different approach to view, interact and purchase art. It will be an outlet that will give artists the opportunity to showcase their work whether they are independent or being represented by a gallery.

DADA: Craft Bazaar

RESPECTABLE STREET: Yung Tarzan BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Open Mic Night

THE KELSEY THEATER: Henry Rollins

KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke Circus w/ Shelly Novak CWS: Future Prezidents

CULTURE ROOM: Dweezil Zappa: 50 Years of RESPECTABLE STREET: Whisperwind, Peyote Coyote Frank SUBCULTURE COFFEE DELRAY: Octo Gato CWS: Uproot Hootenanny

PROPAGANDA: Ladies Night TERRA FERMATA: Ben Prestage

TERRA FERMATA: The Broadcast, Dreams BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Bryce Allyn THE KELSEY THEATER: Rocky Horror Picture Show

DADA: Big Chief KILL YOUR IDOL: Mekronium Lives

SUNDAY, JANUARY 8

PROPAGANDA: LFTD LVLS, Helmsmen, Fireside Prophets CWS: Holy Miss Moley THE KELSEY THEATER: Abstract Rude TERRA FERMATA: Grandpa’s Cough Medicine, Abby Owens

HOUSE OF ART: Modern Mimes- Wake Up Cd Release/ FRIDAY, JANUARY 13 Art Exhibit

DADA: Big Chief CHURCHILLS PUB: Freight Bird Show, Ghostflower, Dos Centavos, Akin Mannequin, Prison Warder, Killyour TERRA FERMATA: The Helmsmen

RESPECTABLE STREET: Sada, Killmama, Space Coast Ghosts, Drip Effect

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14

RESPECTABLE STREET: Happy Happy Birthday to Me, Athens Popfest, PureHoney present EUREKA CALIFORNIA w. Peyote Coyote, Lindsey Mills, Wake Up, Chaucer, Similar Prisoners DADA: Jonathan Auerbach Trio SUBCULTURE COFFEE DELRAY: Jace Crawford KILL YOUR IDOL: Keep It Deep CWS: Victoria Cardona, Homegrown Sinners POMPANO AMP: Eddie Money, Starship BREWHOUSE GALLERY: String Assassins THE KELSEY THEATER: Riff Raff

SUNDAY, JANUARY 15 DADA: Ella Herrera

RESPECTABLE STREET: MLK House Party CULTURE ROOM: Sevendust TERRA FERMATA: Howlin’ Brothers

MONDAY, JANUARY 16

DADA: Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17

DADA: Comedy Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Mic PROPAGANDA: Karaoke Tuesday TERRA FERMATA: The Lark & the Loon, Nouveaux Honkies

FRIDAY, JANUARY 20

DADA: Hillside Spirit Revival BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Summer Gill THE KELSEY THEATER: Mayday!

CWS: Bobby Lee Rodgers Trio CULTURE ROOM: Mike Doughty Wheatus MICKEL PARK: Jam Port Authority

SATURDAY, JANUARY 21

DADA: Sophie Sputnik SUBCULTURE COFFEE DELRAY: Ella Herrera KILL YOUR IDOL: Breaks Yo! PROPAGANDA: Everymen, Que Lastima, Spred The Dub, No Name Ska BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Sprockets & Spokes: Custom Bicycle Show CWS: Juke TERRA FERMATA: Sweet Bea & the Boys, Deal James

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22

DADA: Big Chief CULTURE ROOM: Geoff Tate PROPAGANDA: Caskey, DJ Neddlez TERRA FERMATA: Unlimited Devotion

MONDAY, JANUARY 23

DADA: Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24

JANUARY 19-22

PB CONVENTION CENTER: Art Synergy & ArtPalmBeach

DADA: Comedy Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Mic TERRA FERMATA: Yarn, Nouveaux Honkies

JANUARY 19-28

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25

PB CONVENTION CENTER: Continuum WPB

DADA: Brett Staska CULTURE ROOM: J Boog, Jo Mersa Marley, Jemere Morgan PROPAGANDA: DugRocks Drag Show

THURSDAY, JANUARY 26 DADA: Matthew Joy

RESPECTABLE STREET: Migrate

KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke Circus w/ Shelly Novak CWS: Artikal Soundsystem PROPAGANDA: Ladies Night BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Open Mic Night Artist Meet & Greet TERRA FERMATA: Lara Hope & the Ark-Tones

FRIDAY, JANUARY 27

DADA: Laura Hope & the Ark-Tokes KILL YOUR IDOL: Shameless Burlesque CWS: Public Sounds Collective BOHEMÏA AG: End of the Monkey: Works from Andy E. Pereira PROPAGANDA: 90’s Burlesque TERRA FERMATA: Annika Chambers, Abby Owens

JANUARY 28 & 29

BANDSHELL PARK: Poplife presents F+M FEST w. Hot Chip, Bomba Estereo, Ghostface Killah, LosAmigos Invisibles, Slow Magic, Nosaj Thing, Amtrac, Arthur Baker, Jacuzzi Boys, Steven A Clark, Mr. Pauer, Millionyoung, Tremends, Native Youth

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18

DADA: Boris Simonov PROPAGANDA: DugRocks Drag Show TERRA FERMATA: Chris O’Leary Band ART PALM BEACH: Art Synergy

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19

DADA: Reggae Souljahs PROPAGANDA: Ladies Night, Franscene CULTURE ROOM: Doyle Bramhall II BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Open Mic Night TERRA FERMATA: Johnny Debt, Bella’s Bartok

SATURDAY, JANUARY 28

DADA: Eternal Boner SUBCULTURE COFFEE DELRAY: Mia Rahm

BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Back Alley Art Fest

THE KELSEY THEATER: Julia Star Foundation Band Showcase CWS: Unlimited Devotion TERRA FERMATA: Betty Fox, Summer Gill

SUNDAY, JANUARY 29

THE KELSEY THEATER: Dead Kennedys

DADA: Ella Herrera KILL YOUR IDOL: Comedy Night TERRA FERMATA: Cassidy Diana, Janell Eve, Beverly McClellan

Stacey_Piotrowski

Eureka California!

An online search for Eureka California, the band, resists returning hits for this scrappy garage-pop duo from Athens, Georgia if you don’t include keywords such as “tour,” “music” or “band.”

And even when you do, the internet sometimes still wants to steer you to a town on the northerly Pacific coast.

It takes a bit of extra care to locate Eureka California.

The added hurdle makes sense: In a decade spanning four albums and an EP, band founder Jake Ward has operated, like most independent musicians, at a remove from the machinery of contemporary musicmaking. But there is also distance between Eureka California and some norms of the indie-rock subculture to EUREKA CALIFORNIA which Ward and his lone bandmate of the last few years, drummer Marie A. Uhler, surely belong.

One of their best-loved songs, This Ain’t No A-Side, from 2014, contains a critique of Athens, the near-sacred music capital where Ward originally relocated from North Carolina, and a base at one time or another for talents as varied as R.E.M. and Danger Mouse.

“You know that Athens is dead/And they’ll hang you for listening to Sabbath until dawn,” Ward sings, inhabiting the persona of a jaded know-it-all local. Here and elsewhere, Ward’s delivery recalls the boyish but observant air of frontmen such as Jonathan Richman and Stephen Malkmus.

Ward’s lyrics can be both coded and confessional, and his instinct is to confront his fears, uncertainties, frailties and disasters with a shot of irreverence that sometimes feels very Southern. As he sings on 2012’s Back to Washington, “I said I’m going home/And I ain’t going sober.”

Sonically, Ward and Uhler have a strong ransacking impulse, but on their newest album, 2016’s Versus, the short, concise tracks hold their catchy contours through the cheerful havoc wreaked by Ward’s overdriven guitar and Uhler’s cannonade of drumming.

Athens Popfest, PureHoney and Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records present Eureka California with Peyote Coyote, Lindsey Mills, Chaucer, Wake Up and Similar Prisoners on January 14 at Respectable Street, 518 Clematis St., West Palm Beach. 18+, $5. http://sub-culture.org/respectable-street. ~ Sean Piccoli

Denudes Do Japan Denudes are a brooding bunch of rockers wrapped up in the outfit du jour for bad dudes everywhere: black leather. Their music is dark and punchy with swagger so viscous if your not careful you’ll get sticky in the front row. Take goth rock, post-punk, dark wave and add some garage distortion and you have the combustable cocktail referred to as “fuzz noir.”

A genre that most accurately, but in no way completely, defines the sound of Denudes. There are a lot of great bands that are visually indescribable and then there are bands that cut an image that is instantly their own. Case in point: Turbonegro with their denim slathered sailor-boy chic. Denudes are all black leather and bondage gear, invoking a danger filled sexuality that is rarely seen in music these days.

This year is a big one for the boys and girls in the band. They kick off 2017 by playing at Churchill’s on the 1st for their new 7”. Joining them is Period Bomb, In Oculus, Sandratz and Milkspot.; a pretty spectacular and eclectic line-up of some of South Florida’s finest. The show will also be a chance for the band to debut their newest music videos that tie into the new e.p.; an audio and visual debut of ideas. The first 10 people who purchase the 7” at the show will get a special edition cover, a pin, a sticker, a shirt and the music videos on VHS for $10. A pretty huge deal for anyone looking to maximize the usage of their rock and roll dollars and expand their black t-shirt wardrobe at the same time.

As much fun as that show is going to be, the band has bigger things in the works; most importantly: Japan. March sees the “fuzz noir” rockers doing a tour of the land of the rising sun. No doubt their image and sound will be a big hit with the folks in Tokyo. Come out on the 1st and enjoy the fun, while the fun is local. Chances are Japan just might make want to keep them and they just might want to stay!

DENUDES

Denudes play Churchill’s Hideaway on January 1st, with In Oculus, Milkspot, Period Bomb and Sandratz doors at 8pm, $5 gets anyone 18+ in. ~ Tim Moffatt

David Carroll Brotherly Love Productions

David Carroll was like my brother, certainly my closest comrade, and he could’ve been that to so many people.

We were all a part of his family in his eyes. If you ever met him, then you knew him -simple as that. A heart so big, it encroached on the outside of his body for everyone to see. He did not understand the concept of a stranger and if one’s path was unclear to him he would tirelessly investigate. Dave had a sensitivity to our burdens and DAVID CARROLL the humility to always treat each conversation as if it were his first day in class. It was not an act.

But maybe you were lucky enough to get to see Dave act out his absurdist alter-ego as the mustachioed, chain-smoking, Tony Cllifton-esque, used yacht captain, squat real estate hocking, barreling buffoon that was “Gary Harris” during the early 2000’s while drumming for another late comrade, Billy Boloby. Gary was the only one that could make Boloby appear the straight man. So brilliant and unashamed that one might even miss its perfection amidst Boloby’s unmatched, yet NOT unparalleled, stage presence. Dave was that parallel. Our troupe would’ve been exponentially less without Dave’s hijinks. His clowning was his way of thumbing his nose at all the suffering and seriousness that he saw and felt like a vise on our heads. It was his art.

And the importance of his art was to make us feel that discomfort and work through it together by laughing at him and forgetting all our woes.

I never knew Dave to claim to be an expert at anything. My older little brother -always looking up- for clues as how to flesh out more happiness and success, whether in his family life or as a drummer. Even though he gazed upwards, he was also looked up to by many in our community for his commitment to his family as the first of his two daughters arrived nearly a decade ago. Forgoing any selfish aspirations to be Steve Adler or your weekly jester, instead I witnessed a man focus that innocent and insistent wonderment and foolishness into creating a domain for his daughters to never be anything less than the untarnished little sprouts of joy and silly laughter that their DNA had provided.

Dave’s stamina for all that he loved was rare. What Dave lacked in knowledge or talent he made up for with interest and work. We spoke often about what it takes to reach your goals and why we could never apologize for dynamiting our way into the mines of liberation. Liberation through earning those happy moments; earning those skills; earning those human connections; earning the chance to look anyone in the eye and tell them that you love them. Something that I was glad I was able to do this past Thanksgiving before his flag was lowered forever, not a week later, on St. Andrew’s Day. ~ Stephen McKean

Dead Kennedys Live Courtesy Dead Kennedys

Any punk adherent worth their liberty spikes remembers the Dead Kennedys’ hard-driving opus “Frankenchrist,” with its instantly memorable album cover of old Shriners driving miniature cars, and the controversy that darkened its 1985 release. Themes of war, xenophobia and dictatorships stuff its songs tighter than a compression sack, and especially in the angry single “Stars and Stripes of Corruption,” filled with mortarlike percussion and comparisons of the Washington Monument to “an eternal Klansman.” Always politicalDEAD KENNEDYS leaning and self-righteously moral, DK found no friends in the capitol, which is no doubt why their lyrics attracted attention from the Parents Music Resource Center, a committee of Washington wives (among its members: Tipper Gore) who fought for better warning labels on so-called “offensive” albums. Police officers raided ex-frontman Jello Biafra’s home (and DK’s label, Alternative Tentacles) and seized copies of “Frankenchrist,” which contained posters of illustrated pornography by artist H.R. Giger. (Shriners also filed a lawsuit against the band.) After a lengthy obscenity trial and a nasty financial saga that finished with a hung jury in 1987, DK dissolved and reformed in 2001 minus Biafra, whom bandmates believed defrauded the group of unpaid royalties.

The seminal San Francisco punk quartet today maintains a very active touring schedule without Biafra, its original, hyperliterate frontman, with its lineup now led by singer Skip Greer (The Wynonna Ryders) and guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Flouride and drummer D.H. Peligro. And although DK hasn’t recorded a new album since the Reagan years, their sound feels fresher and more furious than ever. “Holiday in Cambodia” is still a frantic satire of bougeouis college students, unpacked with creeping menace, “Kill the Poor” is a demented romp about homelessness and, not least, “California Über Alles,” (off their debut album “Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables”) attacks a sitting governor of California with biting wit and a seething rhythm reminiscent of surf rock.

Recent tour setlists show DK tearing through these old standards, and given their longstanding politically punched hardcore, we’re eager to hear what new assaults they’ll hurl at the incoming administration.

Dead Kennedys with Reagan Youth will play 7-11 pm Sunday, Jan. 29, at the Kelsey Theater, 700 Park Ave., in Lake Park. All ages. $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Call 561-328-7481 or go to TheKelseyTheater.com and DeadKennedys. com. ~ Phillip Valys

Courtesy Dweezil Zappa

Dweezil Zappa Frank Zappa was without a doubt one of the most polemic musicians and activists of his generation. His views on the many styles of music he mastered and politics have extended and continue to extend farther out from the impact his stone first made on the water’s surface. A visionary and outspoken artist, Frank Zappa is a cult in and of himself. So what is it like to grow up in the shadow of such a larger-thanlife figure? Apparently far easier and way cooler than one would think.

DWEEZIL ZAPPA Dweezil Zappa, the eldest boy of Frank and Gail Zappa, has been rocking the guitar since the age of six, a Fender Music Master—a gift from his father. Where musician parents might be noted for a certain degree of absenteeism inherent to the profession’s schedules, Dweezil had the advantage of growing up with an involved father whose love for music carried over and was fostered at home. Heck, one great perk was getting personalized tutoring from then band member Steve Vai.

At the age of 12, Dweezil joined his father onstage at the Hammersmith Odeon in London and as he states in his website’s bio, “That was a great experience. I was so excited to have been asked to play but I was incredibly nervous. Since I could only really play lead in the key of A, Frank devised a hand signal for the band to modulate the song ‘Stevie’s Spanking’ down to A from it’s original key of B.” Whatever nerves he might’ve had, they were gone when later that year, along with a crew of tweens and Eddie Van Halen producing, he released his first single, “My Mother Is A Space Cadet” on his dad’s Barking Pumpkin label.

His fairytale life could’ve derailed at any time but Dweezil Zappa, like the rest of his siblings and his late mother, has commanded respect as a musician in his own right and has continued his father’s legacy of sound. It hasn’t been easy and since his mother’s passing, the Zappa Family Trust has been taken over by his younger siblings Ahmet and Diva but in true Zappa form, he’s revamped the Zappa Plays Zappa act and in celebration of Frank’s seminal debut, Freak Out!, he’s taken to the road with a tour celebrating his father’s music and spirit.

The 50 Years of Frank: Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the F@%k He Wants – The Cease and Desist Tour is an experience that mimics his father’s evolution as a musician with band members recycling through different iterations and mining Frank’s extensive catalogue, his own additions, and that unmistakable Zappa spirit that stands defiant in the face of idiocy, restrictions, and the very worst aspects of normalcy. Freak out and freak on.

50 Years of Frank: Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the F@%k He Wants – The Cease and Desist Tour at 7pm on Thursday, January 12 at the Culture Room. Tickets cost $40.25.

Visit dweezilzappa.com. ~ Abel Folgar