Dweezil Zappa | |
|---|---|
 Zappa in 1996 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa (1969-09-05)September 5, 1969 (age 56) |
| Origin | Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Labels | |
| Member of | |
Spouse | |
Partner | Lisa Loeb (1998–2004) |
| Website | dweezilzappa |
Dweezil Zappa (bornIan Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa, September 5, 1969) is an Americanrockguitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performerFrank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Zappa developed a strong affinity for playing the guitar and producing music. Able to learn directly from guitarists such asSteve Vai andEddie Van Halen, Zappa released his first single (produced by Eddie Van Halen) at the age of 12.[1]
In addition to writing and recording his own music, Zappa has carried on the legacy of his father's music by touring with the groupZappa Plays Zappa. The band features renditions of Zappa's original material and the lineup has often included Zappa alumni such asNapoleon Murphy Brock,Steve Vai,Terry Bozzio and others.
Dweezil Zappa was born on September 5, 1969, inLos Angeles, California, toFrank Zappa andGail Zappa.[2][3] He is the second of four siblings: his older sister,Moon, younger sisterDiva and younger brotherAhmet, and is the cousin of actressLala Sloatman.[4] Zappa's father was of Sicilian, Greek, Arab, and French descent, and his mother was of German and Portuguese ancestry.[5]
Dweezil's registered birth name wasIan Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa.[6] The nurse at thehospital at which he was born refused to register him under the name Dweezil, to the point of arguing with Gail in the delivery room about it. Rattled at this turn of events, Frank rapidly listed the names of several musician friends, and the nurse added all of them to the birth certificate. "Dweezil" was a nickname coined by Frank for a funny-looking pinky toe of Gail's. At the age of five years, Dweezil learned that his legal name was different, and he insisted on having his nickname become his legal name. Gail and Frank hired an attorney and soon the name Dweezil was official.[3]
In the 1980s, Zappa worked as anMTV VJ and was promptly fired after making derogatory remarks about MTV onThe Howard Stern Show. He also recorded some solo albums, as well as playing for other artists. Zappa can be heard playing lead guitar onthe Fat Boys' "Wipe Out" (1987) and can be seen in the music video forDon Johnson's top 40 song, "Heartbeat". He also played co-lead guitar (along withReb Beach) onWinger's cover ofJimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze". He also had a minor part in thefuturisticArnold Schwarzenegger filmThe Running Man as Stevie ("Don't touch that dial!"), and gave his most famous cameo role inJohn Hughes'sBrat Pack film,Pretty in Pink, as Andie's friend, Simon.
Since the 1990s, Zappa has been working on a piece of music named "What the Hell Was I Thinking?", a 75-minute piece featuring guitar solos by dozens of famous guitar players. The project has suffered from numerous difficulties and has been reworked several times since the '90s. Zappa said in September 2004:[7] "I started recording it on analog tape almost 13 years ago... There are probably about 35 guest guitar players on it, everybody fromBrian May toEddie Van Halen,Eric Johnson,Angus andMalcolm Young—it's quite a crazy project. I'm still waiting and hoping to recordJeff Beck andJimmy Page as some of my final guests on there."[7]
For his 1991 albumConfessions, Zappa recorded a cover ofthe Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" which featured vocals byOzzy Osbourne. However, due to Osbourne's label refusing to allow the feature, the vocals were re-recorded byDonny Osmond, who was signed to the same label as Zappa.[8] The version with Osbourne's vocals later appeared on Osbourne's box setPrince of Darkness.
In the mid-1990s, Zappa voiced the characterAjax Duckman on the animated seriesDuckman. He also briefly appeared in the television sitcomNormal Life with sisterMoon Unit Zappa and formerLaverne & Shirley starCindy Williams. He composed and performed the theme music forThe Ben Stiller Show (the solo from Spinal Tap's "Break Like the Wind"). In 1998, Zappa played music agent John Kaplan in theWarner Bros. family comedyJack Frost. In 1999, Dweezil, alongside his brother,Ahmet Zappa, starred in a show featuring celebrities, bands and dance troupe calledHappy Hour which debuted April 3, 1999, on theUSA Network. The show lasted for one season despite its success due to acopyright dispute over the title of the show. To promote the show, he and Ahmet appeared briefly on theWorld Wrestling Federation's Rage Party, held the night prior toWrestleMania XV.
In"Weird Al" Yankovic's 2003 eleventh studio albumPoodle Hat, Zappa performs the opening guitar solo and sings on the track, "Genius in France". In 2006, Zappa organized the "Zappa Plays Zappa" tour. He assembled a band of young musicians with a view to bringing the music ofFrank Zappa to a younger audience. The tour also featured guest appearances bySteve Vai,Napoleon Murphy Brock andTerry Bozzio. The tour began in Europe in May with dates in the U.S. from June. After a break it continued in the U.S. on October 18, 2006. The 2007 version of the tour ran from July, finishing in Australia in early December, and featuredRay White as special guest. The shows ended with the promise: "There are so many songs we want to learn to play ... see y'all next year ...", and further tours have followed each year since 2007.[9] In 2009, Ray White left Zappa Plays Zappa for an undisclosed reason.[10]
Zappa lent his voice to one of the characters in one episode ofMetalocalypse onAdult Swim.
In 2016, Zappa went on tour to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of Frank Zappa's albumFreak Out! The tour was titled "50 Years of Frank: Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the F@%k He Wants – The Cease and Desist Tour".[11] The tour title was inspired by Zappa's feud with his brother Ahmet over the use of the "Zappa Plays Zappa" moniker, which resulted in Ahmet sending Zappa a cease-and-desist letter through the family trust.[12]
In the 1980s, Zappa dated actressesMolly Ringwald andDemi Moore, and journalistKatie Wagner.[13][14]
From 1998 to 2004, Zappa dated musicianLisa Loeb. Zappa and Loeb wrote and performed music together, and Zappa toured with Loeb's band. The couple co-hosted the cooking showDweezil & Lisa onFood Network in 2004.
Zappa married fashion stylist Lauren Knudsen on September 3, 2005, inLos Angeles. They have two daughters: Zola Frank Zappa (b. 2006) and Ceylon Indira Zappa (b. 2008).[15][16] In March 2010 Knudsen filed for divorce in L.A. County Superior Court. According to the documents, she applied to share legal custody of their two daughters.[17] In March 2012, with the divorce case still unresolved, Zappa's former lawyer made a public issue of his unpaid legal bills.[18]
Following the death of Zappa's mother, Gail, in October 2015, it was revealed that his siblings Ahmet and Diva were given control of the Zappa Family Trust with shares of 30% each, while Dweezil and his sister Moon were given smaller shares of 20% each.[12] As beneficiaries only, Moon and Dweezil will not receive any distributions from the trust until it is profitable—in 2016 it was "millions of dollars in debt"[12]—and must seek permission from Ahmet, thetrustee, to make money off of their father's music or merchandise bearing his name. Dweezil received acease and desist letter from the trust after he announced that he was being forced to perform his upcoming tour as "Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa" instead of using "Zappa Plays Zappa". In response to the trust's action, he renamed his performance series "50 Years of Frank: Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the F@%k He Wants—the Cease and Desist Tour".[12]
In May 2018, the four siblings announced that they had reconciled.[19] But as of August 2024, Dweezil was no longer speaking with his siblings.[20]
