Just noticed Adrian Belew's post that Gail Zappa has passed away...
Just noticed Adrian Belew's post that Gail Zappa has passed away...
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
"Henry Cow always wanted to push itself, so sometimes we would write music that we couldn't actually play – I found that very encouraging." - Lindsay Cooper, 1998
"I have nothing to do with Endless River. Phew! This is not rocket science people, get a grip." - Roger Waters, 2014
"I'm a collector. And I've always just seemed to collect personalities." - David Bowie, 1973
I vote this thread be moved to the main forum.
Gail Zappa
January 1, 1945 - October 7, 2015
Gail Zappa, nee Adelaide Gail Sloatman, age 70, departed this earth peacefully at her home on Wednesday, October 7, 2015, surrounded by her children.
Married to Frank Zappa at age 22, Gail was a doe-eyed, barefooted trailblazer, giving equal value to her domestic and professional responsibilities as matriarch of the family and overseer of all Zappa enterprises. She devoted herself to partnering with her husband in the music business and raising their children, Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet and Diva.
Gail enthusiastically executed her role as guardian of her husband’s creative life and, with his passing, strove to ensure his legacy as one of the leading American composers and musicians of the 20th century. In this and all business endeavors, Gail passionately advocated to establish clear definitions of intellectual property and copyright laws on behalf of not just her husband, but all artists. While she conducted intricate legal negotiations with corporations as grand dame of the Zappa Family Trust, she never failed to impart the sense of humor that was part and parcel of her indomitable and formidable personality. Gail, self-described as a pagan absurdist, was motivated by love in all aspects of her life, kept her authenticity intact, unbowed and, simply put, was one bad ass in the music business and political world.
Gail will forever be identified as a key figure in the creative renaissance that is Laurel Canyon. But more than any singular accomplishment, she defined herself in her personal relationships, happiest when surrounded by loved ones and artists, often one in the same. The memories she leaves behind are indeed her own art form. Her searing intelligence, unforgettable smile, wild thicket of hair and trailing black velvets leave a blur in her wake.
There is no further information to report. This is the only statement that will be released by the family.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
I remember when she'd occasionally post to affz: https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt....g/BdyV9Ep14RsJ
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
I suppose this explains the passing of the torch to Ahmet with regards to running the ZFT. I suspect she had been sick for a while.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
RIP. I didn't know she was ill.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
Rest in peace, Gail.
We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
It won't be visible through the air
And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973
RIP
The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off
I'll be the first one to piss on the parade, and publicly hope ZFT pulls its collective head out of its collective ass now.
I'm seeing P/O on Tuesday here in town at the Iron Horse. Wonder how this may be addressed at the show...
R.I.P Gail
RIP
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
Oh, I agree... I was just trying to respect the rules before the junior moderators stuck their noses in and said it was in the 'wrong' forum (again, this doesn't matter to those of us who use 'New Posts'). But then, someone came along and made another one in the main forum without checking first to see if there already was one, and so we have two.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
While I don't like to speak ill of the dead, I will join in on a bit of parade pissing.
In 2009, or there about, she tried to sue and close down (unsuccessfully, as it turned out) the great Zappanale festival in Germany. A festival loaded with talented bands from all over the world that were influenced by Frank.
Here we have a festival, that at the time of the lawsuit was running since 1989. Started by a couple of ex East Germans, that in their youth, risked their freedom to hunt down and listen to Frank's music, because it was illegal in East Germany at the time. The festival is basically a love letter to Frank.
She also had the habit of having her lawyers send scores of cease and desist letters to any Zappa cover band she was aware of.
I can't imagine what her motivation could have been to shut down musicians who had nothing but love and respect for Frank, except for maybe control issues.
For anything that she did to help keep Frank's music alive and to stand by Frank during his life and when he was sick, much respect. But I can't see any excuses for the aforementioned legal behavior.
And if there were a god, I think it very unlikely that he would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence - Russell
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