# Bands influenced by Frank Zappa



## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Since there are more than a few fans of Zappa here, I thought I'd start a thread on bands and musicians influenced by Frank's music.

Here a few that came to mind. I'll add more as I think of them.

Almost everything by guitarist Alex Machacek seems to have some Zappa influence. This is from his CD [SIC] with Terry Bozzio. His earlier CD, "Featuring Ourselves" he did when still living in Austria is also very Zappa influenced. His Holdsworth influences are also on display.






German band Octafish is another. They describe themselves as "Industrial Fake Jazz". Not only is their original material Zappa influenced, but the do Zappa covers on each of their CDs.






Frogg Cafe from the US. Most of their CD "Creatures" has Zappa influences. This is "You're Still Sleeping".






US band, Oakland specifically, miRthkon is another with Zappa influences.

This is "Banana".


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## Jos (Oct 14, 2013)

First album of System of a Down.
A Dutch critic wrote that the spirit of Zappa was in that album. I kind of agree with him. The particular album doesn't get much play these days, but I enjoyed it a lot at the time. It does have some Zappaesque weirdness in it that one doesn't find much in rock.

Maybe it was the second album.....


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## Guest (Jan 7, 2015)

I've got the first three SOAD albums and I can hear a Zappesque quality, although I'm not a fan of Zappa.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Henry Cow-Legend
Mike Keneally Band


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## Bluecrab (Jun 24, 2014)

Steve Vai. Listen to _OOOO_ on _The Ultra Zone_.


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## PeterPowerPop (Mar 27, 2014)

It might be a bit of a cheat to name Steve Vai, considering Steve was in Frank's band for a while.

However, when Steve released his debut solo album, _Flex-Able_, you can hear Frank's musical fingerprints all over it:


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Flexible is the only Steve Vai release I really enjoy. 

The rest are filled with a bit too much wankery for my tastes.


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## Barnaby (Jan 10, 2015)

Nice thread. I didn't know some of these bands though I'm big on Zappa so will definitely investigate. Thanks


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

British "super group"






Reminds me of the composed pieces on Hot Rats.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

In my opinion Zappa has had a huge influence on rock music (especially in the experimental-rock side, like R.I.O and similar I think that the list of musicians would be endless), but not necessarily positive. Or better, it was positive in the sense that he brought to rock music a curiosity without prejudices for any genre. But it was also negative in the sense that a lot of bands he influenced (and I should add that it's something present also in his music) have this kind of "I can do this and I can do that" hyperactive and showy attitude. Like thousand fragments of different things put together without a real reason. Something that often sounds very superficial. Said that, obviously there are exceptions, my favorite band is that of The residents who were clearly influenced by him.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

I agree somewhat with norman bates. Zappa's ideas have given birth to a kind of hyperkinetic postmodern music in which technical proficiency in performance trumps composition and personality, while Zappa himself was always a very idiosyncratic and personal composer, and not only that: he was a composer first, with a deep and broad knowledge of music from around the world which he then employed in his own work. In Zappa, when there are sudden bursts of polyrhythm, odd meter, cutaways to completely different material, it is done without recourse to traditional conceptions of development, yes, but not without thought. The effect of including the Hawaiian Punch jingle in something like _Drowning Witch,_ while totally alien to the rest of the piece, is calculated in its effect, not inserted merely because it was a possibility. Another thing to realise is that Zappa's pieces for his various bands were "toured to perfection", they were tinkered with in rehearsals and soundchecks, they evolved over time, and often the effect of hearing a première and then a later performance, perhaps by a different line-up but often even on the same tour, is quite striking.

In some of the clips proffered in this thread I am reminded of my own early work, which was heavily influenced by such groups as Naked City, Primus, Mr Bungle, Ruins, and of course Zappa. In my "juvenilia", which is not to say I am now a mature composer, I put things in there because I could, not necessarily because the piece would benefit from their inclusion. It took me a while to grow out of that and to learn how to use these abstractions and tangents in a calculated manner, but now that I am capable of doing it that way I hear this kind of stuff with some disappointment. They are free to do as they wish, of course, but my feeling is that their reach far exceeds their grasp.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

When I first started getting into mp3s I found musician Jeff Bragg who did this tribute to Zappa, Frankly I don't Like Your New Shoes.

I think it's not quite as frenetic as Zappa can often be, but it's nicely done. Really if you just use a little xylophone with some complicated rhythms, it's going to sound like Zappa.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Crudblud said:


> Another thing to realise is that Zappa's pieces for his various bands were "toured to perfection", they were tinkered with in rehearsals and soundchecks, they evolved over time, and often the effect of hearing a première and then a later performance, perhaps by a different line-up but often even on the same tour, is quite striking.


In some the posthumous live releases, the pieces consist of nothing more than the lyrics sung over a vamp. It's interesting to go from the January '76 recordings in Sidney, to the NYC Palladium shows in December of that year.

I'm not sure why the Zappa's decided to release these diamonds in the rough, so to speak. It's interesting to listen to once or twice, but it's obvious why FZ left the tapes in the vault.

And I agree with your assessment of how everything was put together in these compositions. For the most part it always sounds right to my ear, and never half baked. That's why I'm still listening to this stuff after almost 30 years.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

> Almost everything by guitarist Alex Machacek seems to have some Zappa influence. This is from his CD [SIC] with Terry Bozzio. His earlier CD, "Featuring Ourselves" he did when still living in Austria is also very Zappa influenced. His Holdsworth influences are also on display.


Machacek is a bit too much musical calisthenics for my taste. He's obviously a technical wizard, but ultimately I'm left with a dissatisfied feeling when listening to his music. There is only one piece on [sic] that moved me at all. Out Of Pappeheim, which contains a bit more lyrical playing.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

starthrower said:


> I'm not sure why the Zappa's decided to release these diamonds in the rough, so to speak. It's interesting to listen to once or twice, but it's obvious why FZ left the tapes in the vault.


There is a very small amount of unreleased material most Zappa fans actually want, namely the Roxy DVD, well over ten years in the making (or not making?); _The Rage and the Fury_, a disc of Zappa conducting Varèse; _Dance Me This_, the final Synclavier record. The ZFT instead stall with live albums and pointless compilations of stuff that's already been out for around 30 years, and the latter are the most puzzling as they continue to be released even now that the original albums are back on Zappa Records. To their credit, the 40th anniversary releases such as _MOFO_ and _Lumpy Money_ are good, as is the _Wazoo_ concert set, but the rest of it amounts often to a whole lot of nothing.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I find the Helsinki '73 set to be very satisfying. The sound isn't all that great, but it's a wonderful concert. I also like the Hammersmith 1978 set. The sonics are great, and the band sounds really good, even if I'm not crazy about all of the material. But there's enough good stuff to make it worth the hefty price. The Roxy DVD has been so long in the making that I have lost interest. I hardly ever watch DVDs anymore.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Some catchy prog/pop here.


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## JohnD (Jan 27, 2014)

There was a band named Chrysalis that made an album for MGM called _Definition_. They were huge Zappa fans, and Frank was, in turn, a big fan of theirs. Frank even had Spider Barbour, the band's leader appear on _Lumpy Gravy_. When Frank formed his own label, he tried to sign the band, but the band's manager messed up the deal and the band broke up.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Here's one from France. Another vastly underrated band from the early 70s.

Moving Geletine Plates - The World of Genius Hans

There's quite a bit if Canterbury (Hatfield and the North, National Health, etc) influence in these guys, also.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Swedish Mats/Morgen group.

These guys actually came on stage and played with Zappa in 1988 when (blind) keyboardist, Mats Oberg, was 17 and drummer, Morgen Agren, was 20.






Here's Frank himself commenting on their performance.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Mats & Morgen are on the Zappa's Universe CD, which is a bit of a disaster. It was very poorly edited. The video is much more satisfying.

M&M were probably one of the few pleasurable highlights for FZ on the '88 European tour, since his band was disintegrating. He doesn't look very happy in that interview clip.


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## JohnD (Jan 27, 2014)

Here's the cover of _Definition_ by Chrysalis.


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## yetti66 (Jan 30, 2017)

Not that they were influenced by Zappa but when I listen to Chicago (Terry Kath era) in particular something like A HIT BY VARESE I can't help but think about Roxy/ One Size Fits All era of Zappa's oeurve.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I'm sure this was composed with FZ in mind. Eddie Jobson played in Frank's band before this band was formed. And I read somewhere that a couple of the band members were backstage at an FZ concert after the UK album was recorded, and they played a cassette of this tune for Frank. He was enthusiastic about it and gave them his blessing.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Crudblud said:


> There is a very small amount of unreleased material most Zappa fans actually want, namely the Roxy DVD, well over ten years in the making (or not making?); _The Rage and the Fury_, a disc of Zappa conducting Varèse; _Dance Me This_, the final Synclavier record. The ZFT instead stall with live albums and pointless compilations of stuff that's already been out for around 30 years, and the latter are the most puzzling as they continue to be released even now that the original albums are back on Zappa Records. To their credit, the 40th anniversary releases such as _MOFO_ and _Lumpy Money_ are good, as is the _Wazoo_ concert set, but the rest of it amounts often to a whole lot of nothing.


Have to say I do like Crux of the Biscuit- is a good listen.

Try this on for size a Zappa influenced Oz band Ariel - Confessions of a Psychopathic Cowpoke


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> Have to say I do like Crux of the Biscuit- is a good listen.
> 
> Try this on for size a Zappa influenced Oz band Ariel - Confessions of a Psychopathic Cowpoke


I like this song. It's got a folksy feel to it; kinda reminds me CCR and The Doors at the same time but it's got its own unique character.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> I like this song. It's got a folksy feel to it; kinda reminds me CCR and The Doors at the same time but it's got its own unique character.


Is a classic Oz Prog album from 1973 - A strange fantastic dream


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## MJongo (Aug 6, 2011)

Soft Machine's Volume Two was directly inspired by Absolutely Free.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Have always thought this Oz band was just about infringing on Zappa's copyright.......... see what you think - even the band name..


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Another one from the same line up, think this one should be called Mr Green Genes reworked.


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## Vronsky (Jan 5, 2015)

Question for everyone: Do you think that bands like: Hawkwind, Ozric Tentacles and Gong were influenced by Zappa & The Mothers of Invention?


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I was never into Hawkwind. And I've only heard a bit of Ozric, which sounded kind of jammy. I love Gong. There does seem to be some similar ground among the Canterbury bands and the Mothers, but they're very different too. The Canterbury bands being so bloody English. But I think both are influenced by modern classical and jazz music. I feel like these bands featured some of the most talented and creative musicians of that era. Robert Wyatt, Dave Stewart, Daevid Allen, Kevin Ayers, Richard Sinclair, etc...


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

I love bloody English.


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