Following up on last year’s run of shows opening for King Crimson, The Zappa Band, which features musicians who recorded and toured with the late Zappa, has embarked on its first headlining tour.
The Zappa Band features Zappa alums Ray White (lead vocals, guitar), Mike Keneally (guitar, keys, vocals), Scott Thunes (bass), Robert Martin (keyboards, sax, vocals) and Zappa Plays Zappa alums Jamie Kime (guitar) Joe “Vaultmeister” Travers (drums, vocals), who is the official keeper of the Zappa vault. The Zappa Band’s East Coast run will bring it to Sony Hall in New York on Thursday, June 16, and Ardmore Music Hall in the Philadelphia suburbs on Thursday, June 22.
We recently chatted with Keneally — who was 25 when he joined Zappa’s band and performed at his last American concert, released last year as “Zappa 88: The Last U.S. Show” — about Zappa as a bandleader, why his music still resonates with a sizable audience and the connections between Zappa’s material and progressive rock.
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