Dweezil. . .

. . . Zappa, did you know, was named after his mother's toe?

. . . there are worse things after which to name a baby. . .

. . . But nevertheless,  it can't be easy to be the son of one, choose the same profession and follow in the footsteps of one of the most controversial, loved-or-hated, cult-hero, talented, dedicated musician/composer/producer/creative artists of the 20th century. . . 

(from http://www.allmusic.com/album/return-of-the-son-of-mw0001997668)
". . . Having apparently given up on the idea of having a solo career outside his father's shadow, Dweezil Zappa has taken to touring with a project he calls Zappa Plays Zappa, which is exactly what it sounds like: an evening of Frank Zappa music, played by his son and a band of talented if relatively faceless pros. From a purely musical standpoint, this stuff is excellent; Zappa junior is a ferocious guitarist, and he and the band know the material inside and out. . ."

(http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7451)
". . .In the years that followed, ZAPPA's playing and writing gradually grew to take on more of his father's style, humor and complexity. During the mid-90s, Dweezil formed the band Z with his brother Ahmet. This group also included Mike KENEALLY and members of his band, and KENEALLY's sound dominates this project. In 2006 he released his finest, and most progressive album to date, Go With What You Know, where he mixes his hard rock chops with music that comes very close to his father's rock work. . ."

(from http://www.deepdiscount.com/cd/Go-with-What-You-Know?)utm_source=PriceGrabber&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=PriceGrabber
". . .The new Dweezil Zappa record (CD) is aptly titled "Automatic". It's his first release under his own name in nearly a decade and marks a return to his roots as a guitarist. It's also the first predominately instrumental guitar album of his career. Operating under the musical credo "anything at anytime for any reason at all" gave Dweezil the freedom to explore new territory. The album features thick layers of multi-tracked guitar textures, all perfectly executed and combined with wild rhythms and intriguing improvisations, adding nicely to the Zappa Family legacy which has provided alternative entertainment for those who have embraced it for over thirty years. . ."

. . but he's holding his own. . . he's super talented and creative. . . 

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Runs . . .

. . . in the family . . .

(from Wikipedia.com)
Dweezil Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of musician Frank Zappa and Gail Zappa, who worked in business. He is the second of four siblings: his older sister, Moon, younger sister Diva and younger brother Ahmet. He is the cousin of actress Lala Sloatman. Zappa's father was of Sicilian, Greek, Arab, and French descent, and his mother was of French, Irish and mostly Danish ancestry.

Dweezil's registered birth name was Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa. The hospital at which he was born refused to register him under the name Dweezil, so Frank listed the names of several musician friends. "Dweezil" was a nickname coined by Frank for an oddly-curled pinky-toe of Gail's. At five years old, 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.

In the 1980s, Zappa worked as an MTV VJ and was promptly fired after badmouthing MTV on The Howard Stern Show. He also recorded some solo albums, as well as playing for other artists. Zappa can be heard playing lead guitar on The Fat Boys' "Wipe Out" (1987) and can be seen in the music video for Don Johnson's top 40 song, "Heartbeat". He also played co-lead guitar (along with Reb Beach) on Winger's cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze". Dweezil has said that Eddie Van Halen was his favorite guitar player, and he began copying Van Halen's distinctive guitar style. He also had a part in the futuristic Arnold Schwarzenegger film The Running Man as Stevie ("Don't touch that dial!"), and gave his most famous cameo role in John Hughes's Brat Pack film, Pretty in Pink (starring Molly Ringwald), as Andie's friend, Simon.

Since the early 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. Dweezil said in September 2004: "I started recording it on analog tape almost 13 years ago... There are probably about 35 guest guitar players on it, everybody from Brian May to Eddie Van Halen, Eric Johnson, Angus and Malcolm Young — it's quite a crazy project. I'm still waiting and hoping to record Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page as some of my final guests on there."

In 2006, Zappa organized the "Zappa Plays Zappa" tour. He assembled a band of young musicians with a view to bring the music of Frank Zappa to a younger audience. The tour also featured guest appearances by Steve Vai, Napoleon Murphy Brock and Terry 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 featured Ray 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.

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