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Biography
Infobox musical artist | name = Dweezil Zappa| image = Dweezil.jpg| caption = Dweezil Zappa in Denmark with Zappa Plays Zappa, October 13, 2007| image_size = 250px| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist| birth_name = Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa| alias =| birth_date = birth date and age|1969|9|5| death_date =| origin = Los Angeles, California , United States | instrument = Guitar , vocals , bass guitar|bass , piano , banjo | genre = Rock music|Rock , hard rock , Heavy metal music|heavy metal , instrumental rock ,| occupation =| years_active = 1986–present| label =| associated_acts = Frank Zappa Ahmet Zappa Extreme (band)|Extreme Ozzy Osbourne Spinal Tap (band)|Spinal Tap Steve Vai Warren DeMartini Zappa Plays Zappa Dream Theater Winger (band)|Winger | website = http://www.dweezilzappaworld.com Official website| current_members =| past_members =| notable_instruments = Gibson SG Hagström Viking Fender Stratocaster|Eric Johnson Stratocaster Dweezil Zappa (born September 5, 1969) is an United States of America|American Rock music|rock guitarist and occasional actor.
Early life
Zappa was born in Los Angeles , California , the son of musician Frank Zappa and Gail Zappa , who worked in business. http://www.filmreference.com/film/45/Dweezil-Zappa.html Dweezil Zappa Biography (1969-) He is the second of four siblings: his older sister, Moon Unit Zappa|Moon , younger sister Diva Zappa|Diva and younger brother Ahmet Zappa|Ahmet . He is the cousin of actress Lala Sloatman .cite web|url= http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0806080/|title=Lala Sloatman at IMDB|accessdate=? 2007-08-06 Zappa's father was of Sicilian, Greek, Arab and French descent and his mother was of Danish, French, Irish and Portuguese ancestry.cite book|last=Miles|first=Barry|authorlink=|coauthors=|title=Zappa|publisher=Grove Press|year=2004|location=|pages=124|month=|url= http://books.google.com/books? id=2pPgG9AXjN4C& printsec=frontcover|isbn=080211783X
Dweezil's registered birth name was Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa .These were the names of Frank Zappa's musicians and associates Ian Underwood , Captain Beefheart|Don van Vliet , Cal Schenkel|Calvin Schenkel and Euclid James Sherwood|Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood ; see cite web|url= http://www.science.uva.nl/~robbert/zappa/faq/main/main-2.html#ss2.4|title=What are the names of Frank Zappa's kids? |accessdate=2007-08-06. 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.citation |title=The real Frank Zappa book |first1=Frank |last1=Zappa |first2=Peter |last2=Occhiogrosso |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=1990 |isbn=0-671-70572-5 |page=254 |url= http://books.google.com/books? id=7lqfAAAAMAAJ& , http://books.google.com/books? id=7lqfAAAAMAAJ& q=%22five+years+old+when+he+discovered+the+real+names%22+zappa& dq=%22five+years+old+when+he+discovered+the+real+names%22+zappa& cd=1 Snippet view page 245
Career
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 (band)|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 (film)|The Running Man as Stevie ("Don't touch that dial!"), and gave his most famous cameo role in John Hughes (filmmaker)|John Hughes 's Brat Pack (actors)|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:cite web|url= http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep04/articles/zappa.htm|title=Dweezil Zappa: 64-bit Computing & The Frank Zappa Archive|last=James|first=Daniel|publisher= Sound on Sound |month=September | year=2004|accessdate=2008-02-20 "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 Young|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 the mid 1990s, Zappa voiced the character Ajax Duckman on the animated series Duckman . He also briefly appeared in the television sitcom Normal Life with sister Moon Unit Zappa and former Laverne & Shirley star Cindy Williams . He composed and performed the theme music for The Ben Stiller Show (the solo from Spinal Tap's "Break Like the Wind"). In 1999, Dweezil, alongside his brother, Ahmet, starred in a television series called Happy Hour which debuted April 3, 1999 on the USA Network. The show lasted for one season.
In "Weird Al" Yankovic 's 2003 eleventh studio album Poodle Hat , Zappa performs the opening guitar solo and lends his vocal talents to 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 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. http://www.zappaplayszappa.com/tourdates.html
Personal life
For six years, Zappa dated musician Lisa Loeb . Zappa and Loeb wrote and performed music together, and Zappa toured with Loeb's band. The couple co-hosted the cooking show Dweezil & Lisa on Food Network in 2004. The couple broke up in the summer of 2004.citation needed|date=April 2011 Zappa married fashion stylist Lauren Knudsen on September 3, 2005 in Los Angeles. They have two daughters: Zola Frank Zappa (born 2006) and Ceylon Indira Zappa (born 2008).cite web|url= http://zappa.com/zpz/clippings_onmilwaukee.html|title=Dweezil and Frank reunite in "Zappa Plays Zappa"|first=Molly Snyder|last=Edler|date=2007-06-17|publisher=|accessdate=2008-02-20 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080615031626/ http://zappa.com/zpz/clippings_onmilwaukee.html |archivedate = 2008-06-15cite web|url= http://www.zappa.com/zpz/tourlog/index.php? year=2008& month=6& day=6|title=On the road again/Dyna Flangers|first=Dweezil|last=Zappa|date=2008-06-06|publisher=|accessdate=2009-04-13 In March 2010 Knudsen filed for divorce in L.A. County Superior Court. According to the documents, she cited irreconcilable differences and applied to share legal custody of the two daughters.cite web | url= http://www.zimbio.com/Lauren+Knudsen/articles/-6lRt-JTXZf/Lauren+Knudsen+Leaves+Dweezil+Zappa+Pictures | title=Lauren Knudsen Leaves Dweezil Zappa: Pictures
Musical equipment
Guitars
Gibson SG - Custom built to replicate his father's SG (the replica is so accurate that it is often mistaken for Frank's original guitar by fans).
Hagström Viking - Modified with an extra switch which changes the tone. http://www.hagstromguitars.com/zappa.html Hagström - Dweezil Zappa
Paul Reed Smith|Custom PRS - Built with materials chosen by Zappa for their "naturally occurring oddities". http://www.prsguitars.com/artists/profiles/dweezilzappa/index.html PRS artists - Dweezil Zappa
Eric Johnson Fender Stratocaster - Custom fitted with a piezo pickup. http://www.fender.com/artists/index.php? id=113 Artist: Dweezil Zappa Fender.com Retrieved: 2009-05-17
Fender Stratocaster - Originally used and burned by Jimi Hendrix and given to Dweezil's father.
Babysnake SG - Luthier built guitar with onboard effects originally owned by his father.
Gibson Les Paul - Late 70's early 80's model with onboard effects and coiltaps.
Gibson ES Series|Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster - Originally used during his father's early career. It was heavily modified with various onboard effects, the functions of some being a mystery.
Moser SG - Used as a backup for his Gibson SG.
Effects
Some of the effects were originally in his father's setup and were restored for use in the Zappa plays Zappa project.
col-begincol-2
DBX 162 Stereo Compressor http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=jRXnPcIK1V8& feature=channel# In the Studio with... Dweezil Zappa Guitarworld.com Retrieved: 2009-05-17
1984 - Guitar solos "Sharleena" and "Stevie's Spanking" on Frank Zappa's Them or Us
1984 - Guitar on Frank Zappa's '' You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3 (album) on " Sharleena "NOTE: although recorded 12-23-84, the above version of "Sharleena" was first released as a 7" flexidisc in the Jan 1987 issue of Guitar Player magazine.
1985 - Vocals on Frank Zappa's Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention
1986 - Guitar solo on "Whipping Post" on Frank Zappa's '' Does Humor Belong in Music? (album)|Does Humor Belong in Music? '
1989 - With sister Moon Unit Zappa|Moon Unit , contributed the track "(In Love) With You Gumby" to the novelty album Gumby (album)|Gumby
1990 - Opening and outro solos on Extreme's Pornograffitti on the song "He-Man Woman Hater" http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1094638/a/Extreme+II%3A+Pornograffitti.htm cdUniverse.com - Extreme II: Pornograffitti CD
1992 - Lead guitar on "Diva Fever" on Spinal Tap's Break Like the Wind
1993 - Lead guitar on "Dirty Love" and "Chunga's Revenge" on '' Zappa's Universe tribute
1994 - Barks on the track "Waffenspiel" on Frank Zappa's Civilization Phaze III
1997 - Guitar solo on Pat Boone 's cover of " Smoke on the Water " (the In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy|No More Mr. Nice Guy album)
2000 - Guitar on Dixie Dregs 's California Screamin CD performing " Peaches en Regalia "
2001 - 9.11 (album)|911 , on "Top of the World"
2003 - "Weird Al" Yankovic 's Poodle Hat album, on " Genius In France "
2006 - Lead guitar on "Chunga's Revenge" and "Bavarian Sunset" on Frank Zappa's Trance-Fusion
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/jun/08/zappa_resurrects_fathers_eclectic_music/ 2008 Dweezil Zappa interview with Jon Niccum
http://www.dweezilzappaworld.com/posts/733-dweezil-zappa-interview-december-2010 December 2010 interview with Tom Waring
Frank Zappa
Persondata|NAME= Zappa, Dweezil |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Zappa, Ian Donald Calvin Euclid |SHORT DESCRIPTION= Musician, actor |DATE OF BIRTH= September 5, 1969 |PLACE OF BIRTH= Los Angeles , California , United States |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH= DEFAULTSORT:Zappa, Dweezil Category:1969 births Category:American heavy metal guitarists Category:American rock guitarists Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American people of Arab descent Category:American people of Portuguese descent Category:American people of Greek descent Category:Frank Zappa Category:Living people
