Dweezil Zappa has checked in with an update on his trademark battle with his siblings in the Zappa Family Trust – and has confirmed he won’t take part in the proposed Frank Zappa hologram tour.
Dweezil has been involved in a long-running dispute with the Zappa Family Trust over trademarks and music licensing surrounding his performances of his father’s music.
His live show was originally called Zappa Plays Zappa, but he had to change it to Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa when the ZFT objected. Further intervention saw him perform under the banner of Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever The F@% He Wants: The Cease And Desist Tour.
And in a lengthy post on his website, Dweezil gives his thoughts on the ongoing situation, accuses his siblings Ahmet and Diva of “exploiting their new roles as trustees of the ZFT” and claims the trust is attempting to stop him using his own name for public performances.
As for the Frank Zappa hologram tour which was announced last week by the Zappa Family Trust – drawing widespread criticism from Zappa’s fans – Dweezil adds: “Apparently ‘owning’ my name isn’t enough for them and they have tried to leverage their roles as trustees by creating a holographic version of our father that they seek to manipulate on stages worldwide.”
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He adds: “The press release about the tour appears to state that they have communicated with me about being involved with such a tour. Like other fans of my father, I heard about it through social media.
“I have never been contacted by the ZFT about it in any form nor have I given them consent to use my name. For the record, I am not interested in participating in anything with an artificial version of my father on stage.”
Dweezil reports that the trademark battle between himself and Ahmet and Diva is “almost ready to go to trial” and adds: “For the past 36 years I have used my own name in the field of live music and entertainment and now two of my siblings claim to own my name and seek to prevent me from using it freely. On principle alone, I must defend myself.”
Dweezil also encourages fans to back his new music project Dweezil Zappa And The Others Of Intention on PledgeMusic, where incentives include ‘No Fake Frank’ t-shirts.
