Ahmet Zappa | |
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 Ahmet and Dweezil Zappa in 1993 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa |
| Born | May 15, 1974 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) |
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Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa (born May 15, 1974) is an American musician and writer, and trustee of the Zappa Family Trust.
Ahmet Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the third of four children born to musician Frank Zappa and businesswoman Gail Zappa (née Sloatman). [1] His father was of Italian (Sicilian), Greek, Arab, and French descent, and his mother was of German and Portuguese ancestry. [2] [3] He is said to be named after music executive Ahmet Ertegun (co-founder and president of Atlantic Records), whom his father greatly admired. [4] This is contradicted by Neil Slaven in Electric Don Quixote: The Definitive Story Of Frank Zappa, who notes:
His first name was that of an imaginary person we always had hanging around back when we had no one on our payroll," Gail told Victoria Balfour. "We'd snap our fingers and say, 'Ahmet? Dishes. Coffee, please.' He was also named Rodan after a giant pterodactyl that would have ravaged the world if the Japanese film director Ishiro Honda hadn't destroyed it in 1957. [5]
His older brother and sister are Dweezil Zappa and Moon Zappa, and his younger sister is Diva Zappa.
Ahmet Zappa has released several albums with his brother Dweezil, and wrote the song "Frogs with Dirty Little Lips" with his father.
He has appeared in several feature films and television programs. In the late 1990s, he appeared on Channel 4 UK's The Adam and Joe Show , in a regular segment called "Vinyl Justice", in which hosts Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish, dressed as policemen, examined his vinyl collection for "criminal records". In 2000, he appeared in the film Ready to Rumble . With his brother Dweezil, he performed a cover of Britney Spears' song "...Baby One More Time" for the film's soundtrack. Other appearances include hosting the TV shows Robotica (TV series) and But Can They Sing? .
In July 2006, Zappa saw the release of his debut novel, entitled The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless, aimed at younger readers. The rights to a movie were purchased by Bruckheimer Films and Disney. [6] The movie is in production with screenwriter Tim Firth assisting, no release date has been announced. [7]
On October 19, 2006, The Jim Henson Company announced it had hired Zappa to write a treatment for a feature film version of the hit 1980s television show Fraggle Rock . [8] He is also writing a sequel to The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless,[ citation needed ] which had also been optioned to adapt to a screenplay. Zappa proposed to Disney's studio head Bob Iger that the company form a graphic novel-to-film division; the result was "Disney's Kingdom Comics." [9] Zappa was also given a first-look deal at Walt Disney Studios for motion picture productions. His company is called Monsterfoot Productions. His first film, The Odd Life of Timothy Green , was released in 2012 by Walt Disney Pictures, and starred Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton.
Following the death of Zappa's mother, Gail, in October 2015, it was revealed that Ahmet and his sister Diva were given control of the Zappa Family Trust with shares of 30% each, while his siblings Moon and Dweezil were given smaller shares of 20% each. [10] As beneficiaries only, Moon and Dweezil will not see any money from the trust until it is profitable—in 2016, it was "millions of dollars in debt"—and must seek permission from Ahmet, the trustee, to make money from their father's music or merchandise bearing his name. [11] The uneven divide of the trust has resulted in several conflicts between Zappa's children, including a feud between Dweezil and Ahmet over Dweezil's use of his father's music in live performances.
Under Ahmet's direction, the trust proposed a trademark on the name Zappa, which would prevent Dweezil from using the name for commercial purposes without authorization. Since 2006, Dweezil toured with an act called Zappa Plays Zappa, playing his father's music. The trust sought to collect a fee from Dweezil for continued use of the name, as well as proceeds from merchandise sold at Zappa Plays Zappa concerts. [10] In response to the trust's action, Dweezil renamed his performance series "50 Years of Frank: Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the F@%k He Wants—the Cease and Desist Tour. [11] In more recent times, the Zappa siblings have legally reconciled their differences with Dweezil noting "It may be a bumpy road at times – we are a passionate Italian family – but we have decided to work toward privately discussing issues rather than using public forums and lawyers." [12]
Zappa married actress Selma Blair on January 24, 2004, at Carrie Fisher's mansion in Beverly Hills, California. Blair filed for divorce at the Los Angeles Superior Court on June 21, 2006, citing irreconcilable differences. In a statement to People , a spokesman for the couple said, "Selma and Ahmet have decided to divorce but love each other very much and will continue to be close friends". [13]
Zappa is now married to Shana Muldoon—designer, writer, and creator of Disney Star Darlings and the sister of actor Patrick Muldoon. [9] They have a daughter, Halo Violetta Zappa, born in 2010, and a son, Arrow D'Oro Leon Zappa, born in 2016.
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experimentation, musical virtuosity and satire of American culture. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and musique concrète works; he also produced almost all of the 60-plus albums that he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. Zappa also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. He is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse musicians of his generation.
Fraggle Rock is a children's musical fantasy comedy puppet television series about interconnected societies of Muppet creatures, created by Jim Henson.
Dweezil Zappa is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Zappa developed a strong affinity for playing the guitar and producing music. Able to learn directly from guitarists such as Steve Vai and Eddie Van Halen, Zappa released his first single at the age of 12.
Joe's Garage is a three-part rock opera released by American musician Frank Zappa in September and November 1979. Originally released as two separate albums on Zappa Records, the project was later remastered and reissued as a triple album box set, Joe's Garage, Acts I, II & III, in 1987. The story is told by a character identified as the "Central Scrutinizer" narrating the story of Joe, an average adolescent male, from Canoga Park, Los Angeles, who forms a garage rock band, has unsatisfying relationships with women, gives all of his money to a government-assisted and insincere religion, explores sexual activities with appliances, and is imprisoned. After being released from prison into a dystopian society in which music itself has been criminalized, he lapses into insanity.
Moon Unit Zappa is an American actress, singer, and author. She is the daughter of musician Frank Zappa.
Pamela Des Barres is an American rock and roll groupie, writer, musician, and actress. She is best known for her 1987 memoir, I'm with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie, which details her experiences in the Los Angeles rock music scene of the 1960s and 1970s. She is also a former member of the experimental Frank Zappa-produced music group the GTOs.
Jack Frost is a 1998 American Christmas dark fantasy drama film directed by Troy Miller and starring Michael Keaton and Kelly Preston. Keaton plays the title character, a father and musician killed in a car accident, only to be brought back to life in the form of a snowman via a magical harmonica. It received negative critical reviews and became a box-office bomb, grossing just $34 million against a budget of $40–85 million.
Läther is the sixty-fifth official album by Frank Zappa. It was released posthumously as a three-CD set on Rykodisc in 1996. The album's title is derived from bits of comic dialog that link the songs. Zappa also explained that the name is a joke, based on "common bastardized pronunciation of Germanic syllables by the Swiss."
Zappa in New York is a double live album by Frank Zappa released on his own DiscReet Records label. It was recorded in December 1976 at a series of concerts at the Palladium in New York City.
Bruce Lambourne Fowler is an American trombonist and composer. He played trombone on many Frank Zappa records, as well as with Captain Beefheart and in the Fowler Brothers Band. He composes and arranges music for movies, and has been the composer, orchestrator, or conductor for many popular films.
Zappa Plays Zappa is an American tribute act led by Dweezil Zappa, the elder son of late American composer and musician Frank Zappa, devoted to performing the music of Frank Zappa.
As an icon of counterculture and underground rock the American rock musician and composer Frank Zappa has been featured and referenced in various different media.
Music for Pets is an album by the band Z, led by Dweezil and Ahmet Zappa, released in 1996.
Adelaide Gail Zappa was the wife of musician and composer Frank Zappa and the trustee of the Zappa Family Trust. They met in Los Angeles in 1966 and married while she was pregnant with their first child, Moon, followed by Dweezil, Ahmet and Diva. Gail was also the aunt of model and actress Lala Sloatman.
Bryan Beller is an American bass guitarist known for his work with Joe Satriani, The Aristocrats, Dethklok, Mike Keneally, Steve Vai, James LaBrie of Dream Theater and Dweezil Zappa, as well as his four solo album releases, View (2003), Thanks In Advance (2008), Wednesday Night Live (2011), and the progressive double concept album Scenes From The Flood (2019). He has been Joe Satriani's touring bassist since 2013, encompassing the Unstoppable Momentum tour (2013–14), the Shockwave (2015–16) world tour, and the G3/What Happens Next tour (2018), in addition to featuring on the Shockwave Supernova record. Beller is also the bassist of the rock/fusion super-trio The Aristocrats, and he managed the band from 2012 to 2018. The Aristocrats have released four studio albums, along with two live releases documenting the band's world tours in support of their debut album The Aristocrats and sophomore album Culture Clash. Their most recent studio album You Know What... was the focus of their world tour that began in the summer of 2019 and extended through to 2020.
The Old Masters is a box set series by Frank Zappa, released in three volumes on Barking Pumpkin Records from April 1985 to December 1987, consisting of studio and live albums by Zappa and The Mothers of Invention originally released from 1966 to 1976 on other labels, as well as "Mystery Discs" which contained previously unreleased material. The graphics on all three sets was airbrush illustrated by Larry Grossman. 200 Motels was not included in the series as it was the only Zappa/Mothers album for which Zappa was unable to secure the rights.
Ahmet Ertegun was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist.
Diva Muffin Zappa is an American artist and actress who has also recorded a one-off comedy single. She is the youngest child of musician Frank Zappa and wife Gail Zappa.
The Odd Life of Timothy Green is a 2012 American fantasy comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Hedges from a story by Ahmet Zappa. Starring Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, Dianne Wiest, CJ Adams, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ron Livingston, David Morse and Common, the film is about a magical pre-adolescent boy whose personality and naïveté have profound effects on the people in his town. The film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and released theatrically on August 15, 2012. It received mixed reviews from critics, earned $55.3 million on a $25 million budget and had modest ticket sales in its debut weekend. CJ Adams's performance won him a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film, while Odeya Rush's performance was nominated for the same award. The Odd Life of Timothy Green was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Blu-ray and DVD on December 4, 2012.
Zappa is a surname. It is an occupational name meaning "farmer", from the Italian word for "hoe".
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