Dweezil Zappa Readies Cease & Desist

Dweezil Zappa, son of the legendary Frank Zappa and acclaimed guitarist in his own right, is hitting the road for the “Cease & Desist Tour.” The trek is named in humorous reference to the legal dispute the musician has had with his family since the death of his mother last year.

First, let’s talk about the tour: The North American dates start Sept. 29 in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., and the shows continue until Nov. 12 at Tipitina’s Uptown in New Orleans. Before that he will be at Austin City Limits Nov. 11, and venues like The Flying Monkey in Plymouth N.H. and Madison Theatre in Covington, Ky., are also on the docket.

Dweezil said in a promotional video that the tour is largely in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Freak Out!, the landmark debut album from his father’s group, The Mothers of Invention. In addition to tunes from Freak Out! he will play some of his solo material, covers from other artists, and more music from his father’s wide catalogue.

The band will be joined by a new vocalist, Mikki Hommel, for the upcoming run. Zappa describes the experience as a “psychedelic tornado” of music. Check out the promotional video below.

The name of the band has technically changed from “Zappa Plays Zappa” to “Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa” to “Dweezil Zappa” over the last year. Dweezil and his brother Ahmet have been wrapped in a public disagreement over naming rights throughout the series of name changes.

When Gail Zappa died in October of last year, siblings Ahmet and Diva Zappa inherited control of the Zappa Family Trust. The New York Times reported earlier this year that Dweezil was informed by the trust that he did not have permission to use Frank Zappa’s name or likeness in tour merchandise and he “risked copyright infringement damages of $150,000 each time he played a song [as Zappa Plays Zappa] without proper permission.”

Both Ahmet and Dweezil issued public statements regarding the disagreement, but the band’s name-change and the concession that Dweezil will not sell any Frank Zappa-related merch seems to have settled the matter for the time being.

Here are the dates for the tour:

Sept. 29 – San Juan Capistrano, Calif., The Coach House Concert Hall
Sept. 30 – Agoura Hills, Calif., The Canyon
Oct. 1 – Scottsdale, Ariz., Talking Stick Resort
Oct. 2 – Las Vegas, Nev., Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas
Oct. 4 – Missoula, Mont., The Wilma
Oct. 5 – Boise, Idaho, Knitting Factory Concert House
Oct. 6 – Salt Lake City, Utah, The Depot
Oct. 7 – Jackson, Wyo., Pink Garter Theatre
Oct. 8 – Fort Collins, Colo., Aggie Theatre
Oct. 9 – Denver, Colo., Ogden Theatre
Oct. 11 – Milwaukee, Wis., Turner Hall Ballroom
Oct. 12 – Chicago, Ill., Concord Music Hall
Oct. 13 – St. Louis, Mo., The Ready Room
Oct. 14 – Indianapolis, Ind., The Vogue
Oct. 15 – Covington, Ky., Madison Live
Oct. 16 – Grand Rapids, Mich., The Intersection / Showroom
Oct. 19 – Quebec City, Quebec, Imperial Bell
Oct. 20 – Montreal, Quebec, Club Soda
Oct. 21 – Portland, Maine, State Theatre
Oct. 22 – Verona, N.Y., Turning Stone Resort Casino
Oct. 23 – South Burlington, Vt., Higher Ground – Ballroom
Oct. 25 – Albany, N.Y., Hart Theatre
Oct. 26 – Glenside, Pa., Keswick Theatre
Oct. 27 – Boston, Mass., Berklee Performance Center
Oct. 28 – Fairfield, Conn., The Warehouse
Oct. 29 – Plymouth, N.H., The Flying Monkey Movie House & Performance Center
Oct. 30 – New York, N.Y., Beacon Theatre
Oct. 31 – Alexandria, Va., The Birchmere
Nov. 2 – Rochester, N.Y., German House Theater
Nov. 3 – Harrisburg, Pa., Whitaker Center
Nov. 4 – Munhall, Pa., Carnegie Library Music Hall Of Homestead
Nov. 5 – Kent, Ohio, The Kent Stage
Nov. 6 – Richmond, Va., The National
Nov. 7 – Atlanta, Ga., Variety Playhouse
Nov. 9 – Dallas, Texas, Granada Theater
Nov. 10 – Houston, Texas, Warehouse Live – Ballroom
Nov. 11 – Austin, Texas, Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater
Nov. 12 – New Orleans, La., Tipitina’s Uptown

Tickets go on sale July 15 at 10 a.m. local time. Check out DweezilZappaWorld.com for the latest on Dweezil and his band’s tour.