Baltimore statue will honor Frank Zappa

 

Baltimore statue will honor Frank Zappa A bust of legendary musician and Baltimore native Frank Zappa will officially be dedicated Sept. 18, The Baltimore Sun reports. Members of Zappa's family are expected to attend the ceremony, which will take place at Eastern Avenue and South Conkling Street in Highlandtown, where the bust will be erected.

 

The location outside the Southeast Anchor Library was chosen in part because Zappa was a staunch advocate for free speech. The bust, which will sit atop a tall column, is a gift to the city from a Zappa fan club in Lithuania, and is being readied for shipment to the United States.

Project/Object with special guests… Ike Willis and Ray White !!!

Project/Object with special guests… Ike Willis and Ray White !!!

 

The Music Of FRANK ZAPPA..and more

IKE and RAY's FIRST TOUR TOGETHER IN OVER 25 YEARS!!!
Featuring: Ike Willis, Ray White, Andre' Cholmondeley, David Johnsen, Eric Svalgard, Jim Ruffi
WINTER TOURDATES BELOW !!

 

Hello and how are you?!?

Hoping you had a great Christmas, Chanukah, Solstice, Kwaanza, Pagan Sun Worship day — or Atheistic hangout movie night!! Whatever you did or are doing, it's all good.

We are putting the finishing touches on what promises to be a historic and fantastic run with the two and only IKE WILLIS & RAY WHITE ….!!    

Ike and Ray, as you know – remain two of Frank Zappa's most beloved and listened-to frontmen/vocalist/guitarists. Between them they appear on over 25 of Zappa's releases from 1978 onwards.

Ike and Ray have not toured together in over TWENTY FIVE (25) YEARS !!!.

The 1984 tour ended on Dec 23, 1984, Universal  Ampitheater, Universal City. Since then, as you well know, Ike Willis has toured with Project/Object for nearly 15 years, and in that time Ray White has performed with us a handful of times in San Francisco and at Festivals around the country. Those occasions remain the only times these legendary performers have shared the stage since Zappa Tour 1984…..

Now… we bring you an opportunity to see them on an exclusive New Year's/Holiday tour with Project/Object.

This tour also marks the return of an old friend and Project/Object Alumnus – Drummer Jim Ruffi. Jim did a few short runs with Ike and the band back in 1999, and he and I have been involved in several live and studio projects, including recordings with Ike Willis and unsung genius songwriter Chris McKenna. Really folks, check this man's wonderful music out…. I already know you have great taste in music !!!  http://www.myspace.com/chrismckennamusic

Anyway…….Jim Ruffi ably steps into the drumchair as a result of Eric Slick's leave of abscence. Come check him out !!

As always, the setlist will feature some old P/O favorites, some new items from the vast Zappa catalog, and, but, especially material that Ike and Ray are known for separately and together. Just hearing these voices together in harmony is a thing of wonder. Take a look on youtube at the clips of the famous NYC Pier, August 1984 show, immortalized on the  "Does Humor Belong In Music" DVD to get an idea of the dynamic these guys whip up. We hope to see you there, say hi!!!

ALSO– as always we have our "Project/Object Local Crew Program" in effect. Many of you know what this is and have kindly participated — For those new to the idea — what we do is solicit volunteers from our fan base to be "roadie for a day" and help the band in/out of the club, assist with setup etc. In exchange the "roadie" gets a free ticket to the show, a beverage or two, access to soundcheck, pictures with the alumni, and autographs from Ike and Ray on their raggedy LP covers dug up from their basement.
We still need to fill in a couple cities on this tour — especially the new ones. If you are interested in this venture —please email me  (guitartour@earthlink.net)  for further details and make the subject line "P/O LOCAL CREW <city of the gig> ".

Please don't write back with the actual words <city of the gig> in there. That will, sadly, be a failed cognition test, and we need you to be able to follow simple instructions. Being a musician -or- having a knowledge of musical equipment, and a willingness to schlep gear are all you need to qualify !

ALSO — thanks again for all the well wishes and support. My partner Cheri Jiosne is still valiantly fighting her battle against breast cancer. After 6 months of a chemo program, she reached a plateau. For about 6 weeks now she has been on a very promising program specially geared towards her type of tumor. So far — so good — and we are staying upbeat and positive every day. Still — even though some kind of beginning of a change in the US health system began yesterday with the Health Bill being passed – that won't help us financially anytime soon. I will be donated all my proceeds from this tour -as well as the profits from T-Shirt sales –  to her cause.  

I continue to reach out to anyone that wants to help – (THANK YOU!!!)

There is info on www.projectobject.com, scroll down to the "THANK YOU" blog post, or you can just email me.

We have TWO options:

1) sending her a check directly (email me for address or check the site)
2) donating directly via PAYPAL : send it to the address "projectobject@earthlink.net". Note: my first name "Hugh (Cholmondeley)" will return in the confirmation email.

Every penny counts!! Even $5 will go to very good use for medications, travel to treatment etc. This sh*t is expensive!!

NOW…LET's CRANK SOME FRANK !!

SEE YOU ALL ON THE ROAD!!!!!!

-Andre' Cholmondeley

Project/Object with special guests… Ike Willis and Ray White !!!
The Music Of FRANK ZAPPA..and more

IKE and RAY's FIRST TOUR TOGETHER IN OVER 25 YEARS!!!
Ike Willis, Ray White, Andre' Cholmondeley, David Johnsen, Eric Svalgard, Jim Ruffi


DECEMBER 2009

SUN 27    SELLERSVILLE PA        Sellersville Theatre
MON 28    BALTIMORE MD            8 x 10
TUE 29    PITTSBURGH PA            Rex Theater
WED 30    CLEVELAND OH            Beachland Ballroom
THU 31    EAST LANSING MI        Mac's Bar

 JANUARY 2010
FRI 1    CHICAGO IL                Martyr's
SAT 2    CHICAGO IL                Martyr's
SUN 3    MILWAUKEE WI            Miramar Theater
TUE 5    HARRISBURG PA        The Abbey Bar @ Appalachian Brewing Co.
WED 6    PLAINS PA                River St. Jazz Club
THU 7    NEW YORK NY            BB King's Blues Club
FRI 8    CAMBRIDGE MA            Regatta Bar
SAT 9    TROY NY                Revolution Hall
SUN 10    NEW HAVEN CT            Toad's Place

And check out the new and ever-evolving website:        www.projectobject.com

Happy Birthday Frank……..Official Frank Zappa day: August 9th

Click HERE  and HERE   to read articles

Baltimore honors native son with 'Frank Zappa Day'

Zappa_Bust

Baltimore's mayor has declared a "Frank Zappa Day" on the birthday of the late rocker and native son.

Mayor Sheila Dixon declared the special day Monday. The eccentric musician was born in Baltimore on Dec. 21, 1940. He died in 1993.

Last week, Baltimore's public art commission decided that it will erect a bust of Zappa outside a public library.

The bust was given to Baltimore by fans of Zappa from Lithuania, where his music was popular among the avant-garde in the early 1990s. A similar bust is a tourist attraction in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.

 

 

 

Dethklok in NYC

 You simply have to read about this band to understand:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dethklok

 

 Bassist Bryan Beller and his wife Kira are friends of mine. Bryan and Mike, below are playing with Dethklok currently. It was a very unique experience for me to see this show. Not used to that kind of music (extremely hard rock, almost like death metal I guess) but the animation they show during their concert was so bizarre. Words fail me. Probably because it is 10 am and I am STILL up. I think I have strep throat ๐Ÿ™ FUCK!! Gotta get to bed. Tour dates below

x

 Frank Zappa alum and friend, Mike Keneally . I haven't seen him in person since I was on the 1988 Frank Zappa tour! We have kept in touch online, but it was GREAT to see him again. SUPER nice guy, AMAZING guitarist. 

 

 

Appearing with Mastodon

METALOCALYPSE: DETHKLOKDETHKLOK:

Oct 30 2009  Hammerstein Ballroom      New York, NY

Oct 31 2009  Patriot Center                  Fairfax, VA            
Nov 1 2009   Electric Factory              Philadelphia, PA            
Nov 03 2009 NorVa   Norfolk, VA

Nov 04 2009 Fillmore    Charlotte, NC
Nov 5 2009  The Tabernacle            Atlanta, GA          
Nov 6 2009  House Of Blues                North Myrtle Beach, SC            
Nov 7 2009  Hard Rock Cafe / Hard Rock Live       Orlando, FL            
Nov 8 2009  Pompano Beach Amphitheatre        Pompano Beach, FL            
Nov 11 2009  House Of Blues                Dallas, TX          
Nov 12 2009  Verizon Wireless Theater            Houston, TX            
Nov 13 2009  Austin Music Hall               Austin, TX            
Nov 14 2009  Brady Theater                  Tulsa, OK  
Nov 16 2009  Pan American Center           Las Cruces, NM  
Nov 17 2009  Mesa Amphitheatre                      Mesa, AZ  
Nov 18 2009  House Of Blues                Las Vegas, NV            
Nov 19 2009  Hollywood Palladium      Hollywood, CA

Nov 20 2009 Hollywood Palladium   Hollywood, CA

Nov 21 2009 Event Ctr @ San Jose State   San Jose, CA