Project Object – The Dream of the Dog

Out of the handful of Frank Zappa cover bands out there, Project Object is the only one I have managed to catch live in concert – a couple of times at Stella Blue in Asheville, North Carolina. What an incredible experience. These guys really know how to have a good time on stage and they make sure everyone at the show comes along for the ride.

The first time I saw them at Stella Blue was 17 November 2003. The show was scheduled to start at around 9:00 pm, but at 11:00 pm I was still in a very empty club and nothing was set-up on stage. I began to wonder if this show was even going to happen. I did a few more elbow lifts and was thinking about leaving when suddenly the bar started to fill up with people – just as the band showed up.

It turned out that the band was delayed due to an unexpected interaction with a state trooper. Mmmmm…. bummer man, bummer!

Napi (aka Napoleon Murphy Brock) looked around the room and decided to make use of all the bodies waiting for their fix of Zappa tunes. He stepped up to the mic, made a little speech (I wish I could remember what he said, as it was pretty clever), and before long several audience members were making trips back and fourth from the street to the stage, unloading equipment and getting everything set up in a hurry. I guess you could say it was the opening number.

Before I could say “Great googley moogley!” the show was underway (around midnight) and it wasn’t long before the whole house was rocking and laughin’ it up. Arnold Schwarzenegger had just become the governator and the band milked that for all it was worth – with face masks, gestures, and props galore. A very memorable show indeed.

I went back to Stella Blue the following year and caught Project Object with Don Preston and Denny Walley. Let me tell you, when Denny plays slide guitar every hair folicle on your body becomes erect – even in places where the sun don’t shine.

It was at this show that I picked up The Dream of the Dog CD. It appears that it is currently sold out, but if you contact André Cholmondeley you might still be able to snag a copy of this great live improv CD.

Album Notes:

Project Object is well known as one of the more thorough Frank Zappa tribute bands. They perform throughout the USA, also in Canada and Europe, often with ex-members of Zappa’s legendary bands. This CD takes the listener to the improvisational regions the band visits every night onstage. It’s a quick-shifting blend of killer rhythm-section grooves, skittering samples, synth lines, and inspired soloing. Think Grateful Dead’s “Drums & Space” , but on steroids.

On this CD – the band features ROBBIE “SEAHAG” MANGANO & ANDRE CHOLMONDELEY on guitars and vocals, JORDAN SHAPIRO on Moog and other synths, DAVE JOHNSEN on bass & tortured bass, GLENN LEONARD on drums.

Every night on tour Project Object launches into untested waters, jamming on ESP. This risk-taking by actual musicians is sadly fading away, except for the growing jamband community & jazzers. Mothers of Invention sax player BUNK GARDNER appears on one track, and master of ceremonies IKE WILLIS, Zappa’s sidekick for 14 years, is sprinkled throughout the CD with his witty asides. LA composers Kahlil Sabbagh and Chris Opperman also guest, Greg Ridlington contributes sax. The CD i s sequenced from many live performances in winter/spring 2002 into one psychedelic listening experience.

This CD is recommended if you are a fan of improvised and experimental music in general – but especially if you enjoy live ‘musique concrete’ and sample driven insanity a la Zappa’s “Porn Wars”. The members of Project Object are equally influenced by 20th-21st c. musical rebels like Edgar Varese, Karlheinz Stockhausen, King Crimson, David Torn, Gong, Can, Eugene Chadbourne, John Zorn, Ruins, and so many others…

Project/Object – The Mother of Live Zappa Reinvention

The members of PROJECT/OBJECT feel that Frank Zappa is one of the 20th Century’s greatest and most important composers, and they are on a mission to bring his music to the masses by faithfully recreating the live Zappa experience.

PROJECT/OBJECT formed in the early ’90s as an offshoot from an annual Frank Zappa birthday celebration that took place in guitarist Andre Cholmondeley’s basement in New Jersey. As the event grew in size and popularity, PROJECT/OBJECT decided to take their show on the road, performing Zappa’s music in more cities and larger venues, with a growing set list from every era of Zappa’s 30-year recording career. The band strives to stay true to Frank’s vision of constantly challenging the musicians and the audiences.

During Zappa’s 1984 and 1988 tours, members of PROJECT/OBJECT became friendly with Ike Willis, the legendary 10-plus year Zappa vocalist and guitarist whose career with Frank began in the role of “Joe” on the quintessential Zappa album, Joe’s Garage. In 1995, the members of PROJECT/OBJECT sent a tape of a live show to Ike and he was impressed enough that he agreed to come out to the East Coast to join the band onstage for a few gigs in the New York area. After that tremendous first outing, Ike agreed to repeat this experience in the future. Ike felt the members of PROJECT/OBJECT were able to recreate the fun and excitement that he felt with Frank Zappa on stage. Many other Zappa alumni feel the same way, which has also inspired them to perform with the band, some for entire tours.

Since 1998, when the band first took their act on the road, the following alumni have performed with the band: Willis, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Jimmy Carl Black, Ray White, Don Preston, Bunk Gardner, Denny Walley, Mike Keneally, Arthur Barrow, Ed Mann, Roy Estrada, Billy Mundi and even Al Malkin. Other notable artists they’ve collaborated with include Phish’s Jon Fishman, Capt. Beefheart/Jeff Buckley guitarist Gary Lucas, Chuck Garvey, Al Schnier and Jim Loughlin of moe., New York City big band leader and “Zappologist” Ed Palermo, and Dweezil Zappa drummer Jerry Cucurullo.

Frank Zappa was extremely influential to many musicians and bands, especially many jambands, including Phish, MOE, and Deep Banana Blackout. While many jamband fans are aware that Frank Zappa was influential, they are largely unfamiliar with his music. Of those who are familiar, many were too young to have seen him in concert. PROJECT/OBJECT is the closest they will get to the live Zappa experience, and the band has been enjoying increasing support from this growing scene.

2001 was a big year for the band with their first coast-to-coast tour that included huge debuts in Denver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, among others. The band also sold out the 1,000-capacity Irving Plaza in New York City on Halloween while raising $10,000 for prostate cancer research.

In every new market they visit, PROJECT/OBJECT converts the curious into dedicated fans. They want to remind old Zappa fans of the way it used to be and let younger fans, who never experienced a Zappa show, see and hear the way it was.