Pete Griffin - Bassist

WesFest 7 and the Return of Gryphon Labs!

2012-02-09T14:52:00.000-08:00

I'm really excited to be in the house band for WesFest 7 this year. I've been a part of WesFest for many years now, and it's always an incredible night of music for a very worthy cause. This year the show features the always amazing Mike Keneally, Colin Keenan, Jackie Daum, and many many others. Plus, the headliners are the "gotta see it to believe it" power trio The Aristocrats, which is Guthrie Govan on guitar, Marco Minneman on drums, and bassist extraordinaire (and WesFest organizer) Bryan Beller. All proceeds benefit the Wes Wehmiller Scholarship at Berklee, so tell everyone you know! It all goes down on March 4th at 7:30 pm, get your tickets now!
Then, just 2 days later on March 6th, I'm proud to present the return of Gryphon Labs to the Baked Potato. We've got Andy Sanesi on drums, who's joined us before and blew everyone away, so don't miss this. We'll be playing 2 sets, 9 and 11 pm, hope to see you there!

Leaving ZPZ...

2011-12-15T11:14:00.000-08:00

For almost six years now I've been living a dream. A dream beyond a dream, in fact, because I never truly thought I could play Zappa music for a living, let alone play with Frank Zappa through the magic of technology. The joy I felt for this amazing opportunity was evident in my playing every night, and seeing the many thousands of people across the world who were equally affected by this music was a huge inspiration in itself.
But after living the same dream for so many nights in a row, I started noticing some cracks in the facade. Instead of focusing on all the things that were right with our performances, I began to dwell on all the little things that were slightly less than perfect. It's come to the point where I can't ignore those things enough to enjoy myself during the shows like I once did, so it's time for me to leave the gig I said I'd never leave, as much as it might break my heart to do so.
Sharing the stage with the musicians in this band, both past and present, has improved my own musicality in ways I can't even comprehend. As proud as I am of our Grammy winning first recording, I almost can't stand to listen to it now because I know I'm a much, much better player now than I was when we first started, and that we're a much better band. Whether its the soloing concepts I picked up from Billy, Jamie, Scheila, or Steve, the harmonic ideas of Aaron or Chris, the stage presence and showmanship of Ben, Ray, or Napoleon, or the advanced rhythmic concepts of Joe or Terry, I feel like I've gotten an education that no school could offer. In addition to all that, I also feel like I'm part of a new family, and I thank all those musicians as well as our amazing crew for their part in that.
To Dweezil, Gail, Frank, and the rest of the Zappa family I express my deepest gratitude for taking a chance on me and allowing this dream beyond a dream to become a reality. Because of touring with this band I've been able to see parts of this world I never thought I would, experience different cultures, and best of all, meet the love of my life. I have no doubt that the band will continue to kick butt for many years to come.
Finally, to the fans all across the world, I say thank you for living this dream with me.

Trading with Stanley Clarke...

2011-10-12T14:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a video of our final mega-jam with Return to Forever on Stanley Clarke's iconic song "School Days." Even watching this now, I can't believe it happened. After a brief run-through during soundcheck, we just jumped right into this madness, and somehow I think it came out pretty good. Considering my heart was pounding through my chest when I had to solo after Stanley, I managed to play some stuff that I'm not completely embarrassed of, you can check that part out starting around 5:45.
What an incredible ending to an incredible tour, not only was it a dream come true to tour with RTF, I got to meet (and play for) a lot of my heroes who happened to be in the audience (Victor Wooten, Vernon Reid, and Chester Thompson just to name a few.) One of the best perks was that after Chick Corea had been sitting in with us on a regular basis I got to the point where I was actually comfortable playing with him, rather than just thinking "holy s#!t I'm playing with Chick Corea!"
Now that I'm back home I have a few awesome gigs coming up before ZPZ heads out to England for some shows. First, Gryphon Labs will be back at Molly Malone's on Friday Novemeber 4th. That's a Friday night, and we go on at 11 pm, so come get your weekend started with us!
Then, I'm really excited to be a part of The Show Must Go On, a Queen tribute with all proceeds going to AIDS Project LA. The band features Brendon Small (Dethklok), Mike Keneally, Bear McCreary (TV composer for Battlestar Galactica, Walking Dead), as well as Joe Travers and Rick Musallam from Gryphon Labs, and many others. This one-time-only show is Nov 9th at the Roxy, get your tickets now!

Return to Forever/The Red Room

2011-08-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

Watching Return to Forever every night from this view point has been a humbling and educational experience so far. Each band member is amazing in their own right, but I'm particularly learning a lot from watching Stanley Clarke and Chick Corea play off of each other. It's really an honor to share the stage with these legends, and we've still got a month to go!
In Gryphon Labs news, we've released a FREE live in studio recording called The Red Room. We recorded it live in a studio with no overdubs or studio tricks, and I think it's a great document of what we sound like live at this point. You can download it (did I mention it's FREE?) at our Bandcamp page.

Gearing Up For Tour/July 1st LA Show

2011-06-18T14:05:00.000-07:00

After the longest down time I've had in years, it's time to start getting ready to head back out on tour with Dweezil Zappa Plays Zappa for most of the summer. This time around we'll be opening for jazz fusion legends Return to Forever, which is both incredibly exciting and somewhat daunting. Bassist Stanley Clarke is a huge influence of mine, as well as an influence on all my other influences (if you can follow that), so seeing him play every night will be quite the educational experience. The rest of the band doesn't suck either; Chick Corea, Lenny White, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Frank Gambale...
But first, we've got one more Gryphon Labs show here in LA, on Friday July 1st at Molly Malone's. We've been rehearsing our butts off for the last few months and I think we sound better than ever, so see us now before we're gone for a while! You can check out some recent vids of us over at YouTube (including one of brand new tune "Chuck D for President") for a small sample of what you're in for!

Sharing the Stage

2011-05-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

Gryphon Labs will be sharing the stage with 3 different bands in the month of May!

First, we'll be at The Mint this Friday May 6th with Steel Toed Slippers, a very talented trio of young musicians who love Little Feat and Pink Floyd just about as much as I do. The Mint is a fantastic venue, you can reserve a table and get some food off their awesome menu, or you can just show up and rock out with us. It's only $10 for 2 bands, which is an unbeatable deal for a Friday night in Los Angeles. Steel Toed Slippers start at 8 pm, we go on at 9 pm.

Then, we're heading back to the Central S.A.P.C. in Santa Monica on Saturday May 28th to open for our good friends VOLTO! It's $20 and we'll start around 9 pm, this is an awesome chance to see both Gryphon Labs and the amazing musicians in VOLTO! (featuring Danny Carey from Tool) in a hip, intimate venue. We had so much fun last time, and it was really packed in there, so make sure you get your tickets ahead of time.

Finally, on Tuesday May 31st we'll be back at our second home, The Baked Potato, with fellow Zappa Plays Zappa-er Ben Thomas and his band Wundergroup. Ben's band is incredible, a cool mix of soul and rock music, so don't miss out on this one! It's only $15 and music will start at 8:30 pm.

2 Gryphon Labs shows this week!

2011-03-14T13:14:00.000-07:00

You've got two chances to catch Gryphon Labs this week, first this Thursday, St Patrick's Day, we'll be playing at the Good Hurt in West L.A. Come on out and get Irish with us!
Then, on Saturday, we'll be opening for our friends VOLTO! at the Central Social and Pleasure Club. VOLTO! is John Ziegler on guitar, Lance Morrison on bass, Kirk Covington on keys, vocals, AND drums, and the always incredible Danny Carey (from Tool) on drums. Get your tickets now!
Also, BassFrontiersMag.com has a video interview of me posted on their site. I talked about my experiences here in LA, how I got the Zappa gig, touring with Hanson, and some other stuff. They've got a really cool website with info about a ton of amazing bassists, check it out!

WesFest

2011-02-25T15:42:00.000-08:00

I'm really excited to be a part of this year's WesFest on Sunday Feb 27th at the Roxy. WesFest is a really cool fundraiser for a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music, and we'll be opening the show at 7:30. Bryan Beller organizes this event every year, and this year's headliners are PSP featuring Phillip Saisse on keys, Simon Phillips on drums, and the incredible Pino Palladino on bass. Should be a great gig, the Roxy is a fun place to play.
Get your tickets, or make a donation, HERE

NAMM Aftermath

2011-02-07T12:27:00.000-08:00

I had a great time at NAMM this year, thanks to everyone who came by the EBS and/or Source Audio booths while I was there. The videos from my EBS appearance are available here and here's a clip of me playing with the amazing Bryan Beller at the Source Audio booth.
Tomorrow night, February 8th, it's time for the Gryphon Labs CD Release Party! The first 20 fans get a free t-shirt so get there early!

NAMM Time!

2011-01-05T14:49:00.000-08:00

I'll be appearing at the 2011 NAMM Show for 2 of my equipment endorsers. First on Friday January 14th at 1 pm I'll be at the EBS Professional Bass Equipment booth, giving a demonstration of how I use their effects. I use their BassIQ, OctaBass, MicroBass II preamp, and several other pedals. They make amazing amps too, so come on by and check them out.
Then, on Sunday Jan 16th at 1 pm I'll be making an appearance at the Source Audio booth. I just recently started using their Bass Envelope Filter and Multiwave Bass Distortion Pro pedals, but they've already impressed me with how versatile they are.
So, if you're going to be at the NAMM show this year come on by and say hi!

Road Zombie

2010-12-21T10:48:00.000-08:00

At some point during the last few months of touring I realized I had no idea where I was, or even really where I had been. Sometimes living on the bus, especially when we have ZERO days off like we have recently, really turns you into a brainless zombie. You stumble out of your bunk, wander into the closest building that looks like a venue, (sometimes you're wrong) find some food, a shower, maybe see if there's internet to contact your loved ones, and some days you don't even find out until you walk on stage what city you are in.
Luckily, I usually come alive when we start playing for all the great Zappa fans out there. I still love performing with the guys and gal in this band, I still learn so much every night from Billy, Scheila, Jamie, Joe, Ben, and Chris. Unfortunately it looks like we won't be working again with ZPZ until summer 2011, but there's a very exciting tour being planned...and also, Dweezil's latest album is up for a Grammy, which is exciting, even if I'm not going to be receiving one since he changed the name of the band on the record.
In the meantime, I get to spend the holidays with my family, and then spend the first part of the year promoting Gryphon Labs! As you may already know, we just released our debut album Modern Mythology, and now you can purchase a physical CD copy of the album by clicking HERE.
Also, Gryphon Labs will be playing at WesFest at the Roxy on Feb 27th 2011, stay tuned for more details!

Gryphon Labs album available for download!

2010-11-19T12:30:00.001-08:00

That's right, "Modern Mythology," the debut full length album from Gryphon Labs, is now available for download from your favorite online music retailer. It's been a long time in coming, but I couldn't be happier with the final product.
Get the album at:
iTunes
eMusic
Amazon
and many other sites!
Physical CDs will be sold at shows starting soon, but for now get the mp3s, tell your friends, and leave a review!

Frank Zappa Day

2010-09-21T22:36:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we got to be a part of Frank Zappa day in Baltimore. Frank's music is so strongly tied to southern California that few people know that he was born in Baltimore. Well, now there's an impressive statue proudly informing everyone who comes to the corner of Eastern Avenue and Conkling Street, newly renamed Frank Zappa Way, that Baltimore is proud to call Frank their own. Head over to Zappa.com to see the actual proclamation and some more pictures from the event. I think it's a pretty amazing sign of how things have changed that a controversial public figure such as Frank can finally be recognized in such an official way, for both his musical output as well as his part in the fight for free speech.
Before we go back on tour with ZPZ in November and December (with new video footage!), Gryphon Labs will be playing once again at the world famous Baked Potato on Thursday October 7th, with our good friend Paul Barrere from Little Feat sitting in. Come on out, it may be our last show of 2010!

R.I.P. Richie Hayward

2010-08-16T00:39:00.000-07:00

If you've never heard Little Feat then you don't fully understand the concept of "Groove." Go out and get their live album "Waiting For Columbus" and skip straight to track 6 "Time Loves a Hero" (although you should listen to the whole thing over and over.) The drum intro to that song is a perfect intro to Richie Hayward's playing; impressive but not flashy, both loose and tight, and simply, utterly, GROOVING. It's no surprise that Richie is one of the most recorded drummers ever, both with Feat and as a session drummer for the likes of Robert Plant, Buddy Guy, Bob Seger, Robert Palmer, and many, many others (check out his credits page on Allmusic.com.)
I was lucky enough to spend a day with Richie when he recorded the Gryphon Labs song "Felt Like Love (Another)," and I was marveling at my fortune to have such a legend play on my album. I wish I could say I paid him thousands of dollars for his time, but the fact is he was willing to help out for free, simply because our producer Roger Cole asked him to. This song was a little different for him, a few bars of odd-time, some strange phrasing, yet he dove right in and gave us the most perfect pocket to build the rest of the song on.
The world is a whole lot less groovy now, we lost Richie last Thursday (or, as the guys in Little Feat are saying, he found a ride home) to the liver cancer that had kept him off the road for the last few years. Head over to LittleFeat.net to keep up on official memorials for Richie, including a tribute page. Check out the Labs tune he played on below, and of course, pick up any or all of the incredible body of work he left behind and get an education on "Groove."
Felt like Love (Another) by RColeMusic

The Aftermath of Dweezilla

2010-06-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

Now that Dweezilla Music Camp is over, I finally have a moment to reflect on the craziness of the past few days. None of us in the band knew what was going to happen when we began this, and I think it actually turned out far better than we could have planned. Every single person that came here showed up with an amazingly positive and open attitude, so I couldn't have asked for better students. Young and old, from near or far (Australia!) it seems everyone gained something valuable from their time here, including myself.
One of my favorite moments, aside from my classes, was directing the jam session on Tuesday night, cueing different soloists, breakdowns, and (most importantly) endings. Watching these musicians of differing levels of proficiency suddenly realize they're really playing together and creating something was quite inspiring to me.
Now it's time to climb back on the bus and get back to playing shows!

Break's over...

2010-05-06T17:25:00.000-07:00

Well, it's time to get back to work, both with Gryphon Labs and with DZPZ.
You've got 2 chances to see Gryphon Labs coming up, first on May 11th opening for the incredible Scott Henderson Trio at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach. Should be a really fun night, Scott's got my friend (and occasional Lab rat) Andy Sanesi on drums and the always amazing Rufus Philpot on bass.
Then, on Saturday May 15th, I'll be playing a double-header at the Baked Potato. First at 9:30 I'll be playing with Jeff Kollman and Shane Gaalaas with Cosmosquad, then Gryphon Labs will take the stage around 11:30. I'm really excited for this lineup, and not just because I'm playing bass in both bands...
Meanwhile, as I'm rehearsing and gigging at night with those bands, during the day we'll be back at the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen getting ready for this summer's Dweezil Zappa Plays Zappa tour. Two solid months of touring is a lot, but we'll be doing all sorts of fun and different things like the Dweezilla music camp, plus we'll have our new keyboardist, as well as a new batch of songs. Keep checking dweezilzappaworld.com for details on all this stuff, and come on out to a show!

Down Time

2010-04-04T12:05:00.000-07:00

After enjoying some much needed couch time, my schedule starts to get pretty crazy soon. First of all, Gryphon Labs will be playing a club show at Molly Malone's in LA on Sunday 4/11 at 9pm. Then a crazy week of rehearsals for the next weekend, during which I'll be playing 3 different shows with 3 different bands.
Friday, April 16th I'll be at the Baked Potato with the amazing technical fusion of Cosmosquad, with Jeff Kollman on guitar and Shane Gaalaas returning to the drum chair. I'm really excited to play with these two killer musicians again, we may even break out one of the new tunes we've been writing together.
Then, April 17th, Dweezil Zappa Plays Zappa opens for the legendary Jeff Beck at the Nokia in downtown LA. Being slightly younger than the rest of DZPZ, I'm not as familiar with Jeff Beck's earlier work, but I loved his last few records ("Jeff" and "You Had It Coming") for their mixture of Jeff's old school playing and more modern production. If you don't have tickets for this event you should get them soon. Plus, Jeff has the amazing Rhonda Smith (from Prince's band) on bass!
And finally, on Sunday 4/18, Gryphon Labs will be descending upon the Baked Potato one more time. We'll have Paul Barrere from Little Feat sitting in again in the first set, and in the second set Ben Thomas from DZPZ will be joining us for some cover tunes (no Zappa music, though.)
Then we'll be auditioning new keyboard players for DZPZ, several people have posted some pretty impressive clips of themselves on youtube, so maybe you'll be seeing one of them on tour with us this summer. And speaking of tour this summer, check out all of DZPZ's dates for the US, Europe, Tel Aviv, and Tokyo.

Other People's Music

2010-02-24T00:05:00.000-08:00

After several fun and well-attended Gryphon Labs shows, I'm headed back to the Baked Potato this weekend to play with two other amazing bands. First, this Friday February 26th I'll be back with Cosmosquad, with Jeff Kollman on guitar and Glen Sobel (filling in for Shane Gaalaas) on drums. Last time I played with Jeff I had a blast, and I've played with Glen in lots of different situations and he always sounds great, including on the album version of "Driven To Drink" by Gryphon Labs.
Then, Saturday Feb 27th I'll be playing with VOLTO! again. Danny Carey was sick last time I played with these guys (and Glen filled in for him, too) so I'm really excited to play with all of them again, especially Danny.
So, come check out my double header at the Potato this weekend! Also, get your tickets to see Dweezil Zappa Plays Zappa open for the legendary Jeff Beck on April 17th...

2010!

2010-01-09T09:12:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are, in the future. It really doesn't look anything like I expected, there's a serious lack of flying cars and robot servants, but hey at least we have iPhones!
2010 started off with ZPZ playing on the Jam Cruise, which was exactly what it sounds like, a whole bunch of jam bands and their fans on a giant cruise ship traveling through the Caribbean sea. It was really fun, especially to hang out with and see many of my favorite musicians like bass legend George Porter Jr., sax players Skerik and Jeff Coffin, the amazingly tight reggae band John Brown's Body and many, many others. Every time we play for "jam crowds" I get the impression that many of the audience members have never heard anything like Zappa music before, and it's always fun seeing their reactions when we do funny songs like "Broken Hearts Are For Assholes" or exceedingly technical ones like "Don't You Ever Wash That Thing."
Now we're back on the bus, doing a short run in the south and east USA, and then home in time for several Gryphon Labs gigs:
1/22/10 12 midnight @ Paladino's, Tarzana, CA
2/11/10 9:30 pm @ The Good Hurt, Venice, CA
2/17/10 9 pm @ The Baked Potato, Studio City, CA
So, Happy New Year, and I hope to see you at a show!

New Gryphon Labs Video!

2009-11-22T22:21:00.000-08:00

Here's a promo video edited together from several different shows. The audio is from a live version of Driven to Drink, and the video does a pretty good job of showing what Gryphon Labs is like live. Of course it's not as good as seeing us in person, so come on out to a show! Check GryphonLabs.org for show dates, our next one is Friday January 22nd at Paladino's in Tarzana, CA.
In the meantime, I'm back on the road with Zappa Plays Zappa, playing another batch of new songs (well, new for us). One of the new ones on the set list is Ms. Pinky, on which I sing "lead" (along with Ben) for the first time in my career! Check the ZPZ tourdates and see if we're coming to your town, this month or in January...

The Baked Potato: My "Cheers"

2009-10-15T21:40:00.000-07:00

Most bars and clubs are known for their ambience, or the strength of their drinks, or the size and number of their flat screen TVs broadcasting every possible sporting event. The Baked Potato has become world famous mainly for the caliber of musicians it showcases, but I mostly find myself hanging there because many of my musician friends are there on any given night (and especially Mondays for the jam). It was this combination of friends/musicians that allowed us to pull off the second set of our last Gryphon Labs show. Bryan Beller, Mike Keneally, Scheila Gonzalez, Glen Sobel, John Z, and Nick D'Virgilio all joined in for what turned into a really fun night.
And it looks like I'll be appearing at the Potato again soon. First, on Friday October 30th with fusion power trio Cosmosquad, featuring guitarist Jeff Kollman and drummer Shane Gaalaas. I'm really excited to play with these guys, both virtuosos on their instruments, and the music is really fun and challenging.
Then, Friday November 6th, I'll be there again with the amazing VOLTO!, featuring John Z, Danny Carey of Tool, and Kirk Covington of Tribal Tech. I'm so psyched to play with these guys again, standing between Danny and Kirk when they went into their dueling drum kit jams was quite an experience last time.
So come on out to the Baked Potato, whether or not I'm playing there. Chances are you'll see some incredible musicians. And yes, they do serve baked potatoes, and they're amazing.

Progressive Nation and Onward

2009-09-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of every musician from the Progressive Nation tour we just did with Scale the Summit, Big Elf, and headliners Dream Theater. What an amazing bunch of musicians to be on the road with. The picture is sort of divided by instrument, so I'm standing with the bassists from the other bands.
Having more bands on the tour meant shorter shows for us, fewer (and quicker) soundchecks, and overall more downtime, which can easliy lead to certain amounts of road insanity. But we all found ways of using the time productively, I managed to write some more tunes for Gryphon Labs, do the occasional yoga/workout routine, listen to a LOT of music, etc. I think the downtime made us enjoy our time onstage with our instruments that much more, and I think the shows went really well because of that. Or maybe it was ther fact that Dream Theater's incredible drummer (and Zappa superfan) Mike Portnoy watched our set from the side of the stage every night. The best part was watching the obvious Dream Theater fans transition from being skeptical about our show to leaping to their feet to give us a standing ovation, so thank you to them for being so open minded.
So, now we're home for a little while. Gryphon Labs is playing the Baked Potato on Tuesday September 29th. The second set is looking like it'll be a cavalcade of guest stars including Bryan Beller, possibly Mike Keneally and many others, so come on down and see what happens! We also have T-shirts and stickers available, as modeled by me in the above picture.
Check out the new tourdates for Zappa Plays Zappa, and stay tuned for more ZPZ news, including a possible TV show...

oh, and...

2009-07-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

Bass Player Magazine has a small article about me winning the Grammy and my approach to playing the bass line for Peaches En Regalia. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see it, or just go pick up the July 2009 issue. Thanks to Bass Player and especially Bryan Beller for writing it.

Progress

2009-07-05T19:14:00.001-07:00

There it is, my very own Grammy, something I never thought I'd have. Ever since Jethro Tull won for best metal album (not to mention the whole Milli Vanilli thing) I never really thought I even wanted one. But like I've said before, this Grammy is really for Frank Zappa, and I'm happy to have been a part of it. Plus now I get to put "Grammy Award Winning Bass Player" in front of my name.
I've been receiving some strange compliments from people after ZPZ shows recently, along the lines of "Wow, your solo tonight was sooooo much better than the one on the DVD." It's kinda hard to focus on the positive side of what they're saying, my brain sometimes thinks "does that mean they thought I sucked on the DVD?" But I realize that considering the DVD was recorded 3 years ago, they must be right in some ways about my improvement. Something would be wrong if I was playing this music every night and somehow getting less proficient on my instrument. But I think the main improvement has come from being onstage with such incredible musicians, and especially from listening to and backing up their solos. From Scheila's way of holding the crowd in the palm of her hand, to Billy essentially composing a new piece every night, to Jamie wrenching every ounce of emotion from his strings, to Joe simply dropping every jaw in the house, I get a serious music lesson every night. And that doesn't even include Dweezil, who plays guitar like no one I've ever heard.
In Gryphon Labs news I've given Glynn a few more nearly final mixes of songs from the full length album, so listen for those if you come to any ZPZ shows soon.
Comin up, 5 weeks with Dream Theater and others on the Progressive Nation tour, which will most likely be another educational experience.

30

2009-05-27T04:03:00.000-07:00

Well, it was my 30th birthday on Monday, when we played Amsterdam, so that show also served as a birthday party of sorts. When I was 20, the only thing I wanted to do in life was play bass for a living, regardless of who I was playing for. I had seen bassists like Tony Levin and Chris Chaney play for many different artists, and I envied and desired their ability to hop from gig to gig but always be working, while always sounding like themselves.
Ten years later, I'm in a place that even my wildest dreams couldn't have imagined. Not only do I get to play bass for a living, which includes getting to see a large portion of the planet, but I get to play the music of Frank Zappa, the very artist I spent my teens collecting CDs of. So many different puzzle pieces needed to fall into place for me to get here, from the support of my family, to my move to Los Angeles (and subsequently meeting Joe Travers,) to Dweezil putting the project together to begin with. I'm so very grateful that all those things did in fact come together.
So, now what? Now that I've achieved a 10-year goal of mine, what do I shoot for next? Hopefully, Gryphon Labs. We're very close to the final mixing of the last tunes for the album, and now comes the process of shopping it around to labels, investors, promoters, etc. I don't have any dreams of being a huge pop star, but I'd love to do a small tour soon and just get it out there. So, watch this space, hopefully it won't take another 10 years.

The Hardest Thing I've Ever Had To Do

2009-04-13T04:52:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture from the Byron Bay Blues Fest, not of ZPZ, but of funk/ska/punk veterans Fishbone absolutely destroying the Australian audience. Lead singer/sax player Angelo Moore spent as much time crowd surfing (while still singing!) as he did playing, and the rest of the band, including the amazing Norwood Fisher on bass, seriously whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Scheila, Jamie, and myself watched this spectacle from the view seen above, and in between furiously dancing and jumping up and down we were saying to each other "How the hell are we going to follow this?"
So I take a quick peek at our set list and realize, not only do we have to follow them, the first song is Apostrophe, which has a long bass solo (played by Jack Bruce originally) mere seconds after it begins. The already daunting task of following one of the most amazing live shows I've ever seen is that much more nerve-wracking, because the start of the show completely depends on me!
What followed was an intense session of soul searching and self-cheerleading right up until showtime, and then a deep breath. Fortunately I was able to go out and just have fun, confident in the fact that even in our new smaller form, ZPZ is still a damn good band. And the crowd, I think, agreed with me.
What's really funny is that the Youtube videos from that gig clearly show my progression from being mildly sweaty at the beginning of the show to being entirely soaked by the end. And while you're there, check out the promo for the Roxy footage we shot in December.
Oh, and Glynn Wood, our very talented front of house engineer, has been playing a few Gryphon Labs tracks during the pre-show music, as well as Joe's tunes from the AAAFNRAAA FZ Birthday Bundle and a song of Jamie's. Glynn's told me that people have inquired as to what they were listening to, so if you hear an instrumental track you dig before a ZPZ show (and it's not Jeff Beck or the Secret Chiefs) chances are it's one of our tunes.

And the Grammy Goes To...

2009-02-10T14:45:00.000-08:00

ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA!
Yep, we won, or more specifically, Frank's composition Peaches En Regalia won for Best Rock Instrumental. We all certainly did our homework, but the true and most deserving winner of this award is Mr. Frank Zappa. That being said, having my name be a footnote to helping Frank win that award is truly an honor. While I thanked "everybody" at the ceremony, that's only a small portion of my gratitude to both the Zappa family for making this whole thing happen, and to the Zappa fans for the exact same reason, as well as my family and friends for their unending support.
The Grammy Awards show itself was quite a circus, having to sit through 97 awards out of 100 before they reached our category was quite the buildup, fortunately it paid off. But, it was cool to see bands like The Mars Volta and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones get their due as well.
Luckily for you, 2009 is looking like there will be many opportunities to see the Grammy Award Winning Zappa Plays Zappa in concert all over the world. Our Japan and Australia dates have already been announced, and there are also Europe and US dates being worked on as we speak.
And, as evidence of all the work I've been putting into the Gryphon Labs record, I've posted a new tune, "Unafraid" on the Myspace page. Check it out, hook up some good speakers or headphones cuz it's got some ROCK to it, and let me know what you think!

Grammy Nominated!

2008-12-18T16:23:00.000-08:00

As you may have heard, Zappa Plays Zappa has been nominated for a Grammy! We're in the Best Rock Instrumental category for our live performance of "Peaches En Regalia." Seeing as how I've always felt this song was three and half minutes of compositional genius, and that we painstakingly dissected the original recording to reproduce it live, I think we may have a decent chance of winning (over David Gilmour, Nine Inch Nails, Rush, and Metallica).
The Roxy shows were a total blast, over 12 hours of Zappa music in 4 nights! Hopefully the footage we filmed on Friday will turn out well, it'll be interesting to see it in comparison to the footage of Frank at the same venue 35 years earlier.
Soon it'll be New Year's, playing in San Francisco on the same bill as the legendary bass innovator Les Claypool, and then more You Can't Fit Onstage Anymore touring into 2009, including possibly going back to Japan and Australia.

VOLTO!

2008-11-21T13:27:00.000-08:00

Well, the You Can't Fit Onstage Anymore tour certainly lived up to its name, but the diminutive size of the venues didn't stop the shows from being incredibly fun. I wasn't sure how Billy the Mountain was going to be received, but after our first performance of it my worries went away. Seeing people singing along to nearly every line of a 25 minute "song" only further proved the amazing dedication of the Zappa fans we play for.
And then there's the recordings...it's a little daunting to think about each show being recorded and released, and even more so since the sound quality is going to be far better than a bootleg. So, if you hear any of my mistakes on your show I sincerely apologize...
As the flyer above points out, I'll be playing with the amazing VOLTO! at the Baked Potato on December 5th. I'm still pretty blown away to be invited to share the stage with Danny Carey from Tool and Kirk Covington from Tribal Tech, as well as my good friend John Z. If you're planning on going you should call ahead and reserve a table, VOLTO! almost always sells out the Potato.
Then ZPZ plays the Roxy here in Los Angeles four nights in a row, December 10-13, 35 years to the day of the recording of the Roxy and Elsewhere album. Wow. There are still a few tickets left, but they're going fast.

What I Do When I'm Not On Stage...

2008-08-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

After a short but exhausting tour that included a brutal schedule through Europe it's good to be back home. It didn't help that I was violently ill for most of the Europe trip, or that we'd get off stage at 12:30 am (00:30 over there) and then have to be in the lobby to get to the airport at 6 am, but I survived. The picture above is from the Palau de Musica in Barcelona, one of the most gorgeous venues we've been to yet. It's nice to see a beautiful building like this, with stained glass, statues and other architectural details usually associated with churches or cathedrals, and have its sole purpose to be the presentation of music.
So, while waiting to begin rehearsals for the You Can't Fit On Stage Anymore tour I'm still busy working on the Gryphon Labs stuff, from recording new tunes to booking gigs. We'll be at...
The Baked Potato
Wed. Sept 10th
9:30 and 11 pm
We've got some new tunes, Paul Barrere will join us again in the first set, and some other guests may be showing up.
In the meantime, I'm starting to review the 60+ Zappa tunes we've learned over the last two and a half years, as well as learning some epic new ones. Also, my Norwegian composer friend Jono El Grande has written me a piece entitled "Shut Up and Play Your Inca Bass in Berlin," which is obviously a nod to FZ, and in true FZ fashion it's immensely difficult. His music is pretty amazing, check it out!

The View From Bonnaroo

2008-06-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

Here's what I got to see from the stage at Bonnaroo, and all those raised arms are an example of what an amazing crowd it was. The whole Bonnaroo experience was a blast, from watching Little Feat play an incredible set, to meeting the guys from Mastodon who happen to be huge Zappa fans, to watching Pearl Jam play while hanging with our friends from Umphrey's McGee. Even the artist cafeteria tent was a trip, eating at the same table as several of my musical idols. So, yeah, it was fun.
Now that I'm home for a short break from ZPZ tour, I can get more work done on Gryphon Labs, including announcing that the Blinded EP is now available on iTunes, Emusic, and other online music retailers. So, tell all your friends who haven't already gotten it that it's even easier to purchase now, and reviews are always appreciated.
Bryan Beller has reviewed the Blinded EP in the July 2008 issue of Bass Player Magazine, a publication I have spent many hours poring over so I'm quite honored to have my name appear in it. The issue is on shelves now so pick it up. A quote: "The tunes float between fusion, electronica, and acid jazz/rock, employing killer vintage keyboard tones and modern drum-loop grooves in inventive and unexpected ways." Thanks, Bryan!
And for those of you who already have the EP, the Gryphon Labs Myspace page has a brand new song, Spectral Evidence, posted for your listening pleasure, a little taste of what's to come.
And finally, I've begun posting excerpts on YouTube from the last Gryphon Labs gig at the Baked Potato, here's the first one:

Motley Crue, the Doobie Bros., Linkin Park, and Zappa Plays Zappa...

2008-06-01T23:09:00.000-07:00

...is not the lineup of one of the many festivals we're playing this year (although I think we might be on the same bill as Linkin Park in the Netherlands). Those are the bands that were sharing the rehearsal facility with us for the past few days, although it certainly would've made an interesting marquee.
We're getting on the bus in a few days, all giddy and excited to get back out there and especially looking forward to playing for all the festival crowds. A large part of Dweezil's vision for this band was to bring his father's music to a new audience, and what better way to do that than at a festival like Bonnaroo which had a crowd of 90,000 last year. At that particular show we play right between progressive metal band Mastodon and Icelandic ambient rockers Sigur Ros (one of my current favorite bands), and I think Zappa music certainly could appeal to fans of either of those groups. And that's just one of several fests we're playing this summer, all over North America and Europe. Not to be a name-dropper, but to be included in the same sentence as all of the bands I've listed in this post is an honor, and certainly nothing I could have ever predicted.
Be sure to check out zappaplayszappa.com for info, and look for me jumping around (my bass rig is all wireless now) on stage at a festival near you. And don't forget about GryphonLabs.org for all the updates about my band.

New ZPZ Dates, GryphonLabs.org, 4/23 Baked Potato show, and more

2008-03-19T16:28:00.000-07:00

Well, with all this down time from Zappa Plays Zappa I've been able to work a lot more on the Gryphon Labs project, recording new songs and trying to get the name out there, as they say. Be sure to tune in to The Fusion Show with Randy Allar this and every Friday from 1-3 pm EST on WCSB to hear Gryphon Labs along with lots of other great "Fusion Progressive Instrumental Music."
I'm also proud to announce the launch of GryphonLabs.org which will have all sorts of news, pics, and recordings of the band, plus cool things like unreleased live tracks. Also, come out to the Baked Potato on April 23rd for our next Labs gig. We'll have new tunes, both covers and originals, plus special guests and other fun surprises. Like maybe pony rides...or maybe not.
And finally, new dates for Zappa Plays Zappa have been announced, and it's time for me to start learning yet another batch of tunes from Frank's seemingly endless catalog. I can't wait to get back on the road with everyone, as far as I know we'll have the same lineup as last year, but knowing Dweezil I'm sure there are plenty of surprises in store.
And in case you missed us on Craig Ferguson here it is.

More ZPZ on TV

2008-02-10T22:03:00.000-08:00

First of all, thanks to everyone who came out to the Gryphon Labs show at the Knitting Factory in January. The feedback we received was overwhelming, both in the crowd's reaction and several people contacting me through this site or the Myspace Page.
So, expect to be hearing about more gigs soon. And, the Blinded EP is now available for purchase through CDBaby.com
for those of you who'd like to have physical copies of the CD. Or, you can just email me at pete.petegriffin@gmail.com if you'd like a copy. And, as always, you can purchase and download the tunes through the player in the posts below.
Then, the very next morning after the Knitting Factory show, most of Gryphon Labs and all of Zappa Plays Zappa boarded a plane to Japan for a brief but fun 3 show run. The picture above is Mt. Fuji, shot through the window of the Shinkansen, or bullet train, from Osaka to Tokyo. Once again, the reach of Frank Zappa's music astounds me. From Iceland to Japan to Cleveland, these songs are so important to the people in our audiences, and in many cases it's obvious that the words they're singing out loud comprise the only English they know.
And speaking of reaching audiences...ZPZ will be appearing on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
next week. I believe the show airs on Wednesday, but check your local listings.

What A Year!

2007-12-29T16:45:00.000-08:00

So, if you watched us on Conan O'Brien, and you waited until the very end when Conan turns and shakes my hand, you saw the greatest moment of my life, in a year full of unbelievable moments. After another North America tour, ZPZ went down under to Australia, where we were re-joined by the ever amazing Steve Vai. Several of us stayed extra time around Sydney, and even after traveling the world with these crazy people I was still more than happy to spend my vacation time breathing underwater or climbing rainforest staircases with them.
As for 2008, we go to Japan in a few weeks, check out the ZPZ tour page for details, and then take a short hiatus. But the night before we leave, January 17th, my band Gryphon Labs will be performing at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood along with VOLTO! which features Danny Carey from Tool and John Z from my other project Amalgatron, as well as some other incredible musicians. Last time they played there it sold out, so be sure to get your tickets soon!
And finally, the Gryphon Labs debut EP is available for purchase, online or at shows. I'm really proud of the way these 6 tunes turned out, and I can't thank everyone who contributed to them enough. Download the whole EP for a buck a song below, or come to a show a pick up a CD for $7. Either way, thanks for your support, spread the word, and see you soon.

ZPZ Goes to the Cirkus (and then Conan O'Brien!)

2007-10-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

So, while in Munich, Germany, (during Oktoberfest, no less) we played at the Cirkus Krone, a venue that spends much of it's time hosting an actual circus, and the animals for said circus were housed in the same lot that our tour bus parked in. You never really know what to expect when stepping off the bus in the morning (or afternoon...), and seeing these faces was certainly not what I was expecting that day. The domed building behind the camels is the venue.
Well, we leave Monday for New York, where we'll be taping one of my favorite TV shows of all time Late Night with Conan O'Brien before starting our next tour on Halloween at the Beacon Theater. I can't even explain how excited I am for this, be sure to watch on Tuesday Oct. 30th to see if I actually burst onstage.
And, of course, check www.zappaplayszappa.com for news and tourdates, including the imminent release of our live DVD from last year. Next stop, Australia...

Home for a minute

2007-09-12T17:12:00.000-07:00

I've been on break from tour for a few weeks now, and I haven't even slowed down much. I've been working hard on the Gryphon Labs project, and Roger and I finished up 2 more tunes, bringing the grand total to 6 (for the time being). I'm really excited about how it's all coming together, especially when taken as a whole. Somehow we managed to pack a lot of different musical styles and influences into these songs, and yet it still maintains some amount of continuity. Keep an eye on the Gryphon Labs Myspace page for clips and news as I make it up. Also, if you want to help promote this music please contact me, I'd love any help I can get, from artwork to web design to promotion to booking to representation to licensing to...
I've recently found myself associating with a lot of amazing musicians, many of them bass players. From meeting Rob Trujillo (from Metallica, among many others) and Armand Sabal-Lecco (from Paul Simon, among many others) at our show in LA, to hangin with Scott Thunes after our San Fran gig, and saying hi to Bryan Beller after seeing him with Steve Vai last night. I used to think bass players had to hate each other like wild animals who occupy the same territory, because (most) gigs only have one bass player. But in fact, we can all get along, and it's a honor to even say I met these guys let alone hung out with them.
Coming up...European tour, then around the US again, starting with Halloween in NY again (and possibly another surprise around then), and then finishing the year with a trip to lovely Australia. Check the Zappa Plays Zappa website for tour dates

What's New In Baltimore...

2007-08-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

It was Frank Zappa Day when we played there, that's what's new. Not only that, but I also got to meet John Smothers, Frank's friend and bodyguard for many years and the subject of some of Frank's songs ("Dong Work For Yuda").
Tour has been amazing, everyone's more comfortable on stage, and the crowds are still so amazingly supportive. It really makes me worry about what I'll be doing if this tour ever stops, but in the meantime...

It's time for me to release 3 songs from the upcoming Gryphon Labs album, so here they are. These are the finished product, and I'm really proud of how it all came out, which is a good thing considering how much time myself and producer Roger Cole put into it. So, download them here or at the Gryphon Labs Myspace page, let me know what you think, and thanks for the support!

Almost Time for Tour

2007-07-01T23:47:00.000-07:00

Our debut Gryphon Labs show went really well the other night, thanks so much to everyone who came out and special thanks to Aaron, Jamie, Joe, and Scheila for kicking so much butt on my tunes. I've posted pics, videos, and downloadable full songs from that evening on the Gryphon Labs Myspace page, thanks to Steve and Ginger Durgin for their support and cinematography. I can't put into words how excited I am for this project, in both its live and studio forms, but unfortunately it'll have to go on hold while I tour with Zappa Plays Zappa for most of the rest of the year. Could be a whole lot worse...in the meantime be sure to check out those recordings and here's a clip of us playing "The Isle of Everywhere" by Gong, Scheila takes an awesome solo (as usual) a few minutes into the clip.

see you on the road, this tour is gonna be amazing, wait till you see the surprises we have in store...

The Birth of Gryphon Labs

2007-06-17T16:19:00.001-07:00

<-------------NEXT TUESDAY, JUNE 26th!
We had our first Gryphon Labs rehearsal for the upcoming show the other night, and I was blown away by how quickly these guys picked up my songs, especially knowing that their brains are just as taxed as mine with Zappa material. Fortunately, my music is not nearly as intricate as Frank's (whose is?) and these three gentleman are mad geniuses on their instruments.
But, I realized in ZPZ rehearsal the other day that the mastery of muscle memory in our band is only part of why I think we sound so good. An equal element to this gig, and to all musicianship I guess, are our ears and the amazing ability to hear the different parts going on in these songs. Granted, on some songs we have the technological ability to listen to the different instrument tracks individually thanks to our access to the master recordings in the Vault. But just the way Scheila has been picking out and arranging Frank's dense doo-wop-like vocal harmonies, or Dweezil being able to hear and learn his Dad's compicated rhythmic and melodic figures without the aid of reading music, or how Aaron and Billy have been figuring out how to transpose and re-arrange orchestral sections to be played by our instrumentation, shows that the ridiculous things these people can do on their instruments is only half of their immense talents.
So, come on out on the 26th and see what these guys can do with their hands AND their ears.

Upcoming Gigs

2007-06-07T23:30:00.000-07:00

So, as the lovely flyer below states, I'll be playing at the Baked Potato with Amalgatron again, which should be a lot of fun.

Also, on June 26th my solo project Gryphon Labs will be playing our first gig at the Baked Potato as well:
Gryphon Labs
Tuesday, June 26th
featuring members of Zappa Plays Zappa:
Jamie Kime: Guitar
Joe Travers: Drums
Aaron Arntz: Keyboards
Pete Griffin: Bass

This will be the first time these songs I've written over the past few years will be performed live, plus it'll be a chance to see these amazing musicians really stretch out in a looser format than ZPZ. I can't tell you how excited I am about this, I haven't played my own music live in quite some time.

Back to Work!

2007-05-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

Well, we're a few weeks into rehearsals and already I'm so confident that this band can literally do anything. The range of Frank's material that we're getting into our repertoire is staggering, from simple one-chord jams to dense orchestral passages, and yet it all still sounds like Frank. The sad news is that Napoleon, Steve, and Terry will not be joining us for this run, and I'll miss each of their contributions greatly. But, the upside is that our new guest star is Ray White, another alumnus from Frank's bands. His amazing voice was a huge part of Frank's sound on albums like Tinseltown Rebellion, You Are What You Is, and others, and already he's sounding great on his classic songs like "The Illinois Enema Bandit" as well as material he never had to sing before.
We've been watching the proofs of our forthcoming DVD recorded last tour, and I can't believe how good it looks (and sounds!) Just the visual quality is amazing, and the way Dweezil edited it all together really gives the viewer a unique experience. And he mixed the bass pretty far forward in the mix so you can hear my parts clearly, mistakes and all.
Plus I got an amazing birthday present from Dan Lakin at Lakland Basses. I've been playing their Skyline Series basses which are incredible basses for the price, and after Dan saw us play in Chicago last year he offered me one of their US Series, which are the finest instruments money can buy. Well, my new sherwood green Joe Osborn Signature 4-string is quite simply the most amazing bassI've ever had my hands on. It's so easy to play, I've actually begun taking more vocal parts because I don't have to think about my fingers as much. And it sounds perfect too, no matter what tone I dial up it sits perfectly in with the band.
And finally, the Gryphon Labs project is still underway. We have about 4 songs finished, and you can hear samples of them at myspace.com/gryphonlabs. We may even play a show here in LA before we go on tour this summer, so watch out for that.

Zappa News

2007-05-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

There's a whole bunch of news in the Zappa world, after a bit of silence. First, tickets go on sale soon for the upcoming Zappa Plays Zappa tour. Check the tourdates page for all the dates.
Also, Dweezil posted some info on the ZPZ blog about the DVD we recorded during the last tour. I can't wait to see what he's done with the footage of those two shows.
And finally, the Apostrophe/Over-Nite Sensation Classic Albums DVD has been released and is also airing on VH1 Classic so check your local listings, or just buy the DVD cuz it's amazing (and longer than the TV version). Zappa Plays Zappa shows up a few times, and I even get a second or two of camera time.
see you on tour!

Album Update

2007-04-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

So it's been one full year since Zappa Plays Zappa played our first gig at the Jammys at Madison Square Garden. It's hard to believe all the changes that have happened in my life since then; travelling all over the world with ZPZ, meeting several of my musical heroes including Scott Thunes and Danny Carey (drummer from Tool), relationships and friendships coming and going, some for good (we miss you Adam). And finally, after waiting these 4 months with bated breath, it's coming up on time to go back into rehearsals, and man am I ready for another year or 20 of the same.
I'm also incredibly honored to announce that thanks to my good friend and producer of my album, Roger Cole, I can now say that my record will feature both Paul Barrere and Richie Hayward from the amazing, influential band Little Feat. Paul's slide playing has added so much to the few tunes he contributed to, I've never heard a slide guitar so in tune, and Richie's groove and pocket has taken the songs he played on to new levels of greasiness (and that's a really good thing, trust me). So, now the record has performances from Paul and Richie as well as Jamie Kime and Joe Travers from ZPZ. This is turning into an all-star cast. Maybe I should ask Steve Vai to be on my album next, there's yet another sentence I never could have imagined even thinking.

recording

2007-03-23T00:21:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,
Just a quick update to let everyone know what I've been up to. The short answer is: nothing. But recently I've been recording some tracks for a solo project of sorts. I've already gotten Jamie Kime and Joe Travers from Zappa Plays Zappa to play on some tunes, and the whole project is taking on an entirely different sound because of their contributions. With only a few days of work these tunes have gone from scratch tracks I recorded in my bedroom to full blown epics, once it's all mixed I really think it's going to be something amazing.
Coming out on May 1st is the official release of the Apostrophe/Over-Nite Sensation Classic Album Series DVD. I was able to see an early copy of it and it's really incredible. The whole series is great, they've done DVDs on Dark Side of the Moon, Who's Next, and tons of other amazing albums. The Zappa one features lots of great interviews as well as footage of Zappa Plays Zappa playing through some songs in rehearsal.
Finally I'm playing at the Baked Potato on Wednesday March 28th with Amalgatron again, it'll be a night of fusion with a serious rock edge so come on down.
And then back into rehearsals with ZPZ. I gotta start practicing.

I'm Back!

2007-03-12T18:34:00.000-07:00

So my has been down for a couple weeks now due to my less than co-operative hosting site. I've decided to split my site into this blog to let you know my daily activity and my current site http://www.petegriffin.info which will contain my photos and music. You can contact me at any time still at pete.petegriffin at gmail.com.

Life After ZPZ

2006-12-27T20:12:00.000-08:00

Well, we've got one more Zappa Plays Zappa show before a 2 month hiatus, so if you haven't seen us yet you can come to Casino Morongo on Dec. 30th for our quasi-New Year's celebration. Also, to kick the new year off right, I'll be playing at the Baked Potato (even though my name isn't on the website) on Thursday Jan. 4th with Amalgatron, which is one of the many bands of guitar wiz John Zeigler. Come on out and say hi, should be quite a fun evening.

What a year it's been...if you told me last December that I'd spent most of 2006 playing the music of Frank Zappa with distinguished alumni from his bands I would have punched you for teasing me. Now it looks like most of 2007 will be spent the same way, and I couldn't be happier.

It took a lot for Dweezil to get this band off the ground, and it blows my mind that certain people, due to affiliations with other non-official Zappa cover bands, actually wanted this project to fail. Ever since our first gig there have been a few posts on various forums trying to put down the Zappa Family Trust for putting on this tour, saying mean and untrue things about the members (including myself) as well as Dweezil and his family. It seems to me, if you're a true Zappa fan, that you would be excited for this official tour to finally happen, regardless of loyalties to other projects. I was never able to see Frank live, but having seen many concert videos and listened to many of his shows I think we've put on the best possible representation of the composers music, by using the resources of the Vault (and the Vaultmeister) as well as the blood line of the man himself. It's unfortunate that jealousy and fear of becoming obsolete now that this tour is so successful has overshadowed those few people's enjoyment of the first official presentation of Frank's music since his death. Thankfully, the true fans have spoken (and spoken much louder) by coming out and supporting us from the beginning, and I can't thank you enough for that.

My Fingers Hurt...

2006-12-16T20:18:00.000-08:00

So, one week into this leg of the tour and I'm pretty exhausted from playing 5 shows in a row, 3 hours straight each night. It's a better workout than going to the gym! In Atlanta we had the honor of being joined by Denny Walley on slide guitar for "Advance Romance," and between playing with him, Terry Bozzio, and Napoleon Murphy Brock I got to pretend for a minute that I was in the band from Frank's album Bongo Fury. Dweezil made the official announcement on the ZPZ website that we will be recording a few of the shows on this tour with the intention of releasing a DVD, which excites me to no end.

In other Zappa news, the Making Of Freak Out! (MOFO) has been released, in 2 disc and 4 disc versions, and they both have incredibly interesting unreleased tracks that give some insight into Frank's mindset when he was recording that groundbreaking album. And, my name appears in the thank you section of the 4 disc version, thereby letting me say yet another sentence I never thought I would; "My name is on a Frank Zappa album!"

Halloween Insanity

2006-11-09T20:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm once again at home, coping with the extreme gear shift from being in a different city every night to being on my couch for hours at a time. It's hard to not get a little bored and down, but in mere weeks I'll be back in rehearsals for the December run with Zappa Plays Zappa. Our last tour was more of the same; amazing crowds, inspiring performances from my bandmates, random adventures in strange locales, and the cherry on top, playing the Theater at Madison Square Garden on Halloween.

That night I got to play for not only 5,000 crazed Zappa fans on their favorite night of the year, not only my family and friends from the New York area, but also in attendance was my High School band teacher Carl Strommen who I haven't seen since 1997. It was amazing to look out in the audience and see him standing not far from the group of 6 or 7 guys dressed like Sheik Yerbouti, and somehow have it all make perfect sense to me.

In other Zappa news, Trance-Fusion is out, and it's incredible. Frank's guitar playing continues to inspire me, and listening to the bassists from the different bands represented on this album only reminds me how much of an influence they all were on me collectively.

I'm excited to announce that I'll be doing another show with the Edgar Winter Band on November 18th at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, CA.

There's new pics on the Photos page including several from the last bunch of ZPZ shows as well as some of me playing with Edgar.

The Slots Are Callin...

2006-10-26T20:27:00.000-07:00

Hello from Atlantic City. We're four shows from the end of the tour, and it's been quite a whirlwind. Montreal was a particularly responsive crowd, apparently that show sold out in 2 minutes! Check out the ZPZ website for pics taken by the great Mike Mesker and for blog entries from myself and other band members. We're all having so much fun still, I can't believe that Tuesday is our last show until December. But what a show that's gonna be, NYC on Halloween with 6,000 crazed Zappaphiles... Anyway, I'm off to try to stay away from any extreme gambling. Wish me luck!

Back to the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen

2006-10-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

So, after a much needed vacation in Hawaii it's time to get back to work with Zappa Plays Zappa! We've been in rehearsals with the core band about a week and today Napoleon rejoined us, and it's like we never stopped playing. The new songs are already coming together, Napoleon manages to sound great on both the songs he originally recorded with Frank and the ones that had different vocalists. And everybody else's playing and singing in the band still blow my mind, I can't wait to get back on the road. Check out the Upcoming Shows link to the right to see all the dates for the rest of the year.

Also, I'll be at the Baked Potato here in LA again tonight and next Monday night with Jaime Kime from ZPZ and some other sick players, so if you're around come check it out.

Time Off

2006-08-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic of me and Edgar Winter from the Scituate Harbor Fest, taken by my mom. Playing at Sturgis was a blast, especially looking out at the crowd and seeing so many smiling bikers. Then a few days later we played in Scituate, MA, along with special guest Rick Derringer. I'm still pretty overwhelmed by the number of music legends I've been fortunate enough to share the stage with recently, from Chick Corea at the Jammys to Warren DeMartini (from Ratt) at the ZPZ San Francisco show. I'm a lucky dude. Now I've got some down time (and a vacation to Hawaii) before heading back into rehearsals with ZPZ

I've added a "Current Listening" section. Check it out and check the artists out themselves, you may find something you dig.

Update on Shows

2006-07-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately the Aug 11th gig with Edgar Winter has been cancelled. But in addition to the Aug. 6th show in Scituate, MA, it turns out I will also be playing with him on Aug. 4th at the Black Hills Motorcycle Rally in Stugis, SD, which will be a blast.
In ZPZ news, Dweezil sent out a list of new songs to learn for the next leg of tour. I won't give anything away, but several more of my all-time favorite Zappa songs are on the list, as well as some more challenging exercises in memorization. And even more tour may be in the works for later this year and into 2007...

New Gigs

2006-07-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

So, short notice, I'm playing at the Baked Potato here in Los Angeles on Mon. July 10th. It's a killer band that includes fellow Zappa Plays Zappa band member Jamie Kime on guitar, and then there's a jam session at the end of the night. Come check it out, we go on around 10 pm.
Also, I'm happy to say I'll be doing more shows with Edgar Winter, Aug. 6th in Scituate, MA and Aug. 11th in Allentown, PA. Check Edgar's Website for more info.

Here's a pic from the Blue Lagoon in Iceland (you can just barely see me in the middle)

Back Home

2006-06-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

Sitting here in my apartment looking back at the craziness of the last few weeks...some random mental snapshots:
-Dweezil and Steve Vai trading solos in "More Trouble Every Day" in Phoenix, and Steve asking Dweezil "What the hell was that?" after a particularly inspired passage.
-Terry Bozzio sitting on the bus telling me the story of Patrick O'Hearn's bass audition for Frank, which includes the story of the ridiculous acoustic bass line on "The Ocean is the Ultimate Solution" (he can actually play that fast...)
-Meeting Napoleon's mom in San Francisco and seeing where he got his incredible friendliness and positive attitude.
-Meeting Scott Thunes, one of my absolute bass heroes and another Frank alumnus, and almost losing it when he didn't tell me I suck. wow.
-Meeting my new baby niece, Meredith, and hanging out with my increasingly imaginative 2 yr-old nephew Joel during a brief respite in Massachussetts.
-Suddenly finding myself sitting on my couch in my apartment wondering when sound check is. Oh, wait...
All the US shows were amazing, thanks to all of you who came out with such love for Frank's music and Dweezil's vision, myself and the rest of the band are all very grateful for the overwhelming response. Click here for a Hollywood Reporter review of the Los Angeles show.
Luckily I have more shows to look forward to in the Fall, check here and of course Zappa.com for details on that and also check out Dweezil's New Album "Go With What You Know" available now and featuring me on track #8 "All Roads Lead to Inca." It's so cool that Dweezil gave me the opportunity to be on the same album as great bassists like Scott Thunes and my good friend Mark Meadows.
Now I have some time to focus on my own writing and practicing more, as well as beginning to learn more Zappa songs for the next tour...

Iceland to New York

2006-06-14T09:21:00.000-07:00

Iceland is a crazy, crazy place. It all seems like another planet entirely, yet strangely familiar. After getting there at 2 am and still finding ourselves in daylight, we knew we were in for something different. Reykjavik is a beautiful city populated by beautiful, friendly people, and our show there was very well received. Then, the next day before flying back to America, we were able to go to the natural hot springs at Blue Lagoon which was the perfect relaxing way to end an otherwise hectic but rewarding tour through europe.

Then a mere 2 days later i found myself playing the Beacon Theater in New York for a sold out audience that included my parents, high school friends and old bandmates. The New York Times reviewed the show here and the print version includes me in the picture (seen above).

It now makes me sad to think how close this tour is to being over, but more dates have been confirmed for October, Halloween tickets for the theater at Madison Square Garden have already gone on sale...

Royal Albert Hall

2006-06-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

Yes indeed, here we are...in Athens, Greece, having just gotten back from seeing the Acropolis, which was pretty incredible. The past week has pretty much been a blur, Paris was an amazing show for a crazy huge crowd, Dublin was an amazing show for a crazy smaller crowd, and then there was the Royal Albert Hall. Not only can you just feel the history in the walls of that place, the crowd was very into the show, and we all played with a newfound intensity and joy. Not to mention that Aaron got to play a few songs on the historic Royal Albert Hall organ, the same organ that Don Preston from Frank's band got in trouble for playing in 1969 (check out the album Uncle Meat for a recording of that historic moment). And to top it all off, we've been playing along with a video of Frank taking a great guitar solo, which is quite a surreal and intense experience. I used to say that I would've given a limb to be able to play with Frank Zappa, and somehow I've been able to get as close as I ever could, seeing as how I was only 14 when he passed away.

Just 2 more European shows until we get back to the states, which we're all looking forward to, even if it is a little bittersweet. Thanks again to all of you who have either posted comments here or sent me an email telling me you enjoyed the show, that really means a lot to all of us.
See ya in the US!

11 Shows and My 27th B-Day

2006-05-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

So, my 27th birthday was spent on the bus from Budapest to Zurich, another super long trip, and I couldn't imagine a better place to be or better people to be with on my b-day. Everybody on this tour, band and crew alike, have all become close personal friends of mine, and we're having so much fun touring through Europe together.

Just yesterday (was that just yesterday?) myself, Jamie Kime, Aaron Arntz, Billy Hulting, and Scheila Gonzalez all went adventuring through the beautiful city of Rome. We got to see the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and a lot more. Then we played in the open air Olympic tennis stadium on a gorgeous night, how much better can it get?

It makes me a little sad to think that this tour is already almost halfway over, but I also can't wait to play for some American audiences, I really think we're gonna blow people's faces off. In a good way.

4 Shows Into the Tour

2006-05-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

The crowds have been absolutely amazing so far, Oslo was really out of control. Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to post a comment here or on the zappa.com forums. Hearing such praise from people who saw Frank and his bands over the years really means a lot to all of us, I'm sure if we sucked you'd let us know...

The other night everyone in the band stayed up till 5 in the morning on the bus listening to the recording of our show, all too excited to sleep. Even Terry, Steve and Napoleon seem to be having as much fun as I am, and that's really cool to see. Every night something different happens onstage that gives me chills, whether it's Dweezil and Steve trading solos, Terry ripping it up on his drum kit, or Napoleon's mind blowing stage presence and vocals. I can't wait for tomorrow, and the next day...

First Show

2006-05-17T09:24:00.000-07:00

Well, the first show of tour in Amsterdam went incredibly well, people really seemed into it. Now we're in Copenhagen, about to do another one, the first of three in a row. I'm sure I'll get tired evenutally, but I'm having so much fun I almost can't see that happening. I mean, I'm playing the greatest music ever composed with some of the greatest musicians on the planet. Who could get tired of that?

Check out zappa.com/zpz for pics and updates and other stuff.
dreamed i was an eskimo...

End of Rehearsals, Next Stop...

2006-05-08T09:23:00.000-07:00

So we've finished a taxing but incredibly rewarding two and a half months of rehearsal, and we leave this Friday for Amsterdam to start the tour. If the 50 people at our open rehearsals were any indication, audiences are going to be blown away by this band. Tickets are going quick, get them while you can! We had a bunch of photos taken by award-winning photographer Mr. Bonzai, check out his website for a pic from rehearsal and his opinion of how we sounded.
see you on tour!

ZPZ Videos

2006-04-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

Head over to zappa.com to check out some really cool videos of ZPZ in rehearsal in Frank's home studio, the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen.

Playing the Jammys and BB King's last week was so much fun, I'm still recovering. Sitting in with us at the Jammys were Jake Cinninger from Umphrey's McGee and jazz legend Chick Corea. So many other amazing musicians were there that night as well, from Bela Fleck to Peter Frampton to Baaba Maal.

Now we're in final rehearsals before we leave for Europe, Terry Bozzio and Steve Vai have come by and played through everything with us, and it really sounds amazing. I can't wait for tour...

US Dates in June

2006-04-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

Several US Dates have been added to the Zappa Plays Zappa tour! Here they are:

June 11 Philly, Tower Theater
June 12 NYC, Beacon Theater
June 13 Boston, Orpheum
June 15 Detroit, Meadow Brook Music Fest
June 16 Toronto, Hummingbird
June 21 Phoenix, Dodge Theater
June 22 Anaheim, House of Blues
June 23 Los Angeles, The Wiltern
June 24 San Fran , The Warfield
There may be more, so check back.

I can't believe it's already almost time to play the Jammys, it's gonna be so much fun. I've been told that some very amazing musicians may be sitting in with us at that show, everyone in the band is pretty excited. Then we'll be doing a longer set that night at BB King's in NYC.

New York Show on April 20th

2006-03-13T09:08:00.000-08:00

Looks like we'll be playing the Jammys on April 20th at the theatre at Madison Square Garden, along with some really great bands, like Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and Little Feat, among many others. We may also do another show that same night somewhere else in NYC, and maybe even a TV show while we're there. Check back for details.

Rehearsals are going great, I'm still having so much fun. Steve Vai dropped by last week to check everything out, he's an amazing musician and a nice guy, and he seems like he's as excited as myself and the rest of the band about this whole project. Also, Napoleon Murphy Brock joined us today for rehearsals. He's the vocalist and sax player on most of my favorite Zappa albums, and to hear his voice singing these tunes really makes it all come together. Wow.

Beginning of Rehearsals

2006-02-18T20:11:00.000-08:00

So rehearsals started this week for the Zappa Plays Zappa tour, and already I'm so excited I can barely sleep at night. It's so amazing to be playing these songs I love so much with such incredibly talented musicians. Dweezil's no slouch either, he's doing things on the guitar that shouldn't be humanly possible. Check out this link for current tour dates and an interview with Dweezil about the project. There's also rumours of some American shows before we head off to Europe, so stay tuned...

New Shows and TV Appearance

2006-02-12T19:50:00.000-08:00

So I recently got word that I'll be playing bass for the upcoming:

Zappa Plays Zappa tour featuring Steve Vai, Terry Bozzio, Napoleon Murphy Brock, and of course, Dweezil Zappa among others.

If you've known me for a while you know I'm a huge Frank Zappa fan, so it's a dream come true to be on this gig with some of Frank's original band members. And if you know anything about Frank's music you know it's INCREDIBLY COMPLEX and DIFFICULT to perform, certainly quite a change from Hanson. Currently there are only European dates in May and June confirmed, but a US tour is being put together as we speak. Check out Vai.com for tour dates and Zappa.com for more upcoming info.

Also, I'll be making a very brief appearance on the WB's "Related" this Monday, Feb 6th at 9/8c, playing bass in my friend and ex-bandmate Jaime Ray Newman's band. It'll probably be quick, if I didn't wind up on the cutting room floor, so don't blink. :-)

Thanks to Everyone

2005-11-08T19:46:00.000-08:00

Hello from tour! All the shows have been great, thanks to everyone who has taken the time to say 'Hi' after a show, I really appreciate it.

Philadelphia

2005-10-24T19:45:00.000-07:00

Just a little update since I haven't posted in awhile. I'll be in Philadelphia, PA on October 28th playing at 'The Trocadero'

The Best of Hanson Live and Electric

2005-10-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

The Best of Hanson Live and Electric is out, featuring me on bass! It's in stores everywhere, or on iTunes. Check out my solos on "If Only" and "Look at You."

Here's a quote from mergedigital.com: "The grown-up gang threw some good things in the mix. ''Look at You,'' features a jam between Aaron Kaplan on guitar, Pete Griffin on bass and the middle brother, Taylor, on organ."

Hanson on Jimmy Kimmel

2005-09-07T19:40:00.000-07:00

Hanson and I will be the musical guest on the Jimmy Kimmel show next tuesday Sept. 13th. It's on ABC, 12:05 or 11:05 pm, depending on where you live, check your local listings.

US Hanson Tour

2005-09-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

I'll be on tour with Hanson September 14th through November 23rd. Click on 'Upcoming Shows' in the Links column to the right to see dates and cities.

London

2005-05-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

Here's a panoramic picture from London.

Europe Hanson Tour

2005-04-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

Touring Europe with Hanson was amazing, hopefully I'll have some pics posted soon. Coming up next, Australia...

Edgar Winter

2005-03-05T19:31:00.000-08:00

I had the amazing opportunity to play with the great Edgar Winter, known for his hits "Free Ride" and the classic instrumental "Frankenstein." What an incredibly talented musician, on keys, sax, or percussion. And what an incredibly nice guy! Check the photos page for some pics from that show.