RIDGEFIELD - Across a half-century's realm of rock music, it's hard to find someone who has so loyally and prolifically carried on the legacy of his mentor and father more than Dweezil Zappa.

When he rolls into The Ridgefield Playhouse on Tuesday, August 1, for an 8 pm show, he will carry on the family tradition of presenting not only a half-century of Frank Zappa music, but will share some of the skills he originally learned and honed under his father's tutelage in a pre-concert master class guitar workshop geared for fledgling as well as advanced players.

Anyone interested in shredding with Dweezil can reserve a spot in the master class by calling 203-438-5795 (NOT Dweezil's number!).

In a pre-concert call from his California home while taking a brief break from touring, Dweezil Zappa told The Newtown Bee to prepare all fans and newcomers to his dad's music - for a nearly three hour show.

He also shared that he has been invited to jump off the tour for a few stops to present a number of spoken word events this fall that he is calling "Dweezil Zappa - What's in a Name."

"Those are events where I kind of do Q&A stuff, tell some stories, and play a little guitar --similar to the kinds of sessions I do at my music camp, but boiled down to around 90 minutes," he explained.

These spoken word sessions may be aptly timed because as Dweezil Zappa was calling in, he was awaiting the deposition phase of a legal battle that is playing out involving his younger siblings. According to an advance for the show, in that action, Dweezil Zappa was threatened with trademark infringement for using his dad's name on the road.

In December, Dweezil posted on his Facebook page that "Members of my family have filed for a federal trademark to own and control the surname ZAPPA." He asks visitors to pledge funds for his legal bills, saying by raising their "voice alongside mine in opposition to the proposed federal trademark - you can help me protect my rights to use my own last name to identify myself in the field of music and entertainment."

Earlier last year, Billboard reported that Zappa siblings - Dweezil, Moon, Ahmet and Diva (but particularly Ahmet and Dweezil, who recorded two albums together) - have been battling each other since their mother, Gail Zappa, died in October 2015.

The Billboard report relates that, following Frank Zappa's death from prostate cancer in 1993, the Zappa Family Trust was formed to administer the rights to the late musician's vast catalog of songs and to protect copyrights and trademarks. After Gail Zappa's death, control of the trust passed to the younger Zappa siblings, Ahmet and Diva, who serve as the estate's trustees. Dweezil and Moon remain beneficiaries of the estate.

In April 2016, The New York Times affirmed that the Zappa Family Trust informed Dweezil he did not have permission to perform any of his father's songs on his annual Zappa Plays Zappa tour. They further directed him to cease and desist using the Zappa Plays Zappa name, which the trust owns and for which Dweezil said his mother had charged him an exorbitant licensing fee.

By continuing to do so The Times said Dweezil Zappa would face as much as $150,000 in copyright infringement each time he performed one of his father's songs. So true to his father's irreverent penchants, he is  - for lack of a better phrase - hitting the road with a vengeance on his so-called 50 Years of Frank: Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the F@%k He Wants - The Cease and Desist Tour.

By all indications it will be an epic event for die-hard Zappa fans.

Dweezil hinted that longtime devotees may never see a more exciting or thorough retrospective ranging from Frank's earliest projects, Freak Out! and his 200 Motels soundtrack, through the triple-album concept guitar masterpiece that is Joe's Garage.

Of course there will be plenty of what can be considered "hits," from "Cosmic Debris" and "Montana" to "Dancin' Fool" and "Valley Girl." Joining Dweezil on stage are saxophonist/keyboardist Scheila Gonzales, bassist Kurt Morgan, drummer Ryan Brown, keyboardist Chris Norton, guitarist/horn player Dave Luther, and vocalist Cian Coey.

When

The Bee caught up with Dweezil, he was gratefully reflecting on how incredibly devotes some of his father's fans really were:

The Newtown Bee: So it's one thing for a fan to say they saw a great Frank Zappa show when they were in high school, but it's another when they rave about the guitar solo in "Muffin Man", which was the fifth song in the set when they saw Frank at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, Connecticut, on October 29, 1975...

Dweezil Zappa: Yeah, I get that all the time. I get people wanting to offer up things that I wouldn't have known about - stuff that happened on stage. I mean, there was a guy who swore he was the cause of the [Frank Zappa] album Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar. He claimed that he was at a show yelling it, and my dad responded saying, 'I guess I'm just gonna shut up and play my guitar.' Then later that year, don't you know he releases an album called...?

The Bee: ...Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar...

Zappa: Now these are stories that can't ever be verified in any way, shape, or form, but people enjoy telling me these things. I must say it's great listening to them, even though I know some of the stories could not possibly be true. So at least I can offer them some... ahhh...

The Bee: Diplomatic counterpoint?

Zappa: Exactly!

The Bee: So I'm really excited to see you are including Frank's seminal projects like Freak Out, 200 Motels AND Joe's Garage projects - along with select other treats - in a single marathon show.

Zappa: (laughing) Well, you know there's quite a bit of variety in any show we put together, but this one, I'll say, is a lot of entertainment factor. The first hour of the show is very different that any other tour we've ever done, because it features a lot of the early Mothers [of Invention] - which in some ways is much more playful than any of Frank's other stuff. And the band is well suited to doing that for the audience in a really fun way. Then we dodge into a lot more serious music. But it's the depth and the variety that really gets people by the end of the night. It's more than 2½ hours of music, so somewhere between 22 and 26 songs. It encompasses quite a bit of my dad's career.

The Bee: Are you able to get satisfying replication out of the band in performing that almost orchestral material like 200 Motels, or has it taken either added personnel and/or technology to make it happen?

Zappa: The band has included one more member [Cian Coey] in the last year we've been doing this. I added a female vocalist along with Scheila Gonzales, who's always been in the band. And she has a huge range in her voice that really rings texture. Like parts of Apostrophe, for example where Tina Turner was doing background, she can really bring that level of bluesy soul. So the overall sound of the vocal textures have increased and improved. I think that is the most major addition - instrumentation-wise. A lot of the orchestral arrangements, we can get pretty close what we want because of technology. Our keyboard player [Chris Norton] can get multiple sound sources playing on the same keyboard at the same time. And he's often playing two keyboards at once, so you can stack sounds - you can have marimba, strings, all the textures that may be required, so with two hands and two keyboards, he can be playing five different instruments simultaneously.

The Bee: I'm glad you brought up Apostrophe, which was the album that really cemented my respect and appreciation for Frank Zappa. I distinctly remember my dad, who was a plain speaking WWII vet, telling me when he heard me playing Apostrophe for the, like, 270th time, he'd rather I was listening to Alice Cooper, who may never have achieved such historic and commercial success without the early support of...your dad.

Zappa: (laughing) That's funny he was taking Alice Cooper as an example and equating it to the lesser of two evils. But it is an interesting point. I actually take the time during my show to discuss the song "Who Are the Brain Police," from Freak Out because 50 years ago when that album was released, that was one of the first records ever to feature [guitar] distortion. Up to then it was a sound to be avoided in the recording process - and it really wasn't something people, even engineers knew a lot about. And my dad was using sounds that were really aggressive and terrifying on that record at that time. So to picture the reaction of adults to "Who Are the Brain Police" coming out of their family room speakers because their child just brought this new record home - I mean that is so wild to imagine. Even today that song still sounds subversive and dangerous and unlike anything that could ever get on the radio. But what's so remarkable about my dad's music compositions is their status even now, they're still bold... it was never tamed by the eons.

The Bee: It's really shocking how much Freak Out still has relevance and resonance in today's culture.

Zappa: The whole record, you know! One of the things you often see in my dad's music frequently is that he was a rock and roll Nostradamus. He was able to make observations both politically and socially that remain true even decades later. Look at "Trouble Every Day" from Freak Out. That might as well be ripped from today's headlines with its racial conflicts, issues, and tensions. The Watts riots [Frank was writing about] is similar to anything happening in our streets today.

The Bee: The concept of giving back to musicians is really unique and special. But you have taken your pre-concert Master Class template to a really cool place with your Dweezilla Music Boot Camp. Now you even handpick participants to play with your band in the grand finale. Let's talk about that evolution.

Zappa: I've had some experience doing this camp a few times and have also taught at other events. The thing I've always tried to do for people looking for this kind of immersive musical experience is, I want them to be able to get the kind of information that will unlock their creativity and get them out of their ruts. But the ultimate goal is to get them in a situation where they are able to learn by example, and putting themselves in a position to play in an ensemble. It's taken awhile to make that work in a three-day environment. We've actually traded out a lot of learning concepts, creating more of an environment where they have the opportunity to play with the band, which I think will be very well received this year. The main takeaway is when you are playing in an ensemble, it's like being in an orchestra where everybody has a role. When all of those roles are being done well, the composition comes to life and you get a tremendous sense of satisfaction from doing your part. I want to stress that, so people are being part of something as opposed to being the guitar player, and "it's all about me." Or the ones who get the Lead Singer Disease. When you learn that when everybody's doing something and contributing, you're only as good as your weakest link.

The Bee: Let's wrap up discussing your Others of Intention crowd funding campaign, which hit 110 percent of your goal. You filed your opposition motion to the cease and desist order by your siblings in November. So I guess from the content on your PledgeMusic.com site, Frank saw this coming. Can you explain where the case stands today?

Zappa: Yeah, so now we're in the discovery phase of the trial and we had to do depositions. It's ridiculous that any of this even has to take place because ultimately all that's required is for them to say, we would never block you from using your own name. They like to tell people that I'm not being honest with the public in saying they are trying to block me. And yet they would not sign a piece of paper saying they won't block me. They're the ones driving this - they've already called for depositions. They have no intention of not blocking me. So I did this Pledge campaign, which is a place where people can go and support your music. And we got some good support from people who want to see justice. It's been a drag having to deal with all that, honestly. I wish I could just be free to focus on creative endeavors. But I've been dealing with this in the most positive way that I can, focusing on the music - the best elements of this.

For tickets ($125 Gold Circle (includes sound check party, $75 Orchestra, $65 Mezzanine), call or visit the box office, 203-438-5795 or go online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org.  The Ridgefield Playhouse is a non-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge.

Dweezil Zappa performs "Who Are the Brain Police" in recent show in Florida:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6jA183TAL0

In his Zappa Plays Zappa days, Dweezil shook up Bridgeport's Gathering of the Vibes with "Orange County Lumber Truck"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeS36M-gMko

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