THE GRANDE MOTHERS RE:INVENTED
IN CANADA
the only FZ alumni on the planet consistently performing the music of the maestro
70 plus concerts so far,
and more to come in 2006
ANYTHING ELSE IS NOT AN ORIGINAL......

www.thegrandmothers.com for additional info

JULY 7 - 8th  - WINNIPEG FOLK FESTIVAL
    -  winnipegfolkfestival.ca

JULY 10th  - HUGHS ROOM THEATRE - Toronto - 
hughsroom.com

JULY 12th  - OTTAWA BLUES FESTIVAL
       -   ottawa-bluesfest.ca

JULY 14 - 16th  - VANCOUVER MUSIC FESTIVAL
  -     thefestival.bc.ca  

THE GRANDE MOTHERS RE:INVENTED
*featuring former members of the mothers of invention

*Napoleon Murphy Brock(with FZ  1972 - 1984)
lead vocals, tenor saxophone, flute, suavenicity, dancing(!)

*Roy Estrada  (with FZ  1964 - 1984)
bass, pachuco falsettos and operatic madness, (gas mask)

*Don Preston(with FZ  1966 - 1974)
piano, keyboard  synthesizers, electronics, vocals
with
Ken Rosser - stunt guitar, loud guitar
Christopher Garcia - drumset, percussion, marimba, vocals

After a series of triumphant performances in Los Angeles and Norway, performing the orchestral music of the MAESTRO, the Grande Mothers return to Canada, for a week of concerts

HISTORY:

In 2002,  former members of the Mothers of Invention were asked to  re-unite for a special one time performance to be held in Leipzig, Germany, commemorating the 10th anniversary of Frank Zappa's death.

The evening would consist of classic Frank Zappa material as well as new music written by Don Preston for the band and chamber orchestra. It would also be the first time that three legacies of former Mothers of Invention would reunite and take the stage as a group.

On March 27th, 2003 after 6 months of intensive rehearsals, the same alumni who helped create classics like Freak Out, Absolutely Free, We're Only in it for the Money,
Uncle Meat, Burnt Weenie Sandwich, Weasels Ripped My Flesh,
Live at the Roxy and Elsewhere, One Size Fits All and FZ:OZ took the stage to a standing room only audience. The event was recorded, filmed, and released by Warner Classics in Europe, and has been broadcast on European television.

      Since then the Grande Mothers Re:Invented have been headliners at the 2003 Frankfurt Jazz Festival, the 14th annual ZAPPANALLE FESTIVAL in 2004, and 60 three hour concerts across America, Canada, and Europe including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England, Germany, Holland, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland.


PRESS:
"Great news for Zappaphiles! Short of Frank himself coming back from beyond to bend ears and brains, this is about as close to an authentic live version of Zappa's music as you can possibly get..... Reaction on the fan web sites has been nothing short of rapturous."
PRAGUE POST

"This isn't just another comeback by some old rock fogies, this is the reincarnation of the "Mothers"! The Grande Mothers Re:Invented let it all hang out. It was clear to see that they were having great fun. Once again the Zappa jazz-rock big band sound of the 70s and 80s rang out. The amazing virtuoso caliber displayed by the Grand old men must have surprised everyone. Hats off!"
LEIPZIG „ćALMANACH


"The versions of 'Orange County Lumber Truck', 'Montana', 'Hungry Freaks Daddy', 'Echindas Art(Of You)' and 'Mother People' work just fine and vocally even show some improvements on the originals. "
JAZZWISE

"This outfit was road-tested (their 66th gig), as precise as any of Zappa's bands and able to burn brightly on a wide range of Zappa selections on Friday (the set list was completely different Saturday). With Brock's powerful vocals, physical shtick and ability to double expertly on flute and tenor sax coupled with Preston's electronic salvos, the evening contained a lot of the contradictory eclectic, serious and circusy flavors of a Zappa show. Indeed, in some cases, the Grande Mothers were able to go deeper into the material, rather than merely parroting Zappa's notoriously tricky composed lines. "The Idiot Bastard Son," for example, revealed some lovely harmonic ideas only hinted at on the original Mothers recording."
VARIETY

"When the set began with "Florentine Pogen" from One Size Fits All, it was evident straight away that the band was on top of the material. "
SIGNAL TO NOISE

"Other Zappa-related acts have been surfacing recently, including the "Zappa plays Zappa" project, with Zappa's sons Dweezil and Ahmet joined by famed "stunt guitarist" Steve Vai. The Grande Mothers, though, focus on a particular early era in Zappa's development, with tunes from the late 60s through the mid-70s. From the opening song, Florentine Pogen, it was clear that the audience was in good hands, in the presence of the classic Zappa magic--crisply played Dadaist progressive rock and roll, with gonzo theatrics in the mix."
JAZZIZ

www.thegrandmothers.com