THE GRANDE MOTHERS RETURN TO EASTERN EUROPE
AND THE
HOUSE OF BLUES IN HOLLYWOOD AND ANAHEIM CA
SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

the only ZAPPA alumni consistently performing the music of the maestro, since 2002
75 concerts plus so far
anything else is not an original
www.thegrandmothers.com for more, more, more............
see attached

THE GRANDE MOTHERS:RE:INVENTED
*    *Napoleon Murphy Brock (with FZ  1974 - 1984)
vocals, tenor saxophone, flute, suavenicity, dancing(!)

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

*    *Don Preston (with FZ  1966 - 1974)
piano, keyboard, synthesizers, electronics, vocals

*    Miroslav Tadic¥å stunt guitar, snake guitar, loud guitar
*    Christopher Garcia ¥å drums, percussion, marimba, vocals

SARAJEVO JAZZ FESTIVAL HEADLINERS
11/5/2006 22:00
Main Stage Bosanski kulturni centar
http://www.jazzfest.ba/ - sarajevo jazz festival 2006

BEOGRAD
11/7/2006 21:00
SKC Velika Sala  
http://www.topproduction.com

ZAGREB
11/9/2006 21:00
Pere.Strojka, club Aquarius
http://www.topproduction.com

AND THE WEST COAST AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES

Wednesday, November 29, 2006
House of Blues Anaheim
Anaheim, CA 92802
show time: 8:00 PM
The Grande Mothers -
Original and Former Members of "The Mothers of Invention"
Performing the Music of Frank Zappa


Thursday, November 30, 2006
House of Blues Sunset Strip
West Hollywood, CA 90069
show time: 9:00 PM
The Grande Mothers -
Original and Former Members of "The Mothers of Invention"
Performing the Music of Frank Zappa


http://HOB.COM/apps/search/index.asp?q=GRANDE+MOTHERS&x=23&y=10
OR GO TO
hob/com and type in grande mothers under search

CANADIAN PRINT MEDIA REVIEWS
AND FAN REVIEWS FROM THEIR
SUMMER CANADIAN FESTIVAL TOUR 2006

"Rare are the musicians who can even play Zappa's music, let alone make it live and breathe. So Thank the Lord for the Grande Mothers. The people who loved their music last year ranged in age from 16 to 60, and it's safe to say that a fine time was had by all."
Dugg Simpson, Artistic Director for the Vancouver Folk Festival

"These days Roy Estrada, along with Don Preston, and Napoleon Murphy Brock from Zappa's mid to late 70's Mothers, are touring the world as the Grande Mothers and keeping Zappa's music alive. They were here at the Folk Festival last year and due to public demand are returning. Believe me, if you ever dug Zappa you don't want to miss these guys. They're fun and fuuuuunnnny. They're wicked musicians and they blew a few minds last summer there on Jericho Beach..."
NERVE MAGAZINE

"the quintet known as the Grande Mothers served up vintage psychedelia - rock songs with surreal lyrics, jazz-like harmonies and melodic complexity, with flashes of wacky satire on a par with Monty Python's Flying Circus."
THE GLOBE AND MAIL

"Fans of Frank Zappa are going to freak out for the Grande Mothers. Zappa and his band were creating a mixture of acid rock, psychedelia, doo-wop, avant-garde, tape experiments, funk and jazz. With three different Zappa eras represented, the Grande Mothers have a wide palette of material to choose from."
"BEST DAY CONCERT FRIDAY: THE GRANDE MOTHERS AT THE WINNIPEG FOLK FEST"
Winnipeg Free Press

"So if necessity is the mother of invention, does than mean that the Grande Mothers gave birth to necessity?  Could be true, considering this is a band that needs to be seen........."
WINNIPEG FOLK FEST

CANADIAN FAN REVIEWS, SUMMER 2006
TORONTO
"Just got back from the show,suffice to say it was amazing!!!! I enjoyed it more than ZPZ, the vibe was just so much more a zappa show, (despite only having five band members.) The guitar solos were monstrously beautiful, and the drumming was interstellar! Nappy!!!! dear god that was impressive!!!! and Roy, hey, I thought he didn't play bass good since he was a mexican!!! he's better than he was on OZ even, trust me!!! and Don's solo on Trouble Every Day was unbelievably perfect. PLUS!!! they didn't shy away from the political comments, which, ZPZ playing Trouble Every Day without making it fit the modern time was ridiculous. All in all, it was amazing!!!"

"I too was at this concert, it was INCREDIBLE! Seriously, I thought ZPZ was great and all, but this just blew my mind (I was at a lack of words during the intermission). One thing I really appreciated was that these Mothers really went out there and experimented onstage, in true Zappa fashion.  A personal pick of the evening was their rendition of Twenty Small Cigars, a choice I was not expecting. They played with so much soul, so much love, it was incredible. Napoleon's sax playing during this number was heart wrenching. Beautiful. One of the best non-musical moments of the night was when they talked about Zappa's legacy, and then lead the audience in a round of applause for Frank himself. All in all, a great show. I can't help but wonder when the next Zappa-themed show will come around here. I hope that the Grande Mothers (or as they really should be called, as pointed out by the announcer at the concert, The Mothers of Invention) come back soon, I'd go to another concert without hesitation. I could go on for another 25 pages, I hardly even scratched the surface of all my feelings about the show. But I'll tastefully stop now."

OTTWA BLUES FEST
"I was at the Ottawa show last night. Don, Napoleon and Roy were signing albums for people before the show. The show itself was one of the most incredible things I've witnessed. Unfortunately we didn't get Peaches or Slime (but Montanna was played) but what impressed me was how much of WOIIFTM was played. We got Lonely Little Girl (which was greatly extended from the album version), Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance, What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body? and The Idiot Bastard Son. We also got a lot of material from One Size Fits All, the highlights being excellent versions of Poegen and Sofa. A real highlight was Village of the Sun which was played like on the Roxy album. Napoleon mentioned the Helsinki live show at one point; "If anyone shouts out anymore requests it's gonna cost you 20 marcs!" Roy even did a very brief aria. He started by teasing us with little 10 second bits and saying "That's all you're gonna get" before giving in and singing a bit of Baby Snakes. The signing session after the show was great as well. Roy Estrada was especially nice to me. Near the end of the show two young women got up on the stage to dance. I joked around with Napoleon about his reputation as a lady's man, reminding him of about his great line from the Pisspot the rabbit interview, "If you shake your booty, anything is possible." He chuckled and grinned sheepishly. I said thank-you so much for coming to Ottawa and giving such an excellent show and he promised the Grande Mothers would come to Canada again."

ROAD STORY
in 2003 the GRANDE MOTHERS HIT THE ROAD HARD IN EUROPE
IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THESE GUYS HAD HIT THE ROAD TOGETHER SINCE 1976(!)
ONE OF THEIR MOST MEMORABLE STOPS WAS IN ZAGREB, CROATIA
the tour bus driver was told that they had arrived at the wrong border crossing(?)
and they were diverted to another border crossing a few hours away
making them late for the gig

they arrived at 8 PM, instead of 4 pm,
only to find that they could not get within 100 feet of the club
due to the street full of double parked cars

the bus driver made a call and said that he would need the club to get their crew and empty the tour bus because he could not get any closer

to the Grande Mothers surprise the entire club emptied out,
people who had been there since 2 PM
and physically moved 100 feet of cars
they actually picked them up and moved them off the road
waved the tour bus thru
put the cars back
and then they all filed back into the club

once soundcheck was done the Grande Old Men were surprised to hear every word of every tune sung in perfect English
it seems that ZAPPA music used to be purchased on the black market on inferior vinyl
i.e., it would only play a few times

the folks that spoke the best english would gather around with notepads at huge listening parties
and write the lyrics down,
comparing notes with the other folks with notepads to make sure they were right
and that is how they were able to sing every word in English

a young fan came up and talked to the guys after the show
stammering and crying
when asked, "how old are you?", he replied "19"
19!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
how do you know this music?
he responded, "My father"

and where is he??
he pointed to a group of people
and said, "that is my father, my mother, my uncle, my brother and my cousin"

and this was the audience for this music
played by these guys
transcending culture, and generations

their were tears and cheers
after the 3 hours, 4 encore performance
and the Grande Mothers Re:Invented hit the road
on to the next gig

as one fan wrote:
"It was just beautiful to be able to hear this music (from the front row, no less) played in the spirit in which it was originally conceived, by some of the guys who were originally involved. And though it wasn't a flawless performance, it had more balls and verve and energy (especially given that these guys are approaching geezerhood) than a lot of the newer music I've been hearing lately."

this is their first return trip back to Zagreb, Croatia
stay tuned ................

THAT'S ALL(FOR NOW) FOLKS