Zappa Plays Zappa

Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa
Zappa Plays Zappa, North Sea Jazz Festival, Ahoy, Rotterdam, 2008.
Background information
Also known as	Zappa Plays Zappa (2006-2016)
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Rock, experimental rock, jazz-rock
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Razor & Tie
Website	zappaplayszappa.com
Members	Dweezil Zappa Scheila Gonzalez Ryan Brown Ben Thomas Chris Norton Kurt Morgan
Past members	Aaron Arntz Pete Griffin Billy Hulting Jamie Kime Joe Travers

Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa (formerly known as Zappa Plays Zappa) is an American tribute act led by Dweezil Zappa, the eldest son of late American composer and musician Frank Zappa, devoted to performing the music of Frank Zappa.

The band debuted in 2006 with shows in Europe, Canada, and the United States during May and June (the tour was also known as Zappa Plays Zappa: Tour de Frank'). The shows presented a collection of Frank Zappa's rock-oriented compositions from the 1960s to the late 1970s. Apart from Dweezil Zappa on lead guitar, many of the band members previously played with Frank Zappa. Among those, Napoleon Murphy Brock (sax, flute, and vocals) was an integral part of the band, while drummer/vocalist Terry Bozzio and guitarist Steve Vai performed as guests in parts of the shows. At several shows the live band played along with audio and video recordings of Frank Zappa himself, notably portions of "Chunga's Revenge", "Dumb All Over", "Cosmik Debris", and "Muffin Man".

After a break, the band played again in the U.S. during the fall of 2006, including a show in New York on October 31. This revived Frank Zappa's tradition of playing Halloween shows in New York. A DVD documenting the 2006 tour was released in early 2008.

In July and August 2007, the band played a North American tour, with a core lineup similar to that of the 2006 band. The band then played in Europe during September and October before returning to the US, starting with another Halloween show in New York. Special guest on the tour was vocalist and guitarist Ray White, a Zappa stalwart performer in the 1970s and early 1980s. They ended the 2007 tour in Australia in early December before doing a handful of shows in Japan in January 2008. Steve Vai returned as a guest on those shows. A brief tour of U.S. and Canadian dates was then scheduled for the Summer of 2008 with the same lineup as the 2007 tour.

At the 51st Grammy Awards in February 2009, Zappa Plays Zappa won Best Rock Instrumental Performance for their performance of the Frank Zappa instrumental classic "Peaches en Regalia".