FRANK ZAPPA’s hologram is going on tour later this year

06 February 2018
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We may have dodged a Prince hologram, but plans are still underway for a digital resurrection of Frank Zappa. Last year it was revealed that the Zappa Family Trust had partnered with production company EyeIlusion for a series of live concerts starring the Zappa hologram.

 
More details have now been revealed: 'The Bizarre World of Frank Zappa' will commence in late 2018. Longtime Zappa players including Ray White, Mike Keneally, Scott Thunes, Robert Martin, and Joe “Vaultmeister” Travers make up the show’s touring lineup; they will be joined along the way by Steve Vai, Warren Cuccurullo, Ian Underwood, Vinnie Colaiuta, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Arthur Barrow, Ed Mann, and more.
 
Hours of never-before-seen Zappa performance footage from the early seventies will form the basis of concert. This footage, locked away in the Zappa vaults for 44 years, will be juxtaposed with “outrageous visuals that offer a striking view into his complex musical works.”
 
Zappa’s son, Ahmet, serves as the co-trustee of the Zappa Family Trust as well as the EVP of business development for Eyellusion. He said in a statement:
 
As a futurist, and hologram enthusiast, Frank fearlessly broke through boundary after boundary as an artist and in honoring his indomitable spirit we’re about to do it again, 25 years after his passing. This mind-melting show we’re putting together celebrates the music, often surreal imagery and humor synonymous with Frank. We will be pushing the limits of what anyone has seen holographically on stage before in a live venue. Circumstances, objects, places and subject matter from Frank’s songs and imagination will be brought to life for the first time on stage. We are anthropomorphizing Frank’s music, so his own hand drawn illustrations, classic imagery from his album artwork and characters from his songs can all interact and perform on stage. And let’s not forget, Frank himself will be rocking his fans, alongside his bandmates like nobody’s business. My father and I actively discussed 3D and ‘holography’ and it was a concept he actively engaged in. He actually devoted half a chapter of The Real Frank Zappa Book (1990) to this subject. This is a love letter and a journey celebrating the genius artistry of Frank Zappa. On a personal note, I feel like I am finishing something my father started years ago.
 
Eyellusion previously staged a world tour featuring a holographic Ronnie James Dio.
Source: consequenceofsound.net