“This isn’t just another comeback, this is the reincarnation of the Mothers of Invention!”…”From Zappa’s 1960’s to late 70’s Mothers bands, the GrandMothers are touring the world and keeping Zappa’s music alive.”…” The GrandMothers of Invention are: Bunk Gardner (with the Mothers of Invention from 1966-1969) on tenor sax, EWI, flute, straight man, commentary Erik
“This isn’t just another comeback, this is the reincarnation of the Mothers of Invention!”…”From Zappa’s 1960’s to late 70’s Mothers bands, the GrandMothers are touring the world and keeping Zappa’s music alive.”…”
The GrandMothers of Invention are:
Bunk Gardner
(with the Mothers of Invention from 1966-1969)
on tenor sax, EWI, flute, straight man, commentary
Erik Klerks
(with the Mothers from 1966-1974)
on piano, keyboard synthesizers, electronics, gongage, magic, and vocals
Don Preston
(with the Mothers from 1966-1974)
on piano, keyboard synthesizers, electronics, gongage, magic, and vocals
along with
Christopher Garcia
(the only drummer/percussionist,vocalist to hold the drum chair since 2003 for the GMOI)
– drums, percussion, marimba, and vocals,
“Mad” Max Kutner
– electric guitar, what nots, pedals, hats and hair
The GrandMothers of Invention are the only Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention alumni who have been consistently performing the music of the maestro since 2003. From the classic “Freak Out”, “Absolutely Free”, “We’re Only In It For The Money”, “Uncle Meat”, and “Burnt Weeny Sandwich” – to – “Weasels Ripped My Flesh”, “Apostrophe”, “The Grand Wazoo”, “Overnite Sensation”, “Roxy & Elsewhere”, “Bongo Fury”, and “One Size Fits All” – they have performed on a very long list of classic Frank Zappa & the Mother’s of Invention’s albums, movies and other projects. (See their combined Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention discography and videography lists.)
MEDIA REVIEWS
“This isn’t just another comeback, this is the reincarnation of the Mothers of Invention!”…”From Zappa’s 1960’s to late 70’s Mothers bands, the GrandMothers are touring the world and keeping Zappa’s music alive.”…”The evening contained a lot of the contradictory eclectic, serious and circusy flavors of a Zappa show…the GrandMothers were able to go deeper into the material, rather than merely parroting Zappa’s notoriously tricky composed lines.” …”Who’s more original than Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention? Probably nobody, but the Grandmothers of Invention sure come close.”… “Since, they’ve been living, breathing and truly reincarnating Zappa’s eclectic and tricky musical scores, and doing more than just playing the same notes all over again.”…. “All that was missing was his hologram, which some fans shouted for. The entire band was tight, delivering a complex cacaphony of musical scales”….”The fact is, from the moment these guys started, to the point they ended, the music production emitting from the stage, was nothing short of awesome.”…
“What can I say, the band, simply kicked ass, bringing back Zappa songs enveloped in today’s technology, making it feel that Zappa, himself, was standing right in front of us.”…”The GrandMothers are significant in that they’re performing difficult compositions originally recorded by larger ensembles with just five instrumentalists, four of whom also sing.”… “The music was, as expected, wild and unrestricted, the musicians were absolutely incredible and the actual stage show was completely engaging.”…”Seeing the Grandmothers was an eye-opener for long-time Zappa fans and newbies alike. Zappa’s music lives in these men – not just through their impeccable musical abilities, but in their chemistry, stage presence and genuine love for the music.”…”The Grandmothers are indeed ‘not from this planet.’ They are better than that. They reminded us that this, the music of the ages, manifests in a performance without tapes, without lip synching, without pretense. And when it comes down to it, fun is the name of the game. You could see how much fun these guys were having on stage, how much they loved this. “
“The Mothers of Invention”, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Roy Estrada, Bunk Gardner, and Don Preston were
invited to perform the music of Frank Zappa at the Gewendhaus in Leipzig, Germany. It would be the first time
that these esteemed “Mothers of Invention” alumni would be getting together to rehearse and perform classic
Frank Zappa material.
Finally, on March 27th 2003, after 6 months of intensive rehearsals, The GrandMothers of Invention took the
stage to a standing room only audience in Leipzig, Germany. This event was recorded, filmed, and released
by Warner Classics in Europe, and has been broadcast and re-broadcast repeatedly on European television.
Due to the overwhelming demand since then, they have performed more than 400 concert events across America, Canada and Europe, including performances in: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales. Each performance providing indisputable proof that
“THEY CAN (AND DO) STILL DO THAT ON STAGE!”
The list of dates at clubs, concert halls and festivals is long, and includes headlining the Frankfurt Jazz Festival, the Zappanalle Festival, the Vancouver Folk Fest, performing classic Frank Zappa material with
the Bergen Filharmonik Orkester in Bergen Norway, performing the orchestral music of Frank Zappa under
the baton of Kristan Jarvi, the Ottawa Blues Fest, the Winnipeg Folk Fest, the Sarajevo Jazz Festival, the Winnipeg Jazz Festival, the Vancouver Jazz Festival, the Syracuse Jazz Festival and performing classic Frank Zappa material with string orchestra (the Trondheim Soloists) at the Trondheim Jazz Festival in Norway.
FAN SPEAK
“It was INCREDIBLE! …..this just blew my mind (I was at a loss for words during the intermission).
One thing I really appreciated was that these Mothers really went out there and experimented onstage,
in true Zappa fashion. “
“UN-BELIEVABLE, they played Frank’s music right.” …”I felt like crying the whole time.”
“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.”
“One of the top ten shows in my life – they played for a good three hours, SUPERMEN all – the lot of them.”
“Amazing… the vibe was just so much more a Zappa show…
The guitar solos were monstrously beautiful, and the drumming was interstellar! “
“You fellas look as marvelous as the music you make.”
“Fantastic show and our kids are very happy that they got autographs”
“Thank you for being so nice and awesome and see you next time! We love You!!”
“It is always so different but always so great.”
“You guys still still play this wonderful music of Frank with so much enthusiasm
and fun. Cheers”
“Don is still ‘magic’ after all the years.”
“Great show last Night it was a pleasure to see how much Fun you guys had”
“As long you guys keep on playing I will be there!”
“We Fans have to thank you for carrying the Zappalympic Light on and giving us a wonderful time”
“You guys were FANTASTIC, THANK YOU!”
“You guys rocked the house totally. Please come again…”
“Thanks for the Zappa Fix !”
“Eternally grateful for the music…”
LINE UP:
BUNK GARDNER: SAX,FLUTE,EWI, VOCALS
DON PRESTON: KEYS, VOCALS
DAVID PARLATO: BASS, VOCALS
CHRISTOPHER GARCIA: DRUMS, VOCALS
MAX KUTNER: GUITAR, VOCALS
