by Alex Lloyd Gross
June 21, 2022
The Frank Zappa band is scheduled to play the Ardmore Music Hall tomorrow night, June 22, 2022. The Zappa Band’s lineup features Zappa alumni Ray White (lead vocals, guitar), Mike Keneally (guitar, keys, vocals), Scott Thunes (bassist) and Robert Martin (keyboards, sax, vocals), and ZPZ alums Jamie Kime (guitar) and ZAPPA archivist Joe “Vaultmeister” Travers (drums, vocals). Each musician played in the studio and on the road with Zappa during his career, while three of these alums played on ‘ZAPPA 88: The Last U.S. Show,’ one of the most recent offerings from Zappa Records & Universal Music. The Zappa alums are joined by Joe Travers and Jamie Kime, who are no strangers to Zappa’s music, to round out the ensemble.
“We’re playing my old stomping grounds,” said keyboardist Robert Martin. “I was born and raised in west Philly and when I was five, we moved to the suburbs, I played several venues in the area like the Mann Center and to be honest with you I don’t know if I’ve ever played the Ardmore Music Hall before,” he said.
They got back together and toured in 2019 for the hologram tour. “Some liked the idea and some hated the idea,”Martin said, about that tour. They then just started to play the music without the hologram. “We cover the gamut ( of Frank’s career), in fact, we play stuff you won’t hear anywhere, because we have access to those resources . We found somethings in the archives that have never been performed or recorded and we’ve done some world premieres of Zappa stuff that’s never been heard before,” Martin said.
When he was touring with Zappa there were certain venues and places Martin remembers more than others. “I remember the Palladium on Halloween and i remember the Tower Theater in Philly . Even in Europe there are many iconic venues we have played and will continue to play. Idf you intend to go or are thinking abut going , a few tickets remain. You can go here to get them. Showtime is 8:00 PM.