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The Latest Breaking News from Frank Zappa

“The fact that he managed to mix the political with the comical and the absurd, without comprising his output, is a big influence”: Frank Zappa is Serj Tankian’s prog hero

System Of A Down vocalist hails the Mothers Of Invention leader for more than just his ambitious approach to making music

Louder

“It was just another riff, like Into The Fire. We didn’t make a big deal out of it and it wasn’t being considered as a track for the album": Ian Gillan on the unlikely success story of writing and recording Deep Purple's Smoke On The Water

"The downdraft from the mountains caused the smoke to blow across Lake Geneva, like a film set or dry ice on a stage show. At this point, Roger wrote the words ‘smoke on the water’ on a napkin”

MusicRadar

‘We wanted to invade media’: the hippies, nerds and Hollywood pros who brought The Simpsons to life

The Simpsons’ roots run deep. And as Matt Groening’s early collaborators explain, it owes its global success to a perfect storm of punk zine attitude and TV professionalism

The Guardian - UK

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Tangerine Dream's Phaedra at 50 is on the cover of the new issue of Prog, on sale now!

Plus Chester Thompson, Big Big Train, Stackridge, Bill Nelson, The Pineapple Thief, Damian Wilson & Adam Wakeman and loads more...

Louder

“There was an amazing synergy. The longest single session was 72 hours. We fed the engineer speed pills… we’d scramble to write lyrics then pluck vocal harmonies out of the air”: How Nektar’s ambition and effort gave the world Remember The Future

The Bluebird character was invented at the same time by different creatives, a technical issue nearly killed off the recorded musical energy – and drugs fuelled almost every aspect of the production. But the resulting environment-themed epic was worth all the hard graft

Louder

"Epitomising the blend of prog-rock chops, pop sensibility and Zappa-influenced weirdness that was Max's secret formula": Max Webster's High Class In Borrowed Shoes

High Class In Borrowed Shoes is the second album by extravagantly dressed Canadian rock eccentrics and Rush buddies Max Webster

Louder

“The band thought I was dead. My neck was bent like it was broken”: the time Frank Zappa was severely injured after being pushed offstage by a fan

Frank Zappa survived being assaulted onstage by a fan in London in 1971 – but he was left with lifelong pain

Louder

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Chester Thompson: 10 albums that define my career - "The funny part is, I actually taught Phil Collins the In The Air Tonight drum fill"

From Abe Laboriel to Zappa, Chester Thompson shares some of his career highlights following the release of his new solo album, Wake Up Call

MusicRadar

“They said, ‘We did a little thing for you, but we don’t know if it will make the album. I said, ‘You’re crazy – this is the single!’” the epic life of ‘Funky’ Claude Nobs, the man who inspired Deep Purple’s Smoke On The Water

Claude Nobs was the man who co-founded the Montreux Jazz Festival – and crossed paths with Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa and Deep Purple

Louder

“I never have boundaries regarding the gear I use – my rule is simply to follow my ears”: Dirty Sound Magnet sound like Hendrix meets the Doors by way of Zappa – Stavros Dzodzos explains how analog adventurism fuels their psychedelic sound

Dirty Sound Magnet have the sound of a band trying to shake loose reality. Guitarist/vocalist Dzodzos shares his analog-forward tone approach

Guitar World

"Every time we finished a rehearsal, I felt that my brain was sweating": former Genesis/Weather Report drummer Chester Thompson on why playing with Frank Zappa was the best education he ever received

Playing with Frank Zappa could be a challenging experience, as legendary drummer Chester Thompson discovered

Louder

"Like a heavier Styx or a lighter Uriah Heep, but dressed like the Bee Gees": Angel by Angel - Album Of The Week Club review

Discovered by Gene Simmons and sold as a more wholesome alternative to Kiss, Angel's stage show was equally theatrical, but their music was a mix of pomp and prog

Louder

“Talkback microphones go to our in-ear monitors and our lighting guy… It messes with the audience’s minds. ‘If they improvised that, how did the lights know when to change?’” How Umphrey’s McGee keep their shows rolling

Lessons learned from Frank Zappa and always-on personal connections mean they avoid the pitfalls that can kill jam band performances

Louder

“When I listen to Sheik Yerbouti and Joe’s Garage, it reminds me of what a giant he was." Frank Zappa's incredibly busy and industrious 1979

Terry Bozzio and Adrian Belew look back on the year Frank Zappa created Baby Snakes, Sheik Yerbouti, Joe's Garage and more

Louder

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Louder

“He was incapable of saying anything fond about anyone or anything. Affection didn’t exist in his life, only weird sex”: how Frank Zappa survived the 70s

Throughout the 1970s, he hated the hippies, loved jazz as much as rock and played dumb with incredible technical prowess, making his music thrillingly unique

Guitar World

“A Whammy pedal might be sacrilege on a vintage National, but live, it’s really interesting!” Troy Redfern may play slide guitar, but he doesn’t want to sound like Derek Trucks – and his bold solo approach blazes a new blues trail

There's already a lot of hype about the British blues maestro's new Kickstarter-funded album. Redfern checks in to share his unconventional gear pairings, and how his solos are informed by Frank Zappa's musical philosophy

Louder

"Undeniably brilliant but unlistenable": Pawn Hearts by Van der Graaf Generator - Album Of The Week Club review

Van der Graaf Generator's fourth album Pawn Hearts sums up all that is glorious and bewildering about the band: unconventional vocals, confrontational music, and the unruly spectre of jazz

Louder

When audience members attack: Six times a rock star was injured by someone in the crowd

Musicians should always feel safe onstage: sometimes, they're clearly not - and people need to stop throwing stuff

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Louder

“He may be lauded by some as a genius, but without this team’s heavy lifting, these pieces might fail”: Frank Zappa’s Over-Nite Sensation 50th Anniversary Edition

Five-disc, 88-track set proves his music lasts - even if many of his lyrics don’t

Louder

“We set up outside Frank Zappa’s bedroom door and played so loud the pictures on the wall ended up crooked. I thought he’d shoot us”: the forgotten psychedelic beginnings of Alice Cooper

How five psychedelic freaks from Detroit became rock’n’roll’s first great bogeymen – this is the story of Alice Cooper’s early years

Guitar World

“I’ve never considered myself a guitarist, and I’ve never liked the guitar”: Omar Rodríguez-López is one of electric guitar’s most reluctant heroes – here are his 10 greatest Mars Volta guitar moments

The last thing Omar Rodríguez-López wants is to be called a guitar hero, but sorry Omar, it’s true – and here are 10 reasons why...

Guitar World

“Steve Vai tried to school me on string bending, but you just don't do that on bass!” Pete Griffin reflects on his time with Steve Vai, and his latest solo EP

The seasoned sideman compares notes on Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt, Zakk Wylde and Dweezil Zappa

Louder

“People thought the Beatles were God. That's not correct”: the genius of Frank Zappa, the rock’n’roll icon who had no time for rock’n’roll

Musical genius, rock’n’roll outsider, sexual obsessive, the ‘original shock rocker’ – this is the epic story of how Frank Zappa became Frank Zappa

Metal Hammer

Ten songs that fought back against the PMRC

In 80s America, the Parents Music Resource Center sought to censor music by imposing a series of draconian rules. Here’s how a group of rock, metal and punk bands fought back

Guitar World

“I’ve always had a knack for emulating sounds or creating new ones”: Adrian Belew on the weird, wonderful and utterly unique tones behind his new solo album, Elevator

The former Frank Zappa and King Crimson guitarist keeps putting his decades-old knack for sonic invention to good use

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