Zappa Vs Zappa Battle Heats Up

(Prog) Dweezil Zappa has hit back after his brother, Frank Zappa Trust executor Ahmet posted an open letter disputing the guitarist's claims that he was forced to change the name of his Zappa tribute show and pay $150,000 each time he played one of his father's songs.

Branding Dweezil's story that he was forced to change the name of his Zappa Plays Zappa show to Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa as "incomplete and misleading," Ahmet points out that Dweezil only has to pay a $1-a-year fee to using the original show name and "follow the exact same rules as the rest of us."

But Dweezil has issued a statement of his own suggesting his brother's "actions speak louder than words," accusing him of "contradictions and unsubstantiated half truths." He also launches a tirade against the "bogus" contract, alleging their late mother Gail created an "unfair and unacceptable working relationship" by reneging on their deal and withholding merchandise profits from his shows over the last 10 years.

Dweezil also claims their late mother, who managed Zappa's estate until she died last year, left a "legacy of multi-million dollar debt-inducing lawsuits" in a bid to trademark everything connected to the late rock icon. He says Ahmet is "continuing the injustice" by not honoring the original contract. Read more here.