Dweezil Zappa plans Cease and Desist tour amid family legal battle

Dweezil Zappa, the eldest son of legendary guitarist Frank Zappa, originally toured as Zappa Plays Zappa. He changed the moniker to Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa due to legal issues with the Zappa Family Trust.

Now, as another legal battle brews, Dweezil has announced his next tour will be titled: 50 Years of Frank: Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the Hell He Wants — The Cease and Desist Tour. (Frank Zappa and his band, The Mothers of Invention, dropped their debut album Freak Out! 50 years ago in 1966.)

“We are incorporating the absurdity,” Dweezil Zappa told The New York Times.

There has been a dispute over the Zappa Family Trust since matriarch Gail Zappa died in October. Dweezil Zappa initially moved away from the Zappa Plays Zappa name “under duress,” he told The Times. Ahmet penned an open letter arguing the family would allow him to continue using the moniker for a token fee of $1 per year to fulfill a legal requirement. Dweezil pushed back on that, claiming the trust owed outstanding him merchandise profits.

Dweezil Zappa begins his 13-stop tour July 1 at Taos Mesa Brewing in El Prado, New Mexico. Read more of the Zappas’ legal disputes at The Times.