Project/Object

Project/Object is a good name for a Frank Zappa tribute band — apparently, Zappa’s estate does indeed object to two of Zappa’s vocalists roaming the land, playing a representative cross section of his uniquely diverse output. The group takes its mandate from a reported deathbed request from Frank that anybody and everybody play his music. And the bottomless catalog deserves to be heard.

Backed by younger Zappa enthusiasts, Ike Willis and Napoleon Murphy Brock are the two connections to Zappa’s actual band, a shifting ensemble that swung from doo-wop to disco to bent jazz, much of it so complex that Zappa often put down his guitar to conduct the group. Saxophonist Brock sang on early classics like One Size Fits All and tag-teamed with Willis for much of Zappa’s late-’70s/early ’80s golden period. Singer-guitarist Willis sang the hilarious opus Joe’s Garage while occasionally covering tunes such as “I Am the Walrus” and “Stairway to Heaven.” Project/Object set lists range from the semiconventional jazz of Hot Rats to social satire with rippin’ solos like “I’m the Slime.” And chances are good they’ll break out “Let’s Move to Cleveland.”

This article appears in Oct 6-12, 2004.