Napoleon Murphy Brock vocals, tenor saxophone, flute, suavenicity, and dancing
Don Preston keyboard synthesizers, electronics, IPOD, magic tricks, vocals
Dave Johnsen electric bass
Christopher Garcia drums, percussion, marimba, vocals
Max Kutner electric guitar, vocals
The Grandmother of Invention are the only Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention alumni consistently performing the music of The Maestro, since 2003.
They are the authentic live version of Zappa’s music. From the classic ‘Freak Out’, ‘Absolutely Free’, ‘We’re Only In It For The Money’, ‘Uncle Meat’ and ‘Burnt Weeny Sandwich’ to ‘Weasels Ripped My Flesh’, ‘Apostrophe’…. They have performed on a very long list of classic Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention’s albums, movies and other projects.
Rare are the musicians who can even play Zappa’s music, let alone make it live and breathe. THE The Grandmother of Invention are able to go deeper into the material, rather than merely parroting Zappa’s notoriously tricky composed lines – as many do. This truly is the reincarnation of The Mothers of Invention. With three different Zappa eras represented, The Grandmother of Invention have a wide palette of material to choose from .
They serve up vintage psychedelia – rock songs with surreal lyrics, jazz-like harmonies and melodic complexity, with flashes of wacky satire. They are amazing virtuoso musicians, fun and funny.