Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Zappa fest in Little Italy

Bust of onetime San Diegan Frank Zappa in Palermo, Sicily
Bust of onetime San Diegan Frank Zappa in Palermo, Sicily

“As teenagers, Frank Zappa and Lou Curtiss, owner of Folk Arts Rare Records, would scour local bargain bins for eclectic albums that would define their unique musical perspectives,” says Tom Cesarini, executive director at the Convivio Center. The Little Italy venue is hosting multiple Zappa-related events during this year’s Sicilian Festival, including the U.S. premiere of Sicilian filmmaker Salvo Cuccia’s documentary Summer of ’82: When Zappa Came to Sicily (screening Saturday, May 17) and a tribute set performed by sometime-Skelpin Tim Foley and the Random Folk (May 18).

Sponsored
Sponsored

“Lou Curtiss has been invited to the screening,” says Cesarini. “He has fascinating stories to share about Zappa and their experiences as teens coming of age in San Diego.”

It was early 1954 when the Zappas moved to San Diego, where 13-year-old Frank began buying the used records that would later inspire him, at stores downtown and in La Mesa. He briefly attended Grossmont High as a freshman and then spent his sophomore year at Mission Bay High, drumming for the school band the Ramblers (who reportedly fired him for using too much cymbal). After his high school band director turned him on to Anton Webern and 12-tone music, which highly influenced his subsequent musical output, Zappa moved with his family to Lancaster, California, in 1955. Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention first played San Diego in May of 1966, at a club called Jazzville, opening for Little Richard. Years later, local guitarist Mike Keneally played in the Zappa band for a lengthy spell.

Past Event

Summer of ’82: When Zappa Came to Sicily

  • Saturday, May 17, 2014, 7 p.m.
  • Convivio, 2157 India Street, San Diego
  • Free - $5

For the Summer of ’82 screening, “Convivio Society would like to invite San Diegans to come forward with stories, photos, and memorabilia that tell the story of Frank Zappa’s sojourn in San Diego, as well as the fascinating aspects of his musical career,” says Cesarini. The film documents Zappa’s trip to the Sicilian capitol of Palermo, where his family lived before moving to America, to perform the final date of his 1982 European tour, though the show ended when patrons caused what was later characterized as a “riot.”

The documentary presents multiple viewpoints, including that of filmmaker Cuccia, who attended the concert with his father, and those of Zappa’s family, including wife Gail and children Dweezil, Moon, and Diva. In addition to the screening, Tim Foley and the Random Folk will pay tribute to Zappa’s signature musicality on Sunday, May 18, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on the Festival’s Cedar Street stage.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Was Reddit ghost sighter hired by Hotel del Coronado?

Parking 1/2 mile away and complaints of vandalism
Next Article

Was Reddit ghost sighter hired by Hotel del Coronado?

Parking 1/2 mile away and complaints of vandalism
Bust of onetime San Diegan Frank Zappa in Palermo, Sicily
Bust of onetime San Diegan Frank Zappa in Palermo, Sicily

“As teenagers, Frank Zappa and Lou Curtiss, owner of Folk Arts Rare Records, would scour local bargain bins for eclectic albums that would define their unique musical perspectives,” says Tom Cesarini, executive director at the Convivio Center. The Little Italy venue is hosting multiple Zappa-related events during this year’s Sicilian Festival, including the U.S. premiere of Sicilian filmmaker Salvo Cuccia’s documentary Summer of ’82: When Zappa Came to Sicily (screening Saturday, May 17) and a tribute set performed by sometime-Skelpin Tim Foley and the Random Folk (May 18).

Sponsored
Sponsored

“Lou Curtiss has been invited to the screening,” says Cesarini. “He has fascinating stories to share about Zappa and their experiences as teens coming of age in San Diego.”

It was early 1954 when the Zappas moved to San Diego, where 13-year-old Frank began buying the used records that would later inspire him, at stores downtown and in La Mesa. He briefly attended Grossmont High as a freshman and then spent his sophomore year at Mission Bay High, drumming for the school band the Ramblers (who reportedly fired him for using too much cymbal). After his high school band director turned him on to Anton Webern and 12-tone music, which highly influenced his subsequent musical output, Zappa moved with his family to Lancaster, California, in 1955. Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention first played San Diego in May of 1966, at a club called Jazzville, opening for Little Richard. Years later, local guitarist Mike Keneally played in the Zappa band for a lengthy spell.

Past Event

Summer of ’82: When Zappa Came to Sicily

  • Saturday, May 17, 2014, 7 p.m.
  • Convivio, 2157 India Street, San Diego
  • Free - $5

For the Summer of ’82 screening, “Convivio Society would like to invite San Diegans to come forward with stories, photos, and memorabilia that tell the story of Frank Zappa’s sojourn in San Diego, as well as the fascinating aspects of his musical career,” says Cesarini. The film documents Zappa’s trip to the Sicilian capitol of Palermo, where his family lived before moving to America, to perform the final date of his 1982 European tour, though the show ended when patrons caused what was later characterized as a “riot.”

The documentary presents multiple viewpoints, including that of filmmaker Cuccia, who attended the concert with his father, and those of Zappa’s family, including wife Gail and children Dweezil, Moon, and Diva. In addition to the screening, Tim Foley and the Random Folk will pay tribute to Zappa’s signature musicality on Sunday, May 18, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on the Festival’s Cedar Street stage.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

"Christmas Berry" is decorating our landscape, Longest meteor shower of the year

Full "cold moon," extremely high tides
Next Article

Time’s up for Doubletime Recording Studio

Owner Jeff Forrest is trading El Cajon for Portugal
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader