Frank Zappa | Guitar World

Frank Zappa: ”I think my playing is probably more derived from folk music – Middle Eastern music, Indian music, stuff like that”

By Guitarist editors

The guitarist, composer and trailblazer opens up on first guitars, primary influences and the search for better gear

Steve Vai reflects on working with Frank Zappa: "If you didn’t have the goods, you didn’t last. Frank expected everybody to rise to the occasion"

By Guitarist editors

The virtuoso details his 'stunt guitar' days spent playing, transcribing and recording the most difficult compositions in Frank Zappa's oeuvre

Mike Keneally on working with Frank Zappa: “My mind was being blown on a daily basis”

By Guitarist editors

The guitarist details how his stint with Frank Zappa's band in the late '80s was his “first professional music experience of any kind”

Alex Winter takes us behind the scenes of his extensive Frank Zappa documentary, Zappa

By Guitarist editors

Wading through Zappa's exhaustive audio/video archive, Winter puts together a portrait of a visionary guitarist and artist at work

Weezer fan the flames of rock 'n' roll in Australian Guitar #143, out today

By Australian Guitar

Now this is one fiery new issue!

Frank Zappa's last ever US show set for release as a live album

By Sam Roche

Listen to I Ain't Got No Heart, from Zappa's performance at New York's Nassau Coliseum in 1988

Frank Zappa once told Steve Vai his guitar tone sounded “like an electric ham sandwich”

By Sam Roche

“I said, ‘Why? I've got the Strat, I've got the Marshall...” Vai recalls

Frank Zappa performs on stage at Ahoy on 15th May 1982 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The life and times of Frank Zappa – composer, satirist and towering giant of the electric guitar

By Alan di Perna

Looking back at the career of the one-of-a-kind musician and guitar visionary

Watch the official trailer for Zappa, the first all-access documentary on Frank Zappa’s life and career

By Richard Bienstock

The new film was directed by Bill & Ted star Alex Winter, and features Steve Vai and Mike Keneally

Inside Dweezil Zappa's mission impossible: performing his father's Hot Rats album live

By Henry Yates

A half-century after the album’s original release, Zappa embarked on the ultimate labour of love when his Zappa Plays Zappa project planned to tour Hot Rats

Get a comprehensive look at Frank Zappa's guitars, amps, effects and more in a new book, Zappa Gear

By Richard Bienstock

Zappa's diverse, often heavily modified collection is chronicled in more than 180 studio photos

'The Bizarre World of Frank Zappa' Hologram Tour Set for U.S. in April

By Richard Bienstock

Show will “celebrate the music, often surreal imagery and humor synonymous with Frank," promises Ahmet Zappa.

10 legendary shows from the Capitol Theatre

By Tom Gilbert

We celebrate Port Chester, N.Y.'s iconic theater with 10 unforgettable concerts from the venue's storied career.

Dweezil Zappa Teaches Frank Zappa's Improvisation Techniques and Riffs

By Christopher Scapelliti

Dweezil Zappa Dishes on Where to Start with Frank Zappa's Music

By Jackson Maxwell

Dweezil Zappa and Steve Vai Shred Frank Zappa's "Trouble Every Day"

By Damian Fanelli

Frank Zappa's Full Three-Night Stand at the Roxy Captured on New Box Set

By Jackson Maxwell

Adrian Belew Discusses Gizmodrome, Parker Guitars and Auditioning for Frank Zappa

By Damian Fanelli

That Time Frank Zappa Jammed with Pink Floyd

By Damian Fanelli

Watch Steve Vai Talk Riffs, Gear, Led Zeppelin on 'My Favorite Riff with Nikki Sixx'

By Guitar World Staff

Yesterday, former Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx sat down with Steve Vai to talk riffs, gear, Led Zeppelin and Frank Zappa on his show, My Favorite Riff with Nikki Sixx.