Zappanale

infobox music festival
music_festival_name = Zappanale


location = Bad Doberan, Germany
years_active= 1989 – present
founders = Arf-Society
dates = Weekend in August
genre = Rock, Jazz, Frank Zappa
website = [http://www.zappanale.de zappanale.de]

Zappanale is an annual music festival held outside Bad Doberan, a German town previously part of East Germany. The festival was first held in 1990, and the program features various bands performing the music of the late composer and guitarist Frank Zappa. Many musicians that have previously played with Zappa have performed at the festival over the years.

Background

Many of the festival's organizers originate from East Germany, and grew up in a period where Zappa's music was considered unacceptable by several Eastern European communist countries. [citation
last= Cravens
first= Craig
title= Culture and Customs of the Czech Republic and Slovakia
publisher= Greenwood Publishing Group
place = Westport, CT
date = 2006
page =136
id = ISBN 0-313-33412-9

] One of the festival's founders, Wolfhard Kutz, was persecuted by the East German secret police, the Stasi, for being a Zappa fan. When all Stasi files were declassified by the German government in 1992, [citation
title = Settling Accounts with a Secret Police: The German Law on the Stasi Records
last = Miller
first = John
journal = Europe-Asia Studies
volume = 50
pages = pp. 305–330
date = March, 1998
publisher = Taylor & Francis, Ltd.] Kutz learned that his file stated that he "knows how to influence the youth with Zappa". When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Kutz could openly enjoy his passion for Zappa's music, and he founded the fan club "Arf-society".citation | last = Connolly
first=Daniel | title=Frank Zappa Is the Toast of Small German Town | url= http://articles.latimes.com/2002/aug/09/entertainment/et-connolly9| publisher= Los Angeles Times| date= August 9, 2002. Retrieved on August 31, 2008] The festival premiered the year after, as what was just an extended party with only one band playing some Zappa songs. Since then, the Zappanale has grown, and more than 2,000 attend the festival in a weekend in August. The Arf Society became an officially registered organization in 1993. [citation | url =http://www.arf-society.de/indexx.html?html/statut_e.html| title =THE REAL ARF-SOCIETY HOMEPAGE|publisher= arf-society.de. Retrieved on August 31, 2008]

In 2002, the organizers helped raise money to have Czech sculptor Vaclav Cesak make a bronze bust of Zappa, which is now placed in the centre of Bad Doberan. [citation| url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/this-europe-east-german-resort-pays-tribute-to-zappa-the-rock-hero-who-helped-end-communism-639909.html|title=This Europe: East German resort pays tribute to Zappa, the rock hero who helped end Communism|last= Paterson |first= Tony | date= August 15, 2002 | publisher=The Independent. Retrieved on August 28, 2008]

Legal controversies

In November 2007, the festival was sued by the heirs of Frank Zappa for use of the Zappa name and image without permission. [citation | url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,546288,00.html |title=MOTHER OF INTERVENTION – Zappa Festival Defends Itself from ... Zappa| last= Hawley | first= Charles | date= April 9, 2008 | publisher=Spiegel Online International. Retrieved on August 28, 2008] Court hearings were held in Düsseldorf in August, 2008, and the involved parties were given time to reach an out-of-court settlement.citation | url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,573478,00.html|title=Zappa v. Bach: The Legal Battle for Rock Legacy| last= Knauer | first= Sebastian | date= August 21, 2008 | publisher=Spiegel Online International . Retrieved on August 28, 2008]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.zappanale.de/ Official site]