Hello, music lovers! 

Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. 

I’m your host, Jeff Miers.

Today, I’m beyond thrilled to welcome a longtime musical hero of mine, the guitarist, bandleader and songwriter Dweezil Zappa.

Growing up with the late composer and guitarist supreme Frank Zappa as a father meant that Dweezil was exposed to some of the bravest and most adventurous music of the 20th century on a daily basis, from a very young age. 

At 12, a random phone call to the Zappa home led to Dweezil meeting his hero, Edward Van Halen, and to the formation of a friendship that would last until the effortlessly brilliant guitarist, keyboardist and composer passed away, in October of 2020. During that time, Edward produced Dweezil’s earliest forays into the professional music world, and remained a friend and mentor. 

Dweezil is currently in the midst of his RoxPostrophy tour, which finds him celebrating a seminal era in his late father’s canon of work - the early 1970s, when Frank Zappa release both the Apostrophe and Roxy & Elsewhere albums. The tour arrives in Buffalo for a performance at Kleinhans Music Hall, on Thursday, April 29. (Tickets and VIP packages are available now, through DweezilZappa.com.) 

During our conversation, I asked Dweezil about this particularly rich period in his father’s life and work; about just why Van Halen continues to matter to him and so many of us; about his brilliant, authoritative Van Halen podcast, Runnin’ With the Dweezil; and about the difficulties of releasing and touring  behind ambitious, complex music in the streaming-centric world of the early 21st century. 

Welcome to Why Music Matters, Dweezil Zappa…