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Legendary Mothers of Invention Members Don Preston and Bunk Gardner to Tour East Coast

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Los Angeles, CA—Don Preston and Bunk Gardner, both original members of the the legendary Mothers of Invention with Frank Zappa, are gearing up to tour east coast once again with The Don & Bunk Show. The duo will be playing a full range of Zappa's music from Freak Out to Zoot Allures. The evening will be full of the zany antics, wild improvisations and strange electronic music the early Mothers were famous for, along with the expert mastery of their instruments. “We're doing this tour because I think Zappa fans need to come and hear how Zappa's music was performed by the originals," says Don Preston. “Hey people! We're still doing it!"

Bunk Gardner and Don Preston are featured on several albums with the original Mothers of Invention (along with various later compilations of unreleased material by Frank Zappa) which include Absolutely Free, We're Only In It For The Money, Cruising With Ruben & the Jets, Uncle Meat, Burnt Weeny Sandwich and Weasels Ripped My Flesh. Gardner also appeared on Zappa's first solo venture Lumpy Gravy, while Preston went on to appear on several albums after the break-up of the original Mothers, which include Fillmore East, June 1971, Just Another Band From L.A., Roxy & Elsewhere as well as the feature film 200 Motels.

The Don & Bunk Show started in 2001 with the duo wanting to show audiences their unique abilities that were revealed in Zappa's first band. Gardner and Preston have both been long known for their amazing inprovising abilities and interpretation of Zappa's music. They have recorded two CDs for Brain Records: Ahead Of Their Time and Joined At The Hip. Bunk has also recorded and/or performed with the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra, Geronimo Black, Tim Buckley, The 4 Winds Ensemble, ANT-BEE and many others. Don Preston has recorded/performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gil Evans, Carla Bley, The Residents and many others. He has also completed 23 film scores including Apocalypse Now. Don Preston was quite possibly the first person to add synthesis to live rock performances, taking Frank Zappas Mothers of Invention into uncharted musical territories over several tours and albums. Today, four decades after having built “analog synthesizers" from scratch before most people had heard of such things, Preston is a living legend and a pioneer who now tweaks synths on his Apple laptop. He has a new download only CD titled 'Colliding Galaxys' released on Norway's Zonic Entertainment.

The Don & Bunk show will be appearing on the following dates:

  • Feb 10 Thur—REGGIES—Chicago, IL
  • Feb 11 Fri.—Papa Petes—Kalamazoo, MI
  • Feb 12 Sat—Magic Bag—Ferndale, MI (Detroit)
  • Feb 13 Sun—Beachland Ballroom—Cleveland, OH
  • Feb 16 Wed—The Abilene—Rochester, NY
  • Feb 17 Thurs Bearsville—Woodstock, NY
  • Feb 18 Fri—The Rongovian Embassy—Trumansburg, NY
  • Feb 19 Sat—The Magic Room—Boston, MA
  • Feb 21 Mon—The Rotunda -Philadelphia, PA
  • Feb 22 Tues Mexicali Live Teaneck, NJ (special gig featuring Project Object, Ray White and Ike Willis)
  • Feb 25 Fri—The Funhouse—Bethlehem, PA
  • Feb 26 Sat- Orion—Baltimore, MD
  • Feb 27 Sun—Hard Rock Cafe—Pittsburgh, PA

Some of the songs the duo will be performing are: Uncle Meat, A Pound For A Brown On The Bus, Holiday In Berlin Full Blown, I Am The Slime, Duke Of Prunes, Eric Dolphy's Memorial Barbeque, Who Are The Brain Police and many other beloved Frank Zappa compositions.

A special date with Project Object is scheduled for Feb. 22, 2010 at the Mexicali Live in Teaneck, NJ, which will also feature Zappa alumni Ray White and Ike Willis!

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