What’s the holy grail of all Frank Zappa releases? Surely the release of a Roxy & Elsewhere DVD – originally announced about ten years ago – is one of the most anticipated releases by Zappa fans, but so far it hasn’t seen the light of day.
Over the years Gail Zappa has given some hints about the state of the project. Technical and budgetary issues are given as the main reasons why the release hasn’t materialised yet.
But here’s the good news. The Zappa Family Trust have issued a newsletter which includes the following slightly cryptic info:
“All of the footage has now been transferred on a best light basis into HD and all camera angles have been “synched” by eye and heart and hand and edit to the original Nagra tapes. We now need to identify all usable camera angles and begin the actual edit. Still, we have miles to go in order to bring the best of the possibilities to a screen near you. And we need your help.
We still have a few wrinkles but our irons are hot and the details of our plan for the next Official Release is bundled in a unique opportunity to participate in a special, social experiment designed to open lots of doors for all Artists and their fans everywhere. Participate and You’ll be First. First with your own copy of a Soundtrack to The Roxy Performances. First with your name credited in The Roxy Performances, The Movie. And there are more Firsts. Stay Tuned.”
The details are not clear yet, but it looks like Zappa fans will be treated to a new Roxy & Elsewhere audio release (the part about the “next official release” and “a soundtrack to the Roxy Performances”) and an option to participate in some crowd funded release of the mythical Roxy dvd.
As Gail would say: keep watching the skies!
