Banned From Utopia 


Ray White - vocals, guitar       Photo Credit Haluk.Gurer                                

One of the most powerful and distinctive voices that ever graced a Zappa vocal, Ray White.

Ray White’s distinctive, powerful voice was first heard interpreting Zappa’s music in 1976. From that beginning, he became an integral member of Frank’s band through 1984, and can be seen on the DVD recorded the summer of that year in New York, “Does Humor Belong In Music?” A former member of the Edwin Hawkins Singers gospel group, he also brings a solid R&B guitar style to the blend, both as a rhythm player and as a soloist. Looking towards future creative endeavors with Banned From Utopia, Ray is also a gifted writer and lyricist  

 

   Robert Martin - vocals, keyboards, saxophone, French horn    Photo Credit The Blues Garagerobert Bobby Martin

Keyboards, horns, and of course, the voice that always made Frank smile, Robert Martin brings it all.

Robert (Bobby) Martin joined Frank Zappa in 1981 and sang and played various instruments on every tour from then on, through the final tour in 1988. In addition to the diverse sonic palette Robert brought to the band with his multi-instrumental skills, Zappa relied heavily on Robert’s unique vocal power and range to enhance the variety of musical styles Frank explored in all his performances. In any moment, Frank might switch from heavy metal to classic Doo Wop, or anything in between, and Robert would be right there..

 

   Chad Wackerman- drums              

A phenomenally skilled jazz and rock drummer, Chad’s professional career began in 1978 with the Bill Watrous Refuge West Big Band. Since then he has amassed a remarkable body of work including a seven year association with Frank Zappa, with whom he toured the USA and Europe and recorded 27 albums including the London Symphony recordings.

He has also recorded 8 albums and toured with guitar legend Allan Holdsworth, played on the ‘One Voice’ album and video with Barbra Streisand, and recorded albums and toured with artists as diverse as James Taylor, Steve Vai, Andy Summers, Steven Wilson, Men At Work, Ed Mann, Albert Lee, Colin Hay, Dweezil Zappa, Pasqua/Holdsworth/Haslip/Wackerman Group, Terry Bozzio, Carl Verheyen, David Garfield,John Patitucci, Jennifer Batten, Joe Sample, Robbie Kreiger, Banned From Utopia and The World Drummers Ensemble (Bill Bruford, Luis Conte, Dou Dou Ndiaye Rose and Chad Wackerman) .As a band leader and composer Chad has five critically acclaimed CDs: ‘Forty Reasons’, ‘The View’, ‘Scream’, ‘Legs Eleven’ and his latest release, ‘Dreams Nightmares and Improvisations’. Chad has written music for the television show ‘The Dennis Miller Show’, as well as composing music for Allan Holdsworth’s ‘Secrets’, ‘Wardenclyffe Tower’ and ‘Sixteen Men of Tain’ CDs. His trio has a performance DVD, ‘Hits Live’.

In 2014, Chad was voted #21 in Rolling Stone magazine’s readers poll for the ‘Best Drummer of All Time’ category. Chad’s drumming combines the power and conviction of rock with the sensitivity and finesse of jazz. His playing is remarkably free of predictable patterns and licks, relying instead on invention and interplay with the musicians around him.

 

    Scott Thunes- guitar, vocals                      

Scott Thunes played with Zappa's band from 1981 to 1988, and plays on such albums as The Man From Utopia, Them or Us, Broadway the Hard Way, You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Does Humor Belong In Music?, The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life, Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention, Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch, Make a Jazz Noise Here, and Guitar, a double-album compilation of Zappa's live guitar solos.

His most prominent bass performance can be heard on Frank Zappa's Valley Girl, which peaked at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100. He played bass on Frank Zappa's Jazz from Hell, which won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1988.

More recently, he is touring on bass as part of ongoing The Zappa Band tribute group, made up of ex-Zappa band alumni Ray White (lead vocals, guitar), Mike Keneally (guitar, keys, vocals), Robert 'Bobby' Martin (keyboards, sax, vocals), and Zappa Plays Zappa alums Jamie Kime (guitar) and ZAPPA archivist Joe “Vaultmeister” Travers (drums, vocals). In 2021, The Zappa Band tribute group opened for King Crimson multiple times.

 

   Robbie Mangano - guitar, vocals        Photo Credit Haluk.Gurer 

At age 17, Robbie Mangano entered New York University. It was here that he discovered the whole filmography and robbie mangano banned from Utopiadiscography of Frank Zappa at the school library. In awe of the kind of genius Zappa was, he transcribed some of this music and became influenced to write more. Robbie began playing guitar in two bands with college friend, Carl Restivo. Not having any guitar equipment (only bass equipment).Robbie borrowed from his brother and from Carl to record and play gigs. Playing guitar was new and exciting to Robbie, as he felt lead guitar was the wildcard section of the band, now being free from keeping the whole band together on the bass, and free to let go and improvise on top of chords instead of influencing them from underneath.

While at NYU, Robbie experimented with Music Composition, Cello, Drums, Midi Technology, Film Scoring, Orchestration, Recording Technology, Atonal Music Theory, Metalsmithing, and Psychology, and took an internship and landed a freelance job and transcribed for Guitar World Magazine and Amsco Publications.

Directly after college, Robbie joined a Zappa Tribute band called Project/Object, playing bass and guitar with members of Frank Zappa's band, and embarked on his first tour and first overseas gigs through that ensemble. Soon after he would begin touring with more Zappa alumni in The Grandmothers Of Invention. Most recently he has toured with John Lennon’s son, Sean Lennon.

 

Jamie Kime- guitar  

Jamie Kime performed and recorded with Dweezil Zappa's Zappa Plays Zappa project from 2006 until 2012. More recently, he did a European tour with The Banned From Utopia. Everybody who has seen Jamie in concert will agree that he's a superb guitar player.

Earlier this year, Jamie Kime recorded his very first solo album: "Alleys". This time, he's showing that he's a fine composer as well.

For "Allyes", Jamie gathered a fine bunch of collegues. There's Mike Keneally (as co-writer and co-producer), but also former ZpZ's Pete Griffin and Billy Hulting.

 Jamie is a Los Angeles-based guitarist who’s been chasing the dream of living the dream for way too many years. IHe has done a lot of touring, some assorted sessions, played more gigs than he can count, and stood on some of the most hallowed and legendary stages around the globe.

 Some standout moments include gigs w/ The Boneshakers (feat. Texas blues/soul legend Malford Milligan), Jewel, the original lineup of a Zappa Plays Zappa - with whom I collected a Grammy Award in 2009, the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the World Premiere of Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels Orchestral Suites in 2013, and rock legend Dr. John. Additionally, my debut solo album, Alleys, was released in late 2014.

You can catch Jamie  with The Jamie Kime Group on the first Monday of every month at the world famous Baked Potato in Studio City, CA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
© 2013 to Present  Robert (Bobby) Martin, All Rights Reserve