From: ronmoses@gmail.com   
      
   (Posted to Facebook)   
      
   Ahmet Zappa   
   An Open Letter to My Brother   
   1 HOUR AGO · PUBLIC   
      
   Dweezil,   
      
   Strange to be writing this in public, but I don't know how else to respond.    
      
   After reading the article in The New York Times, I'm not sure how else to   
   reach you. If we talk through our lawyers, it's not because I want that. It's   
   because you've refused to talk any other way. I've been reaching out to you   
   for months. I even tried    
   to set up a family meeting so we could discuss all of our family issues, but   
   you repeatedly said you couldn't fit it into your schedule, and that you   
   weren't available to attend without your lawyers present.   
      
   Instead, you've given this incomplete, misleading story to the NYT and the   
   media, and invited the whole world to take sides about our family business.   
   Now, we're becoming "that family" - the spoiled brats arguing in public about   
   who deserves what.    
      
   I understand you're hurting and angry. We all are. But the more we fight about   
   this in the press, the worse it gets for all of us. We're not gaining anything   
   by doing this in public.   
      
   If you're not willing to talk to me, though, I don't know what else to do. The   
   New York Times has a story about a version of me that isn't based on facts or   
   reality, and I don't know how else to set the record straight - or get you to   
   talk to me - except    
   to write this here, where people can form opinions by reading what I said for   
   themselves.    
      
   If you want to share private facts and legal documents, we can do that too,   
   because honestly, we both know what'll happen: it will give everyone a   
   complete picture of what's happening. Not the distorted one that's out there   
   now, which makes it look like    
   this is about business crushing art, or me being a greedy asshole who wants to   
   take away your rights.    
      
   I don't know how else to start, so I'll just respond to a few things I've read:   
      
   1. The article claims that you're no longer allowed to perform under the name   
   Zappa Plays Zappa.   
      
   Not true, and we both know it. I have never asked you to pay hundreds of   
   thousands of dollars to use the ZPZ name. You've only been told that you can't   
   keep using the name without agreeing to a fee of $1 per year, which you're   
   fully aware of, but never    
   mentioned in your interviews. I'll come back to that in a second. But just so   
   everyone is clear:   
      
   Fact: You can absolutely keep touring under the name Zappa Plays Zappa.   
      
   You could do it tomorrow, and honestly, I hope you will. You're a fucking   
   guitar god and in my opinion one of the best guitar players in the world. You   
   do an amazing job playing our father's music with total integrity. Your tours   
   help keep Frank's name    
   alive, just like the work Gail and I have done through the ZFT.    
      
   This isn't about your tours, or art, or even about you. This is about the way   
   the Trust was set up ages ago: if any of us use the "Zappa Plays Zappa" name   
   for commercial purposes, a share of the profit goes back to the ZFT, to cover   
   the high costs    
   involved in maintaining the business and releasing more of Frank's content for   
   the fans. Period.   
      
   The point is: No one is stopping you from using the name, as long as you   
   follow the exact same rules as the rest of us.    
      
   And before anyone starts thinking that we're trying to screw you, let's talk   
   about fees again.   
      
   2. The article claims that if you perform without paying the ZFT an   
   "exorbitant fee," you'll be charged up to $150,000 for each song you play.   
      
   Again, not even close to true.   
      
   Honestly, this was the part that really hurt, because now a lot of Frank's   
   fans think I'm some greedy dude who's just in this for the money. Can't blame   
   them. It sounds like blackmail. Like I don't want you to be able to play   
   Frank's music. If I read    
   that article without knowing the rest of the facts, I'd think I was a greedy   
   asshole too.    
      
   It's just not true.   
      
   Personally, I don't think the fee Gail asked for was exorbitant. If you want,   
   we can share the exact terms with the public, instead of just asking them to   
   take our word for it. But even if the price was too high, it doesn't matter   
   anymore, because I didn'   
   t want it to be an issue for you. That's why I suggested a workaround.   
      
   So, if you're going to share family business with the whole world, I wish   
   you'd tell them the whole story:   
      
   Fact: The "exorbitant fee" you're now being asked to pay the ZFT, to keep   
   using Frank's name and performing his songs, is $1 per year.   
      
   That's not because the ZFT needs that money. I think we can live without an   
   extra buck every year. It's because that token payment handles the legal   
   requirement. Even though I thought the original fee was reasonable, I wanted   
   to find a way to get us past    
   this.    
      
   And again, it's not just you: it's all four of us. If I want to perform   
   Frank's music, I'll pay $1. So will Diva and Moon. That's just the deal, and I   
   think it's a pretty reasonable solution.    
      
   One dollar, man. It doesn't seem like The New York Times knew that part.   
      
   And that's what hurts. If I was the greedy, deceitful asshole I'm reading   
   about, I wouldn't be working this hard to find a way to make everyone happy.   
      
   3. The article suggests that this is all happening suddenly, that I'm changing   
   the terms of your deal with the ZFT, and that you're being singled out.   
      
   Again, none of this is true.   
      
   First, this isn't sudden or new. That was always the deal Gail put in place -   
   not just for you, but all of us. Gail's decision was always that any of us who   
   want to use the name - you, me, Moon, Diva - can perform under that name.    
      
   But be honest: Frank Zappa's legacy isn't something we built, and "Zappa Plays   
   Zappa" isn't a name that any one of us "owns" or has special claim to. We all   
   got the same name at birth, and as the four beneficiaries of the ZFT, we all   
   have an equal right    
   to benefit from that name.   
      
   That's why Gail decided that any Zappa using the name "Zappa Plays Zappa"   
   would pay a percentage of profits to the ZFT, where it could keep the family   
   business going.   
      
   That rule doesn't just apply to you. It's for all four of us.   
      
   A lot of people don't seem to realize this, but when you pay that fee - not   
   even up front, but with a share of the profits you made performing our dad's   
   music, and selling merchandise with his picture and name - it's not like it   
   goes into my pocket. Most    
   of it goes to the ZFT, so we can afford to keep remastering and releasing more   
   of Frank's music to the fans, and building the business.    
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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