Dweezil's registered birth name was Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa, although this occurred only because the hospital at which he was born refused to register him under the name Dweezil. The name was a nickname coined by Frank for an oddly-curled pinky-toe of Gail's. His father instead used the first names of his bandmates to form a name. He was always called "Dweezil" by his family and was unaware that this was not the name on his birth certificate. Upon this discovery at the age of five, he insisted on having his nickname become his legal name. Gail and Frank hired an attorney and soon the name Dweezil was official.
In the 1980s, Dweezil worked as a MTV VJ. He also recorded some solo rock albums, as well as playing guitar for other artists. Dweezil can be seen in the music video for Don Johnson's top 40 song, "Heartbeat." Dweezil has said that Eddie Van Halen was his favorite guitar player, and he began copying Van Halen's distinctive guitar style. He also had a part in the futuristic Arnold Schwarzenegger movie The Running Man as Stevie ("Don't touch that dial!"), and gave his most famous cameo role in Molly Ringwald's brat-pack movie Pretty in Pink as Andi's friend, Simon.
In the mid 1990s, he voiced the character Ajax Duckman on the animated series Duckman. He also briefly appeared in the television sitcom "Normal Life" with sister Moon Unit Zappa and former Laverne and Shirley star Cindy Williams. And he also had a small role in the Michael Keaton movie Jack Frost in 1998, along with his sister Moon Unit Zappa and fellow musician Henry Rollins.
Dweezil's first serious relationship of note was with Katie Wagner, daughter of actor Robert Wagner, star of the Hart to Hart tv show. Dweezil later went on to have a brief relationship with actress Sharon Stone. For six years, Dweezil dated musician Lisa Loeb. Dweezil and Lisa wrote and performed music together, and even went on tour with Loeb's band. The couple co-hosted the cooking show Dweezil & Lisa on Food Network in 2004. However, the couple broke up in the summer of 2004. Dweezil married fashion stylist Lauren Knudsen on September 3, 2005 in Los Angeles.
In 2006, Dweezil organized the "Zappa Plays Zappa" tour. He assembled a band of young musicians with a view to bring the music of Frank Zappa to a younger audience. The tour also features guest appearances by Steve Vai, Napoleon Murphy Brock and Terry Bozzio. The tour began in Europe in May with dates in the U.S. from June. After a break it continued in the U.S. on October 18, 2006.
In 2003, on "Weird Al" Yankovic's album, Poodle Hat, Yankovic featured Dweezil Zappa on the song "Genius in France.
Inca Roads
Dweezil Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come from somewhere out there
Just to land in the Andes?
Was it round
And did it have
A motor
Or was it
Something
So white, Don, I have never seen nothing like that in my entire life!
Napoleon: Whose python boot is that? Hey, rush it! What?
Why don't you sharpen it then?
It was round . . . bold . . . I could . . . couldn't . . . What's that white thing doin' up there?
Napoleon: You whose? Hush! Wait a minute!
Mother Mary and Jozuf!
Did a vehicle
Did a vehicle
Did a vehicle
Fly along the mountains
And find a place to park itself
Park it
Se-e-e-elf
(PARK IT . . . PARK IT)
Or did someone
Build a place
To leave a space
For such a thing to land
Did a vehicle
Come from somewhere out there
Did a vehicle come
From somewhere out there
Did the Indians, first on the bill
Carve up the hill
Did a booger-bear
Come from somewhere out there
Just to land in the Andes?
Was she round
And did she have a motor
Or was she something different
Guacamole Queen
Guacamole Queen
Guacamole Queen
At the Armadillo in Austin Texas, her aura,
Or did someone build a place
Or leave a space for Chester's Thing to land
(Chester's Thing . . . on Ruth)
Did a booger-bear
Come from somewhere out there
Did a booger-bear
Come from somewhere out there
Did the Indians, first on the bill
Carve up her hill
On Ruth
On Ruth
That's Ruth
The lyrics of Dweezil Zappa's "Inca Roads" are complex and deep, exploring the possibility of extraterrestrial beings visiting Earth and leaving their mark on the ancient civilization of the Incas. The song opens with a series of enigmatic questions about whether a vehicle came from outer space to land in the Andes, and whether it was round and had a motor, or if it was something entirely different. The lyrics detail the confusion and wonderment of the onlookers who witness this strange occurrence, as they try to comprehend what they are seeing.
As the song progresses, the lyrics delve into the mysteries of the Incas and their impressive feats of engineering, raising questions about whether they built structures specifically designed to accommodate these visitors from another world. The lyrics also reference a "Guacamole Queen" and "Chester's Thing," which are enigmatic characters that may represent different aspects of the ancient civilization or the visitors themselves. The song concludes with a final mention of "Ruth," who may be a symbol of the Incas themselves, their land, or their spiritual beliefs.
Overall, "Inca Roads" is a complex and fascinating exploration of the possibilities of extraterrestrial life and their influence on the ancient civilizations of Earth. The lyrics are imbued with a sense of wonder and mysticism, drawing the listener into this mesmerizing world of possibilities and speculation.
Line by Line Meaning
Did a vehicle
Wondering if an unidentified flying object appeared
Come from somewhere out there
From another part of the universe
Just to land in the Andes?
Purposefully landed in the Andes
Was it round
Had a circular shape
And did it have
Possessed
A motor
An engine to power it
Or was it
Or perhaps it was
Something
An unidentifiable entity
Different
Something not seen before
So white, Don, I have never seen nothing like that in my entire life!
Exclaiming surprise at the appearance of the object
Napoleon: Whose python boot is that? Hey, rush it! What?
A non-sequitur statement
Why don't you sharpen it then?
An unrelated question
It was round . . . bold . . . I could . . . couldn't . . . What's that white thing doin' up there?
Continuing to describe the object's appearance
Napoleon: You whose? Hush! Wait a minute!
Another nonsensical statement
Mother Mary and Jozuf!
Exclamation of surprise
Fly along the mountains
Traveling near the mountains
And find a place to park itself
Landing in a designated spot
Park it
To land and leave the vehicle there
Se-e-e-elf
Repeating the instruction to park the vehicle
Did someone
Wondering if someone
Build a place
Create a location with a purpose
To leave a space
Designate a specific area
For such a thing to land
For the purpose of landing an object
Did the Indians, first on the bill
Did the natives who first occupied the land
Carve up the hill
Shape the land to their needs
Did a booger-bear
Asking if another unidentified object appeared
Come from somewhere out there
From another part of the universe
Just to land in the Andes?
Purposefully landed in the Andes
Was she round
Possessed a circular shape
And did she have a motor
Was powered by an engine
Or was she something different
Or perhaps she was an unrecognizable entity
Guacamole Queen
An unrelated phrase
At the Armadillo in Austin Texas, her aura,
Another unrelated phrase
Or did someone build a place
Asking if what was seen was pre-designed
Or leave a space for Chester's Thing to land
Or had a specific spot for the object to land
(Chester's Thing . . . on Ruth)
Unrelated statement with character names
On Ruth
Repeating character's name, still unrelated
Contributed by Grace E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Eric Stallcup
This is legitimately one of the most well executed guitar solos of all time
FZ
The best solo of this song is still the token of his extreme live album easily
FZ
OK I won't say that it has its sloppy moments could've been better honestly
Edgehog Portfolio
Yes ! his father always went direct in full blow mode. Dweezil takes his time to build, and that's why he is even better than Frank. Hope Frank is nodding down, from up where he is, and having a great laugh, being outplayed by his Son Dweezil !!!!
Den Gibson
Dweezil, a total gentleman, I was lucky to see him pre show, Bristol Colston Hall UK 2011, sound check then to sign gear brought in by the lucky us ( 30 i think) he sat on edge of stage, shook my hand, and I got him to sign my FOOL SG replica, he strummed it, chat on Apostrophe, and Frank, no hurry, no rushing even though roadies were telling him to "get a move on". 2 or 3 hours later, he`s back again, out in foyer, signing loads of stuff, I waited my turn, not to be greedy as (pre show) he looked up and said, "hey Den, where`s that fancy guitar" then gave my missus a hug. This was after 11pm by now, he`d played a million notes and still had the memory to call me Den, what a most brilliant bloke this man is and what a fantastic guitar player, a real gent. All I spoke to later said the same, fantastic person.
Marcin Superczyński
Warsaw 2009🙃
Misterious Mister Zä
All you spoke to later was told "Hey Den" ?
Todd Boyer
Fantastic story! I LOVE hearing stories like yours about people like Dweezil. So refreshing!
Jeffrey Robbins
On Inca Roads he is playing Frank`s 61 Les Paul. Yes, I said Les Paul. Les hated it, took his name off of it after it`s first and only run in 61. In 62 it became the SG.
Christopher Sleight
That was better than any novel I have ever read. Thank you.