NEPA Scene Staff

Former Zappa guitarist Mike Keneally & Beer For Dolphins play Jazz Cafe in Plains on Oct. 25

Former Zappa guitarist Mike Keneally & Beer For Dolphins play Jazz Cafe in Plains on Oct. 25
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From a press release:

Multi-instrumentalist Mike Keneally, who is perhaps best known for his role as guitarist and keyboardist in Frank Zappa’s 1988 touring band, is set to play a series of Northeast and Midwest dates this fall. He will be touring with the classic trio configuration of Beer for Dolphins (Joe Travers and Bryan Beller). This will be the first time that Mike Keneally & Beer For Dolphins has toured these areas since forming in the 1990s. The band will play at the River Street Jazz Cafe (667 N. River St., Plains) on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. with support from the Travis Larson Band.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance via HoldMyTicket or at the door.

Mike Keneally (guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist) has been playing with Joe Travers (drums) and Bryan Beller (bass) since 1993, when they were members of the Dweezil and Ahmet Zappa band Z. Throughout the ’90s, as Mike Keneally & Beer For Dolphins, they played frequently on the West Coast in support of Keneally’s solo albums “hat.,” “Boil That Dust Speck,” and “Sluggo!” Although Keneally has worked with countless brilliant musicians throughout his solo career, fans have long held a special appreciation for the high-energy, humor, camaraderie, and virtuosity of the Keneally/Beller/Travers triumvirate. Now finally, after more than two decades, this powerful trio version of MK/BFD is coming to states in the Midwest and Northeast and playing music covering the gamut of Keneally’s career, from those classic ’90s releases all the way up to the brand new “Scambot 2.”

“I was a bit stunned to realize that this particular configuration, with whom I gigged so much in California in the ’90s, has never played in the Midwest and Northeast as a trio. There is a certain ferociousness that takes hold on when it’s just me, Bryan and Joe, and it’s going to be fun to finally bring that vibe to the other side of the country for once,” Keneally said.

Keneally has played with Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, and many others, in addition to his longstanding solo career. He and Bryan Beller currently play together in Joe Satriani’s band and have toured extensively in the metal band Dethklok. Beller is also a member of the instrumental juggernaut The Aristocrats. Joe Travers, in addition to past drumming duties with Zappa Plays Zappa and Duran Duran, has held the position of Vaultmeister for the Zappa Family Trust since the ’90s, exhuming unreleased Frank Zappa tapes for release to the public.

17 years in the making, Keneally’s “Scambot 2” is the long-awaited sequel to the 2009 release “Scambot 1.”

“‘Scambot 1’ was a dense, mostly instrumental and pretty darn abstract listen, so ‘Scambot 2’ may take you by surprise with its more melodic and accessible (for me, anyway) nature. I really wanted to write a bunch of songs, as opposed to compose a bunch of pieces, and that’s what happened,” Keneally explained. “From the multi-movement epic ‘In The Trees’ to the rocking ‘Roots Twist’ and ‘Roll’ to the lilting ‘Sam’ to the twangy ‘Constructed’ to the proggity ‘Buzz’ and ‘Clipper’ to the… well I’ll stop describing the songs, you’ll hear them soon enough I hope.”

Mike Keneally & Beer For Dolphins will be touring with the Travis Larson Band. With six studio albums and two full-length DVDs, the award-winning TLB is firmly rooted as one of instrumental music’s premier acts, having worked on records with Steve Lukather (Toto), Victor Wooten (Bela Fleck), Dave LaRue (Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Dixie Dregs), and Vinx (Sting, Herbie Hancock). Additionally, the band has shared live billing with Ted Nugent, UFO, Steve Morse (Deep Purple, Dixie Dregs), Ronnie Montrose, and The Aristocrats. TLB’s release “Soundmind” earned accolades as Guitar Player Magazine Editor’s Top 3 in 2011. The Travis Larson Band released a new album, “Anicca,” on Sept. 16.