Get Off the Couch: Dweezil, WWE, football ahead

LISA DENTON: Barry, I'm a little jealous that you got to talk to a great musician with one of the coolest names in the industry. How was Dweezil Zappa?

BARRY COURTER: Did you know his father, Frank, named him that after a pinkie toe on his wife's foot? Frank called the toe Dweezil. When you consider he could have been named Bunion, Dweezil isn't so strange.

Anyway, Dweezil was great. It's the second time we've talked, and part of our conversation was how the Zappa family has been perceived over the years. There are some really embarrassing interviews online with people in our profession acting as if Frank, Dweezil and sister Moon Unit might grow a horn out of their foreheads on the spot.

As you know, Dweezil will be at Track 29 on Wednesday performing as part of the Zappa Plays Zappa: Accept No Substitutes tour. I saw an early version of the show in 2008 and, if you like Frank's music, it's great.

LISA: I've never heard the story of how he got his name. That is ... creative. Besides memorable names, Frank was also known for his thought-provoking quotes. Like: "I never set out to be weird. It was always other people who called me weird." Or: "The computer can't tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact mathematical design, but what's missing is the eyebrows."

You know, there really aren't enough quotes out there about eyebrows. It's cool that Dweezil is keeping Frank's memory and music alive.

If you're more into heavy metal, Track 29 will host Down's Weed and Speed winter tour two days later, with Warbeast opening.

BARRY: I don't think you have to be a fan club member to figure out what kind of music Warbeast plays. Great name.

LISA: That same night, Friday, WWE will return to McKenzie Arena with its "Road to Wrestlemania." That always draws a crowd.

And don't forget that we are less than a week away from the Super Bowl. I would be a tad more excited about it if the Atlanta Falcons had made it to New Orleans. Maybe next year.

BARRY: The Super Brothers Harbowl game did lose some interest with the Falcons' demise, but having brothers Jim and John Harbaugh coaching against each other is an oddity to be sure.

And the inaugural Gig City Film Festival is at Heritage House Arts & Civic Center in East Brainerd on Saturday. It's a collection of short, long and in-between films from local, national and international filmmakers, and I'd love to see that become something big.

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