From his days inspiring the American "freak scene" with his Mothers Of Invention to his conducting symphony orchestras up to his death in 1993, Zappa's stretch was far-reaching.

It's little wonder his musical legacy has inspired a tribute show.

And what a tribute show it is.

Conceived by and featuring none other than Frank's son Dweezil, Zappa Plays Zappa, has been playing to rave reviews since it was first staged last year.

Having toured most of the world, the show will make its way to Australia in late November/early December for shows in Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and of course Sydney.

In fact two shows have been booked for Sydney's Enmore Theatre - December 3 and 4, with tickets still available for the second.

Joining Dweezil on stage will be a crew of fresh-faced Zappa students and a couple of special guests from Frank's touring bands.

Guitarist/vocalist Ray White will be one such performer from wayback.

White featured in over 20 of Zappa's recorded works and is known to many fans for his outstanding vocals on such songs as The Legend Of The Illinois Enema Bandit and Doreen.

He took time out of his schedule recently to speak with the Sun about the tour.

Sun: Your next show is in New York. How significant is this to you considering your first recording with Frank was on Zappa In New York?

Ray White: "It will be twice as special .. it's like to the second power because I'm playing with Dweezil. It was like going home when I went up to the house [Frank's studio] to practice. Going to New York, being with Dweezil, is like home, it's like to the second power. So cool ... you can't describe the feeling of doing that music."

Sun: Will performing The Legend Of The Illinois Enema Bandit as you did on the album be a high point of the show for you?

Ray White: "I don't know, it's just one of those things I have to deliver. At those points of the show you go 'okay, here we go, pull the bridges up, take no prisoners, give them no quarter'."

Sun: How has the crowd reaction been to Zappa Plays Zappa.

Ray White: "It's been outrageous. It's like I can't believe it, but then I believe it, but then I know I can't buy it because as a dad and as a grandfather I know that I owe it to myself to keep the honesty there and keep my head inside my hat. Because that's the name of the game out here. Take it for what it is and thank them, but don't start believing everything you think they're saying."

Sun: You were involved with Zappa both live and with recordings on and off from late 1976 to the end of 1984, how significant was that period of your life?

Ray White: "It was a watershed. It was one of those things that happens to you ... you don't really realise it until you're passed it. You don't see it while you're in it, you're just doing it. I look back on it now and I go, you know what, I got more from that than I thought. I got more from that than I could see then, but I'm glad I did the work because if I hadn't done the work, there'd be nothing to look back on. So I'm glad the work ethic was there and now I get to do it again with Dweezil and it's intense. It's really, really good. And I still get that nervousness in my stomach when I go on and that tells me its not time to stop.

Sun: Frank's music is widely acknowledged for its complexities. How did this affect your playing style?

Ray White: "I had experimented with compound times but in a very simplistic way ... very basic African-type rhythms against each other. But when I heard what Frank was doing, it was like, 'oh this is absolutely strange'. But then you look at it and you go, 'this is cool'. You move the layers away and look at it and you see the songs he puts on top of it and inside of it ... man, I'm in there, you can't resist it. If you're an inquisitive mind you've got to be there. You're not a musician unless you're inquisitive. If you're not inquisitive you're driving a bus. There's some really good guys out there driving buses, but they don't play Frank's music."

Sun: Some have described Frank as a hard task master when it came to what he asked of his bands. Was that the case and how does Dweezil match up to his father?

Ray White: "If it's your music, and you want your music played the way you hear it, then if it's a task master they call you ... then call me anything you want to. How I figure is this ... it's your music, you want me to do this, I've got to do that. If I reel against that then I shouldn't have taken the gig. Dweezil has a different approach to it, but it's the same outcome. He's not a softy, he's a great guy. but he knows what he wants to hear. He knows what the music is. He and Joe Travers [drummer and Zappa Family Trust vaultmeister since 1995]] have listened to that music forever, they know that music. I know Pete [Griffin, bass] knows the music, he's been listening to it for a long time too and they know that music. They have a concensus mind when it comes to it. There's no contention. If they approach a point that may have a question, they approach it with respect to each other and it always smooths out. And I love to see that dynamic. They have this beautiful dynamic and the music is the better for it."

Sun: How do the current musicians rate, considering the greats you have shared the stage with: like Terry Bozzio, Chad Wackerman, Bobby Martin ...?

Ray White: "I think they're as good or better. I can't really grade musicians. When I play with you, if I feel you're being generous, then I say you're a great person. You could play a thousand licks, you could be the best technical drummer on earth but if you're not a good human being, I don't want to be around you."

Sun: Looking back at old footage, Frank's bands always seemed to have a great chemistry. Is the current band similar?

Ray White: "It is so refreshing. All these guys in this band - and young lady - have these wicked, beautiful senses of humour ... wacky all of them. It comes from these different angles and it finds its way into the music at the soundcheck, and it makes everything so relaxed, but it keeps the intensity there, right underneath, and that's what I really love, that they manage to pull it off ... you can be a kid in your head, and on your instrument you can be a virtuoso, you can be a grown up over here - they switch the roles up so you don't get stiff and stay there like, 'I've got to play this orchestral piece like this and it must look like this and I must purse my lips and never smile, never look at the audience - they're beyond that and they take this music to another level and Dweezil is the leader of the pack."

Sun: Steve Vai will be joining you in Australia? How will it be playing together again?

Ray White: "It's going to be so cool. I saw him at his open rehearsal and he was just blazing. He reminds me of one of my little brothers. He's a superior guitarist, but beyond guitarist, he's a better human being than most people I've met. That's what I tell my kids in Michigan. I use Steve as an example because they look at Steve, they revere him ... I say well look, that's a great human being, and then he's a great guitarist. He's a great father, husband, and then slash guitarist, because guitars does not raise children, guitars does not do the things in science that some of our great scientists do, but a human being does all those things. I try to keep them in perspective there. And in this band right now the perspective is: the spotlight is not on me. When I go up and I sing my heart out it's not because I'm trying to be a star, it's because Frank's music deserves the best, so you put the best you have into it. If they applaud me, they're not applauding me, they're applauding Frank. You'll see me always pointing towards Dweezil ... through him to his father, that's the way it's supposed to be."

Sun: Frank joins the band at several points during the current show via overdubs and on screen. How did this feel the first time?

Ray White: "I was overcome. I had to turn my back on the audience. I looked back and Frank is on the screen, Dweezil's looking at the screen, and I walk up behind Frank on the screen, and I look at Dweezil and then back at the screen and I couldn't contain it. I was in a Dali painting ... in two places at the one time and it was unreal."

Sun: And how have the audience reacted?

Ray White: "It's like a quiet awe at first. There are different degrees of perception. Some people just went off immediately like he was actually on the stage. And when that happens you know they have suspended disbelief. You cannot enjoy those moments unless you are a kid, in your head, you have to suspend your disbelief. I think Frank's music helps you do that, and you help it along by doing it yourself, so its like this 360 thing that happens. That's how people get involved."

Sun: What is it about Frank's music that keeps crowds wanting more?

Ray White: "Without a pun - the frankness. The honesty. It's absolutely up front, unpretentious, without any masks, without any robes, without any slight of hand. I think a lot of people don't get a lot of things when they start looking behind it. No, look, it's right here in front of you I promise you, this is what I said. There's no hidden agenda here. Here it is. They're so used to hearing it from their politicians, then they've got to decipher what is said. What did he really say. But Frank goes: this is BS, that is BS, how about this. And you go, that makes sense. And I think people gravitate to that, and I did. I think people love the frankness and the honesty."

For ticket information about Zappa Plays Zappa at the Enmore Theatre on Tuesday, December 4, visit the Ticketek website at http://premier.ticketek.com.au/