Mike Keneally On The Upcoming Zappa Band Tour, Playing With Frank Zappa, Long Island & More

Mike Keneally first became known to guitar devotees when he joined Frank Zappa’s band in the late 1980s. His work with Frank led to Mike being part of Dweezil Zappa’s band and working with Steve Vai, The Dixie Dregs’ Andy West, XTC’s Andy Partridge, and The Tubes’ Prairie Prince. The 2000s brought a variety of interesting projects for Mike including playing with Metalocalypse band Dethlok on tour and becoming National Music Director for The Paul Green School Of Rock Music. Beyond staying active as a solo artist — often under the moniker Mike Keneally & Beer For Dolphins — Keneally has also played guitar and keyboards in Joe Satriani’s band, which led him being part of the all-star band Chickenfoot.

Keneally is one of the folks paying tribute to Frank Zappa via The Zappa Band, as largely comprised of former members of Zappa’s bands. For the first time ever, the group — who had opened a string of shows for prog greats King Crimson — will be headlining its own tour for much of this month. Beyond Keneally, The Zappa Band’s lineup features Ray White (lead vocals, guitar), Scott Thunes (bassist) and Robert Martin (keyboards, sax, vocals), and Zappa Plays Zappa alums Jamie Kime (guitar) and Joe “Vaultmeister” Travers (drums, vocals). These Zappa alums are joined by Joe Travers and Jamie Kime.

On June 7, 2022, I had the pleasure of speaking with Mike Keneally via Zoom, as embedded below. Beyond the upcoming Zappa Band dates, we spoke about his future plans otherwise, his Long Island roots, and — briefly — David Lee Roth. More on Keneally and the Zappa Band is here, here and here.

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Tags: Dethklok, Frank Zappa, Joe Satriani, Mike Keneally, School Of Rock, Steve Vai, Zappa, Zappa Band

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."