Being in demand is usually a good problem for a band to have, but for the Stinkfoot Orchestra, going on the road has its challenges.
Nick Chargin, who founded the Frank Zappa tribute band to celebrate the eclectic musician’s 80th birthday in 2020, has had interest from fans who want to book Stinkfoot on the East Coast. Touring outside the Bay Area, however, has thus far proven difficult for the 14-piece ensemble.
“It’s nice to know we’re wanted, but it’s not easy to get out there for a band this size,” says Chargin, a San Jose resident who serves as Stinkfoot’s keyboardist.
For some Zappa fans, this means going to where the music is instead of having it come to them. Chargin says people came from across the country last year to see Stinkfoot’s shows at Club Fox in Redwood City.
The band hopes to repeat that success at Club Fox June 21-22, when Stinkfoot will pull from Zappa’s canon for two shows with no songs repeated.
“We don’t do this often, maybe once a year,” Chargin says. “It’s a lot of work to get 70 songs ready for performance.”
Chargin says he always intended to include Zappa alumni in Stinkfoot. To that end, the band boasts a trio of rotating frontmen who performed with the Mothers of Invention and other groups headed by the prolific musician in the 1970s and ’80s. The Club Fox shows will be fronted by Napoleon Murphy Brock on vocals, sax and flute. A San Jose resident, Brock has performed with two generations of Zappas, winning a Grammy in 2009 for his performance of “Peaches en Regalia” with Zappa Plays Zappa, a band fronted by Zappa’s son Dweezil.
“I had Napoleon in mind from the get-go because I knew he lived in the Bay Area,” Chargin says. “The fact that we get respect from people who were with Frank for so long is a big motivator for me. It gives us some street cred.”
Chargin plays keyboards in another large South Bay ensemble with street cred. He’s been with the Houserockers for 20 years; the 10-piece cover band, fronted by Los Gatos resident Paul Kent, has been a fixture at local clubs and festivals since being named “Best Cover Band in the Bay Area” in 2010 in the KFOX Radio Last Band Standing competition.
“Paul has done a great job of growing this band,” Chargin says. “I’ve learned a lot from him that I apply to Stinkfoot.”
The two bands also share personnel. “I poached from the Houserockers, and Paul poached from me,” Chargin says.
The keyboardist is perfectly comfortable swinging from the intricacies of Zappa’s music to the more danceable offerings of the Houserockers. “Zappa is my musical mind, and Stevie Wonder is my musical heart,” he says.
In Stinkfoot in particular, Chargin points out that the musicians’ backgrounds run the gamut from classical to rock to jazz, much like the songs they’re playing. “We take all of these people from different genres and put them together, and it all still works because it’s really difficult music,” he says. “I’m very lucky to play with who I play with.”
The Stinkfoot Orchestra plays Saturday, June 21, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, June 22, at 7 p.m. at Club Fox, 2209 Broadway in Redwood City. Tickets are $30 at https://stinkfootorchestra.com/events and $35 at the door.