Zappa.com

I googled this and didn't find anything (it could be possible I'm not using the correct search terms) but I was wondering - were there any bands that toured playing Frank's music while he was still alive?

Not that I've ever heard. Flo & Eddie did some routines from the FE album, but that's about it. I couldn't get any bar band to play one Zappa song for over 25 years of trying when FZ was still here. Some would twiddle a #bar from a song of his they liked. Usually very pedestrian Frank, Call Any Vegetable, DETYSnow, etc. Thats it though. Everyone went and saw FZ.
Possibly Don Preston? I believe FZ would have a C & D order served on anyone who did. He didn't always sell out all his shows back then either.

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I'm getting larger as I walk away.

The investigation begins...

Don Preston and his GrandMothers is still going at it!

The Muffin Men didn't tour here as far as I can wiki it. But they did play/tour in Europe for 3 years before FZ died. They are based in England.

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I'm getting larger as I walk away.

The Central Scrutinizer Band, São Paulo, SP, Brazil:
http://www.united-mutations.com/c/centr ... inizer.htm

They started back in the 80s and allegedly had Zappa's informal endorsement at some point.

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Zappstetoot (Mats and Morgan's group)

German band Sheik Yerbouti played the fourth Zappanale in the summer of 1993.

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Out now: The Zappa Tour Atlas
https://www.wymeruk.co.uk/webshop/books ... our-atlas/

Yeah I saw Grandmothers twice in Aarhus in 1980 and one or two years later. In '80 it was Don, Bunk, Black, Tony Duran. Then my memory gets hazy, but I think Tom and Walt Fowler was there as well. They had the infamous doll head of Frank, which Don mocked while still playing all his compositions. I remember hearing that Frank was particularly pissed by that, and they stopped doing that (I remember also finding it a bit tasteless and not too funny - otherwise, they played quite decently)

The next showing was with a new drummer and guitar player, and no Bunk, but still Black as singer/percussionist. I still forget the bass player, and I definitely don't think Walt was there. On that occasion they played quite a few originals as well as MOI material. It was clearly a poorer quality show to me than in 1980.

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"Everybody in this room is wearing a uniform, and don't kid yourself" - FZ