At several shows the live band played along with audio and video recordings of Frank Zappa himself, notably portions of "Chunga's Revenge", "Dumb All Over", "Cosmik Debris", and "Muffin Man".

The band then played in Europe during September and October before returning to the US, starting with another Halloween show in New York.

Special guest on the tour was vocalist and guitarist Ray White, a Zappa stalwart performer in the 1970s and early 1980s.

The first changes came in 2009–2010, starting with the departure of Aaron Arntz from the keyboard chair, followed quickly by the replacement of guest vocalist Ray White with the hiring of full-time singer/multi-instrumentalist Ben Thomas.

A music bootcamp created by Dweezil, aptly named Dweezilla, afforded the band the opportunity to teach students in a totally immersive environment.

Original core band members Jamie Kime and Billy Hulting went on to other projects at that time.

The Trust also argued that his shows were a "dramatic work", thus ineligible for the blanket compulsory license for live performance venues as specified in section 115 of United States copyright law, and requiring Dweezil to negotiate "grand rights" directly from the trust or be liable for copyright infringement.

[12] In June 2016, Dweezil announced that he would hold a tour to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of Zappa's first album, Freak Out!.

In reference to the dispute, it was titled 50 Years of Frank: Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the F@%k He Wants – The Cease and Desist Tour.

[15] However, in an in-depth feature about the family that appeared in August 2024 in The Washington Post, Dweezil declined to participate in meetings with the family and his wife texted to the author, "Dweezil isn’t interested in spending any time in the presence of his brother.