When I interviewed Steve Vai back in 1990 I asked him what it was like to be the youngest member ever to join Frank Zappa’s band. (He'd been recruited at the age of 18 to play the parts Zappa had written but deemed too difficult to play himself.)

“That was great,” raved Vai, “because I simply adore Frank’s music, and I love the guy. He’s absolutely, unequivocally unique.”

Anyone else with a fondness for the genius composer and guitar wizard might want to pencil in this Friday (November 27) as the date when a new doc called Zappa starts streaming on demand.

The film is directed by Alex Winter, who you may recall for his role as Bill in the Bill and Ted buddy comedies with Keanu Reeves.

"The film traces Zappa’s path from his teenage days as a self-taught musician to his death in 1993," reads the promotional info from distributor Mongrel Media. "There’s his formation (and breakup) of the Mothers of Invention band, his 'Valley Girl' hit with daughter Moon (who only did it in order to spend more time with her father), his recording with the London Symphony Orchestra, as well as his stance on drugs, his comments about groupies and the clap, et al. Zappa was also one of the few musicians to speak out against the album warning labels proposed by Parents Music Resource Center.

"Along with never-before-seen archival footage, the film features interviews with Zappa’s widow Gail Zappa, who died in 2015, and several of Zappa’s musical collaborators, including Zappa’s former 'stunt guitarists' Mike Keneally and Steve Vai, Mothers of Invention members Ian Underwood, Ruth Underwood and Bunk Gardner, GTOs member Pamela Des Barres, and Zappa’s bass player Scott Thunes."

Zappa will be available on the Apple TV app and wherever you rent movies.