Peter's music has been heard on hundreds of radio stations and has been on SiriusXM rotation for over a decade. As a multi-award winning artist, Peter's music has also topped Billboard's Classical and Crossover charts.
For Captain Beefheart, a maverick-artist-musician, who was not just a complicated man but highly demanding and by most accounts very difficult to deal with. It was appropriate that Beefheart's Magic Band was to prominently feature a bassist as accomplished, bold and adventurous as Mark Boston, a.k.a Rockette Morton.
Born on July 14, 1949, Mark began life in the small town of Salem, Illinois before his family moved out to Lancaster, California when he was 13. With a bassist and steel player for a father, Mark gained a great appreciation for country and bluegrass along with the R&B and rock’n’roll that was on the rise. Within a year of the Boston clan moving out to Lancaster, Mark befriended a young guitarist by the name of Bill Harkleroad.
At a time when the bass guitar was seen as the dummy’s instrument, Mark left quite an impression on Bill with his talent and equipment, leading to the two joining forces to form BC And The Cavemen. With Mark’s mother sewing some outfits for them, the band developed a decent reputation, and the two would also play in a band with Jeff Cotton and John French known as Blues In A Bottle. And then a local hero came calling. Or perhaps screaming and howling!
In that same Lancaster scene, Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band were making a big splash as a top flight blues rock outfit, with 'Safe As Milk' having made a strong impression and 'Strictly Personal' being a strong record as well. But even with a sound that was speaking to people, one that perhaps would have been a more pragmatic one as far as a career goes, Don Van Vliet just wasn’t meant for conventional norms.
The Captain had all these ideas, ideas far too out for many, including early members. He needed new musicians, younger and more impressionable ones that wouldn’t object to his ideas. Already having John and Jeff in the band, now 'Drumbo' and Antennae Jimmy Semens, he then recruited Bill, dubbed Zoot Horn Rollo. And on bass, he found Mark Boston, who took the name Rockette Morton due to his love of outer space. And the classic Magic Band was born.
Trout Mask Replica (TMR) wasn’t an easy album to make. Yet even with all the bizarre ideas and the difficulty in preparing those ideas into music, Mark was a total champ through it all. The Beefheart sound is one of great dichotomy, and Mark can capture all of it. He’s so tight and precise, and yet there’s this raw grit and dirt. He’s highly intelligent and sophisticated in his playing, and yet there remains this childlike sense of wonder and curiosity.
He takes after all the great traditional American music, yet out into a whole other realm of time and space. The bass traditionally serves the role of grounding the harmony while locking in with the drums to provide a foundation, yet Mark’s playing often serves as another melody line in the music. In a lot of ways, he’s like a third guitarist that just happens to be playing bass.
The TMR on its own is a legacy few can compete with, and yet Mark contributed to more classic records like "Lick My Decals Off, Baby", "The Spotlight Kid", and "Clear Spot". There on Decals, you get the equivalent of Godfather II. With Mother Art Tripp on marimba and drums rather Jeff on guitar, you get an album that captures a great deal of TMR's brilliance while being brilliant in its own unique way.
Then you get to 'The Spotlight Kid', with bass godliness on cuts like “When It Blows Its Stack”, resulting in a bass solo that often opened shows, yet Mark proves himself just as talented on traditional in-the-pocket styles as demonstrated on cuts like “I’m Gonna Booglarize You Baby”. And that thing about bassists being failed guitarists? In the 'Clear Spot', with Mark taking guitar and the rhythm section now being a mini Mothers reunion of Art and Roy Estrada, yet nobody missed a beat. Throughout the record, Bill and Mark’s kinship really shines, their weaving right there with what Bill and Jeff had done, or what was done with Alex St Clair early on.
Of course, dealing with Don was quite a task of its own, so it’s inevitable that Mark and the others would all end up departing by 1974. He and Bill soon formed a group of their own called Mallard. For two albums, the first with Art and having some writing help from John French 'Drumbo', Mallard showed itself a pretty decent blues rock outfit. And giving that it was Mark who finally had a chance to create something that was truly his own rather than helping some achieve their vision, it’s understandably the work that he takes pride in. And over time, he’d end up making a solo record and create some cool artwork of his own, as well as performing with 'Drumbo' in the reformed Magic Band, allowing the music to live and breathe on stage again.
If you’re a Beefheart fan, how can you not love Rockette Morton? Not only a uniquely talented bass player but such a great stage presence full of joy, along with a lovably quirky personality and such a sweet guy. Easily one of my favorites from Magic Band members, you can’t help but smile when thinking about Mark. He’s been through some rough weather, including his health scares, and yet he’s still the same Mark we’ve known and loved all the years.
Happy birthday Mark! Thank you for all you have given us and look forward to more.
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Patrick Moore is a freehand drawing artist and freelance music writer.
TORONTO: Actress Ekavali Khanna, who won the best actor’s award for her role of quiet but firm housewife Kiran Batra in Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain at the just concluded Ottawa Indian Film Festival Awards, says she was overwhelmed by the response to the film.
Set in Varanasi, the film depicts how romance between middle-aged Indian couple takes a back seat after they have children. But Kiran Batra, played by Ekavali, doesn’t think so, leading her to separate from her husband Yashwant Batra (Sanjay Mishra).
Angrezi Mein Kehnte Hain was the closing film at the Ottawa festival.
``People were crying as they were very moved by the scenes in the film. I am always for roles that allow me to reinvent myself and this film offered me a great opportunity,’’ says the Kolkata actress who was in the Canadian capital.
``Like my all previous films, Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain was another learning curve for me. Harish Vyas is a wonderful director. He is an easy-going gentleman who allowed the actors all the freedom,’’ she says.
Ekavali feels that no other place would have done justice to Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain than Varanasi.
``Actually, Faroukh (cinematography) has used Varanasi as another character in the film. The city has a mystical quality to it and the frames are so rich..Varanasi blends in so nicely as a character in this film. I have a huge fascination for Gulzar saab’s works and this film has the flavour that you find in his films,’’ says Ekavali.
Narrating her experience of working with Sanjay Mishra, Ekavali says, ``His comic sense is phenomenal. Sanjay is a warm and kind person and I learnt a lot from him. Four us were together in Varanasi and our bonding is reflected in the film.’’
The 38-year-old actress says she is open to any roles if the film is content-driven. ``What I want to be part of, is meaningful cinema. I want to remembered for meaningful roles. I have played the roles of older and younger roles because diverse characters offer you the possibilities to explore and become someone else. I love that.’’
Ekavali says she is also open to glamourous – and even dark – roles. ``So long as I can explore my craft, I am all for it. I live away from Bollywood and I have an honest approach to my work.’’
Has she ever thought about moving to Bollywood?
``Bollywood fuels my passion for cinema, but Kolkata inspires me. Bombay is very hectic and being away from Bollywood helps me because I am not someone running after money and fame. I just want to make the experience memorable for me and my audiences. Moreover, I am a single mother in my late 30s and I also have to be with my children.’’
She says she excited about the advent of new independent filmmakers making meaningful films. ``Indian cinema is going through a change. It is maturing because these new-age filmmakers are doing different kind of films. That’s a very positive thing.’’
Ekavali, whose father is Punjabi, says she speaks Punjabi well and is not averse to roles in Punjabi cinema.
