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.
The Canadian Bazaar
TORONTO: Nine Punjabis, including a woman, are among 20 people arrested in a major international drug racket smuggling cocaine, crystal meth, and marijuana between Mexico, California, and Canada using modified tractor trailers.
According to Toronto Police, 444 kilos of cocaine, 182 kilos of crystal meth, 427 kilos of marijuana, 300 oxycodone pills and $966,020 in currency have been seized from the gang.
The street value of the drugs seized from them is more than $61 million.Police have also seized 21 vehicles, including 5 tractor trailers, and one firearm from the accused.
The suspects face 182 charges.
Among the nine Punjabis who have been arrested, three – Sukhwant Brar (37), Parminder Gill (33), and Gurbakhash Singh Grewal (37) – are from Brampton.
Three – Amarbir Singh Sarkaria (25), Harbaljit Singh Toor (46) and Ms Harwinder Bhullar (43) are from Caledon.
The remaining three – Sarjant Singh Dhaliwal (37), Gurveer Dhaliwal (26) and Gurmanpreet Grewal (26) – are from Kitchener,
The arrests have been made under Dubbed Project Brisa launched by Canadian and American law enforcement agencies as well as agencies throughout southwestern Ontario and across Canada.
Investigations between November 2020 and May 2021 identified smugglers who were transporting drugs across borders for sale in Canada. The smugglers had installed hydraulic traps in tractor-trailers, capable of smuggling 100 kilograms of substance in a single trip.
Investigators also identified a person known as the “trap maker” who built hidden compartments in tractor-trailers for smuggling large amounts of contraband across borders.
The “trap maker” has been identified as Jason Hall, 43, of Surrey, British Columbia. He turned himself into police in Toronto last week and is charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and participate in a criminal organization.
The other 19 persons face the following charges:
Gurbakhash Singh Grewal, 37, of Brampton, has been charged with:
1. Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
2. Importation of a Schedule I Substance
3. Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Schedule I Substance
4. Two counts of Participate in a Criminal Organization
Amarbir Singh Sarkaria, 25, of Caledon, has been charged with:
1. Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
2. Importation of a Schedule I Substance
3. Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Schedule I Substance
4. Participate in a Criminal Organization
Harbaljit Singh Toor, 46, of Caledon, had been charged with:
1. Four counts of Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
2. Four counts of Importation of a Schedule I Substance
3. Five counts of Participate in a Criminal Organization
4. Three counts of Commit an Offence for the benefit of a Criminal Organization
5. Two counts of Instruct to Commit an Offence for a Criminal Organization
6. Counsel to Commit an Offence not yet Committed
7. Four counts of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Schedule I Substance
Harwinder Bhullar (female), 43, of Caledon, has been charged with:
1. Participate in a Criminal Organization
2. Possession of Proceeds Over $5000
Sarjant Singh Dhaliwal, 37, of Kitchener, has been charged with:
1. Four counts of Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
2. Four counts of Importation of a Schedule I Substance
3. Four counts of Participate in a Criminal Organization
4. Three counts of Commit an Offence for the benefit of a Criminal Organization
5. Instruct to Commit an Offence for a Criminal Organization
6. Two counts of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Schedule I Substance
7. Two counts of Possession of a Schedule I Substance
Gurveer Dhaliwal, 26, of Kitchener, has been charged with:
1. Four counts of Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
2. Four counts of Importation of a Schedule I Substance
3. Four counts of Participate in a Criminal Organization
4. Three counts of Commit an Offence for the benefit of a Criminal Organization
5. Four counts of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Schedule I Substance
Gurmanpreet Grewal, 26, of Kitchener, has been charged with:
1. Four counts of Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
2. Four counts of Importation of a Schedule I Substance
3. Three counts of Participate in a Criminal Organization
4. Three counts of Commit an Offence for the benefit of a Criminal Organization
5. Instruct to Commit an Offence for the benefit of a Criminal Organization
6. Four counts of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Schedule I Substance
Sukhwant Brar, 37, of Brampton, has been charged with:
1. Four counts of Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
2. Three counts of Importation of a Schedule I Substance
3. Four counts of Participate in a Criminal Organization
4. Three counts of Commit an Offence for the benefit of a Criminal Organization
5. Instruct to Commit an Offence for the benefit of a Criminal Organization
6. Four counts of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Schedule I Substance
Parminder Gill, 33, of Brampton, has been charged with:
1. Two counts of Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
2. Two counts of Importation of a Schedule I Substance
3. Participate in a Criminal Organization
4. Commit an Offence for a Criminal Organization
Ryan Nikolakakos, 28, of Toronto, has been charged with:
1. Three counts of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Schedule I Substance
2. Possession of Proceeds of Crime over $5000
Zaw Min Htoo, 23, of Toronto, has been charged with:
1. Two counts of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Schedule I Substance
2. Instructing the Commission of an offence for a Criminal Organization
3. Commit an Offence for the benefit of a Criminal Organization
4. Participate in a Criminal Organization
5. Conspiracy to Commit and Indictable Offence
Damoy Searchwell, 24, of Toronto, has been charged with:
1. Trafficking Schedule I Substance
2. Possession of Proceeds of Crime over $5000
3. Commit an Offence for the benefit of a Criminal Organization
4. Participate in a Criminal Organization
5. Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
Samet Hysa, 28, of Vaughan, has been charged with:
1. Trafficking Schedule I Substance
2. Commit an Offence for the benefit of a Criminal Organization
3. Participate in a Criminal Organization
4. Possession of Proceeds of Crime over $5000
5. Possession of Property Obtained by Crime
6. Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm
7. Possession of a Firearm Knowing it Possession is Unlawful
8. Careless Storage of a Firearm
9. Possession of a Loaded or Restricted Firearm
Hanif Jamal, 43, of Toronto, has been charged with:
1. Two counts of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Schedule I Substance
2. Possession of Proceeds of Crime over $5000
Wei Jie Huang, 28, of Toronto, has been charged with:
1. Trafficking Schedule I Substance
2. Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Schedule I Substance
3. Possession of Proceeds of Crime over $5000
4. Commit an Offence for the benefit of a Criminal Organization
5. Participate in a Criminal Organization
6. Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
Nadeem, Lila, 35, of Toronto, has been charged with:
1. Two counts of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Schedule I Substance
2. Possession of Proceeds of Crime over $5000
Yusuf Lila, 68, of Toronto, has been charged with:
1. Two counts of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Schedule I Substance
2. Possession of Proceeds of Crime over $5000
5. Two counts of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Schedule I Substance
Andre Williams, 35, of Toronto, has been charged with:
1. Conspiracy to Commit and Indictable Offence
2. Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Schedule I Substance
3. Possession of Proceeds of Crime over $5000
A young person, who cannot be named, has been charged with:
1. Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
2. Importation of a Schedule I Substance
3. Participate in a Criminal Organization
4. Commit an Offence for the benefit of a Criminal Organization
5. Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Schedule I Substance
Two men are still wanted as part of Project Brisa. They are William Nhan, 23, and Scott McManus, 38, both of Toronto.
READ ALSO: 25 Brampton Punjabi men arrested in international drug racket
