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.
With her finger on the Canada migration pulse, immigrant consultant Sheetal Jhuti tells you who can get the quickest way to migrate to Canada and what needs to be done
The Canadian Bazaar MISSISSAUGA: Founder of Mississauga-based ICAN Inc., Sheetal Jhuti is a known immigration consultant who has served the Greater Toronto Area for the past 18 years. She is sought out not only by the Indo-Canadian community but also Filipino, European and other communities. With a good handle on the pulse of Canadian immigration, she can reasonably predict the future trends in Canadian immigration shaped by politics and the advent of Donald Trump in the US. "Even if we presume that there will be a revival of protectionist sentiment, it will not have much of a negative impact on immigration because this country can’t do without skilled immigrants,’’ Mumbai-born Sheetal says in an interview. "In fact, Donald Trump’s decision to reopen the Keystone XL project is good news for Canada because the oil and gas industry and its ancilliaries will get a boost. As a result, Canada will need more skilled workers and skilled immigrants coming in to fill that vacuum," she says. Canada migration – skilled immigrants on top Canada can’t also do without skilled immigrants in the IT sector. "They need skilled workers which are not locally available. So, again, the only option is to bank on talented skilled immigrants." The third sector which is perpetually short of skilled workforce is transportation and logistics (supply chain), she says. "There is a shortage of drivers, skilled operators and mechanics of automotive, machinery, mining, welding and farming equipment." [caption id="attachment_68619" align="alignnone" width="5152"]
Sheetal Jhuti in her Mississauga office in the suburb of Toronto.[/caption]
Does she see any changes in Canadian immigration policies in the foreseeable future?
``In the next 10 years, I don’t see how they can sustain growth without skilled immigrants. So, I am not really bothered about any protectionist sentiment even if it surfaces. This country needs skilled manpower, entrepreneurship and innovators.’’
About the recent changes in Canada’s immigration policies, she says, ``The only thing these governments have done is change the mix - raising the immigration intake in one category and lowering it in the other category, etc. - like in the last few years there has been a concerted focus on getting more younger people.’’
Canada migration – top countries
According to her, Canada is reducing the intake of old immigrants very fast. "When former immigration minister Jason Kenney issued a moratorium on processing applications ostensibly to clear backlogs, he was only doing what they have been trying to do for a long time - eliminate the parent and grandparent programme as a burden to Canada without upsetting the ethnic vote bank. Look, over 50,000 older people came to Canada under the parent and grandparent family category in 2012 and 2013 when about 165,000 were in the process. This category was later reduced to 5,000 applications each year by the previous Conservative government. Under the current Liberal government, the limit has remained at 10,000 applications each year. But, by issuing a quota system, they have effectively controlled and greatly lessened the intake of older people.’’
About the Philippines overtaking China and India as the top two source of immigration for Canada, she says, "There is no particular reason that the Philippines has become the number one source of immigration. Processing backlogs has been faster too. A lot of visitor visas. A lot of Filipinos have blood relatives and this gets them extra points. The language could be a factor because Filipinos speak English and are also culturally more aligned with Canadian values.’’
Speaking about Indian students coming to Canada, she says, "Last year, 12,000 students came. Most are from north India, but Canadian colleges are now making efforts to attract students from the south as well. Most of them are in non-technical courses.’’
Sheetal says Indian students account for about 13.7 percent of of all 356,574 international students who came to Canada in 2016. "International students pour about $12 billion into the Canadian economy each year and help create about 125,000 jobs.’’
She says almost all Indian students apply for PR. "After two semesters of about eight months, the students can apply for work permit and if things work out for them, they get their PR in the next two years,’’ she says.
Canada migration priorities
About the kind of Indian immigrants currently coming to Canada, she says, "Students are the one big group and they will remain the priority for this country. But of late we have seen a lot of interest by established, second-generation entrepreneurs from India seeking immigration to Canada. All they have to do is show a net worth of $1 million and buy/set up some employment-generating venture in some identified sectors in Canada or outrightly pay $1 million to the government to be eligible for immigration under this category. I have got lots of queries from people from India seeking immigration under this category.’’
[caption id="attachment_68621" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
Sheetal Jhuti.[/caption]
Why would established Indian entrepreneurs come to Canada?
Says Sheetal, ``Most of these people are young, with little kids. They want to move to Canada for the education of their kids. In fact, here in Ontario we have the Ontario Provincial Nominee Programme (OINP) under which you can be eligible for immigration to Canada if you bring only half a million dollars and invest them in some identified sectors such as food, hospitality and manufacturing...’’
The Chinese have been taking advantage of this programme as they think that the half-million dollars that they bring into Canada will return in the form of education of their kids. ``But Indians have been slow to take advantage of this program. I think it is the smartest and quickest way to immigrate to Canada because half a million dollars is nothing in India today. As a new immigrant with that sort of money, you can set yourself up and your family. Otherwise, you have to first qualify for immigration and then come here and struggle in small jobs.’’
Canada migration: Who is best suited
Who should immigrate to Canada? ``One, people who are entrepreneurial because the world becomes their platform. This is a country for entrepreneurs,’’ she says.
``Two, people who want to give the world as a platform to their kids because of its best education system and facilities. Third, those who are fed up with the systems in their country because the Canadian system acts as a facilitator for you.’’
She suggests that people with gaming development skills should not even think twice before immigrating to Canada because gaming is predicted to become the fastest growing professions, she says.
Canada migration – caregivers, cooks in big demand
Information systems analysts too are in a big demand and they don’t need any licensing requirements, according to her. "Cooks and carpenters are also always in short supply as are skilled people for operating heavy equipment such as cranes and bulldozers are also in big demand.’’
The demand for caregivers will also keep growing as Canada’s aging population grows, says Sheetal.
And what kind of people should never think of immigrating to Canada?
"Those who are not willing to start from scratch. If you have a positive mindset, anyone can succeed in this country. Canada is not whiners." (This article first appeared in these columns on Oct 29, 2017)
(Sheetal Jhuti can be contacted at [email protected])
Hafiz: very informative post keep it up 
