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.
By Ashok Bhargava
MANILA: Religion is a complex human phenomenon. Everybody has ideas about what religion is before you even ask them. But if you ask them what religion is, they will find it very hard to define. I don’t know much about religions but I believe there is a wholeness in everything which cannot be divided because the “oneness” of God cannot be divided or changed.
The world, as it is, is not perfect. Religion is often used as a divisive force to drive wedges amongst communities. It is easy to get lost in semantics and narrow interpretations of scriptures.
On my recent visit to the Philippines I found a place where religions, tolerance, peace and harmony come together. I found a Sikh Gurudwara and Hindu Temple under a common roof. It was a sight to hold and cherish. This Hindu-Sikh temple is located on Mahatma Gandhi Street, just off United Nations Avenue in Paco, Metro Manila. With glitzy malls, beautiful beaches, sociocultural attractions and upscale dining, visitors to Manila can be forgiven for not thinking about churches, mosques or temples.
I have never seen a Hindu temple and a Sikh gurudwara under one roof in Canada, the US, U.K. or India. In India, you can come across a mandir and a gurudwara not very far from each other, but they never share the same roof. You can see a temple and a mosque facing towards Kaaba in the same neighborhood. It is not uncommon to see people of different religions pray to their gods without paying much attention to the gods of their neighbors.
It is remarkable to see the polytheist philosophy of Sikhism and the monotheist philosophy of Hinduism practiced under one roof. Sikhs worshiping the holy Guru Granth, readings of ancient scriptures from both faiths and Hindu idol-worship, side by side.
When we stepped into the modest two story building of this two-in-one temple complex we were ready yet unprepared for what we saw. What we saw was delightful: A Filipino security guard welcomed us to the premises and asked us to follow him to a room where we could take off our shoes and wash our hands before proceeding further. The hallway was colorfully decorated with Bollywood’s latest movie posters, ads for local Indian restaurants and their home delivery pamphlets. There was also a community news board listing births, marriages and obituary notices on the ground floor hallway that ultimately lead to the sanctum upstairs.
[caption id="attachment_79860" align="alignnone" width="640"]
Author Ashok Bhargava seen at the corner of Mahatma Gandhi Street (in Manila) where the temple and the gurdwara exist under one roof.[/caption]
We were greeted by a life-size statue of the mother-cow at the main entrance to the sanctum sanctorum of the gurudwara-mandir on the second floor delightfully covered with a golden scarf. It has a striking resemblance to the elephant statues commonly found on the entrance gates of Hindu temples in south India.
In the main hall, Shri Guru Granth Sahib is in the centre, surrounded by idols of Krishna and Radha, Vishnu and Laxmi on the left side, Rama and Sita, Shiva and Parvati on the other side. Photographs of the ten Sikh Gurus, Lord Ganesh, Shiv Linga, Guru Nanak with Bala and Mardana, and Hanuman adorned the walls. The size of the carpeted hall indicated that it could accommodate more than 1,000 devotees during weekend prayers. I wondered about the logic of the placement of idols and the Holy Granth, space-sharing and priority order but I am happy to see them all positioned as unifying powers.
We were told that on weekends it is like a carnival when hundreds of devotees gather for prayers. Melodious recitations from Shri Guru Granth Sahib, the devotional kirtan, and religious discourses comprise some of the main activities here.
A free community lunch called Langar or Preeti Bhojan is served as you sit cross-legged on the floor mats. Marriages, births, deaths, astrology, Vastu consultations and numerous other ceremonies are undertaken by the priests from both Sikh and Hindu religions.
On weekends you will find Filipinas selling fresh Indian produce right outside the temple: fresh coriander/cilantro, ginger, Sarson (mustard leaves) and methi (fenugreek). You can also buy samosas, ladoos and jalebi from nearby shops.
For us, it was a peaceful retreat where we surrendered and enjoyed a moment of being in the present, offering prayers with a bowed head, to reaffirm our faith in shared existence and the oneness of God regardless of specific religions.
Next time you are in Manila, I will recommend strongly that you visit this special place because it will widen your horizons and enrich you spiritually. It’s located at 1426 Mahatma Gandhi Street in Paco, Manila.
(Vancouver-based Ashok Bhargava, who is the president of Writers International Network (WIN) Canada, was recently in the Philippines)
sudhanshu: phillipines me rahete ho aap
Amarjit Singh: NOT Tania but TABIA.
Amarjit Singh: I just visited this Hindu temple n true enough ...on the outside the building is designed like a Hindu mandir. . As one walks up onto the 1st floor ...there is a huge hall with Dhan Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj's Parkash done with respect on a 'Tania n on both flanks Moortees of the Hindu Deities.... there was a Punjabi man I met whom I had a short conversation with....according to him ... the Sikh diwan is only held on Sunday from 11am to 1pm so that there is no clash of programs ..... for Akhand Paths n etc ....the Punjabi go to the other Sikh Gurduara called Khalsa Diwan which is about a 10 min walk away.... I left it as it is.... I decided not to pursue the matter further.. ...... putting aside all differences........ as long as one respects another n u don't have to practice the other's spiritual or religious practices ..... why not..... as long as one understands n practices their own faith with their heart n soul WHY NOT!!!.... but the fear is always there.... of over generations "assimilation" occurs as it has happened in India..... and from being a Sikh.... Hindu "practices" will creep in
(with all due n utmost respect to the Hindu faith) in my Sikhi way of life...... that I cannot support....... The Gurus have said.....if u r a Musselmaan....be a practising Musselmaan n if u r a Hindu.....be a practising Hindu..... n the same goes for Sikhs..... Ultimately u cannot put each of your foot in two separate boats..... u will fall into the water n.....
In summary......if u do not see God in all ..... u do not see God at all. PEACE TO THE HUMAN WORLD!
Amarjit Singh: I m on my way there now...... putting aside all differences........ as long as one respects another n u don't have to practice the others spiritual or religious practices ..... why not..... as long as one understands n practices their own faith with their heart n soul WHY NOT!!!.... but the fear is always there.... of over generations "assimilation" occurs as it has happened in India..... and from being a Sikh.... Hindu "practices" will creep in
(with all due n utmost respect) in my Sikhi way of life...... that I cannot support....... The Gurus have said.....if u r a Musselmaan....be a practising Musselmaan n if u r a Hindu.....be a practising Hindu..... n the same goes for Sikhs..... Ultimately u cannot put each of your foot in two separate boats..... u will fall into the water n.....
In summary......if u do not see God in all ..... u do not see God at all. PEACE TO THE HUMAN WORLD!
ramchand: You mean monotheist Sikh! Hindus have many 'gods' represented by the idols in their temples. What this is appears to me to be a Sindhi (Hindu) house of worship. The (Hindu) Sindhis have an affinity to Sikhism, especially to Guru Nanak.
Sikh houses of worship are gurdwaras -- no idols. So it is not a gurdwara in the normal sense of the word. Sikhs do not bring idols into a Gurudwara.
But hey! If these worshippers are happy, let it be.
RpSingh Solanki: अपने सभी हिन्दू भाईयों का हार्दिक अभिन्दन एवं प्यार , अमेरिकन पेस्ट कण्ट्रोल दिल्ली इन्डिया , मनीला फिलिफिंस,
Gagan: Awesome... all should live like this. Thanks for sharing 
