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.
News East West TORONTO: Finally, an Indian-origin person is becoming CEO of Canada's top financial institution. Bharat Masrani, who is in charge of the bank's US personal and commercial banking operations, will take over as the CEO of TD Trust - which is Canada's top bank - from Nov 1. It will be the first time that a person of Indian origin becomes the head of a bank in Canada. Currently, Sarabjit Marwah , who is the number two in Scotiabank in Toronto, is the highest-ranking Indian in corporate Canada. But 56-year-old Bharat Masrani, who was born in Uganda to Indian parents, will now be the top Indian in corporate Canada when he takes the reins of the country's top bank. Masrani, who has been with TD Trust since 1987, started his career as a Commercial Lending Trainee where he rose to Account Manager, Commercial Accounts in 1988. He progressed through a number of positions and responsibilities before assuming the role of Vice President and Head, Corporate Banking Canada. In 1996, he was appointed Vice President and Country Head for India and then to Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance and Co-Head in Europe in 1997. In 1999, Bharat also served as Senior Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of TD Waterhouse Investor Services in Europe. Prior to his current position, Bharat was Vice Chair and Chief Risk Officer, Corporate Office, TD Bank Financial Group. Bharat Masrani, who earned his Bachelor of Administration with Honours in 1978 and then his MBA in 1979 from York University's Schulich School of Business, currently lives in Portland, Maine, with his wife Shabnam and two children. “As we look to the future, the Board is confident that Bharat’s leadership, breadth of experience and global business insight will serve him well,'' TD Trust chairman Brian Levitt said in a statement on Wednesday. Outgoing CEO Ed Clark said, ``Bharat brings a continuity of strategy, culture and values. I am extremely confident in the future of TD.” The TD Board opted for Masrani for the top job because of his excellent execution of his boss Ed Clark's strategies in the US where acquisitions of many banks, including those of Commerce Bancorp for more than $8-billion and some Florida banks, made TD Trust as one of the top ten banks in the US. In fact, the bank has more branches in the US (over 1,300) than in Canada (1,100). READ NEXT: How Nav Bhatia became a Canadian super success story
Barry Wood: Bharat Masrani and his TD Canada Trust Bank Group employees are nothing more than malicious court document proven liars and the proof can be reviewed at www.wtftd.ca. So he really is nothing special in my opinion.
Suresh Kumar Ommi: Congratulations Sir!!!
You made all the Indians proud. You rose above all the odds with sheer hard work and determination. You once again proved that there is no substitute for talent no matter who you are or where you are from. Well, I am going to start my journey with TD Canada Trust from next week. You are my inspiration. I will follow your foot prints. Great Job. Keep Going.
Inam Qureshi: Congratulations Bharat!! You will surely take TD to unfathomable heights!!
Inam
Harish Ganatra: Congratulation Bharatbhai
Harish Ganatra
Toronto & NY
Congratulations Bharat!: Congratulations Bharat!
I was one of the fortunate few who was mentored by you at the Culture Link TD Speed Mentoring Event last year on May 29th, 2012 at the Westin Harbour Castle
Thank you
Manoj Pai
Manoj Nathani: This news is inspiring as well as exciting.
From far away lands in the Middle East, from the shores of Dubai, best wishes from another Indo Canadian.
Good luck & all auccess to Mr Bharat Masrani!
Bharat: Thaks you, Ed
Krishna Mumbai: Dats true....no subzitude 4 da hard wrk. But u also need luck sometize.
Harneet: Great confidence booster news! Made Indians pround!
Narain Bhatia: Keep it up Bharat. Our best wishes are with you.
Kam Rathee, Vice - Chair, Canada India Education Counci: Well done Bharat ! Heartiest Congratulations !
You have proved my adage that competence counts and not one's background. There is no substitute for hard work and to an extent luck and pluck.
Hemant M Shah: Way to go!
Yu make Indo Canadian Proud... 
