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.
Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga Movement, celebrated the first World Laughter Day in Mumbai in 1998
By Ashok Bhargava
VANCOUVER: When we hear someone laughing, we are immediately intrigued and want to know why? That’s because laughter is contagious. I think, most of us want to be happy and instinctively search for a cheerful, crystal clear and carefree laugh.
Laugh we must because it has so many benefits. It lowers stress hormones, relaxes muscles, eases anxiety, improves mood, enhances resilience, strengthens optimism, empowers relationships, helps defuse conflict and supplies countless other benefits. Since laughter is the best antidote for many ailments, we must have giant doses of laughter every day.
Laughing and making other people laugh is an important part of my day. I can think of many times when I laughed so hard that tears ran down my cheeks. We all know that it is fun to chuckle, but do we do it enough? We work hard, have pressing deadlines, and just barely make it through our workday before going home, helping the kids with homework, taking the dog out, cooking dinner, cleaning up and putting the entire family to bed. You may only have 15 minutes to catch a glimpse of your favourite show before you fall asleep and start all over again. With that schedule, are you laughing at all?
My best laughs used to come from my sons when they were young. I will catch them unexpectedly and tickle them on their bellies or armpits. They would chase me around and try to tickle me while shouting “kili-kili†which can be translated as “laugh the laughsâ€. Their carefree laugh was truly enjoyable and I couldn’t help but giggle along with them until we collapsed from laughter-induced exhaustion. Although they grown up, we still laugh and poke fun. I love to write poems in my spare time and ask my sons to read and comment on them. One time my son said, `Dad your poems are good but don’t quit your day job, please.’ That become a trigger for us to laugh and we have often laughed about that innocent comment several times.
My son Arnel can make me laugh with his voice impressions. He does a peculiar Panjabi accent similar to one we’ve heard on Radio India. The voices do not mock the people, but rather relate to a silly situation. Our younger son Neil has a very keen sense of humour. My wife Aida is very witty but her humour is more subtle. She likes to laugh while watching her favourite comedy shows. You can hear her laughter almost a block away from our living room. What makes you laugh? Remember that it’s healthy to laugh a lot.
Did you know a World Laughter Day is held on the first Sunday of May every year? There are over 8,000 Laughter Clubs worldwide. The first celebration was in 1998 in Mumbai, India and was arranged by Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga Movement. He says: Laughter is a positive and powerful emotion that has all the ingredients required for individuals to master themselves and to change the world in a tubular way.
A few years ago, on my trip to India, I encountered a group of people, early in the morning at Lodhi Gardens in New Delhi, laughing silly and very loud. Their leader invited me to join them just for the fun of it. I joined them and let myself be silly and laughed without caring about what others thought of me. I must confess that after ten minutes of laughing I felt very good both physically and mentally. I realized that a smile starts on the lips, a grin spreads to the eyes, a chuckle comes from the belly; but a good laugh bursts forth from the soul, overflows, and bubbles all around. I challenge you to try laughing loud. I assure you that your breathing will improve and you will feel good. Remember when you laugh you change and when you change the world changes.
I just found out that the Harborview Medical centre in England has a certified laughter leader. Every Friday morning, he leads a group of people in silly exercises like pulling imaginary floss through their ears or riding a pretend roller coaster to make them laugh. It is a medically proven fact that laughing boosts the immune system. It reduces headaches and other types of pain. Laughing gives internal muscles a workout that improves digestion and it helps with sleep problems.
I urge all of you to enjoy your life and laugh to get your emotions going. You know, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers by laughing.
Famous American poet, painter and essayist E.E. Cummings says, “The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.â€
So come on and let’s all lighten up and laugh. (Updated: This article was first written on June 20, 2013)
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Lachman Balani: E.E.Cummings? He.was famous to sign his name of as e.e.cummings all in lower case.i am sure you know that. more of a visual poet than a rhymer. one of my fave poets. 
