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
VANCOUVER: I remember the short but severe winters of Punjab. The harsh lashes of the elements are felt more heavily because the houses back home are not heated.
To keep warm, we would pile on clothes, huddle close to room heaters and wrap ourselves in blankets. We would cluster together under a quilt, play cards and tell stories to keep warm and to pass time during the cold and long evenings of those good old days. We joked that the families that huddle together stay together. Coming out from the warmth of the quilt and stepping on the cold floor was a challenge.
Throughout the long winter nights, we would hear the warning shouts of the Pehredar (watchman), “Jagtey Raho” roughly translated as “be alert” and the noise from his bamboo cane randomly used as a drum on street pavements.
At the advent of dawn, the melodious song of a mendicant used to be a welcome change from the annoying warning shouts of the Pehredar. At the end of his spiritual song he would wish good luck and thank everyone irrespective of who gave him alms or not. I remember him saying, “Jo de uska bhala, jo na de uska bhee bhala” I took solace in the fact that I was a recipient of his blessings although I didn’t give him anything. To me, it was his kindness to wish us well and bless us without getting anything from us.
Kindness is an act of goodness, generosity and consideration without expectation of anything in return. In other words kindness is a state of being good, charitable and genuinely concerned for others. Charity was always considered a virtue in our family. We were taught to be kind, generous and helpful to people in need. My parents used to say "Kindness is Everything". They taught us, “Neki kar aur kuuain mein phaink” i.e. don’t expect any return from your acts of kindness.
Kindness can be expressed in many different ways. It is easy to practice kindness and it can mean a lot to the person on the receiving end. I have noticed numerous acts of kindness daily in the world around me; a smile, a compliment, a word of encouragement, a thank you, an offer of help (sometimes between two people that don’t even know each other). I am aware of selfless acts of kindness in my community; volunteerism, friends caring for friends that are ill or dying, parents supporting teachers, community groups working together, fundraisers for people in need, soup kitchens and countless other examples.
Personally, I try to perform one act of random kindness a day simply by thanking a co-worker, giving a friend a phone call to tell them I appreciate them, turning to a relative to say thank you for being here with me, or sending an e-mail to someone who could use a lift. Try out just smiling for the heck of it and see how many smiles you get back!
A famous Indian poet, mystic and religious reformer Kabir said, “Dayaa Dharam ka mool hai, Jahaan Dayaa tahaan aap”. It says, “Kindness is the foundation of dharma; where there is kindness God resides.” Famous Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, “Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”
More recently kindness has been reincarnated as the concept of “a random act of kindness” such as “suspended coffee”.
So what is “suspended coffee”? It is a practice of some customers pay for their own coffee, then pay for an extra coffee — or two — but “suspend” delivery of the drink. The cashier hands the drink over to the next customer with the pleasant surprise of it being paid for by somebody else. Although the next customer likely is entirely capable of paying for themselves, he or she will likely still have great appreciation for a little bit of saved money.
Please remember that even the smallest act of kindness can be better than even the grandest intentions. Here is a verse from one of my poems:
Kindness is a vibration
here, there or any where
that would make you happy and lift other’s despair.
Every drop of kindness
that you give away
will return to you and bless your life one day.
(Ashok Bhargava is president of Writers International Network or WIN, Canada)
MORE BY ASHOK BHARGAVA: Joys of stillness
Nizar Sartawi: So simple, and yet so meaningful. I specially admire the "suspended coffee" practice. And when you talk of your childhood days, you remind me of mine too. Though we belong to different cultures and backgrounds, we seem to have lots of things in common.
Tamara Galiulina: I'm finally online ( have been pretty busy) and reading Ashok's article was my priority. I admire you, my friend, you're a paragon of virtue, you make all people around happier with your smile, your generosity and kindness and with your beautiful poetry.
Serina: Dear Sir,
Thank you for forwarding the article.
The suggestion to do good each day is a very inspiring thought.
I try and contribute with a kind gesture once every week, to serve the underprivileged. Now on I will do my bit each day.
The Article has come on my wall as well. I have shared with my friends.
Thank you again.
Best Regards
Serina
Ellen: Ashok, if anyone should write about kindness, it would be you my friend. You're such a gentle and kind soul. I think the suspended coffee is also like a "pay it forward" gesture...I've seen it here in Canada. It's so heart touching that one feels blessed for a moment and everybody takes a pause and appreciate more the beauty of human nature...
Rashmi: Very good article, Ashok ji.
Harpreet Singh: Great article. Lets discuss it on radio and TV
Ren Aarhh: nice to know about "suspended coffee" 
