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.
Canadian actress Lisa Ray says she may have baby later this year
By admin 14 Jan 2024
By Subhash K Jha
MUMBAI: The very beautiful and brave Indo-Canadian actress Lisa Ray is looking at extending her family.
She got married to Jason Dehni two years ago. But barely gets time to spend with him these days.
Says Lisa, “I just got back to Bombay.I’m very very busy. I’ve some upcoming film projects which I don’t want to talk about right now. I’m writing a column for DNA,there are many ad shoots and appearances .But most importantly, I’m renovating our home in Mumbai and settling into Hong Kong. It’s also going to be my father’s 83rd birthday soon.I will be celebrating with him in Kolkata.”
Lisa says life is a ‘Fine Balance’ right now. “I’m happy to be back in Asia.”
Recently she was bathed in acclaim for her appearance in the play Taj with Kabir Bedi.
Says Lisa, “Taj is not my first time in stage.It’s unfortunate that most people in India don’t realise I’m a trained theatre actor. I went to drama school in London and I’ve been on stage many times.I love performing live.”
Lisa loved being on stage for Taj. “ Taj was a unique experience. It’s just myself, Kabir and some extraordinary Kathak dancers. I simply loved playing Jahanara.It was a lot of work, demanding hectic travel schedules. But it’s such a riveting play visually,a very innovative re-telling of Shah Jahan’s last day. Our director Tom Diamond is one of the most renowned opera directors in North America!I loved every moment, very proud of the play which was commissioned by Lata Pada ,one of Canada’s most renowned danseuses.I’m always a bit sad that India is rarely recognized for its artistic achievements abroad.”
Lisa recently did a photo-shoot with legendary Canadian musician Bryan Adams. She is all praise for Adams. “He was shooting several chosen style icons of Toronto. After he finished we posed for selfies which he insisted on retaking a few times until the result was to his satisfaction He was so warm. He chatted about his life in England. He shared pictures of his new wife. He spoke about performing in India. But mainly he was very focused on his work until the shoot was over.”
There is more on Lisa’s plate. “I’m also signed to L’Oreal now and I’m the global brand ambassador for Insight Vacations. I’m going to NY shortly to talk about travel in India
“To be honest, it’s been travel and more travel. I miss my hubby.We spent New Year’s Eve in Goa with my friend Wendell and now I won’t see him until March in Hong Kong.But I’m enjoying this lifestyle tremendously.”
Says Lisa, “We’re hoping to expand our family later this year.Maybe a dog And yes, maybe a baby.”