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 Subhash K Jha MUMBAI: For long there has been whispers of Daler Mehdi not quite hitting it off with his kid-brother singer Mika who is currently hot in the Bollywood music charts. One would have thought that Mika would erase all the grievances with his elder brother at a time when Daler’s son Gurdeep is all set to make his Bollywood debut. While the entire Mehdi family - including Daler’s wife Daljit - has pitched in to Gurdeep’s debut film Meri Shadi Karvao Mika has discreetly stayed out. Says a source close to the family, “Out of the brothers, Mika has always been a rebel. While Daler’s entire family has come together to support Gurdeep’s debut, Mika has stayed away. Gurdeep was in fact very keen to have his uncle sing for him, as Mika is a very popular playback singer in Bollywood at the moment. But Mika stayed out.” When one asked the boy about his youngest uncle’s absence from his debut, Gurdeep admitted Mika was asked to sing in Meri Shaadi Karvao. “My father has sung in my film. He couldn’t sing for me since he’s so senior. He has sung for my co-star Manoj Pawa.” Another US-based uncle of Gurdeep has also sung in debut film. “My other Chacha Harjit Mehdi who lives in Calfornia and who is into Sufi music has also sung in my debut film.In fact, this id Harjeet Chacha’s Bollywood debut along with me.” As for Mika absence, Gurdeep tries hard to hide the real reason. “Mika Chacha was supposed to do a promotional song for my film with me. But he decided against it. He said, ‘You do this on your own. I don’t want anyone to think you’ve made your debut by firing your gun from anyone’s shoulders.’ I’ve composed four songs and sung them for myself. Mika Chacha can sing in a future film for me. I am here to stay.” Gurdeep is very proud of the fact that he is the first Sardar hero of Hindi cinema. “There have been many heroes playing a Sardar.In the 100 years of Hindi cinema there has never been a Sardar hero. I don’t see my appearance as a hindrance. I see it as my USP. In my debut film I play a Sardar. In the future I may play other characters but my appearance would remain unchanged. I will work my character around my turban hair and beard.” Curiously, Meri Shaadi Karao is directed by a foremost filmmaker from Pakistan Syed Noor. Ask the boy why, and he explains, “Syed Saab is a very eminent director in Pakistan. My father and he are close friends and I’ve known Syed Saab from my childhood. It was he who suggested that I get into acting since he felt I could dance and sing so well. The whole project is his idea. We were initially to make the film in Punjabi only. But Syed Saab felt I should make my debut in Hindi cinema and become the first Sardar hero of Bollywood.” Because of the director’s stronghold on Pakistan Gurdeep hopes to see his film become successful on both sides of the border. “It’s my father’s dream to see me make a mark both here and Pakistan. I hope I can fulfil his dream” says the newest and the most unique turbaned star-son.
