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.
___________________
Patrick Moore is a freehand drawing artist and freelance music writer.
By Renu Mehta TORONTO: His journey in Canada began as a refugee when he arrived here almost 15 years ago with a few dollars in his pocket, but a big dream in his heart. Landing in Montreal with just $350 in his pocket, Mohammed Anwar had nowhere to go. Holding a diploma in hospitality and speaking broken English, he went from door to door in search of work. He washed dishes, distributed flyers, and did everything possible to get that first `Canadian experience'. Finally, his first breakthrough came in a hotel in Dorval when he told the hiring person that he was willing to work without pay. He was asked to show up the next day at 9 am and his work began with mopping of floors. Seeing his hard work, dedication and determination, he was soon hired as a houseman and a few months later promoted to assistant manager. “Those were hard days,” says Anwar who calls Canada the land of opportunities. “There was not much money, but I was determined to succeed in my new adopted country. I strongly believe that if you are willing to work hard, you can achieve your dreams in this country.” But back then, he didn't have enough money to survive. “I used to play cricket but could not afford to buy shoes to play. I would play in slippers bought from the dollar store. When people asked me why I would not wear shoes, I would tell them that I suffered allergy from shoes on the feet. I couldn’t tell them that I had no money to buy shoes,” says Anwar. In the hope of finding more opportunities in Toronto, Anwar decided to move to the city and started from zero again. He began to send his resume to various hotels in the city and finally was offered a job. But the money still wasn’t enough. So after his day job, he began pizza delivery in the evening, still barely affording to pay rent and meet other expenses. It was expensive to live in Toronto, he reminisces. “I remember I once had to deliver pizza in a hotel in downtown Toronto in the winter and the doorman would not let me park my car. He said go park outside, even though he could see I had pizza boxes and it was freezing cold. So I had to park on the street and delivered the pizza with the drinks bag slung around my neck. When I went back, I had a $60 ticket, an expense that was very painful. Ironically, years later, when I drove my brand new Mercedes to the same hotel, they offered to park my car for me, showering extreme courtesy and attention.” Meanwhile, with his heart set on owning his own business, he quit both jobs and got a cab license. “I decided to drive a cab to try and meet other people to get more ideas about better opportunities. I spoke to many different people, collected business cards, etc. I also thought that I could probably start my own security company, so I completed the Police Foundation program but that also didn’t work,” says the gym enthusiast who spends many hours a week working out. After a few weeks of research, he decided he would initiate an employment agency that would help other people find jobs, as he knew first hand how difficult it was for some people to get a job. And so Merit Services was born and his journey to help people find employment began to take shape. “One of my biggest challenges was to be part of this industry, finding employers. I went door to door to build linkages to employers and employees,'' says the one-time Canadian refugee. Today, Merit Services has three offices in Toronto and boasts a huge database of job seekers and employers. The company helps people get jobs in construction, labour, administration and finance. While many recruiters favour individuals who are currently employed and looking for a change rather than those who are unemployed, under Anwar’s leadership, the company focuses on fresh talent, and helping those who would do wonders if given the right opportunity. Anwar also has a mandate to help students and newcomers where they find co-op placements for students and also for international students. With offices in Concord, Brampton and Scarborough, the organization is poised for growth and he has plans under way to open offices in Oakville, Hamilton and Barrie soon. The company will now venture into immigration for everyone, particularly students. Anwar says his passion is to encourage and provide knowledge and leadership to the younger generation. “I want to focus on motivating the new generation including proper guidance, providing opportunities and mentorship,” says Anwar. “I don’t want others to go through the same pain that I had to go through.” One piece of advice he has for everyone is to be never late for anything. “I find that nine out of ten people are always late. My advice is arrive early, sit down, relax and bring your anxiety down, be it for a job, interview, meeting or other.” Anwar also believes in giving back to the community. Through his company, he plans large-scale fundraising events to raise awareness of a local need and encourage local unity. “Through these opportunities, we gather in kind donations such as canned food, furniture and appliances for a needy family and diapers and toys for a new mom.” Donations are made through various NGOs, including Humanity First and Food Bank. The company also supports several donation camps such as organ donation, blood banks, tissue donation. Anwar’s journey has been tough, but continuous and growing. And all because of a dream he had to make it, to achieve success in Canada. “Why only in Canada. I want my business to be world-wide. If you don’t dream, how will it be fulfilled,” he says. “Work hard. Never give up. Keep your objective in your mind and it will be achieved.” (Updated version: This story first appeared here on Feb 13, 2018) READ NEXT: How young Canadian immigrant Haroon Mirza became a multimillionaire in just four years
James Ssentongo: Hi. This is very intetesting and inspiring articles. I wanted to share it to my friends but not easy to share it. Kindly include a link or area to allow it to be shared.
Thanks and regards,
James
Del Trotter: This is, sorry to say, a 'I am happy' story, not a 'success' story. Buying a Mercedes in Canada is not a big deal - (Montreal is such a parking ticket racket that I have not been to Montreal for over 3 years and I have stopped many of my friends from going there also) - I owned an S-500 until a few months ago. If your personal taxable income is over $300,000 per year, then I would start to say it is a start-to-success!
So, as usual, a person who CAN'T get a job in Canada starts a business to 'recruit' people (your other option is to become a un-realtor) - in Canada, the only thing a recruiter does is to select probable applicants, send it to 'employers' and if they select one from your batch you get a 'commission'.
The 'recruitment racket' is how Canada practices racism and discrimination very effectively - with the 'recruiter' as the man-in-the-middle there is now way that the job seeker can accuse the employer of racism.
Please correct me if I am wrong - bearing in mind that I did a near-comprehensive research in to most recruiters in Mississauga.
One more question, is the moral of the story that we should all become taxi drivers and pizza deliverers before we start a recruiting business and claim to be a success? That is Canada's immigration policy anyway and everyone finds out to therir horror within one year and AFTER having given (stolen by) their money to Canada - you are lucky you came with ONLY $350 - others do the same with over $30,000+! 
