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.
Toronto-based Mukund Purohit has been awarded for promoting India-Canadian business relationship
The Canadian Bazaar TORONTO: When Mukund Purohit landed in Canada in 2000, he struggled like most new immigrants and survived by doing odd jobs. Sixteen years later, he has just been honoured by his birth country with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award for his accomplishments in Canada. Indeed, Mukund Purohit is a rising entrepreneur with interests spanning India and Canada and across businesses such as the Neopolitan Pizza Limited chain, fertilizer production and movie-making. ``In fact, our pizza chain, started in 2012, became the first Canadian-owned company to be listed on the National Stock Exchange in Mumbai on Nov 7, 2014. We have 54 outlets as of today and we are taking it international by opening outlets in Florida, Toronto and London,’’ gushes Mukund Purohit who now splits his time between Toronto and India. This Baroda-born man, who co-chaired the government liaison committee for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Canada in 2015, has already had quite a few other honours under his belt - the Gauravanto Gujarati Award by the Gujarat government in 2010, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award by the government of Canada in 2012, the Canada-India Friendship Medal by the Canada-India Parliamentary Friendship Group in 2012 and the Son of Gujarat award by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce.. An interview with him: Q: Mukund Purohit, what was your feeling when your name was listed among 30 winners of this year’s Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award in Bangalore? It was an unbelievable feeling when the President of India gave me the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award for building business bridges between India and Canada. What was even more satisfying was the fact that I was the youngest NRI to receive this award so far. [caption id="attachment_72056" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Mukund Purohit with Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award[/caption]
Q: Tell us something about the beginning of your journey as an immigrant in Canada.
I came to Toronto from Baroda in the year 2000 and initially lived the life of a struggler as most immigrants do by doing odd jobs. But I wanted to create something of my own.
Considering my background in human resources, I set up VCare HR Solutions in 2003 to recruit manpower. We used to recruit IT people.
I quickly forged connections in the local community and formed the Gujarati Business Association in 2003. This association was to serve as a platform for my efforts to bring business leaders of India and Canada together.
Q: What was the goal behind the formation of the Gujarati Business Association?
Well, I wanted to bring small businesses of Canada and India together and I started taking delegations of small and medium businesses to India.
You know, the Tatas and the Birlas don’t need business associations to connect them with Canadian businesses. But it is the cutlery-makers or pickle-makers in small-town India who would like to sell their products in Canada but they have no connections and no one knows them in Canada. I wanted to bring small businesses in India and Canada together.
Q: You also started taking political leaders in your business delegations to India. Why?
My thinking was that business delegations come and go, they meet and exchange business cards and depart without doing any real business. I thought that business can be done only if politicians and government representatives also become part of the business delegations. That’s why we started taking political leaders with our delegations and it benefited India and my native Gujarat a lot.
Q: How did Gujarat benefit?
When as chief minister, Narendra Modi started Vibrant Gujarat in 2007, I took a delegation of business people and politicians - including Ontario MP Patrick Brown and Alberta MP Devinder Shorey - to Gujarat. Thus, Canada became the first western country to engage with Gujarat, and I am happy that I played a big role in it. This was followed by high-profile visits of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Jason Kenney to Gujarat. Gujarat benefited from its engagement with Canadian leaders.
[caption id="attachment_72057" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
Mukund Purohit (sixth in back row from right) with other awardees as they with then President Pranab Mukherjee.[/caption]
Q: You have expressed desire to work on skill development in Canada. Why?
Canada is my karma-bhumi. I want to give it back as much as I can. The big problem that I see in Canada is that there is a mismatch between demand and supply in the job market.
That’s why foreign investment doesn’t come into Canada because global companies know that they can get permission from the government and other requirements. But where will they get skilled manpower? That’s a big deterrence for global companies to come to Canada.
On the other hand, thousands of foreign students come to Canada, get their degrees and PR and then get stuck in small jobs because they have the degrees, but not the skills required in the market. Education is fine, but you need skills to become employable in the market.
That’s why I want to work on skill development in Canada. My idea is to start small skill development centres in Toronto so that students can take courses of very short duration - say a month or two - at a very low cost and then become employable. These centres will on the lines of ITIs (industrial training institutes) in India.
Q: Since you have been active in promoting business relations between India and Canada for years, why isn’t Canada-India trade picking up?
There are two reasons. One is the poor marketing strategy of Canadian companies in India. Two, their (Canadian) world is limited to the US, the UK and Europe. They are not much interested in India.
Q: But Canada has manifold more business with China than India. Why?
That door with China opened much earlier. It is not possible with India.
[caption id="attachment_72058" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Mukund Purohit receiving the award from the President.[/caption]
Q: Do you think the proposed free trade agreement between Canada and India will boost trade?
Yes, once the free trade agreement is signed, it will help boost trade between the two countries. In fact, lots of business people are waiting for it to be signed.
If Canada has got what India needs, I have every reason to believe that the bilateral trade will grow rapidly. Canada is rich in oil, gas, mineral resources, potash and fertilizers, and India is hungry for these these things. The Ambanis and Adanis of India will be ready for huge investment in Canada for procuring these resources.
On the other hand, fertilizer plants in India are being scaled down because of shortage of natural gas. But since Canada has abundance of natural gas, the Indian government can set up fertilizer plants in Canada and get fertilizer supplies from there.
Q: What are your hopes from the proposed visit of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to India this year?
I want two things from the Canadian prime minister. I want Canada and India to sign the free trade agreement. The two sides have been negotiating it for years and years. The deal should be signed now.
Two, I want Trudeau to visit cities other than Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Amritsar. This way, business people and traders in smaller Indian cities would also know about opportunities in Canada. There are tons of opportunities for Canada in India away from the four big cities. Look at the north-east region of India which offers huge opportunities in infrastructure for Canada.
Sadly, visiting leaders from Canada never go beyond four big Indian cities. India is not just four big cities. Canada needs to increase its visibility elsewhere in India.
[caption id="attachment_72061" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
Mukund Purohit meeting Prime Minister Modi.[/caption]
Q: With your business interests in both India and Canada, how do you split your time between the two countries?
I spend half the time in India and half in Canada. Apart from looking after my businesses in India, I am also involved in charities and humanitarian causes in India.
I am actively involved in fund-raising for the Kanya Kelvani Yojana which works for literacy among young girls from poor sections of society in Gujarat. When Narendra Modi launched it, I was part of a 16-member delegation of Canadian Friends of India-Canada Parliamentary Association which presented him a cheque for $21,000 for Kanya Kelvani Yojana.
Since 2013, I have also been involved with My Home India which is an NGO that works to find missing children and restore them to their parents. We raise funds for My Home India. Since 2013, we have restored 1,400 missing children to their parents.
In Canada, I am and have been an office-bearer of organizations such as the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, Panorama India and the Canada-India Foundation. I have also served as an advisor to the New Brunswick government and the economic ministry of Saskatchewan.
