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.
My husband is best gift of my life, says Sunny Leone
By admin 19 Jun 2019
By Subhash K Jha
BOLLYWOOD: The Babydoll hottie Sunny Leone turned 33 on Tuesday with a quiet night with her husband. No birthday party for Sunny.
Laughs the former Indo-Canadian porn star, âI was tucked into bed by 10 pm. Thatâs how I brought in my birthday. Boring? What to do? I landed a night before from LA and was heavily jet-lagged. I shot the whole day on the day before my birthday and then crashed out . At midnight someone was knocking on the door with a huge bouquet of flowers from a friend. So that was nice. Then I woke up to a relaxed session of working-out after which I left for shooting again. Itâs an ideal way to spend a special day.â
Sunny recalls her childhood birthdays. âMy mother would always bake me a cake for my birthdays. For one of my birthdays she baked me a Barbie cake. Thatâs every girlâs dream. I remember my 13th birthday. All my school friends came for a party. I got a tape of music of my favourite music bands and other fun gifts. I had the most loving parents who showered me with love on my birthday. I missed them the most on my birthday. I think of them everyday.â
Sunny considers her husband Daniel Weber to be the best gift of her life. âAnd he brings me the gifts that I like. He gifted me a diamond and emerald necklace this birthday which he got specially designed for me. I feel blessed to have a husband who heaps me with gifts. Weâve been together for six years now. Weâve been married for three years. Our love hasnât diminished. How have we made it last so long? Beyond being my husband and lover, he is my best friend.Weâve seen the best of times and the worst of times together. I can consult him about anything, any problem. He is always there for me. I can lean o him for anything, no matter how silly.â
Going into a flashback of her courtship Sunny remembers, âWe met in Las Vegas. He was based in New York. I didnât think at that time that anything would come of our relationship because we lived in different cities. But Daniel doesnât give up easily. He bombarded me with flowers chocolates and gifts all over the world wherever I happened to be. He would fly in from anywhere in the world to meet me.â
And now, âI am happy to be here in India. I am happy to be working here in India. My film Ragini MMS 2 is a success and the song âBaby Dollâ greets me everywhere I go. How does it feel? How do you think it feels?â she laughs out loud.
Then sobering Sunny sighs, âVery honestly itâs like a dream come true. Iâve been getting so much love from my fans all over the world. More than anything else, itâs their love that has made it all happen.â
Sunnyâs career is going great guns. âI am so fortunate to get a song like Babydoll. It has become like my personal anthem.I am happy Iâve a song so successful for people to dance to.â
Sunny gets a lot of offers to do item songs. â Iâve been getting a lot of those not only now but since I came in. I couldnât do many of them. But the songs that Iâve done so far have been well received.â
For this former Indo-Canadian porn star, her next release is Tina & Lolo. âItâs very different from my other films so far. After that Iâve Pritish Nandy Communicationâs Mastizade. That too gives me a chance to go beyond what Iâve done so far.â
Sunny Leoneâs birthday wishes: âI just want a happy home with my husband. I am not a party girl. I donât have too many friends. I spend all my time in the studios and then I am home. Thatâs why I went to sleep at 10 pm on the eve of my birthday.â
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