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.
News East West
MUMBAI: Our hot Bollywood divas are shedding their inhibitions as wells as clothes at the slightest pretext. Perhaps they have taken a cue from Sunny Leone, Sherlyn Chopra and Poonam Pandey.
For the year's Bollywood calendar by celebrity photographer Dabboo Ratnani, our ladies Vidya Balan, Parineeti Chopra and Alia Bhatt have posed with the skimpiest clothes or no clothes.
[caption id="attachment_33437" align="alignnone" width="530"]
Vidya Balan: Just a necklace to hide her bosom[/caption]
In the calendar, Vidya Balan, who loves out-of-the-box roles in films, shows up with only a big weird necklace to hide her big bosom.
[caption id="attachment_33244" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Parineeti Chopra[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_33184" align="alignnone" width="558"]
Priyanka[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_33290" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Bipasha Basu[/caption]
Parineeti Chopra is seen sitting in a hand-cart which hides her bottom.
Flashing her shapely thigh, Parineeti’s cousin Priyanka is pretending to be in a rage.
And Alia Bhatt is seen holding a cat to hide her assets.
[caption id="attachment_33288" align="alignnone" width="575"]
Anushka Sharma[/caption]
The slender Anushka Sharma is seen in smoldering hot shorts.
Bengali bombshell Bipasha Basu can be seen in a sexy leggy pose and `masala hips’ Sonakshi Snha gives a slight glimpse of back.
[caption id="attachment_33403" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Sonakshi Sinha 2014 Bollywood calendar[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_33292" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Deepika Padukone[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_33185" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Shahrukh[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_33186" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Salman Khan[/caption]
As for Aishwarya and hubby Abhi, there is nothing to write home about.
While King Shahrukh Khan is seen lying in a relaxed mood and puffing on his cigarette, Salman Khan has the look of an intellectual.
MUST READ: Anushka, Kriti and Alia strip for 2016 Bollywood calendar
Sameer: Apki aag kam karne ke liye
ashish: Bankalodi alia hma gand nhi dati
virat singh: madarchod muslmano tumhari pakistan chod ke rakh denge
himesh sharma: pakistanio tum hamare muth bhar ke bhi nahi ho apni aukaad mai raho warna chir ke rakh denge "pakistan murda baad"
mahesh kumar: o bhan ke lando pskistano ek baat yaad rakho pura india ek lota pani dalega to pakistan bah jayega.apni juban sabhal kar baat warna tumhari pakistan ko chod ke rakh denge.
radhika: kya ho yaar tum sab sex kyo karte ho sala
Rahul Pujari: Doston,,,,Chahe hindu ho ya muslman shikh ho ya isai hum sb h bhai bhai,,,,Are jb allah bhagwan rab god ne insan ko bnane me frq nahi kiya to hum sb kon hote h unke ek dusre ke dharam ko gali dene wale,,,,,Hum sb ek hi dharam ke h mere bhaiyon,,,Wo h insaniyat,,..to plzz aur dushmni matt paida karo,,,,ab to bhaiyon ki tarah raho,,,,
inoxent waseem khan: ary o hindu ki olad ek movie se teri bagwano ki band baji salo pk movie to tum logo se deki nai ja rai ti tumra mazhab asy banns ke agy beem bajana he islam ki bt krty hu kutto hindu ke bachho .aenda se islam ke bare ma kuch kaha to buhat kuch suno ge.
Ranjeet singh: Be mullah tumhari maa ki chut Hindustani tumhari maa ko lund vi daal dega. Lundfakiro.
kamraj: mai teri ma chod dunga sale . madarxhod
king vicky rajput: arrey pakistani madharchod pahchanta hai be marrenge to pant me shushu kar dega.boor kaa baal.mooh pe mutt denge be.
arav roy: apni aukat me reh ka baat karna .
arav roy: ek baat ache se jaan lo pakistaniyo tum sab jra si bhi apne aukat par aaye to tumhare aage ki jindgi katnai me beetagi.
Aqif sulehri: Plz ksi k khuda k bry mai bura na kho k w0h tmhary khuda ko bura bhla khy agr aap log0n main itna e emaan h to q aik 2sry k khuda ko bura bhala kh rhy ho zahri baat h agr aap ksi k khuda k bary mai ulta seedha bakko gy to w0h b agy sy tmhary khuda ko jo tmhari nazar mai real h usy bura bhla khy ga ....baqi agr ksi ko meri baat buri lgi ho to soory ... ALLAH hafiz....
syed.ubaid(abbu): assalam alikum bhai.in this world no one hv an authority to blame other religions if ur blaming the religions u will be punished on the final judgement of the day inshaallah so plz....
salman khan: pure pakistani public ke gaand me mera lauda tumhare maa ki chud me gadhe aur kutte aur bailo ka khada land chutko gand me dam hai to aao akela khada kr ke tumhari maa chodta
Your Name...srk khan: arey kaafir ki aulaad....ek din jahnnum me jaloge tm sb or us wqt teri koi ni sunega....hindu murdabad kaafir murdabad
Jitender kumar: yaaro hamara des ek khun ek hamare sarir ki banavet ek. Tho phir aapas me jhagda kis baat par. Hum sab ek hain tho ladai jhagda kyon. Ladaion se des, gaon, ghar, sab barbaad ho jate hain. Isliye dharm majhab ki bajaaye ek ho kar raho. Bade bhaiyo...
ashfi khan: i'm agree with kamal... Nd imran tu saale apni auqat dikha rha h teri bato se lag rha h k tu kisi gnde naale ki paidaish h...suar ki aulad
abdul bari: kutte kaminey imran kam se kam apne naam ka lihaj toh rakh liya hoga,jo apne mazhab ka naa ho saka woh kisi aur ka kya hoga agar dam hai toh kisi musalmaan k samne bol k dikha teri mardangi kya hai pata chal jayega
khan bhai: MADARCHOD TU MURDABAAD SAALE TERA DHARAM MADARCHOD HAI SAALE
kamal: kisi bhi religion ko gaali dena apne religion ko hi gaali dena hai, kam se kam allah aur bhagwan ko toh apne is dirty discussion se bahar rakho bhaiyon.
Alee Khan: Ghairat Or Sharam Nhi.. Naam Imraan Hy Or Baaten Kaafiron WaLi.. KaaSh Tum Hote Pakistan Men Phir Dekhte K Tm KeSe BakwaS Karte Hou IsLam K Baare Men.. Shame On U
ismail khan: Imran beta aise nahi kehte kisi k bhi mazhab k baarey mai..kaash thori tameez hoti tujhme...aur agar tu yahaan hota Pakistan mai toh ba khuda zinda jala deta
atta ur rahman: hamaray islam kay baray mein kisi nay bura bhala kaha na toh hadi or pasli aik ho kar rah jay gyi sambhal jao hindustanio samalha jao
IMRAN: SALMAN KHAN & ALL MUSLIMS IN INDIAN IS A "SUAR KA ALLAD".ISLAM MURDABAD.
faisal: vidya xxxlan 
