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.
Punjabi language in Canada is making big strides as it is now the third most spoken tongue in the country
By Balwant Sanghera VANCOUVER: The Punjabi Language Education Association (PLEA Canada) had a very successful International Mother Language Day (IMLD) celebrations last week at the North Delta Recreation Centre in the Metro Vancouver area. More than 200 persons filled the hall to celebrate this special day. As a result of the struggle and sacrifices of the Bengali community in general and students in particular in what is now Bangladesh, UNESCO declared February 21 as the International Mother Language Day (IMLD) throughout the world in 1999. PLEA has been celebrating this special day for many years. This was our tenth celebration of IMLD. Since it is the centenary of the birth of the Gadar (Freedom) Movement in North America, this year’s celebration was dedicated to this movement and those brave and fearless fighters of our community who, through their sacrifices, paved the way for future generations to enjoy better life in Canada and the US. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Members of the Punjabi Language Education Association (PLEA), Canada, celebrating International Mother Language Day. Prof Sadhu Binning and Balwant Sanghera, standing in the middle, are founder-members of PLEA.[/caption]
A number of teachers made an excellent effort in encouraging their students to participate. PLEA is very thankful to all of those parents, teachers and students who were there either as participants or as part of the audience.
Speakers of Punjabi language in Canada
In my opening remarks, in addition to welcoming the members of the audience and participants, I gave a brief update about the status of Punjabi locally, nationally and internationally. Indeed, it is a great honour for PLEA and all of the well-wishers of Punjabi that this language is now the third most spoken language in Canada with at least 460,000 speakers.
Similarly, it is tenth or eleventh most spoken language in the world. The latest figures indicate that Punjabi has now become the second most spoken language in Australia and the third most spoken in England.
Locally, Surrey, with close to 100,000 speakers of Punjabi has now become the largest Punjabi speaking community outside Punjab. Brampton in Ontario is close second with 91,000 speakers of Punjabi. On behalf of PLEA, I would like to urge members of our community to become ambassadors for Punjabi and help promote it not only in our educational institutions but also in the community in whatever way they can.
Though a lot has been accomplished, yet a lot more needs to be done in getting Punjabi its due place in Canada. Take for example the airline industry. Some of the airlines carrying passengers from Canada to India have almost 80 percent of their passengers of Punjabi heritage. Yet there are hardly any Punjabi-speaking cabin crew members. Nor are there any Punjabi newspapers, magazines or movies available on these flights. This is something we need to follow-up with the airlines and travel agents. Similarly, there are a lot of other things that still need to be followed up in this regard. PLEA has set up a committee to approach the airlines as well as Indo-Canadian travel agencies to follow up on this issue.
Veteran historian Sohan Singh Pooni was kind enough to join us in explaining the close relationship between our pioneers in Canada and the Punjabi language. He mentioned that the first Punjabi class in Vancouver was begun in 1908 at the Khalsa Diwan Society, Vancouver’s gurdwara on 2nd Avenue and Burrard Street. It was taught by Bhai Balwant Singh, the priest at the gurdwara at that time.
Mr. Pooni stated that Vancouver was also home to some of the earliest Punjabi newspapers. For example, the first Punjabi newspaper in Canada - Swadesh Sewak - was started in Vancouver in 1910. Also, the first Punjabi book - Dushman di Khoj Bhal – (Search of the Enemy) by Munsha Singh Dukhi, was printed in Vancouver in 1914.Consequently, there was a keen desire among the pioneers to learn Punjabi at that time so that they could read Punjabi newspapers and stay in touch with each other through this common medium.
Picture of Punjabi language in Canada
Mr. Pooni was followed by prominent writer and PLEA’s vice president Sadhu Binning who stressed the point that we should take advantage of the opportunities to learn and promote Punjabi. Mr. Binning emphasized that still a lot more needs to be done in getting due respect and proper place for Punjabi in this country. There are still a lot of challenges ahead for PLEA and the community. He was followed by Jas Lehal who stressed that more research, materials, teacher training and appropriate syllabus are essential for Punjabi.
Statistics Canada spokespersons Ashok Mathur and Peter Liang gave a very comprehensive picture of Punjabi language in Canada.
They thanked the community and PLEA in encouraging people to participate in the census in 2011.
In addition to these impressive presentations, the audience was treated to a variety of songs, poems and essays by students from Beaver Creek Elementary, Princess Margaret Secondary and North Delta Secondary Schools.
Hardeep Singh Virk entertained the audience with two beautiful songs about Punjabi. Prominent Punjabi poet and author Gian Singh Kotli shared an inspiring poem about the Punjabi language. Prabhjot Kaur did an excellent job as MC with guidance from Parvinder Dhariwal.
At the conclusion of the program, the participants as well as members of the audience were thanked for joining in this celebration. Plaques were presented to four prominent individuals for their contribution to the Punjabi language. They are: Inder Mehat, Amrit Mann, Rajinder Pandher and Paul Binning.
Our sincere thanks also go to our financial supporters - Sukhi Batth, Rav Bains, Paramjit Sandhu, Deepak Binning Foundation and Dr. Hakim Bhullar. PLEA is ever so grateful to the Indo-Canadian media – both print and electronic – for their continued support. All in all, it was a very successful tribute to our mother tongue Punjabi language in Canada. (Updated: This article first appeared in March 1, 2013)
(Based in Richmond, BC, Balwant Sanghera is a community leader who has worked tirelessly for promoting Punjabi language in Canada)Â
REASD ALSO: Kuldeep Deepak: The father of Punjabi radio in Canada
your name's father: fuck u son.
Sandeep: or job
hi,
sir/mam, i am Sandeep from india . Actually i have search a job in Canada any type of job . i accept , basically i have done Japanese languages and i am doing a job in india . as Japanese interpretation. but i want to go to Canada so i request you if have a job in your Company then please contact me . my Phone number is : +91 7533010718 and my mail ID is [email protected]. i attached my cv please find it and reply me . I will waiting for your results .
sanjay jain: We are well known raputated moudler kitchen hardware company in India. We know interested to expand our business in canada.
please advice how to started there
sanjay jain
Dhanarajan: Brave show your image welcome
Rajvinder Kaur: Sir SSA ji
Rajvinder Kaur Ludhiana Punjab
I am Coordinator Govt of Punjab & loomba Foundation But i am Free , have u any job related me.
Prof. Kuldip Pelia: In Surrey, Punjabi speakers are about 120,000 but French speakers are only about 3,500. So it is obvious that more businesses would hire Punjabi-English bilinguals than French-English ones. For new learners, there are a lot more opportunities to practice Punjabi than French.
According to the census Canada 2011, after English, Punjabi is the most-spoken language in British Columbia, Metro Vancouver, Surrey, and Abbotsford. So Punjabi should be taught as a second language in BC schools. As French is the official language of Canada, same as English, French should be taught as a first language from grade 1 to grade 12 in all schools in Canada.
Arjun Yadav: Sir i know hindi & punjabi language
Please guide me how can I get a job in Canada.
harjinder kaur: I want to teach Punjabi. In Canada because there no placement of punjabi
Sukhdeep kaur: Sir, I am Punjabi teacher.
Please guide me how can I get a job in Canada.
Harjeet sandhu: Dear Sirjii
Sat shri akal I have completed my Higher Secondary Schooling kindly let me know if there is any Vacancy in Canada.
Harjeet sandhu: Sir is there any vacancy in Canada for me I am a HSC
Balwant Sanghera: Sarbjit, you should contact Mr. Satish Gulati of Chetna Parkashan. He may be to help you. Satish's phone # is : 001-604-230-9379.Balwant Sanghera
Sarbjit singh: Hello I m punjabi stories writer (PUNJAB).Please tell me how to published my story in Canada punjabi magine.
Sarbjit singh
Contact-+917837386969
mahesh singh: sir,today i read in the internet that,there is about 3000 vacancies in surrey(canada) for radiographer job.can u please let me know about the vacancies,how i can apply for this radiographer job
Reply
moderator: PLEA will respond to you.Just wait for their response here.
hardeep kaur sohal: Dear Sir
I Hardeep Kaur Sohal am a Punjabi writer.I wrote my first Punjabi book "PUNJABI LANGUAGE:TEACHING AND GRAMMAR ". So as a writer, I want to do for punjabi language in Canada.I also want to Members of the Punjabi Language Education Association (PLEA), Canada. Kindly give me a chance.Thanks
amanjot bagga: I wana to do for punjabi language in canada
Dr. Jasvir kaur: Punjabi is great!!!!
anita rani: sir,today i read in the newspaper that,there is about 3000 vacancies in surrey(canada) for punjabi speakers.can u please let me know about the vacancies,how i can apply for this punjabi speakers job ?
sahajpal: sir,today i read in the newspaper that,there is about 3000 vacancies in surrey(canada) for punjabi speakers.can u please let me know about the vacancies,how i can apply for this punjabi speakers job?
P.S. Bhandari: The real problem is extremism which even God does not like . 'Utt da te Parmeshwar da vair hunda.' We have been after wearing kirpan Now our 'pagri' is in danger in Quebec.It all started when few people went to Quebec National Assembly to participate in a debate on 'Hijab' with kirpans. It annoyed the Law makers and they unanimously resolved no Arms in Assembly. It also annoyed the Muslims because Kirpan came on the Front and Hijab was put on the back burner. It should be noted the Same Assembly sent a coach to transport Sikhs from Montreal , gave them reception and unanimously passed the motion to recognize Shri Guru Grath Sahib in 2004 and the same they did in 2008.Now where are those young men?
newsadmin: Your Name: Where does the question of not learning the official languages of Canada arise? Does the writer anywhere in his article oppose the learning of English and French? Have you read the whole article? Then you are posting under the name `Your Name' while your email ID says something else.
Your Name...: Because English and French are official languages of this country. If you want to be a part of the country, learn the freaking language or go back to Punjab.
Balwant Sanghera: I can understand your frustration, Sukhpreet. However, we must remember that English and French are the only two official languages of Canada. PLEA has been working hard to get Punjabi its due place in Canada and will continue to do so.
Sukhpreet Kaur: If Punjabi has taken the third place in languages spoken in Canada, why has the English/French eligibility been introduced for those seeking citizenship. More than the airlines issue, we need to emphasize on this since many of our people are going to be let down and will have to wait for years to finally be Canadian citizens (as if the waiting time to apply isn't long enough already). 
