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.
Oakville Mayor Rob Burton with Riyasat staff.[/caption]
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Mayor Rob Burton cuts the cake to open Riyasat.[/caption]
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Mayor Burton with traditional Punjabi singer.[/caption]
The mayor, who spent a lot of time mingling with the gathering, posing for pictures and then enjoying the sumptuous dinner, praised the ethnic food at Riyasat.
“I am very impressed as this food is very tasty. I enjoyed it very much,’’ said the mayor.
The mayor is not the only high-profile visitor praising the cuisine at Riyasat Oakville located at 263 Lakeshore Road East in the heart of this leafy city.
“Their food stands out from the rest of Indian restaurants in Oakville. I love its unique ethnic taste,’’ says Hamilton real estate developer Ray Khanna.
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Daal Riyasat.[/caption]
For its ethnic food, Riyasat is indeed fast becoming the go-to-restaurant as more and more people come to know about this quality restaurant in their city.
“Our name is spreading by word of mouth and Riyasat is here to make a difference in eating out. The very aroma of our truly ethnic dishes sends your taste buds racing. Our food leaves an indescribable taste in your mouth,’’ says owner Mukesh Sharma.
Indeed, Riyasat is a restaurant with a difference because its experienced chefs are masters in giving a magic touch to its ethnic dishes. How do they do?
Firstly, they avoid colours and cook in mustard oil. “For ages, Punjabis have been using mustard oil for cooking because it enhances flavour and has health benefits as it consists of Omega 3 and 6,’’ says Sharma.
Secondly, they use only whole spices for the sake of true ethnic taste. “The reason we use whole spices is that as they roast they release volatile aromas. Whole spices are the best to give a vibrant flavour to our dishes.’’
And thirdly, they cook slowly in low heat. “Slow cooking makes the food tastier and maximizes its heath benefits,’’ says Sharma.
So what are their best non-veg dishes?
“Riyasat chicken curry – served with garlic naan or basmati rice laced with cardamom, cloves and cinnamon – is our signature dish. This best-selling dish comprises chicken breasts spiced with ground nutmeg, cardamom, onion, garlic and ginger and cooked slowly in mustard oil. People prefer it because we can serve it according to their taste – mild, medium or very hot. We use no cream or milk in it,’’ says Riyasat manager Simran Kaur.
Why chicken breasts, not chicken legs?
“Because the chicken breast has less calories and it is easy to cook,’’ she says.
Lamb (bhuna ghost) is their another top-choice offering for non-veg clients.
“Our clients like it very much because it is cooked very differently. We first fry all the spices (cardamom, cinnamon, cumin seeds, nutmeg, etc) in mustard oil, then mix them with chopped onions, ginger, garlic and tomatoes and finally add boneless lamb. We cook it slowly in low heat,’’ says chief chef Mukul Kaushal.
Another mouth-watering non-veg dish at Riyasat Oakville is fish tikka masala.
Rounding off the list of their top non-veg dishes is shrimp. “Cooked slowly in coconut oil and served with chopped green onion, its heavenly taste is everyone’s choice,’’ says the chief chef.
How about their best veg dishes?
Topping this list is Baingan Mirch Salan (spicy whole baby eggplants). In fact, most of their veg clients visit Riyasat only for this dish.
“We are the only South Asian restaurant to offer this dish. It is so unique in taste as we mix baby eggplants with fresh Jalapeno Poppers and cook them slowly in mustard oil,’’ says Kaushal.
Also, never miss ordering Dal-e-Riyasat when you visit Riyasat Oakville next as it is their signature home-made mixture dish of black gram whole and kidney beans.
“We don’t fry spices in mustard oil first as is done traditionally. What we do is cook the mixture slowly in low flame and then add chopped onions, garlic, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg,’’ says Sharma.
Making their veg and non-veg dishes even tastier are their garlic naan and herb-laden Basmati rice.
“Over eighty percent of our clients are whites and our garlic naan has become their obsession. In fact, many use it as an appetizer,’’ laughs the Riyasat Oakville owner.
On offer at their bar are choicest whiskeys, rums, wines, beers, vodka and cocktails. “You order anything, and we have it,’’ says Kaur.
As for their desserts, we recommend moong dal halwa served with pista kulfi.
With a seating capacity for 80 customers (plus 20 on the patio), Riyasat is fast becoming the favourite ethnic food restaurant for many in Oakville.
Explaining why he chose the name Riyasat for his restaurant and Oakville as its location, Sharma says, “We want to make eating out a royal experience. The word Riyasat refers to the empire of the last Sikh royal Maharaja Ranjit Singh. With the paintings of the Maharaja and his family, chic furniture and ethnic food, we have created a royal experience for our customers. We imported custom-made furniture India for his restaurant.’’
He says he searched for a place across Canada for one year before choosing Oakville. “I thought it is the city for me to open my dream restaurant where I can serve ethnic food in a royal ambience.’’
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The bar at Riyasat.[/caption]
Sharma is determined to make Riyasat restaurant a brand name by opening more restaurants in the future and creating a franchise chain.
Encouragingly for him, his debut restaurant is quickly making a name for itself in Oakville and around the GTA.
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Pritpal Mavi: Awesome ambiance n delicious food ?
Good job, keep it up ????? 
