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.
The Brampton Centre MPP says the city needs a university and another hospital, supports the idea of cricket stadium
Brampton Centre MPP Sara Singh, who is also the deputy leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party, says she is extremely disappointed at her hometown’s neglect by the ruling PC Party.
She says Brampton badly needs a university and another hospital as well as health support systems to take care of seniors and others.
In an interview, she says Mayor Patrick is doing a fine job and she’s not opposed to his idea of building a cricket stadium in the city because of Brampton’s fast-growing population of immigrants from cricket-playing nations such as India, Pakistan and the Caribbean.
Auto premiums in Brampton are way too high and her party's fight won't stop till these are reduced, she adds.
Excerpts from her interview with Lachman Balani:
Q. First things first. Tell us a little about your background.
I was born here in Brampton. My father is from Ropar (Rupnagar) in Punjab and my mother is from Berbice in Guyana. I have lived most of my life in Brampton.
Q. Some of our friends thought you were of Fijian origin!
Since my job as an MPP is mostly listening and tending to the concerns of our constituents and making sure they are brought up at the provincial level, I attend functions of different communities – like the Fiji Independence Day celebrations where the Fiji Park was inaugurated recently.
One of the butchers at my parent’s grocery store was from Fiji and I got to know many of the Fijian community through him, so I also have a special connection with them.
Q.How do you identify yourself? An Indo-Canadian or an Indo-Caribbean?
I always say I am Canadian but do also mention my roots so that people can understand the layers to my identity.
Q: How about your education? You must be bilingual?
I did most of my schooling here, though I did spend six years of primary school in Montreal.
Yes, I’m bilingual, not just from my school days but later I went to the bilingual Glendon campus of York University where I got my Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. I also have a Master of Arts in International development from St. Mary’s University in Halifax and recently got my PhD in policy studies from Ryerson University.
Q. As an MPP, what do you see are the pressing problems facing your constituents?
Well, I have been known to bring down the hammer for another hospital. I was born in Brampton in 1985 when there was just one hospital and here we are almost in 2022 and we still just have one hospital, despite the population having grown substantially.
As mentioned before, I have spent most of my life here and know Brampton from the grassroots level to the top. We not only need another fully operational hospital but also support systems in place that seniors can have access to in their homes instead of having to go to the hospital. That would ease the pressure on the hospitals.
For instance where mental health is concerned people have to wait two years to get help when such help can be made available immediately in the comfort of their homes. Even for disabilities, short or long term care that can be provided at home we are lacking in resources.
It’s not just the seniors but we are even short in resources to help our youth. I have a younger sister with Down syndrome and the wait times for support are horrendous. We have not received our fair share of funding and have less beds and staff per 1000 people than comparable cities and I fight strongly to right these wrongs.
The provincial government is not transparent at all regarding funding nor are they forthcoming in presenting a concrete plan for a very badly needed fully fledged hospital.
Q: Any other pressing demand? A university?
The first thing the provincial government did in 2018 was to scrap the $90 million program to build a university and there is no plan to revive it or another project in place. That is something we badly need and the provincial government is dragging its feet. I am extremely disappointed at their disregard where both hospitals and universities are concerned.
Q: How about high auto premiums in Brampton?
Yes, besides a new hospital, for which I have been relentlessly campaigning, and a top-notch university, people are concerned about car insurance rates. NDP has been fighting to end the discriminatory premiums insurance companies are charging based on postal codes.
Q. What do you think about Mayor Patrick Brown?
Mayor Brown is doing an excellent job at working with all levels of government and looking out for Brampton’s best interests.
Q. Do you support the proposed cricket sports facility which has been criticized as too expensive?
We have allocated money for hockey rinks and other sports and there should be something for a cricket stadium as it is a growing sport in Brampton, given all the people of Pakistani, Indian and West Indian origin.
Q. How do you see your role as NDP deputy leader?
It entails substituting for Andrea Horwath, NDP’s provincial leader, whenever she is not available, say for instance at press conferences. Also lending support to her wherever and whenever possible and working on her behalf and providing her with valuable input and also playing the devil’s advocate for many issues.
Q. Finally, what’s your topmost wish?
I am very passionate about getting Brampton a new hospital and all the adjoining necessary support systems as mentioned before and will keep at it tirelessly.
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