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.
TORONTO: The Sindhis are one of the most enterprising Indo-Canadian communities today.
Among the earlier Sindhi settlers in Canada were Mahtanis, Hiras, Shahanis and several others. Some of them had successful businesses back in Sindh (before and after the Partition) before they came to Canada. Today, they are famous entrepreneurs, businesspeople, engineers, doctors, lawyers and so on.
According to Jai Chandwani, president of the Sindhi Cultural Association of Toronto (SCAT), there are more than 750 Sindhi families in the Greater Toronto Area and over 11,500 families settled across Canada.
He talks to Lachman Balani about the community and its premiere shrine Sindhi Gurmandir Temple in Etobicoke.
Q: First, tell us about the Sindhi Gurmandir Temple.
Gurmandir’s name was formally incorporated on January 23, 1996, and it was registered as a charitable organization with Revenue Canada on May 21, 1996.
On April 10, 2000, one acre plot of land was purchased for building the temple.Â
On July 9, 2000, we performed bhoomi puja with 108 yagnas. The groundbreaking ceremony, which took place on October 18, 2000, was performed by the late Dada J.P. Vaswani, the revered religious leader of the worldwide Sindhi community.
The temple was inaugurated on July 1, 2005, to coincide with Canada Day.
Q:Â Are there other Sindhi temples in Canada?
None.
[caption id="attachment_81504" align="alignnone" width="800"]
The main deity Jhulelal at Gurmandir Temple.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_81495" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Other deities inside Gurmandir..[/caption]
Q: What kind of major celebrations take place at Gurmandir?
Cheti Chand (Sindhi New Year), Janmashtami, Shivratri, Teejri, Gurmandir’s anniversary, Ganesh Chaturthi, Guru Nanak’s birthday, Navratras (Chaira in March and Sharad in October), Dussehra, and Diwali. Also each year, the Sindhi community celebrate Sindhi cultural day on the first Sunday of December.
We also do lots of things such as Holi celebrations, summer picnics, casino trips, Diwali ball, musical and movie nights.
Q: How are you preserving Sindhi culture in the diaspora?
Our goal is to create an awareness about our cultural identity –our Sindhiyat. Our objective is to inform and educate our next generation about our way of life, culture, civilization, values, philosophies, language, literature, history, heritage, rights and interests.
We organize cultural events to highlight a continued evolution of our unique identity. Our aim is to create a legacy for our future generations.
Various religious and cultural activities from several communities also take place at Gurmandir. Both Vedic and Guru weddings take place at Gurmandir (hence the name) and many Sindhis are also ardent followers of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev.
Q: Tell us about some prominent Sindhis in Canada.
The late businessman Vasu Chanchlani was one of the most prominent entrepreneurs from our community. He was the brain behind the Global Indian Award as a founding member of the Canada India Foundation.
Then we have Arjun Jasuja who is the founder and chairman of the Sigma Group.
Dr Jagdish Butany is the head of pathology at University Health Network.
The late Ashok Chandwani was an award-winning columnist with Montreal Gazette and author of Buntys and Pinkies.Â
The Ambwani family are known lawyers.
The most famous fashionista in the Sindhi community is Mississauga-based Dinesh K. Ramsay, who is the son of the storied Bollywood personality Keshu Ramsay. He adorns the likes of Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie as well as many Bollywood personalities.Â
There are many more well-known Sindhis in Canada and the list is exhaustive. They truly are an extremely industrious community.
[caption id="attachment_81500" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Jai Chandwani, president of the Sindhi Cultural Association of Toronto, with his daughter at Gurmandir Temple in Etobicoke in Toronto.[/caption]
Q: What is it that has made Sindhis a successful global community?
Jhulelal is our most revered deity. Chao Jhulelal, beda-e-paar, sadain shaukaar! Which can be loosely translated as: Chant Jhulelal, forever successful, always wealthy.
Indeed, Sindhis are known the world over for their enterprising spirit. Ever since the1800s, Sindhis have gone to the far ends of the planet to seek their fortune – from Japan across to Hong Kong, the Middle East, Spain, Africa, the UK, South America and the US (including Hawaii). The saying was that the sun never sets on a Sindhi.
Well-known old families such as Chotirmalls, Chanrais, Chellarams and many others made their fortune even before the Partition and for any Sindhi to gain employment with them was considered a boon. They were known as the first Sindhi multinational companies.
The lion-hearted chairman of the Chotirmall-Intra group, Mr Manghanmal Udharam, built the most widespread multidimensional Sindhi company with over 50 branches all over the world. He had a famous quote to describe Sindhis:`Success goes to those who dare and act and seldom to the timid’.
Q: Finally, what are your future plans for this temple?
Currently, it is under renovation. As the community grows, we will undertake expansion accordingly.Â
(Updated: This article first appeared here on Nov 22, 2019) READ ALSO: Toronto's BAPS Swaminarayan temple to last one thousand years
H N tarachandani: It is nice to read a write up by shri Lachman Balani in Sindhis in Canada It is wonderful to have glimpse of temple and jai Jhulelal. Sindhi words Sindhi Gur Mandir show pride of Sindhis in Canada.
It is also relevant to express that there is Sindhi Association in Ottawa and Alberta
Let Sindhi Keep flag flying
I am H N Tarachnadnai studied in Sindhi and had two papers in Sindhi and used to read papers in Sindhi i.e Hindustan and Hindwasi (now in soft form) I retired as General Manager from Reserve Bank of India and was also on the Board of ING Vysys Bank, Karnataka Bank and other companies
Presently, I am senior consultant in GMR Group (infrastructure) operating Delhi, Hyderabad, Goa a etc airports for last 25 years after retirement from RBI. I am staying in Khar West, Mumbai 400052.
I would like to have names and contacts (names, emails, mobile phone) of Some Sindhis in Alberta as my grand son is joining Alberta University for post graduation (at present final year in IIT Hyderabad)
my e mail address is [email protected] 91- 9004287464
Shahid Ali soomro: I appreciate all of you who have introduced sindhi culture importance of sindhis ..sindhi peoples are famous for their hospitality kindness peaceful nation.loving.kind.humble.sincere with every human living in this world.their precious culture .old civilization like moen jo daro which has own importance they were most civilized and rich developed educated persons.one thing i must say on this forum that they should think about poor needy sindhi persons living in pakistan or India persons and should support them .. 
