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 former Miss Universe's paramours include toy boys and married and much older men
By Neha Shukla
BOLLYWOOD: It is difficult to keep count of men in the life of former Miss Universe and Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen, 46.
As Bollywood journalist Subhash K. Jha cheekily says, Sushmita has seen more boyfriends come and go in her life than Shabana’s National awards. Businessman and Indian Premier League founder Lalit Modi is her latest paramour.
Why does the beauty queen who redefined womanhood by buying a 22-carat diamond ring for herself, need men? And lots of them – one after another. From toy boys to old men – many years her senior.
Indeed, the 1994 Miss Universe is an enigma when it comes to men in her life. Here are all the men who have been in the life of this mother of two.
1: VIKRAM BHATT: Sushmita Sen got romantically involved with Vikram Bhatt while shooting her maiden film Dastak with him.
Vikram Bhatt was a married man.
Mahesh Bhatt told ETimes how the two became intimate. “I gave her an idea of Dastak and she instantly said yes. And the rest was history. But during the making of Dastak, Vikram's romance with Sushmita started in the Seychelles. Vikram was my right hand and used to be at the forefront, doing most of my work. So, he used to interact with her more vigorously. That's how the romance began.”
But the affair didn’t last long.
2: RANDEEP HOODA: The two became intimate on the sets of their 2009 film Karma Aur Holi. They were the hottest couple in Bollywood till their break-up. Later, Hooda said the break-up was the best thing to happen to him.
In an interview, Hooda said, “A lot of things went wrong. Sometimes you just outgrow the relationship and then, unless you are married or seriously committed, it's best to go your separate ways.”
Hooda added, “I was not in a relationship with 'Miss Universe' and did not feel a sense of conquest in any way. I missed only one theatre rehearsal in my life as Sushmita wanted me to not go and that is the worst thing I did in terms of my value system. I was exposed to fame although I was on the sidelines as I was not a star. The break-up was the best thing that happened to me.”
3: BUNTY SACHDEV: Bunty Sachdev, who owns talent management agency Cornerstone, got intimate with Sushmita when he was her manager. There were also rumours of Bunty being close to Neha Dhupia and Dia Mirza.
4: IMTIYAZ KHATRI: Sushmita found her first toy boy when the 36-year-old beauty fell for 22-year-old entrepreneur Imtiyaz Khatri after she walked the ramp with him at the India Resort Fashion Week in Goa in 2011.
The two were often seen attending parties in Mumbai and cozying up to each other. However, Imtiyaz denied any affair with her.
5: MUDASSAR AZIZ: The two fell in love when he directed her in the movie, Dulha Mil Gaya. But they broke up soon.
Later, Mudassar told DNA, “The news about my relationship disturbed my parents greatly. I'm from a middle-class background and you know how sensitive it is for parents to read about their son's relationship in the papers. It affected my relationship with my parents. They did not know how to take it.”
He said, “She is a lovely person and I adore and respect her for the decisions she has taken in her life. She has lived life on her own terms.”
6: SABEER BHATIA: Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia reportedly gifted Sushmita a 10.5-carat diamond when he dated her. But not much was heard about their affair except that it was she who ended it.
7: SANJAY NARANG: Sushmita declared her love for hotelier Sanjay Narang in an Instagram post: “When ‘He’ tells you the most beautiful things and REALLY means them!!!! Being in love is one thing, BEING love is everything.”
There were rumours that he had proposed to her and that she had accepted it. Then why they drifted apart is not known.
8: RITIK BHASIN: After leaving one hotelier, Sushmita went to have an affair with another hotelier Ritik Bhasin. The two were also seen together at the wedding reception of cricketer Zaheer Khan and Sagarika Ghatge. This affair reportedly lasted four years.
9: ROHMAN SHAWL: Sushmita Sen found another toy boy in her life in Noida-based model Rohman Shawl who was 15 years younger to her. Their affair began after he sent her a DM which she opened. She liked his message and the two became intimate. The affair lasted three years.
In an Instagram post in December 2021, Sushmita wrote, "We began as friends, we remain friends!! The relationship was long over…the love remains!”
10: LALIT MODI: IPL founder Lalit Modi dropped a bombshell on July 14, 2022 when he tweeted, “Just back in London after a whirling global tour #Maldives # Sardinia with the families - not to mention my #betterhalf @sushmitasen47 - a new beginning a new life finally. Over the moon. In love does not mean marriage YET. BUT ONE THAT BY GODS GRACE WILL HAPPEN. I JUST ANNOUNCED THAT WE ARE TOGETHER”
He also posted four pictures with Sushmita.
After kicking a toy boy out of her life, Sushmita has fllane for a much older Lalit Modi who is 58. But the grandson of the late industrialist Gujar Mal Modi has loads of money.
READ NEXT: Sushmita dating much younger man
