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.
Tamil convention Fetna was attended by hundreds of delegates from Canada, the US, India and elsewhere
Web desk TORONTO: Tamils from the US, Canada, India and elsewhere, who had descended on Toronto for the 26th annual convention of the Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (Fetna), said goodbye to one another on Sunday after three days of mingling, discussion, entertainment and shopping. Attended by over 2,000 delegates plus their families, it was the biggest Tamil event in Canada. [caption id="attachment_85494" align="alignnone" width="640"]
Stanford University Prof Yasodha Natkunam (centre) seen with Canadian Tamil Congress president Raj Thavaratnasingam.[/caption]
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Dr Muthuvel Chelliah (right), who headed FeTNA from 2008 to 2010, said he was excited to see the FeTNA event travel out of the US for the first time and come to Toronto.[/caption]
A literary convention attended by over 200 delegates on Sunday ended the convention.
"We are very happy with the outcome. There was something for Tamils of every age. But mainly FeTNA was for our younger generation and I am happy that they went away with smiles on their faces,’’ said Canadian Tamil Congress national spokesman David Poopalapillai after the Tamil convention Fetna event.
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CTC spokesman David Poopalapillai with his wife (on the extreme right).[/caption]
During the Tamil convention Fetna, US-TPAC - or the United States Tamil Political Action Council - interacted with MPs and politicians from Canada, Sri Lanka and India to highlight its activism and lobbing with leaders in the US for the rights of the Tamil people.
They discussed options before Sri Lankan Tamils to secure their rights and what role India and the US - their best bet - can play to force Colombo to accept the principle of self-determination.
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Tamil-origin NDP MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan (second from left) at the convention. Sri Lankan MP (TNA) Sivagnanam Shritharan is to her right.[/caption]
"We are all for peaceful solution to the ethnic crisis. Wars are no solution. Sri Lanka should be forced through economic boycott. It has no external enemies, but it is spending per capita more any other nation on its military. Since clothing, cricket and tourism are the main sources of income for Sri Lanka, we are asking people to stop buying garments from Sri Lanka, stop visiting that place as tourists and take Air India, but not Sri Lankan Airlines, while visiting your relatives,’’ said Prof Yasodha Natkunam who teaches medicine at Stanford University.
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Fetna has grown to become a very important platform for the Tamil diaspora – Dr Muthuvel Chelliah.[/caption]
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Frances Harrison, former BBC correspondent in Sri Lanka, speaking.[/caption]
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British filmmaker Callum Macrae, whose documentary `No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka’ caused worldwide outrage, being honoured.[/caption]
Speakers seemed to be unanimous that India and the US are their only bet as only these two countries can force Sri Lanka to go for an amicable and peaceful solution to the ethnic issue.
They argued that the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Columbo in November would give `legitimacy’ to a regime that stands condemned for violating international laws during the last stages of the ethnic war.
Away from serious discussions, there was much merry-making and fun as cultural troupes entertained the delegates and their families with traditional and modern entertainment.
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Tamil folk music.[/caption]
A live-wire performance called Agni in the jampacked Sony Centre of the Performing Arts on Saturday signed off the convention.
[caption id="attachment_85503" align="alignnone" width="640"]
A counter selling Kanchipuram sarees.[/caption]
A stall selling Kanchipuram sarees could be seen doing a brisk business on the last day, as were a couple of books stalls.
Toronto University Adjunct Professor Brenda Beck, who is a social anthropologist and expert in Tamil folk tradition, brought books and DVDs of The Legend of Ponnivala to the convention. Just about every delegate was buying her work.
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Prof Brenda Beck – the Canadian behind The Legend of Ponnivala.[/caption]
"The Legend of Ponnivala is about Tamil oral tradition passed down the generations by bards. But folk tradition and bards have been ignored. Bards were the history teachers for the common people. They told stories to the common people, generation after generation but they have been ignored for their rich contribution. For me as a social anthropologist, bards tell a lot,’’ said Beck, who has spent close to 50 years in researching Tamil oral history.
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The highlight of FeTNA was the presentation of Sivagamiyin Sabatham – the seventh-century story of love and revenge. This lady Mrs Nirothini Para essayed the presentation to perfection.[/caption]
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Sudha and Raveena – volunteers with a smile[/caption]
Federal minister Bal Gosal also brought a message from immigration minister Jason Kenney to welcome the Tamil convention FeTNA.
Thamizhan: Thank you News East West for sharing this news. Since there were parallel sessions, I didn't get to see some main events. Your news coverage helped!
FeTNA is the only once a year event in N. America that I get to see Tamil Dance, Music & Drama, Food; Learn and have fun too!
Durai: Nice coverage News EastWest. Thanks for covering this Historical Event of Canadian (and also North American) Tamils.
Nithi: thanks for the reporting about the biggest Tamil event in North America. Tamils need this kind of event to highlight the plight of Tamils in Eelam, and to show the World that Tamil language, culture and heritage lives on in generations to come.
thanks again for the report
oru Tamizhan: Great Coverage, Excellent reporting by NEWS EASTWEST.
Even though I was there, I missed some events, and coming to
know about them from this report !!! Thanks EastWest. Kudos
to the reporter, Mr. Singh for a great job well done!!
Muthu 
