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.
By Rohan Rai
TORONTO Canadian Director Ken Scott has the international audience abuzz with his latest upcoming English language feature - The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir.
The film, co-produced between France, India and Belgium, will be distributed in Canada by A-Z Films, and released in cinemas across Canada and several international markets on June 21.
Renowned Indian actor Dhanush plays the lead in the film that also features Berenice Bejo, Barkhad Abdi, Erin Moriarty and Abel Jafri. Rounding out the cast is Gérard Jugnot, Ben Miller, Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse, and Stefano Cassetti.
The film has been adapted from Romain Puértolas' best-selling novel The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir Who Got Caught In An Ikea Wardrobe. The screenplay of the film was written by Puértolas and Luc Bossi who is also producing through his Paris-based company Brio Films. Other co-producers include Vamonos Films, Little Red Car Films, Scope Pictures, M! Capital Ventures, Impact Films and Golden Ratio Films.
Scott has written, directed and provided screenplay for several highly acclaimed films including Sticky Fingers, Starbuck, Delivery Man and Unfinished Business.
Q. This film has been adapted from Romain Puértolas' best-selling novel The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir Who Got Caught In An Ikea Wardrobe. How easy was it to translate the book into a film?
Puertolas’ book is full of heart, unexpected plot twists, fantasy, adventure, and even delightfully absurd moments. My adaptation of the novel, in collaboration with Puértolas and Luc Bossi (the leading producer of the movie) aims to pay tribute to all those fantastic elements, bringing them to the screen in a playful and authentic way. Romain urged us to follow our creative instincts and not limit ourselves to the contents of the novel, permitting us to expand on ideas with great liberty. Ultimately, we shaped the screenplay into a cautionary tale about a young, ambitious Indian boy from a small neighborhood in Mumbai who unexpectedly ends up traveling across Europe in a journey of self-discovery.
True to the spirit of Puértolas’ novel, our film is a comedy that explores chance, karma, and free will. Funny, whimsical, slapstick yet poignant and even sometimes a touch philosophical, THE EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY OF THE FAKIR is an expedition that brings our main character to many different countries revealing their attitudes and policies. Never preachy or political, our film explores what has become the subject of heated debates in Europe and North America: Immigration.
Q. How was it to work with Dhanush? What do you feel is his strongest quality as an actor and were there any challenges in the working styles?
One of the most interesting aspects of shooting The Fakir was the chance to work every day with an actor as talented as Dhanush. He is a great actor, a fabulous dancer, he has the perfect delivery for comedy, but his most exceptional quality is most definitely this uncanny ability to make people care. Dhanush pulls us into the story and makes us want to follow his character AJATASHATRU on his journey that puts forward the vital plight of immigrants from all around the world.
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Berenice Bejo and Dhanush in a scene in the film.[/caption]
Q. There are three songs in the film? How was it to shoot a Bollywood dance performance?
For a director, especially myself, it was a unique pleasure to shoot a film with a full-on Bollywood dance performance, especially with such an incredible and accomplished Indian actor like Dhanush.
Q. The film is going to be released in several countries. Tell us about that?
It is very exciting to have a worldwide release; every country reacts a bit differently to the film. We will be released in over 163 countries. Some countries know Dhanush, some not at all. That makes a huge difference in how the movie is perceived. People that are seeing Dhanush for the first time are impressed to discover such a talented actor. There is also the fact that Romain Puertolas' book has been a best seller in many countries, so that also influences how the movie is perceived.
Q. What is the best compliment that you have got for the film?
The editor of the book said to me that the movie was better than the book. I truly enjoyed reading Romain Puertolas' best-selling Novel The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir Who Got Caught In An Ikea Wardrobe. The book is full of heart, unexpected plot twists, fantasy, adventure, and even delightfully absurd moments. The adaptation of the Novel was an interesting collaboration between Puertolas, Luc Bossy (the leading producer of the movie), and myself. It was an interesting process since Romain was the first to want us all to stay creative in the process and not limit ourselves to what was in the Novel. This permitted us to expand on ideas with great liberty. Ultimately, together we shaped the screenplay into a cautionary tale about a young, ambitious Indian boy that grew up in a small neighborhood in Mumbai who unexpectedly ends up traveling across Europe in a journey of self-discovery. True to the spirit of Romaine's Novel, our film is a comedy that explores Chance, Karma and Free will. So I do feel that having the editor of the book telling us we did good was for me a very satisfying.
Q. As a director, how do you react when you see your work on screen? Are you someone who is satisfied or do you feel you could have done something differently?
When my movies come out, I am able to forget my dissatisfactions. For me, what is essential is the audience's experience. Are they enjoying the story? Are they laughing? Are they engaged in the story?
The film got a standing ovation in France. Did you ever anticipate that the film would be loved so much? What do you feel people connected to in the film?
We did get a very long standing ovation in Paris at the premiere. It was a great reaction, especially for a Parisian audience who can be challenging to please. It was a great way to start the worldwide release of the movie. It gives us a confidence.
