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.
News East West
LOS ANGELES: Indian-Americans constitute less than 1% of the country’s population, but they account for nine percent of the American doctors and physicians.
As Forbes magazine aptly summed up in an issue in 2009, ``The overrepresentation of Indians in these fields (engineering, IT and medicine) is striking - in practical terms, your doctor is nine times more likely to be an Indian-American than is a random passerby on the street.’’
But Dr Vandana Agarwal, president of the Indian Medical Association of Southern California (IMASC), goes even a step further when she talks about Indian American doctors.
[caption id="attachment_83338" align="alignnone" width="640"]
Dr Vandana Agawal, who is the founder & CEO of the New Hope Cancer and Research Institute in Pomona in Southern California.[/caption]
``Indians dominate the medical profession in the US, and they will continue to excel in the future because those who are joining this profession are even more passionate about it,’’ insists the president of the oldest chapter of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) that boasts over 41,000 members.
And she doesn’t agree with those who say that there is now less craze among Indian-Americans for this profession.
``I don’t agree that this profession is any less popular among Indian-Americans. This is still a noble, respectable profession. It is very rewarding...we are in a service industry. In fact, the second generation of Indian-Americans is doing exceptionally well in this profession. Look at Dr Sanjay Gupta of CNN...see how much he has achieved. We are inviting him for our annual gala in October,’’ Agarwal, who is the founder & CEO of the New Hope Cancer and Research Institute in Pomona in Southern California, tells News East-West in an interview.
Lots of second-generation Indians hold important positions at major institutions such as Harvard and Johns Hopkins, she says in a telephone interview from her office in Pomona.
[caption id="attachment_83335" align="alignnone" width="640"]
Dr Vandana Agarwal with Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy.[/caption]
"This is because being American-born, our second generation begins with all the advantages and they get in the same pool as local Americans. But we of the first generation didn’t have these advantages because of the points system which counted things like which medical college you graduated from and where you did your residency. No premier institutions - Harvard or Johns Hopkins - won’t accept our applications,’’ narrates Agarwal who was one of the few women to take up private practice 24 years ago.
Another reason for the popularity of the medical profession among second Indian-Amercians, she says, is that they are passionate about medicine. ``Only those who are passionate about medicine are now entering this profession. That’s why they are excelling. My daughter went to Stanford where her mentor advised her to go in for an MBA, but she chose medicine because she is passionate about this field,’’ says Agarwal who specializes in Hematology and Oncology.
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At the felicitation of fellow Indian American doctor H.S. Sahota (extreme right) in May.[/caption]
The dominance of Indian-Americans in the medical profession, she says, can be gauged by the fact that AAPI is as big as - or even bigger than - the American Medical Association. ``I don’t know about other ethnic groups, but AAPI is the largest doctors’ association in America.’’
Dr Agarwal, who came to the University of North Dakota to join internship in Internal Medicine after her medical degree from Gandhi Medical College in Bhopal, says though health care has made big strides in India, Indian doctors still prefer to come to the US.
"America is America at the end of the day. It is the world leader in medical care and major breakthroughs in this field take place in this country. Personally, looking back, I am glad I came here. This country gave me a huge opportunity...the education and health care here tops the world. I have learnt a lot as my area (of interest) has evolved a lot over the years,’’ says Agarwal.
[caption id="attachment_83331" align="alignnone" width="630"]
Dr Vandana Agarwal with Mike Tyson.[/caption]
But despite all this, she says, Indian American doctors have not forgotten their ancestral land.
``Many Indian-American doctors are going back to open hospitals, medical schools, state-of-the-art laboratories and ambulance services. Dr Trehan went back from the US. Dr Ravi Patel of Bakersfield has opened cancer centres in India. Dr Kali Chaudhuri too has opened a medical school and hospital in India. So we are paying back to our country,’’ says the president of the Indian Medical Association of Southern California (IMASC).
READ ALSO: Dr Harvinder Sahota – the father of angioplasty balloon
Dr Rajwant Singh: Great article!
Dinesh Duggal: What Indian doctors are achieving abroad is a great thing. It is a matter od pride that India is giving so much to the US in terms of brain power.
Neha Gulati: This is an inspiring story for the young Indians who are joining the medical profession. Proud of you.
Mrudula Trivedi: We all are very proud of you. Congratulations.
Mrudula, Ramnik,Mayur and Bina Trivedi
rachna: I congratulate Dr. Vandana Aggrawal and it was nice to see a senior colleague of G.M.C. after a span of 25 years doing so well. I say that not only in the U.S. but other countries as well, Indian doctors, and other professionals are doing very well in their fields.
Suresh Sharma: India is providing thousands of doctors and other professionals to the US, and these people should contribute as much as they can to India. Sam Pitroda is a shining example.
Dr.d.k.agarwal: Achievement yours makes us to feel proud of u 
