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: India is a country of diverse cultures, religions, languages, foods, clothing, rituals and beliefs. Most tourists from the western world visiting India speak very highly of its diversity.
In North America, the US is called the melting pot and Canada the multicultural mosaic. Though both the US and Canada have been very successful in engendering the feelings of nationalism among all their citizens, these two countries have not been able to blend all cultures to that extent that India has. After all, India is one of the oldest civilizations in the world.
I have been visiting Canada since the 1970s. Sadly, over the years I have seen the Indian community – which was once a thickly knitted group – suffering from internal fractures. There was a time when two Indians meeting in Canada used to get instantly connected irrespective of region, language and religion. But now it feels painful to see how the Indian community is splitting day by day into sub groups – divided on religion, language and the geography of origin.
The emergence of new groups is nothing wrong as people can co-exist and flourish as sub groups. But it is expected that when these sub-groups come from the same country, they can at least once a year all come under one umbrella to celebrate their commonalities shared back in India - the strength of our largest democracy, our rich culture, diversity of religions, food and languages and traditions.
Because of some unfortunate circumstances, one community from India migrated to Canada in big numbers in the eighties and nineties. This community has made a big mark in Canada’s politics and all Indians should be proud of this. Progress should attract healthy competition, not jealousy.
But somehow, as I have observed, this is not happening in the Indian community. They are getting divided on religious beliefs, languages and even political ideologies brought as a baggage from India. One wonders at times why in a developed country whose values provides respect freedom of speech and diverse religious beliefs, why people should continue to nurture old grudges. Putting others down is not part Canadian values.
Frankly, there is no major issue that divides various Indian communities in Canada. But there are certain groups and leaders who want to create this wedge to keep their positions intact.
It is time for all communities hailing from India – be it Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims – to sit back and think why they cannot live in harmony that has existed in India for centuries. Their harmony and unity will further their progress in businesses, politics and individual development. Moreover, they owe it to their second and third generations to leave a much better legacy and fond memories of love, compassion and harmony.
My sincere request to leaders of all Indo-Canadian communities is to join hands with each other and always be proud of your motherland no matter where you live.
I will also request one community that whole humanity feels their pain and asks for justice. Yes, we should raise our voice against those individuals in power who were responsible for those crimes. But at the same time we must not go against other communities for no fault of theirs. My request to other communities is that they must support fight for human rights and raise their voices for justice.
