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 Subhash K Jha BOLLYWOOD: Aurat ne janam diya mardo ko, mardo ne use bazar diya jab jee chaha masla kuchla, jab jee chaha dutkar diya jin hotho ne inko pyaar kiya, unn hotho kaa vyopaar kiya jis kokh me inaka jism dhala, uss kokh kaa karobaar kiya jis tan se ugey kapal bankar, uss tan ko zalil-o-khaar kiya aurat ne janam diya mardo ko..... (Lata Mangeshkar Singing Sahir Ludhianvi’s immortal lines on the desecration of Indian womanhood in B R Chopra’s Sadhna in 1958) “Main kamzor aurat, Yeh meri kahaani Mere aansoo-on se hai ganga main paani... Naseebon ne aurat ko samjha khilona Zamanein ne aurat ko samjha bichona(bed) Yehi to hua hai yehi to hai hona Nahin reet badli yeh sadiyon purani Mere aansoo-on se hai Ganga mein paani.” (Lata Mangeshkar singing Anand Bakshi’s words on the rape victim’s plight in Rajiv Kapoor’s Prem Granth in 1996) Aayee chikni chameli ghar se akeli Pauva lagake aayee (Shreya Ghosla in Agneepath in 2012 clearly tells the horny men out there that she’s stepped out of alone, drunk and ready for some full-on masti). There was a time when only the bad girl sang the bad song. Padma Khanna in Johnny Mera Naam (1971) could go that extra mile with Husn ke laakhon rang kaun sa rang dekhoge/Aag hai yeh badan kaun sa aang dekhoge.” It was the first acknowledged orgasmic number of Hindi cinema where post-pubescent youngsters got a free hand at auto-eroticism. The objectification of the female form began in the dancing curves of the vamp’s voluptuous frame in the 1970s when the bad girl revealed thighs and uttered sighs. And that was it. No male member actually went out there and violated women on the streets although the male gaze has been falling on women on the streets of the Indian cities and villages ever since Adam spotted Eve in a crowded village mela as she cavorted sexily with her sahelis in a skimpy ghagra-choli. In a nutshell, that is the story of the male gaze in Hindi cinema, gone horribly wrong in recent times. The gyrations of the average Hindi film heroine now threaten to shake up Parliament. We hear that the Censor Board Of Film Certification plans radical changes in the way women are perceived, specially in the item songs. Shabana Azmi, who has all along been vocal on the way in which women are portrayed in cinema, feels radical changes are needed in the portrayal of the female form in the so-called item songs. Says the activist-actress, “Today’s so-called ‘item numbers’ are downright crass. I am not talking about moral policing here. Cinema is about images. Fragmented images of a woman’s heaving bosom, swivelling navel and swinging hips rob her of all autonomy and make her an object of male lust. Voyeuristic camera angles and vulgar lyrics do not celebrate a woman’s sensuality, they demean her. When women are commodified and objectified in films and advertisements, they do not get empowered, they debase themselves and counter the work that the women’s movement has been doing over the decades in creating positive images of women. It’s time our heroines exercised some discretion in choices that they make in their desire for the hit item-number.” However, Shabana warns against the tarnishing of all specially constructed song-and-dance numbers, a.k.a item songs, with the same paintbrush. ``There are item numbers and item numbers and we must learn to differentiate between them. We can't make sweeping generalisations that all item numbers are bad. Celebrating a woman’s sexuality in a robust way such as Beedi jalaye le jigar se piya (rooted in our folk tradition) in the film Omkara is liberating and has the woman in control,'' says Shabana. Lyricist-poet Prasoon Joshi feels it’s simplistic to blame Hindi films and songs for women in society being treated as sex objects. He says, ``I wouldn’t blame film songs. Yes, there are some songs and scenes where restrain could have been exercised. It all depends on the intention of the director and the choreographer. If the intent of the filmmaker/writer isn’t titillation but a certain portrayal of the character’s motivation, then it cannot be considered wrong.” While many prominent actresses chose not to comment on how item songs commodify their persona to titillate the masses, Divya Dutta - who portrays strong assertive women - spoke out saying, “I basically blame repressed societal mindsets for looking at women in a particular way. The lyrics in the popular item numbers are a big turn-on. Ideally, they could be toned down to bring down the suggestive element. But even if item songs are titillating we must not forget they’re sheer entertainment. And they should be treated as such. I certainly don’t think our item songs provoke people to commit ghastly crimes against woman.” Actress-filmmaker Soni Razdan feels our films definitely play a part in the commodification of women in our society. ``Women as objects of desire have been around for decades from Dietrich to Monroe to Meena Kumari to Rekha. Just in different forms and shapes. The celebration of sexuality is a natural impulse. To ban or suppress it would have even more damaging consequences. What is in fact required is a more liberal attitude. Better sex education, less secrecy around the topic of sex. Sex is an essential part of life. The less hypocrisy surrounding this, the more open and mature our society will eventually become.” Ila Bedi, grand-daughter of the legendary litterateur Rajinder Singh Bedi and daughter of the prolific 1970s director Narender Bedi, feels item songs are a definite provocation. “Chikni Chameli, Sheila ki jawani and Ooh la la are aimed at providing cheap thrills. Gone are the days when heroines were described as Chaudhvi ka chand and Shabnam ka katra. They call themselves tandoori chicken, fish fry and other edibles, so why should men respect them? With their raunchy pelvic thrusts, item songs definitely commodify women,'' says Ila Bedi. Internationally renowned actress Tannisha Chatterjee feels that crisis of feminine commodification has gone from bad to worse in recent years. “Bollywood doesn’t treat women with dignity. Having said that, I insist no moral policing should happen. But we as artistes should not carry on with the heaving and thrusting as things that audiences want.” Filmmaker Reema Kagti, who lately portrayed Rani Mukherjee and Kareena Kapoor as strong assertive women in Talaash , admits our films commodify women. “Songs definitely do their fair share of that. But to me the overall misrepresentation of women in our films is a bigger problem.Writers and directors need to get more sensitive . They need to understand women better before portraying them.” Filmmaker Tanuja Chandra, who made an important film Sangharsh on rape, feels cinema must take the blame for the way the country looks at women, saying, ``Art cannot really change society. But it plays a role in forming opinions, attitudes and perceptions.Even if films are just a reflection of society they must question the prevalent perceptions in society.Entertainment can’t function in a vacuum.'' Kabir Bedi, who has often been an object of the female gaze, brings up the interesting point of men being commodified. ``Handsome hunks are taking off their shirts all the time. Bollywood has its own style of entertainment. It needs to do some re-thinking on the question of eve-teasing. Or else in this climate of censure the censor board may soon demand disclaimers saying, ‘Everything You See Is Entertainment. Do Not Imitate In Real Life','' says Kabir Bedi. He feels women’s sex appeal has always been a staple diet for films, fashion,television and advertising. “Why point fingers now?” Kabir’s outspoken daughter Pooja Bedi agrees. “Men are commodified as much as women. There is absolutely nothing wrong with either sex being sexy and desirable!. When a woman is in charge of her sexuality, it is a sign of a woman’s strength, not her weakness. However, the message to all men is, look but don’t touch.” Pooja feels the commodification of women goes back beyond cinema. “It starts with the education and upbringing of a male child in his home where he’s taught how to treat women. He watches how his mother and sister are treated. Don’t blame films. They are mere entertainment. And the men are flaunting their bodies more than women in our films,'' says Pooja Bedi. Filmmaker and industry spokesperson Ashok Pamdit objects to the word commodification. ``Let’s stop using that word. If a heroine exposes her body, so does the hero in this era of 6 packs. Film stars are in the business of physical beauty and entertainment. We showcase it.We don’t sell it. If a working woman wears makeup to office it doesn’t mean she is commodifying herself for the men at her workplace. The same goes for actresses. They have to look good. Whether an actor or an actress it is the era of commodification, if that’s what you want to call it.” Tamil actress Khushboo, who has in the past been in the eye of moralistic storms, says cinema shouldn’t be blamed for the objectification of woman. “We need some medium to pass on our failures and shortcomings. Why blame cinema? It is a medium of entertainment. Even smoking causes cancer. How many have stopped smoking because of the health hazard?” In the final count, it would seem as though some radical changes would have to be implemented in our cinema’s approach to and perception of woman. About time! As Naseeruddin Shah states in his blunt manner, “I’m afraid our population has become desensitized to rape because of cinema. In our movies it is an act that is either foiled or avenged by the hero. So I don’t think people have a realistic view of this ghastly crime. For the first time, the gruesome details of what transpired during the actual act of rape came out in the public domain. I think that caused the public outrage. And that’s good. I just hope this outrage is sustained and doesn’t become one more token protest.”
