***Captain Beefheart***

[mjzee]

I wanted to share this:

I went to Ungano's, a small club on Manhattan's upper west side, in December 1970, to see a double-bill of the Captain and Ry Cooder. Tiny club. The Captain was in the lobby. He was in his stocky phase, looked like he did on the cover of Trout Mask (but not the hat; maybe a different hat, I don't remember). I was awestruck. I asked for an autograph, pulled a piece of paper out of my wallet. This is what he wrote.

[7/4]

I wanted to share this:

I went to Ungano's, a small club on Manhattan's upper west side, in December 1970, to see a double-bill of the Captain and Ry Cooder. Tiny club. The Captain was in the lobby. He was in his stocky phase, looked like he did on the cover of Trout Mask (but not the hat; maybe a different hat, I don't remember). I was awestruck. I asked for an autograph, pulled a piece of paper out of my wallet. This is what he wrote.

That is so cool!

Gary Lucas signed my Grow Fins box. It just came out and we were sorta hanging out before he played a show at Downtown Music Gallery.

So there - ha!

dB

[mjzee]

[Brandon Burke]

Found this at work a couple weeks ago:

Program notes from a 7" reel, Radio Free Europe Romanian Language Service..

[mjzee]

I just realized it's 30 years since Trout Mask Replica was released. Warner should release a remastered 30th anniversary edition!

[Head Man]

What's happened to the Captain? The last I read was that he was living in the desert, suffering from some unspecified illness. Or did I dream that?

[clifford_thornton]

Multiple Sclerosis.

I've been on a late-70s/early-80s Beefheart jag this summer. It's been nice.

Not gonna apologize for the man's behavior to others nor say he's the greatest mind since Ellington but shit, I got ears and I do listen...

[7/4]

I've been on a late-70s/early-80s Beefheart jag this summer. It's been nice.

Not gonna apologize for the man's behavior to others nor say he's the greatest mind since Ellington but shit, I got ears and I do listen...

It hits the right spot.

[mjzee]

Last night, I listened to "Sugar 'N Spikes" from Grow Fins. Without the vocals, you can really hear the intricate writing and interplay among the musicians. That's real music.

[clifford_thornton]

Indeed.

I was listening to Doc at the Radar Station the other night and my girlfriend was like "The B-52s and Devo must have listened to this a lot." I was like, "yes indeed, hon." And the thing is, a lot of those post-punk and new wave bands had come up on the Captain's 60s/70s recordings, too. When he reinvented the Magic Band around 1980, ironically it was along the lines of music he had already had a hand in influencing.

[7/4]

Those final three albums grew in the arrangement dept. Brass horns other than sax, mellotron, synth....the music became even more colorful.

Time to dig 'em out and listen to them again!

Edited August 7, 2009 by 7/4

[clifford_thornton]

Yeah, some very wild trombone work!

[mjzee]

Indeed.

I was listening to Doc at the Radar Station the other night and my girlfriend was like "The B-52s and Devo must have listened to this a lot." I was like, "yes indeed, hon." And the thing is, a lot of those post-punk and new wave bands had come up on the Captain's 60s/70s recordings, too. When he reinvented the Magic Band around 1980, ironically it was along the lines of music he had already had a hand in influencing.

I think that's what the tune Ashtray Heart was about...some grievance about the Punks either not crediting him properly, or watering down his concept, or whatever. "You used me like an ashtray heart...case of the punks!" But then Don seemed to have a lot of grievances.

To hear the Beefheart guitar concept with more propulsive, beat-oriented drumming, check out Gang Of Four. I especially liked their album Solid Gold.

[jlhoots]

I miss the Captain.

[mjzee]

New memoir by John French:

Radar Station link

Amazon

[mjzee]

I recently bought the CD of Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller), and listened to it in the car today. I probably haven't heard it in 20 years. I was completely blown away. The music still sounds fresh, inventive, and involving. So much imagination, intelligence and creativity. I hesitated playing it, because I would have felt so sad if it were just an exercise in nostalgia. No way; this is great music. I want to highlight "Suction Prints." Wow! What a driving song. Listening to it with fresh ears, I totally misjudged Robert Williams on drums - he's a monster! And the way the trombone and bass lines snake in and out, and the constantly changing musical pallette...

As you may have surmised, I totally dug it. Highly recommended.

[7/4]

oh yes...this is true.

[Hot Ptah]

French's 800+ page book describes, in extensive detail, and from several different sources, truly terrible abuse by Beefheart over his musicians, which had lasting, hurtful impacts on them, even decades later. I have to say that combined with similar information in Harkelroad's book, I find this disturbing and am having difficulty separating that information from the music, at least for now.

[brownie]

You mean Guy Cosson's 'Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band' (Editions Parallèles)?

A friend of mine who read it says about the same.

Cosson is also the author of an excellent (and very well documented) biography of Rahsaan Roland Kirk which was published in France some five years ago.

I have read and liked the Rahsaan book. I have not read te Beefheart one.

[7/4]

I've managed to get over Beefheart the fucked up sick person by not reading those stories over and over.

[Hot Ptah]

You mean Guy Cosson's 'Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band' (Editions Parallèles)?

A friend of mine who read it says about the same.

Cosson is also the author of an excellent (and very well documented) biography of Rahsaan Roland Kirk which was published in France some five years ago.

I have read and liked the Rahsaan book. I have not read te Beefheart one.

I have not read Cosson's book, only Harkelroad's and French's. French's book contains interview quotes from many people around Beefheart at the time.

I find it interesting that James "Motorhead" Sherwood, of the early Mothers of Invention, comes across in the French book interviews as one of the most articulate people in this musical community.

[Д.Д.]

Let me highly recommend the recently released compilation Captain Beefheart's Jukebox (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Captain-Beefhearts-Jukebox-Various-Artists/dp/B0024DIZPI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1271961759&sr=8-1). It is well researched and thoughtfully compiled, with good liner notes. Mainly consists of excellent blues numbers (and I am not too knowledgeable about the blues, so most of the stuff was new for me), and really highlights the fact that good Captain didn't appear fully formed out of nowhere, but developed on what has been done before him.

[mjzee]

French's 800+ page book describes, in extensive detail, and from several different sources, truly terrible abuse by Beefheart over his musicians, which had lasting, hurtful impacts on them, even decades later. I have to say that combined with similar information in Harkelroad's book, I find this disturbing and am having difficulty separating that information from the music, at least for now.

I think that's why I haven't ordered/read French's book. I'd rather not know (at least not right now). But I did read the Harkelroad book and got a taste of it.

[JSngry]

Ok, what kind of abuse are we talking about?

[Hot Ptah]

Ok, what kind of abuse are we talking about?

The Harkleroad and French books, and my emails with Bill Harkleroad, all described much the same thing. The band members were in their late teens or early 20s, all without funds or other gigs. They lived in a house with Beefheart, who was much older. He kept them going through marathon rehearsal sessions day and night, mostly non-productive due to Beefheart's disorganization and lack of musical training. He kept them near starvation for extended periods. He verbally abused them continuously, in loud, powerful talks which went on for hours. These screaming sessions were manipulative and pushed just the right buttons with each person, for maximum torment. The verbal abuse would be triggered by a tiny or slight matter, or by nothing at all. They lived in constant uncertainty about when the next extended nasty speech would come. He also egged them on to physically fight each other over slight or non-existent problems, which they did, and at times he beat them physically himself. They were worn down after a time, both physically and emotionally, to the point where they could barely function. Some of them left the house for periods of time but all felt compelled to go back. They describe themselves as feeling powerless, and like victims of a cult.

French and other band members relate in his book that decades later, while engaged in day to day activities, each of them often stops and worries about whether Beefheart would approve of what they were doing, or what Beefheart would say about what they were doing.

Bill Harkleroad's emails to me, about five years ago (which would be about 35 years after the abuse) clearly indicated that he is still dominated by the abuse, in a very sad, powerful way. I found his communications heartbreaking. I have experienced a little bit of what he described in my business, but I (and the others in my office) were not living day and night with our leader, an older abuser.

James "Motorhead" Sherwood, of the early Mothers, describes in a French book interview that he witnessed a small amount of Beefheart's abuse and was stunned. He had known Beefheart since childhood and could not believe what he was hearing. Gail Zappa told French in the 1990s that neither she nor Frank were aware of the abuse because Beefheart would put on a totally charming act whenever outsiders came to the house. Only after the outsiders left would the marathon pain sessions start up again.

French and other musicians describe how they independently, years later, were told by various professionals that they had been the victims of witchcraft.

French and others in his book describe how a few years before the abusive conduct, Beefheart was taking ten hits of acid at a time, often. Friends confronted him about it, and he said that he was hardly doing it anymore, "only 17 or 18 times a month." Ry Cooder left his band in disgust about that time.

The French book is long, with many quotes from interviews from many musicians and others around Beefheart at the time, and contains a wealth of detail about the abuse which I have tried to briefly summarize. Harkleroad's book is not as detailed, and is more a cry of pain.

Edited April 23, 2010 by Hot Ptah