***Captain Beefheart***

[mjzee]

This is the oddest Beefheart mention I've seen in a while. In the current (Spring 2008) issue of Travel + Leisure Family, there's an article titled "The United States of Snacks." It says "Turn your next road trip into a nosh fest! Brake at farm stands and convenience stores for the quirky tastes that put each region on the food map. Here, a sweet-and-salty sampler of our nation's standout nibbles." Check out the entry for California:

Also, does the border around the candy bar match the border around the back cover of Safe As Milk?

[7/4]

Also, does the border around the candy bar match the border around the back cover of Safe As Milk?

I think so!

[Spontooneous]

The stuff isn't made from baby baboons, is it?

[JSngry]

[AllenLowe]

at the risk of unleashing the wrath of Clementine (and everybody else here), I gotta say that I find Beefheart a one-time-listen. Once you hear what he has/had to say, everything else appears to be a re-hash. He seems to me the epitome of what I have complained about ad-nauseum, something which I have called, in the past, formalism, but which is really an obsession with process that characterized a lot of "new" music - as though once you have solved the problem of form and basic technique, the rest is random - and not that Beefheart is random, but that he has a limited idea of what to do with his own innovations - and by the way he's a terrible graphic artist -

Edited March 30, 2008 by AllenLowe

[7/4]

at the risk of unleashing the wrath of Clementine (and everybody else here), I gotta say that I find Beefheart a one-time-listen. Once you hear what he has/had to say, everything else appears to be a re-hash. He seems to me the epitome of what I have complained about ad-nauseum, something which I have called, in the past, formalism, but which is really an obsession with process that characterized a lot of "new" music - as though once you have solved the problem of form and basic technique, the rest is random - and not that Beefheart is random, but that he has a limited idea of what to do with his own innovations - and by the way he's a terrible graphic artist -

bah.

[AllenLowe]

sorry - I GOTTA BE ME WHAT ELSE CAN I BE?

[AllenLowe]

THIS IS THE STRAIGHT TALK LOCAL -

[JSngry]

Once you hear what he has/had to say, everything else appears to be a re-hash. ... not that Beefheart is random, but that he has a limited idea of what to do with his own innovations...

Not necessarily to compare the two too deeply, but the same could be said about Monk, cumulatively, applying one type of "objective perspective".

Trout Mask, Decals, and the later Virgin sides..."narrow", perhaps/probably, but also deep, if you have the inclination to go looking.

[mjzee]

A friend of mine picked this book up in England in the early '80's. It's a collection of articles from various sources (rock magazines, etc.). Front cover:

Back cover:

[7/4]

I have that book!

.

[7/4]

Maybe I should scan it and stick it in a pdf file.

.

[stuartjewkes]

Beans...

Lazer beans.

Fast and bulbous!

And genius, life changing to say the least.

[7/4]

this has been floating around the net for a while....

Captain Beefheart's Ten Commandments For Guitarists:

1. LISTEN TO THE BIRDS...That's where all the music comes from. Birds know everything about how it should sound and where that sound should come from. And watch hummingbirds. They fly really fast, but a lot of times they aren't going anywhere.

2. YOUR GUITAR IS NOT REALLY A GUITAR...Your guitar is a divining rod. Use it to find spirits in the other world and bring them over. A guitar is also a fishing rod. If you're good, you'll land a big one.

3. PRACTICE IN FRONT OF A BUSH...Wait until the moon is out, then go outside, eat a multi-grained bread and play your guitar to a bush. If the bush doesn't shake, eat another piece of bread.

4. WALK WITH THE DEVIL...Old delta blues players referred to amplifiers as the "devil box." And they were right. You have to be an equal opportunity employer in terms of who you're bringing over from the other side. Electricity attracts demons and devils. Other instruments attract other spirits. An acoustic guitar attracts Casper. A mandolin attracts Wendy. But an electric guitar attracts Beelzebub.

5. IF YOU'RE GUILTY OF THINKING, YOU'RE OUT...If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something that is fur bearing.

6. NEVER POINT YOUR GUITAR AT ANYONE...Your instrument has more power than lightning. Just hit a big chord, then run outside to hear it. But make sure you are not standing in an open field.

7. ALWAYS CARRY YOUR CHURCH KEY...You must carry your key and use it when called upon. That's your part of the bargain. Like One String Sam. He was a Detroit street musician in the fifties who played a homemade instrument. His song "I Need A Hundred Dollars" is warm pie. Another church key holder is Hubert Sumlin, Howlin' Wolf's guitar player. He just stands there like the Statue of Liberty making you want to look up her dress to see how he's doing it.

8. DON'T WIPE THE SWEAT OFF YOUR INSTRUMENT...You need that stink on there. Then you have to get that stink onto your music.

9. KEEP YOUR GUITAR IN A DARK PLACE...When you're not playing your guitar, cover it and keep it in a dark place. If you don't play your guitar for more than a day, be sure to put a saucer of water in with it.

10. YOU GOTTA HAVE A HOOD FOR YOUR ENGINE...Wear a hat when you play and keep that hat on. A hat is a pressure cooker. If you have a roof on your house the hot air can't escape. Even a lima bean has to have a wet paper towel around it to make it grow.

[Hot Ptah]

Has anyone else read the book by Bill Harkleroad (Zoot Horn Rollo)?

It gave me a different perspective on Beefheart. I am wondering if any members have first hand knowledge of anything in this book which is either accurate or inaccurate.

[AllenLowe]

Beefheart is a one trick pony, I must say again, so don't yell at me - and the trick is really not that interesting - he reminds me of a tired old hipster who doesn't realize that no one is listening any more - (yeah I know people are listening but that's not my point; I'm just saying what he SOUNDS like) -

[AllenLowe]

7/4 I'll save you the trouble -

LOWE IS FULL OF SHIT

[AllenLowe]

I disagree -

[AllenLowe]

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[Hot Ptah]

The Harkleroad book. from a musician who played with Beefheart for several years, provides a mixed review of Beefheart's musical talent. Beefheart's musical abilities were quite limited, according to Harkleroad.

To me, the book is a fascinating study in why a person with talent chooses to be a long-time follower of an authoritarian leader with less talent, while the leader is treating the subordinate poorly. I have seen the same thing happen in the business world and experienced the shock of recognition in reading Harkleroad's book.

[7/4]

7/4 I'll save you the trouble -

LOWE IS FULL OF SHIT

I try not to hold it against you.

I like the Capt. I don't listen to him that much any more. Not like I used to.

[BruceH]

Beefheart is a one trick pony, I must say again, so don't yell at me - and the trick is really not that interesting - he reminds me of a tired old hipster who doesn't realize that no one is listening any more - (yeah I know people are listening but that's not my point; I'm just saying what he SOUNDS like) -

Well, from a commercial standpoint, no one was listening from day one.

[mjzee]

The Harkleroad book and the booklet to Grow Fins, taken together, are revelatory. They do pinpoint a certain cult aspect to the house/group that created Trout Mask. Lots of putdowns. From the Harkleroad book (p. 41): "When we weren't rehearsing, Don would subject us to long sessions of being 'brainwashed.'" Something must have been in the air there, since they lived not far from the Mansons.

It's all mysterious and fascinating. None of this would be interesting if it weren't for the end product, Trout Mask Replica, which I still consider amazing. Beefheart's talents are debatable, but I don't buy into that he was untalented. He had a sound, and it's no coincidence that his subsequent groups still sounded like him. It's obvious that John French was the straw boss. He forced the band to practice so intently, to get those sounds, and to play so precisely. The question that hovers in the air is "Why?" Why did they play that music, why did they devote so much time of their lives, why did they align themselves so with the Captain? Harkleroad doesn't have an answer. The closest he comes to is this (p. 39): "As time went on, it was clear the Trout Mask Replica material was pushing all the parameters. Certainly, it changed my feelings about music in a real positive way. Those tunes became really magical to my ears - they felt like a part of me. It was all so new and I felt I was participating in something that defied description. I remember wondering how I could possibly describe this to someone, 'What the hell do you call this?'"

In other words, he was participating in a magical experience. It must have been somewhat similar to playing in the Coltrane group that did Live In Japan. "What the hell do you call this?"

I don't think you can take that achievement away from Don. Say what you may, none of the subsequent efforts from Mallard, John French, etc., captured the magic again.

[Hot Ptah]

I bought Bill Harkleroad's (Zoot Horn Rollo) solo CD from a few years ago, and emailed him at the email address in the CD packaging, telling him that I liked his book and the CD.

We then exchanged a series of emails in which he said that in retrospect, his time with Beefheart was dominated by emotional abuse, which he could not break away from when he was young as it had beaten him down and depressed him. He said that it was a very negative experience overall, one that had a long-lasting negative impact on him. I commented that I had a similar experience in business with a tyrant boss with a hot temper and nonsensical demands, when I was starting out. I could tell from Harkleroad's responses that he had, indeed, suffered significantly.

I do not view the "romantic mystique" of Beefheart and his music in the same way after that exchange.

[7/4]

Robert Williams and John Lydon on Judge Judy!

.