The Magic Band Speaks About Captain Beefheart
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- The Magic Band Speaks About Captain Beefheart. From the documentary film 'Straight To Bizarre - Zappa, Beefheart, Alice Cooper And LA's Lunatic Fringe'. Buy the DVD at
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"go back to that safeway and bring back cheese im hungry"
that cracks me up... even his larcenous dictates were poetic
"...children running after rainbows, stocking poor..."
Damn, that is gold
And Zappa was the standup guy who came through for them.
That video of them playing electricity on the beach in France is a classic
Stg
Awesome
Mr. French, you fucking rule. How you managed to transcribe TMR piano meanderings and then deliver the incredible drumming on that album...you made a huge contribution to a timeless masterpiece
One of the most underrated musicians ever! The other top contender is probably Bill Harkleroad, jajaja
@@nathangale7702 Yes indeedy. Drumbo said in his autobio that he'd have put Harkelroad above Clapton or Hendrix when he was playing in TMB. This is the guitarist who tried to approximate Antennae Jimmy Semens TMR parts, at the same time as playing his own, at the Amouges gig with Jeff Bruschele (sp?) on drums (and no Antennae Jimmy Semens, obviously). Drumbo said it was one of the most incredible things he's witnessed as a musician. And all he got for it was a legion of fans and "critical recognition"...unfortunately those things don't pay the bills :(
@@vollsticks I don't think I've seen that video, I'll have to check that out. I feel like if the Magic Band did a go fund me called something like "Pay the Magic Band What it Deserves for Providing Incredible Music to the World" they would probably make a good collection, jajaja.
@@nathangale7702 Couple million EACH is what they deserve...at least!
Just listen to Drumbo‘s Album City of Refuge, if you want to know how good Beefheart music might have been.
There's one thing they're not telling you, and that is the reason they had no money during the recording of Trout Mask Replica is because Zappa couldn't give them and advance to live on, because he couldn't sign them to his label, because they were still under contract to another record company and there was some kind of legal complications to where they couldn't get out of the contract with the other company. So they had to live with no money during the taping of Trout Mask Replica.--Janor--
!
@@looplop that was in another doc, that don would sign anything put in front of him. Gee, a musician taken advantage of by the legal department, say it ain't so.
I don't imagine it was much better after its release, considering that TMR is one of the least commercial records ever made.
@@HamptonGuitars It wasn't on Top of the Pops OR American Bandstand:)
@@HamptonGuitars One band that I think got a lot from them is Public Image LTD. Everything they did reeked of Beefheart. THEY at least made it onto American Bandstand and 'went off script'
The path to being legends is a tough road, and working with Don was no picnic ... But what they now have their names on will live forever.
Except sadly for John Drumbo French whose name was left off the album. It's still one of the most extraordinary drumming performances of all time.
@@Notecrusher I still know about him somehow, listened to the album last night, he's still a legend.
Live on in infamy....
The Band talks about doing the exact same thing in The Last Waltz. They'd have one guy up front buying a loaf of bread while everyone else was stuffing steaks into their winter overcoats. Man's gotta eat.
Did ya hear about the musician that won the million dollar lottery? When asked about his plans he said, "I guess I will keep playing until the money runs out."
Unless you've done this, you don't know. I mean, if we got free beer, we were UP. Money??? Hahahahahahahaha.
@@byronp2311 right... even got beer AND 🍕 one time. I thought I was a STAR!!!
Lol!!
Went w/Out So Many Times, Still Here, Still Trying, Still Getting Back Up, After Getting Knocked Down... (UGH)
In a print interview one band member said he snuck into the kitchen by crawling on his hands and knees in total darkness as not to make any noise. He crawls under the kitchen table and blindly swiped a slice of bread and ate it. Later on he said he felt really bad about it which I thought was hilarious.
Yeah they talk like they were grand thieves for stealing a bit of food when they were starving
@@lastnamefirst4035 yeah that was hilarious, there are warmongers running the world and the guy sounds absolutely griefstricken that he stole food when he was hungry. What a world.
The most creative band ever pure genius and what a legacy and couldnt afford to eat? its a sick world
J.S Bach had to beg his employers for enough money to support his family. Mozart was buried in a pauper's grave. The Captain's crew had it easy.
Easy? Try telling that to any starving musician.
They had to rob from supermarkets to feed themselves
John Davey OH goddamn it is friend.
it wouldn't have been hard to find a part time job... why doesn't anyone think about that ... I mean 4 hrs a day or a few days a week? even as a dishwaher ... at least they would have eaten for free
The price to pay for being a musical genius: starve, steal, live of your parents.
We all did this type of shopping in the late 60's-early 70's....
I love Trout Mask Replica, but I think his last three albums are his best work. I'm sure that puts me in a minority. Doc At The Radar Station, especially, holds new surprises for me each time I play it -- and I've played it a lot.
I would nominate Ice Cream for Crow as being the best of the last batch, but they are all excellent.
@@3340steve "This is a toast!"
3340steve honestly I absolutely love that record, but Dons voice is not the powerhouse it once was. I think it isn’t the best representation of the craziness his vocal chords were capable of
I agree. Probably from smoking.
Those last albums are great, as is Trout Mask Replica, but I think my favorite will always be Lick My Decals Off, Baby. I also really like Mirror Man, which is more straight ahead and bluesy. That one is more of an emotional favorite though, because Kandy Korn was my introduction to Capt. Beefheart, when my brother played it for me when I was a kid.
“Don instructed us to go to that Safeway and bring back some cheese” is so hilarious to me despite it being totally normal
This is funny, 'cause in 1972, living in Missoula, Montana, trying to get a band going, I had read Steal This Book, after stealing it, of course. And I used to walk to the nearby Safeway and buy about $8 worth of groceries with another $12 worth hidden in my big Winter coat. Fortunately, I never got caught. $20 would buy a lot of food in 1972. (Yeah, I'm old. Shut up.)
What's funny is I was born in the eighties and bought steal this book twice and sold it once.
And you are not old. 🥕
@@JSTNtheWZRD No, I am, it's OK. 🥳
@@sarahtonin4649 my grandmother is in her eighties doesn't look it and can run circles around me.
@@sarahtonin4649 only as old as you feel.
Young men living away from home dont cook nor eat much. I can remember in the early 1970s sharing a house with 2 guys & we only ate boiled lentils and brown rice for one year . Why ? because it was cheap and easy and we were lazy and our moms never taught us how to cook. We were as skinny as rakes just like the Magic Band.
Lazy being the key word. Your acknowledgement is refreshing.
@@fwlweb5803 Waiting for you to acknowledge your personal failures. Any minute now.
Ehh...I know how to cook very well and I still eat lentils and rice regularly for that reason.
I've been doing so since my "salad days" as well.
Only now it's once or twice a week not everyday.
Not because I'm lazy, I just don't care much about food.
I like food that's too expensive and hate the kind of crap most people eat so it's a lot of lentils and rice like the young ones.
Honestly I don't find I require much food, skinny people will freak out to hear me say it, but I find coffee and cigarettes sufficient most days with a couple good vitamins.
Every other day some protein and calcium...and a full (small) meal about every three days.
If I eat any more than the bare minimum it takes to get my recommended basic nutrition I get fat and stay fat.
Then those skinny people start making hints of a different kind.
Since they can't make up their mind about what they want my life to be like I'm just going to keep doing what works. Doctor thinks I'm healthier now, I feel better than ever.
If I wanted a fucking cheeseburger I can just go get one, it's not all that oppressive really.
@@fwlweb5803 Examples of sloth and vanity are ubiquitous in the eyes of the ugly, the uncharismatic, and those with not much else to show as a virtue in life but employment.
You know, I remember growing up when it was almost impossible to not get a job if you tried at all.
So many of those who look down their noses made their humble estate by "getting while the getting is good."
It's kind of shameful when they say such things.
As for younger people...well, they never know what the fuck they're talking about so what can you do?
Anyway, every rock and roll delinquent I ever knew growing up constantly reminded everyone they were a lazy go nowhere loser even if they weren't so I don't know who you're talking about, actually I hear the same from kids today.
Who in America is it swearing they aren't lazy?
It's like saying you're "OCD" it's basically just really corny small talk that's been over used for 3 decades.
I'm seeing the exact opposite from over here, cowboy.
'Stay foolish, stay hungry' - Don Van Vliet
"but i dont have a yacht!" - dvv
this reminds me of The Tubes legacy of being so poor they lived on brown rice, but being lacking in certain junk foods seems to give musicians an increased level of musical, artistic genius for sure, less is more
There's another related story of Tibet an lamas who moved to L.A. and all fell I'll. A nutritionist was brought in and looked at the situation and concluded the sole food they ate, rice, was polished in the US and that it was the bacteria and weavles they'd eaten with the Tibetan rice that had kept them well...!
hunger is the best sauce. not that i approve of hippie cults. but trout mask replica and lick my decals off are awesome.
same in the early days of the doors...
just read drumbo's book (its one thick book!) and he and a lot of others said he took a lot of credit he didnt deserve.french would tape don (he could never do anything twice) playing sounds and rhythms any untrained musician could do if they felt inspired.transcribe them into notation, and then according to french(two sides to every..) the band would work tirelessly (don didnt "do" rehersals) to shape them into a song. don didnt have a clue about structure etc 20% insopiration 80 % perspiration
james wilson sounds perfect
I grew up in the same small desert town back then, knew Don, but he never told me about that. Understandable though, as other musicians in those days had some tough times.
The thing I still don’t quite understand after watching a hundred of these interviews is why and how these guys stuck with beefheart, and not just through tmr but luck my decals and spotlight kid. That era was a time of communes and cuts I get that and being part of something so original and creative as well but I still would like to hear something more definitive out of the magic band about why he was so compelling despite his irascibility and abuses.
Musicians don't work to live, like "normal" people. They live to make music, and everything else is secondary. Those guys knew they were creating something extraordinary, and that's what motivated them. Thank God.
Just noticed, I meant lick my decals, probably everyone knew that but still, correction.
Read Mike Barnes Book
Drumbo tells it best.
Didn't the Captain have a bad habit of not paying his band members?
yes
For sure, that's why people came & went. So many great musicians were in The Magic Band. Go to any Beefheart face book page. Us fans of his work know a thing or two about his life.
lead singer syndrome even hits the avante garde
And he had no justification for being pissed at them for stealing
How cool Frank and the Good Captain were.
If the cap hadn't had the promise of Zappa's baking, all of them would have told Don where to go early on.
Guys I think we need to come to terms with the fact that a guy who we thought was really talented was also kind of a gigantic piece of shit. Like wow if you think this is bad, you should read Drumbo’s autobiography, dude was using straight up cult leader tactics back then.
A lot of good music wouldnt be around if it wasnt for Trout Mask Replica, but dont let that fool you into thinking that the conditions that it was made under are prerequisites for making great art.
100% agreed...but that's how some great artistic minds are. Most of the time they are so anti-social that the world just rejects them, but occasionally they are lucky enough to surround themselves with sympathizers who are patient enough to put up with their crap long enough to extract something truly great. We should thank the Magic Band more for their service to art.
@@nathangale7702 yes Mark E Smith of The Fall springs to mind🍺🚬🥴🍻
I don't think he was talented. His music sucks and he was a complete jerk. The guy was a charlatan.
That maybe true but not one member of the band made music as good on their own, that's including Mallard. Where as Don continued making great albums with a variety of different band members up until Ice cream for crow-his last. And each incarnation of the band had that unique Beefheart sound (maybe apart from the 'moonbeams' era). Surely that tells you something?
@Diomedes22 You're stuck in the Romantic paradigm of the genius. You're the one believing a fairy tale. Without the band the album would be nothing but a bunch of texts written on odd pieces of paper kept in a paper bag. And if you think he could have called in a bunch of expert but interchangeable musicians and done this album, you're believing another fairy tale. And please stop calling people "fools" - even if all you want to do is cut off any possibility of dialogue, it's insulting.
Lester Arbusto nice try
This took place in my old neighborhood in Woodland Hills. They lived right off Canoga Ave. I know the Safeway they ripped off. They got away with it because nobody was looking for rip offs in those days 68-69.
Snickers fun size would have gave better energy output during TMR seshs....tbh
Grocery store garbage cans were a way to find food in an emergency
It would have been nice if the video told you the names of the people being interviewed.
"I did steal food once"
I love it. "Zappa was such a stand-up guy, he bailed them out of jail and never brought it up again... But he did take the money out of their royalties!"
Haven't seen the doc, didn't know about all this stuff, but Trout Mask is absolutely the best, most astonishing album ever recorded. Maybe it will become apparent to the world at large someday, say 50, 75, 100 years down the road.
Not that the masses will be sitting around on Tuesday night listening to it, no, it's way too avant garde and inacccessible. But like much of the world is aware of Joyce and Ulysses, precious few people have actually read it.
Rock album yes the most creative, did you heard "The Black Saint & Sinner Lady"? It's a jazz album, before Trout mask, it's like the trout mask replica of jazz. I recommend.
What about _Finnegans Wake_? Couldn't put it down.
At Lester Arbusto: no, no, no. Capn Beefheart wasn't Irish...
@@futuropasado Oh yeah, I'm a big fan, big fan of Mingus!
Trout mask replica was #60 on Rolling Stones 500 greatest albums of all time in 2003. On the most recent poll it wasnt ranked. Was it because 440 better albums have come out since 2003 or because they polled a bunch of people born in the 90s? Btw, Beyonce's "Lemonade" is currently #12.
This is cool video. It made me wonder what FZ thought of Estrada during the Mothers and then in Little Feat.
Who's the guy with the cosmic shirt, and why is no one identified? I can only guess that the first guy is John French.
Well, Don had a vision, and he needed to control the band to make that vision happen exactly as he wanted. Sure he was dominating and somewhat narcissistic only child (or "a cunt"), but that's exactly why he was so confident in his vision and could make it happen. To him the suffering of the band was necessary for the sound he wanted.
@Slappy Pretentious bullshit.
@@44thenazz You are not wrong. They could have simply rehearsed for eight months without having to be abused, beaten, and yelled at. Beefheart was a terrible person whose only talent was exposed through his fellow musicians, all of which had to make music out of literal piano banging when they were not starved or thrown down a staircase for not knowing how to "play a strawberry". I respect The Magic Band but not Don Van Vliet. "The best art comes not through suffering but emotion. Suffering stops you from holding your brush." - Musician, painter, and religious scholar B.C. Burrus
@@morganwalker9789 I believe Beefheart wanted to make the most far-out hardcore avant-garde album ever. And he kind of did, right?
“ ‘cause the bands all live together…”
thx uploader, luv these stories :)))
love these people
Not taking anything away from master beefheart but is stealing from a shop when u r hungry really a hype crime?? With a master like Don i guess id have done the same. Peace and anger to you all!!!!
Fucking zappa with the win
“Being a musician back then was tough”. Buddy, nothing has changed lol
Great story thanks Treble Clef
When a cult like atmosphere meets rock and roll. The brilliance of Don's instructions...the food thing is interesting since Zappa said Don drank cola by the gallons back in high school days. This is all apropos since Don was a cult act making a niche cult album.
How could probably the greatest Artist America ever produced, realize his Life's work in "Ordinary" conditions? It has to come from chaos and sacrifice! Period. These lucky talented fellows,should have great pride in their contributions... The Captain chose each one gave them names, and taught them to go where no man has gone before!!! That's a plus, plus... Right? Jeez they created the ( my opinion) most important musical creation from that entire period and BEYOND..💓🎶🎸🌹🐨
Unfortunately the Magic Band never saw a penny of the millions that Trout Mask made. Beefheart was a thief.
These must have been brilliant musicians to abandon all the music theory and chord progressions. And play whats in the twisted mind of the c
I think you always have to try and separate fact from myth/legend with the Magic Band -- particularly among the guys who were in the band. Some of the stories seem legit, while others seem far-fetched. I think the cult-like aura of the band in the late 60s is a little done up -- certainly it adds to the mystique. I also question whether every note of every part of every song on Trout Mask Replica was truly written by Beefheart on piano. There are plenty of places in the songs where the guitarists are playing parts that sound to me like they originated on guitar.
This doesn't take away at all from Trout Mask Replica -- it is one of the most remarkable albums ever made. But I call BS on some of the lore surrounding it.
piano and whistling
Frank Zappa had a book (The Real Frank Zappa) that debunked a few myths about himself. Don Van Vliet has a biography (googled "captain beefheart book"). This is cheaper and easier than reading. :)
Michael Nace I took lessons from Harkleroad in high school. That guy is the most blunt, bullshit-free guy you can imagine. Even throughout this film you can see him clarifying anything he says that might suggest he knows something that he doesn't,
He took time out of his life to take an interest in, mentor, and make a demo for our flavor of the month, hair metal, high school rock band. He even went to our sophomore talent show to support us. Solid, solid dude. Love that guy.
Well he was very lucky to have John French, Drumbo, who painfully transcribed all of his piano and whistling tapes. No matter how amazing the other musicians were, I think without Drumbo, realizing such a singular, unique vision for Trout Mask would have been very difficult. He is also an absolutely incredible drummer
Dude, this was 1968... you've now idea of how weird it could get and myth is to real to describe it. To put it into perspective, people took large amounts of LSD and no one person knew it it would be heaven or hell.
I'm sorry, but this is actually funny--both because it didn't happen to ME, and because it is now in the distant past and that some of the greatest music of the last half century resulted from what I realize was a fucked up experience. Still, I can't help but laugh at the re-telling, though obviously only because they all survived it and the end product turned out to be Trout Mask Replica and the ensuing Magic Band releases. Funny as fuck, though.
I totally agree, this is so funny it's got me laughing my head off, the Captain has created a gold mine of pure comedy, it's so outrageous, why the band members didn't just leave, and carried on, absolutely, as funny as fuck
I wouldn't have left a band that had Frank Zappa producing them, no matter how hungry I was.
Steeling groceries is naughty.
This whole video is so “Spinal Tap”😂.
Thanks for posting :)
1:48 Is that Antennae Jimmy Semens?
The Blonde One. NO!
Couldn't be, partly because it doesn't look anything like him. Secondly, he keeps saying "they" instead of "we".
No
could someone turn me onto the name of the intro track?
Anyone knows the intro song?
Don went to visit Frank once and introduce his girlfriend to Frank . Frank never looked up from what he was working on and just said yea that’s great . Don got so mad he said that’s it we are not friends anymore and as far as I know stayed away from him from that moment on . 🤷♂️
did they just call beef heart a cult leader lol steamed veggies for you laddies.i tell you what though who would employ them in 1968 they would have to get haircuts new shoes & clothes.which aint easy when you only get paid steamed veggies.one could call don a genius for employing a whole band from the produce of his veggie patch peace.top band though great post
Let's admit it...Beefheart was a genius and a a little too weird
Never too weird for me. Not sure what that says about me. :-) But I'm pretty sure Beefheart's genius would have been doomed to complete obscurity without the genius of Bill Harkleroad (Zoot) and John (Drumbo) French. And of course Frank Zappa.
@Sarahtonin. Ah yes, this old nutmeg that keeps coming up. I guess Sr Christopher Wren Wouldn't be remembered without the toil and talent of the craftsmen that actually built his ideas. The Beatles needed George Martin to hone their raw talent and do all the orchestral arrangements. No one can do this stuff on their own. And talking about obscurity. Zoot? Drumbo? Rockette? Would anyone be talking too and about them now, without Don? Unlikely.
The Beatles needed George Martin. Period.
@Cliff Yablonski Well, Cliff, I honestly had no idea! So, posthumously, four decades after discovering his work, I discover he was a bit of an asshole all along. I feel sorry for all the musicians that delivered the goods whilst putting up with his shit. However, am I going to deny D.V.V's seminal influence on all forms of experimental/leftfield music since the 70's? I just can't. Sometimes the art is more powerful than the artist.
@Johnny Morphine Yeah, I guess so. One man's repulsive asshole is another man's portal to ecstacy 🤭
Does anyone know the names of everyone in this, in order of appearance? Or just who is at 2:23 ?
that guy is Bill Harkleroad (aka Zoot Horn Rollo) a guitar player in the magic band.. His album "We Saw Bozo Under The Sea" is one of the finest you'll ever hear.
Thank you, man! I appreciate it. I thought it might be him, from the context, but I had heard that BIll was never interviewed on the matter of Beefheart. Anyway, I'll check that album out, too!
MrMasongray Huge album.
At least they got to eat in jail.
Great interviews.
Please post more from this movie, I'm dying to see it!
Anyone know the name of the song playing?
but yea without that 20% there was no magic band. he was the fulcrum no doubt. genius no doubt. that book is an eye-opener if its a true account. wanna read Harkleroads Lunar notes and compare
Bill harkeload at 4'19
It was basically abuse.
Couldn't you add another second to the video?!?
damn, youtube login is non-sensical - I find a lot more sense in what they're describing talking about beefheart days. this is authentic to the summer of love experience. I can just imagine the magic band going to the shops looking pretty freaky if they looked anything like the album pictures of them at the time lol
www.freewebs.com/teejo/crew/band15.jpg
they had to eat and they were for sure busted even though they probably tried to act normal it didn't pan out cause he said they had no eyebrows and gothic mackup on. lol.
their album , trout mask replica was recorded and produced by zappa I'm gonna go and listen to it again...
Who's the last interviewee after Jonn French and Bill Harkleroad?
Billy James (Ant Bee)
i think they were close to resorting to cannibalism. lol
All had a choice to be there, or not. End of story.
Complete Cheesers, without a doubt...
Cheesin' it up...
This guy was fucking dope
It's my reading, that all of the accusations against Don were brought up, so much later in life, after he was medically infirm, unable to respond to them. It wasn't like CB was a super group that the charges wouldn't have caught notoriety then. I truly believe Frank Zappa would never have allowed this alleged behavior to any musician that was in his sphere of influence.
Is this a joke? Frank Zappa is one of the most legendary cunts in the history of music.
I don't know, you would have to believe that a lot of direct witnesses are just lying. I think it's more likely that Captain Beefheart was, in fact, as tyrannical as his stage name suggests...doesn't take away from his genius.
There were plenty of stories told years and years before he was ill. I well recall the vitriol the MB were using about him when they were interviewed by (NME?) after the Mallard album. There is no reason to doubt the accounts of French, Harkleroad and others. Don was one of my idols for years but I've long known his massive ego made him dishonest, manipulative and cruel. Nowadays I think much of his music is overrated - there's a lot of 'think of a riff, play it 4 times, think of another riff, play it 4 times. He never gave credit, either, to musicians like Harry Partch, John Cage, Howlin Wolf, Son House, Ornette Coleman etc. who were clearly a massive influence on him.
@@ykrgfk Thanks for giving a great explanation of your view, can respect that and you're probably right but I find no proof of it before he was ill. As far as crediting other musicians, some do and some don't. Greta Van Fleet has been great at crediting their influencers and thanks to their parents.
In the end, the world is richer for it.
"Pilfering" is a polite word for shoplifting.
Interesting you guy's where the Greatest
Mike Barnes for the full story....
and Bill Harkleroad
Greatness.
This video is 4:20 long
Frank Zappa. I wonder what he’d say about Cancel Culture and censorship today. Miss you.
He was all for free speech.
@@richardk6659 Flies in the face of the current leftist cult mentality
beef heart was the. best ever bar none no sweat😂
zoot horn rollo..zappa probably wrote a song, no more credit..
Does anyone know the story about locking some guitar player in a closet?
Go on. Enlighten us..
I know, thats why i said without Beefheart there was no magic band, he was the vision and the hub, but with no magic band or any band there was no Beefheart, music in that band wasnt born it was dragged out from the womb by the scruff of its neck by the band, and then van vliet would say yep thats all mine after hours of transcription and rehersing,then he waltzes in and claims it all in the name of his genius, theres a case for both arguments here, but he could of give them more credit
@Diomedes22 When somebody says there's a case for both arguments and you respond by taking one side without presenting the argument, you're not likely to be taken seriously.
Don was a bully....a gifted bully.
Why is this so funny? 😂
Franks been wrongly convicted so he knows whatsup with the justice system
Bring back cheese.
Beefheart should of been played more yes but I don't think he was money hungry typr
A lot of bands were
doing that. Eating baloney and hand sandwich. For the sake of art. lol
Wow, funny to see how romanticized abject poverty is among musicians nowadays. Really great to see people in the comments genuinely thinking they were MORE creative for not having enough to eat. In other words, no its a travesty. Its great they made what they did in spite of the conditions but they shouldn't have had to as "working" musicians. Labels have and will continue to screw the people putting in the work and its nothing to be proud of
Damn right.
thanks lori
Woah you're the Tyrone guy
mkfanforever58 sup
I enjoy that shit but what if we all lived like that.we grow up
Probably make less money now than then.
Yep and looking for a piece of CB's art money
No food, yet Don was fat🤔
Look at him in 1972 then in 1974, he lost weight because his wife put him, on a strict diet and bought a treadmill
...GrooveDial was here
Screw "Frank" - someone should make a movie out of these stories.
..and I don't mean Frank Zappa, I mean the recent movie Frank!
The whole thing with beefheart sounds like somebody made access to a personified DAW loaded with instruments that they could simply write music into using a piano roll(midi much?) and also whistling. taking none of the creative and the visionary credibility away, this guy was as privileged as the nowadays artist who uses technology to compose and arrange.. if not more.
Working that hard to make that music is just mentally questionable. It sounds like a group of musicians being thrown down some stairs with their instruments and mics. Then they play it again and it sounds exactly the same. The inpossible level of difficulty to sell the number of records sold is the worst bang for the buck ever. That much effort could have at least made a few one hit wonders to pay the bills. Only thing I ever heard on radio was Abba Zabba or whatever. I just don't get it. It's at least as hard to play as YES, but you could NEVER earn off it. Never. Zappa barely did after forming his own prod company and making a zillion albums. But it was Moon and Valley Girl that it rain money. The Captain could have done you all a favor and eecord at least a few ear friendly money makers, but no, he had a "vision". Okay fine. But he painted too, big money art and didn't starve a bunch of guys to get it done. I think Beefheart and Zappa kind of ruined a lot of musicians. After being inculcated into something so singular, it is hard to ever get out and play "regular" music. Cheers to George Duke for getting weird but coming back.
So Captain Beefheart was a deusch.
I always say assumed they were stoned out there minds to make there music maybe they were tripping from hunger after all
The first misconception that needs to be dropped about this music is that it's "stoned." They smoked, sure. But they rehearsed until they could play it exactly as you hear it over and over again. Whereas, as someone pointed out, Vliet couldn't play the same thing twice. He wasn't a musician. On the other hand, had he been one, the album would be nothing like what it is. For one thing, had the songs been written like most songs are written, you'd never have texts like these. And yet they wouldn't really stand alone as "poetry" either. They had to be songs. That's what make the album what it is. Whether you like it or not is another question.
I used to think he was a genius but now think he was over rated. Trout Mask is a Zappa piece and much of his other stuff imitated blues singers.
Oh well that's trashed him then, and I thought he was great. Sigh
Zappa gave 99% artistic control to Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band. That was his great contribution to Trout Mask Replica.
It's fine to reconsider your opinion of Captain Beefheart, but you should still appreciate the music and the people like John French and Bill Harkleroad who dedicated about a year of their lives to produce it.