Rockette Morton and Denny Walley joined Big Eyed Beans from Venus for the second set of their Captain Beefheart covers concert in Atlanta, GA on November 16th.

The concert can be heard at Southern Shelter or at Dime a Dozen (torrent ID 122352).

The Fast'n'Bulbous concert of Captain Beefheart covers in Amsterdam on November 17th was recorded by Dutch radio for future broadcast (and hopefully webcast too) . We'll post full details as soon as we learn them.

Thanks to all concerned.

Posted by derek@beefheart.com at 7:50 AM  - 2 comments - post a comment

How could anyone visiting this website resist hearing instrumental versions of the Captain's songs played like a New Orleans marching band imbued with extra weirdness?

Resist no longer, Fast'n'Bulbous: The Captain Beefheart Project is unleashed on London and six other European cities over the next few days.

Led by former Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas, Fast'n'Bulbous perform thrilling instrumental versions of the Beefheart canon. A tribute blazing with idiosyncratic precision and earthy abandon.

Yes I know I'm paraphrasing the publicity material, but this is after all only a reminder of the information I posted here already in June and August. If you can offer a reasonable excuse not to be at one of the concerts I defy you not to enjoy the album instead!

Nov 15. London, UK. London Jazz Festival.Venue: Pizza on the Park
Nov 16. London, UK. London Jazz Festival.Venue: Pizza on the Park
Nov 17. Amsterdam, The Netherlands.Venue: Bim Huis
Nov 18. Bern, Switzerland. Taktlos FestivalVenue: Taktlos Festival
Nov 21. Vienna, Austria.Venue: Porgy and Bess
Nov 22. Schwaz, Austria.Venue: Eremitage
Nov 23. Ljubljana, Slovenia.Venue: Cankarjev Dom

Posted by derek@beefheart.com at 12:34 PM  - 6 comments - post a comment

Generations of fans can testify just how difficult it used to be to find women who had any interest at all in Captain Beefheart's music.

Captain Beefheart always said that his music was for women, but not until recently did this message seem to be getting through. The Magic Band reunion concerts were notable for the number of women who attended and demonstrably appreciated the music.

Now, in Trondheim in Norway, two hard rocking female students are hosting a weekly radio show called Ella Guru. Captain Beefheart’s Ella Guru is their theme tune.

Thea Aarbakke and Sara E. Grønvold are Ella Guru's DJs. Sara (to the right of the photograph) and Thea agreed to tell me about their programme. I asked first why they chose the title Ella Guru.

In Ella Guru we talk about, and play music, on different subjects every show. Therefore we first thought of the name Guru, hence our position as "teachers" during the show. It was actually my father tipping us about the name Ella Guru. We really liked the idea, both because we like Captain Beefheart, but also because "Ella" gives the name a hint of femininity, and we are both females. We feel that the name describes our radio program, because we are two female DJs who mostly play rock 'n roll music.

Do all Norwegian DJs play a Captain Beefheart track nearly every week? I'm thinking of Harald Are Lund who has included a Beefheart track on his show on nrk p3 every Thursday night since the channel started up in 1993.

The answer here is no. You/we wish! We don't know of any other DJs than Harald Are Lund and us.

What is it about Captain Beefheart's music which appeals to you?

What appeals to us in Captain Beefheart’s music is the madness at the same time as he shows that he is a genius when it comes to making music. He is original and above all real! A lot of other musicians use craziness as a part of a commercial way of thinking, but as audience you can feel that it's fake. This is not the way Captain Beefheart makes you feel. Ella Guru is a great song from one of the greatest avant-garde records ever.

Captain Beefheart's music traditionally appealed to male listeners. It was rare in the seventies for women to enjoy it or to go to the concerts. When The Magic Band performed again recently it was noticed by most of us "old farts" that there were a lot of young women at the concerts who were enjoying the music and even dancing to it. What could it be about this new generation of women, or what is it about the music itself, which causes this?

I don't know if there's one concrete answer to why more women have discovered Captain Beefheart. But I know that if I speak for myself I started listening to it because of my father. Mum never really liked the music, though she also listens to rock 'n' roll. Maybe the music is a bit too crazy and unpredictable? I think females of my generation participate in many areas that our mothers didn’t, music is only one of them. There are more girls and tougher girls in music, in general of course. Earlier there were Patti Smith, Janis Joplin, Maureen Tucker and Debbie Harry to mention a few, today there are thousands. I think it just shows that society in general is getting more equal... Just some thoughts...

Make up your own question and answer it here.

Do we think that more people should listen to and discover Captain Beefheart? YES!

Ella Guru broadcasts from Studentradion i Trondheim (FM 107,0 - FM 104.2 - FM 102.1) on Saturdays from 19.00 to 20.00, and is repeated on Fridays at 21.00. The most recent broadcast of Ella Guru is streamed from this webpage (scroll down the column headed Fredag to 21:03:00 and click on the (R) ). More information, including previous Ella Guru playlists, can be found here.

Graham Johnston’s essay Gender and the Avant Garde includes an investigation into Captain Beefheart's attempt to attract women into his audience.

Posted by derek@beefheart.com at 8:15 AM  - 0 comments - post a comment

On August 31st, I noticed in The Salt Lake City Weekly that The State Governor of Utah was, "eager to discuss his love of Captain Beefheart albums and Grateful Dead concerts."

Had Captain Beefheart become part of a political demographic, a conservative icon like Jerry Garcia? I was intrigued.

The only politician of note who had previously declared for Captain Beefheart was Czechoslovakia's President Vaclev Havel, although even that story came from Don Van Vliet himself.

I wrote immediately to Governor Jon M. Huntsman Jr's office in Utah to find out just how eager he might be to discuss Captain Beefheart. I included a few questions adapted from Benjamin Horrendous' Fire Party People questionnaire and added a topical political question too. (Governor Huntsman's fellow Republican, The State Governor of California, had only that day announced his new environmental policy in the run-up to the mid-term elections.)

Yesterday, on November 7th, the day of the poll, Governor Huntsman's office sent me a reply. Clearly it had been decided that the Republicans in Utah would win without Captain Beefheart's help.

Here are the questions I sent to the Governor's office and Governor Huntsman's personal responses to them.

When did Gov. Huntsman become a Captain Beefheart fan?
1977
How did he discover Captain Beefheart and was there a particular song which 'made him see the light'?
"Aur Mau Bee"
What is his favourite Captain Beefheart composition?
Big Joan
Has Gov. Huntsman ever been to a Captain Beefheart concert? Where and when?
No, Sadly
Has he ever seen a Don Van Vliet painting?
Yes
Has he met Don Van Vliet?
No
Does Gov. Huntsman play any musical instrument?
Keyboards
In what order of preference would Gov. Huntsman place the Captain Beefheart albums?
#1 Trout Mask Replica #2 Ice Cream for Crow #3 Shiny Beast #4 Safe as Milk
Does Gov. Huntsman share Captain Beefheart's ecological concerns? If so, does he have any plans to follow Gov. Schwarzenegger's example in planning to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
We have our own infinitives as a State

Thanks to Governor Huntsman for his time and trouble.

Posted by derek@beefheart.com at 8:20 AM  - 2 comments - post a comment