Los Angeles Council tribute to Don Van Vliet

On the 5 January 2011 at the request of Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Koretz, the City Council unanimously agreed to adjourn its meeting early in memory of Don Van Vliet. The Council member also spoke at some length about Captain Beefheart, when making his adjourning motion. Adjourning certificates are created following such an adjournment, to be sent to loved ones. In this case the certificate was passed to Gary Lucas (at his Beefheart Symposium on 13 January) for him to send on to Jan. Click the image for a larger view.Read More →

In March 2000, John French sent me a message commenting on Angel’s photographs of the house in Woodland Hills where the Magic Band lived and rehearsed Trout Mask Replica. I asked him if he would like to write a paragraph about the house that I could include at the Radar Station. This is what he sent me, many thanks, John. Actually, I know the people who live there and had their email address for a time. They allowed me to come in during August of 1998 and take pictures inside and out. However, the shots of the outside didn’t show as much detail because: itRead More →

Ensenada Drive road sign

Many thanks indeed to Angel for sending along these splendid pictures and story of her and husband Chris’ visit to Woodland Hills to see the house where the Magic Band lived and Trout Mask Replica was endlessly rehearsed. See also John French aka Drumbo’s response to these photographs! Angel writes: [wp_quote] Well the whole thing was more exciting than I thought it would be. Just getting to the house is an adventure. It’s tucked away in a canyon(!) with very steep, narrow windy roads (not yer typical LA neighborhood, to be sure). We made a right off Canoga Avenue onto Arcos which took us straightRead More →

Eazy Teeth

A one-off collaboration between Magic Band drummer Robert Williams and roadie Paul Young. The 7″ single was released in 1980 on Dental Records. The tracks being Car Noise and Her Blade are both synthesizer based. ‘Eazy Teeth’ was a nickname given to Paul Young by Don because he was always smiling. It’s not known if Don drew this specifically for the cover or whether it had been done at some earlier point and given to Paul.Read More →