By:
On:
In: Beefheart Through The Eyes Of Magic by John French
With: 0 Comments

From: Joe Ashworth Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2000 11:09 AM How did you create those incredible rhythms on TMR (Sugar n Spikes, Ant Man Bee, My Human Gets Me Blues, Frownland most notably) and what input did Don have exactly? Joe, Thanks for your questions. One song at a time: “Ant Man Bee”, this was totally a Don Van Vliet drum beat and the only one he ever actually played repeatedly on the set. I’m talking not only about the main beat throughout the song (which he named P-K-Ro-P — pronounced “peekaropee”), but also the alternate beat near the end is his. However, he “sang”Read More →

By:
On:
In: Beefheart Through The Eyes Of Magic by John French
With: 0 Comments

In early / mid 2000 John French called on Radar Station visitors for some help writing his book, Beefheart: Through The Eyes Of Magic… From: Eric Clark Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2000 8:48 PM Greetings John, I have played a long time myself and respect what you do. Please talk about how the drum parts were developed. How much “freedom” you had within the framework of what you were given. And about the tuning of your drums, choice of cymbals etc. Were these things that you controlled or were others instrumental (oops and ouch for the pun) in directing the drumming and drum production. HowRead More →

By:
On:
In: Beefheart Through The Eyes Of Magic by John French
With: 0 Comments

Introduction by John French As I began to write my book, Beefheart: Through the Eyes of Magic, the question plaguing my mind was: “What do Beefheart fans really wish to know?” One and a half years ago, Graham Johnston was kind enough to accept questions on his website to supply me with the answer to that question. I found that the questions themselves, many answered in the book, deserved acknowledgement in their own right and so I suggested to Graham that I answer the questions individually so that he could post the answers on the site. This turned out to be less simple than itRead More →

By:
On:
In: Beefheart Through The Eyes Of Magic by John French
With: 0 Comments

In 2000 John French, aka Drumbo, was writing his account of his time in the Magic Band, Beefheart: Through The Eyes Of Magic. The author called on Radar Station visitors to send him their questions and suggestions for the book, to ensure that he included the details that you wanted to know. Many of you responded to this appeal and John French passed on his sincere thanks. Many of the questions were of a very specific nature and couldn’t be easily covered in the format of a biographical book. Since they were also very interesting questions well worth addressing, John suggested that his answers couldRead More →

By:
On:
In: By or about Don Van Vliet
With: 1 Comment

John French’s long-awaited exhaustive account of his time working with Don Van Vliet was published in 2010 by Proper Music Publishing. Purchase Buy the hardback from amazon.co.uk Buy the hardback from amazon.com Related items John French answered Radar Station visitors’ questions while writing the book – highly recommended reading! Press release from Proper Music Publishing Twelve page PDF of extracts and promotional material from Proper Music Publishing Trailer for the book by Elaine Shepherd Reviews The Radar Station’s review by Steve Froy The Fringe Magazine review Brief review in The Guardian Help us out If anyone is able to complete or update any of theRead More →

By:
On:
In: Book reviews
With: 0 Comments

The ultimate book about Captain Beefheart written by the man who spent more time with him than most. Published in hardback. 880 pages, including 16 pages of amazing photographs, many published for the first time. Includes reminiscences from key members of The Magic Band and The Mothers Of Invention. Cover price £19.95. Out 11/01/2010. Distributed by Music Sales. ISBN 9780956121219 Few names carry such formidable mystique and rabid cult status as Captain Beefheart, who led various lineups of his Magic Band to make some of the most startling, ground-breaking albums of the last century. In 1982, he retired to concentrate on painting, leaving the mythologyRead More →

By:
On:
In: Mentions of Beefheart
With: 0 Comments

Other than general music encyclopedias, all music guides , rough guides or similar. Vincent Brunner (ed): Tunes – A Comic Book History of Rock And Roll Published by Universe Publishing 2010 Originally published in France in 2009 this book looks at 30 artists from Little Richard to Nick Drake, Elvis Presley to LCD Soundsystem. A bit of an eclectic mix. Each one is given a couple of pages covering their career along with a selected discography and suggested playlist followed by a comic strip interpretation of events in their life. The Beefheart history is a bit loose with the facts although fundamentally okay. And aRead More →

By:
On:
In: Related publications
With: 0 Comments

Published by Da Capo Press, New York ISBN: 0-306-80682-7 First published in 1979. the edition pictured at the top of this page was printed in 1996 and contains a new foreword by Robert Christgau. Synopsis from the back cover In 1978, Greil Marcus asked twenty other writers on rock – including Dave Marsh, Lester Bangs, Nick Tosches, Ellen Willis, Simon Frith and Robert Christgau – a question: what one rock and roll album would you take to a desert island? The resulting essays were collected in Stranded, twenty passionate declarations that, appropriately, affirmed the solitary and obsessive activity that rock listening had become. Here areRead More →

By:
On:
In: Related publications
With: 0 Comments

Published by Poseidon Press, New York 1989 (hardback) Simon & Schuster/Touchstone, New York 1989 (paperback) Picador, London 1990 (hardback & paperback) Synopsis from the flyleaf Zappa offers his initimable views on just about everything: art, politics, cigarettes, beer, televangelists, symphony orchestras, lead guitarists, groupies, the PMRC, marriage (as a dada concept), and the history of rock and roll. Radar Station overview Not so much an autobiography more a collection of anecdotes in chronological order taped by Frank in answer to questions put to him by Peter Occhiogrosso who then typed them up. Fascinating and hilarious. There are plenty of rare photographs plus some great cartoonRead More →

By:
On:
In: Related publications
With: 0 Comments

St Martins Press, New York 1990 ISBN: 0-312-04588-3 Price: $19.95 Synopsis from the book cover Bat Chain Puller is an irreverent look at popular culture in the tradition of Hunter S. Thompson’s “A Generation of Swine” and Greil Marcus’ “Lipstick Traces” […snip…] a trenchant, revealing and often hilarious collage of articles commentary and interviews with rock and rollers and other pop culture heroes […snip…] Loder also pays tribute to those who have kept the faith and maintained a rebellious stance despite the lure of safe celebrityhood. Further detail The majority of the articles in this book have been previously published in Rolling Stone, Loder beingRead More →

By:
On:
In: Related publications
With: 0 Comments

Published by Viking Press, London 1996 (hardback) St Martins Press, New York 1996 ISBN: 0-312-14444-X (hardback) Bloomsbury, London 2003 ISBN: 0-747-56180-X (paperback) Synopsis from flyleaf (edited) Here is the entire history of pop Los Angeles in all its splendor and excess… Barney Hoskyns has spent the better half of a decade researching this definitive account of a dysfunctional artistic community. From the days of the thriving jazz clubs in the forties to the menace of West Coast gansta rap in the nineties, the sound of this bleached, irrigated dreamscape is here in all its warped glory. Hoskyns travels through fifty years of music history toRead More →

By:
On:
In: Book reviews
With: 0 Comments

This is indeed a curious universe, but its cosmological clockwork has finally fallen into place; or it has for me at least. I’ve been listening to this kind of stuff for years but never really knew what to call it, and at last I now know: it is the music of the outsider. I remember when I was a teenager, a few friends were going on a trip around Europe. Finances had prevented me from going too so, as the next best thing, I recorded a tape for them to take my place. The tape would be so unusual that it would inevitably make anRead More →

By:
On:
In: Related publications
With: 0 Comments

Irwin Chusid takes a look at the weirdness of the world of Captain Beefheart, among many others. MUSIC, 272 PAGES, 6 x 9 75 ILLUSTRATIONS PAPER $16.95 1-55652-372-6 WORLD A CAPPELLA BOOKS MAY 2000 There is a tie-in CD release to complement the book, featuring tunes by the artists covered, including Captain Beefheart (“Vampire Suite” from Grow Fins. The CD has the same title and is released by Which? Records. I’d recommend that you get both the book and CD – I found them rabidly entertaining and I love this kind of stuff. Reviews You can read Graham’s review for this book and CD whichRead More →

By:
On:
In: Related publications
With: 0 Comments

Bath Books 2001 Paperback 85 illustrations Frederick (Freddy) Bannister was a major UK music promoter during the 1960s and 1970s. He handled the European tours of most of the big acts from America at the time, as well as organising some of the biggest festivals – Bath, Lincoln, Knebworth – in the UK. He promoted the 1970s tours in the UK by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band. And he must be in all Beefheart fans’ debt for getting Don back performing by offering him a gig at the 1975 Knebworth Festival. This book of reminiscences of his career is a fascinating read that includesRead More →

By:
On:
In: Related publications
With: 4 Comments

Rock Music Memorabilia, in collaboration with collector Paul Brown, has produced a commemorative boxset, in a limited edition of 200 copies. These are numbered and signed by promoter Freddy Bannister. It comes in an impressive red box (although this is slightly misleadingly labelled as Festivals 1969-1979) and contains all kinds of goodies. The set includes the following: There Must Be A Better Way – the excellent memoir by Freddy Bannister facsimiles of the programme and flyer from the 1975 Knebworth Festival featuring Captain Beefheart facsimiles of the programme and flyer from the 1978 Knebworth Festival featuring Frank Zappa 10 pictures from the archives of collectorRead More →

By:
On:
In: Related publications
With: 0 Comments

Published by Music Magazine, Japan 2011 240 Pages Paperback Overview by Andy Bean This is a full-colour 240-page large paperback, which is basically an illustrated Zappa/Beefheart discography. Given the relative size of their catalogues, Beefheart fans who don’t like Zappa are at a disadvantage, however. You get: 6-page photospread of Zappa in Japan in 1976 10- page ‘Collections’ section, featuring pics of rare single sleeves and labels, sleeve variations (a whole page of ‘Safe as Milk’ sleeves), etc, for both Zappa and Beefheart. This section also includes the ‘Stand Up To Be Discontinued’ book/cd, and a 1982 art catalogue/book called “Conjunctions” from 1982. No otherRead More →

By:
On:
In: Fanzines
With: 2 Comments

[wp_quote]”He was born in the Desert, became the Zig Zag Child, sold out on the My-O-My, returned with a vengeance as a Hot Head Jazz Punk and now is the Old Fart. Yes, he’s big, he’s bad, he’s beautiful …. he’s Beefheart!! … but sadly he’s not back so how can we have a Fanzine? Pass. SSTS will now skilfully avoid the problem, in this and possibly all future issues, by just dealing with Beefheart’s worldwide memorabilia.”[/wp_quote] The above foreword appeared on the first page of every issue. A closer look at all the issues Issue #8: Love Over Gold Published January 2000 60 pagesRead More →

By:
On:
In: Fanzines
With: 0 Comments

What is SSTS? The essential Beefheart fanzine. The “one & only” Beefheart fanzine for collectors. Totally dedicated to preserving the memory of the legendary Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band by devoting each meticulously researched issue of the long running fanzine to documenting in chronological order The Magic Band’s global musical legacy, preserved on glorious vinyl throughout the 60s, 70s and early 80s (& on into the 90s with their reissued metal counterparts!) and of course keeping you all updated on “What’s Shakin’ in Vlietland!” APOCALYPSO FANZINES has delved into each period of The Magic Band’s recording history in almost religious detail starting with StealRead More →

By:
On:
In: By or about Don Van Vliet
With: 0 Comments

Published by Babylon Books ISNB: 0 907188 03 6 Many thanks to Steve Froy for the cover scans. Overview by Graham Johnston: This book is a collection of numerous press interviews, reviews, photographs, articles, poems, drawings, lyrics, and any other bit or bob about the Captain. It’s a splendid collection and well worth buying if you happen to find a copy anywhere and fancy a nose through the critics’ view of the history of Captain Beefheart. The sec0nd edition does include additional items not in the first edition.Read More →