Captain Beefheart Discography
Magic Band Members' Discographies
The Magic Band
During
2002 John French was offered the opportunity to get the Magic Band
together to play some Trout Mask and Decals tunes (no vocals) for
a few special shows. John decided to ask the Trout Mask band to
take part - Bill Harkleroad and Mark Boston agreed but, sadly, Jeff
Cotton was not interested. Luckily, John found an able replacement
in Denny Walley. So these guys set themselves the task of learning
(or re-learning) the finger-breaking music of their former band
leader with the intention of playing it live.
Unfortunately
the proposed shows fell through so all their efforts appeared to
be wasted. But then upstepped another promoter with the offer of
some shows as part of All Tomorrows Parties in the US and UK. The
band were all for this apart from Bill Harkleroad who didn't want
that sort of commitment to a tour. Which is where Gary Lucas stepped
in to take on the second guitarist role.
The
band now set to work rehearsing their parts individually in their
own far flung state of the US, and only getting together rarely
to practice and work up a live set. However, it soon became apparent
that a whole set of instrumentals might be too draining even for
hardcore Beefheart fans. It needed some vocals. Interspersing some
of Don's poetic pieces into the show would help, and this would
definitely be true to the spirit of a Beefheart concert, but what
about the songs?
The
thought of trying to get a vocalist to emulate Don was not something
they really wanted to contemplate - this could seriously backfire
on them and leave them viewed as some kind of 'tribute' band. Then,
John French stepped forward and said he would be willing to take
on vocal duties. The rest of the band were sceptical but if anyone
had an understanding of Don's vocal style then it had to be John
- he had been a close collaborator with Don for years, had worked
in the studio on vocals with him so knew the little tricks Don used
to achieve some of his vocal effects. As it turned out John was
able to do a superb job as vocalist, sounding uncannily like Don
at times but still imbuing the songs with his own style - he's definitely
more on the beat than Don ever was! In live performance John is
a very physical, prowling presence, he gets right into the songs,
acting them out on stage which gets over any vocal depth he lacks
in comparison to Don.
Although
John taking vocals solved one problem, it presented the band with
another - there was no way John could sing AND play drums at the
same time! The decision was made that the band would perform some
songs as instrumentals but employ another drummer (if one could
be found) to take over while John sang. This was sorted out for
the first two UK concerts in 2003 when the band was joined by former
Magic Band drummer Robert Williams. However, Robert was not available
for further shows which left the band desperate to find someone
capable of taking over the drum stool so John could continue on
vocals. I think it was Mark Boston who suggested a drummer he knew,
Michael Traylor. Michael had auditioned for the Magic Band many
years previously so he knew roughly what he was letting himself
into. His first show was at the Los Angeles All Tomrrows Parties
show - he has steadily been improving as a Magic Band drummer, becoming
more confident the more shows he does.
The band has successfully visited the UK on three occasions (so far), parts of Europe once and, incredibly, have played only ONE show in America.
Many fans were wary of what they might hear at these shows - how could it be the same without Beefheart himself? Well, obviously, it cannot be the same without Don on stage but what the Magic Band are presenting is an exciting, exhilarating, powerful, note perfect peformance of some of the most challenging 'rock' music ever created that deserves to be played live. They're doing it as a sincere homage to Don, whom they all admire and respect, and at the same time performing some of the most stunning live shows you'll ever see. This ain't no tribute band nor is it a bunch of old guys trading off past glories to earn some quick dollars.
Luckily some of the performances are available on CD and DVD. One of these also includes a documentary (narrated, fittingly, by John Peel) following the band as they rehearse and record for the Back To The Front CD and on tour in the UK complete with interviews and some rare footage of Don. All are indispensable...
More about the Magic Band tours can be found on the Radar Station Reunion pages. Includes interviews, photographs and reviews
Visit the Magic Band website - www.themagicband.com
CDs
2005 21st Century Mirror Men
on Proper Records PRPCD026
Sixteen Beefheart favourites recorded live on tour at various venues
plus a live DVD as bonus
2003 Back to the Front
on All Tomorrows Parties Recordings ATPRCD7
Seventeen crackling tracks recorded live in the studio as the band
rehearse for their live shows.
DVD
2004 Live in Concert & Crows
Milk on Subdiva 001
Excellent quality dvd with footage of the Magic Band live at Shepherds
Bush Empire in 2003 (80 mins), plus a documentary (50 mins) about
their reunion produced by Elaine Shepherd.
Help us out
If anyone is able to complete or update any of the information above, then please do get in touch.
