There’s so many things to feel and see while you’re awake…

Don Van Vliet / Captain BeefheartCombining elements of free jazz, blues and rock, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band produced what is commonly regarded by critics and fans as one of rock’s few truly original bodies of work.

Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart) retired from the music industry after 1982’s Ice Cream For Crow album to concentrate on his primary love – paint.

The Radar Station is a purely fan-run site which aims to document every twist and turn in the tale of this unique individual.

Header photograph copyright Anton Corbijn, used with kind permission.

Don Van Vliet: 1941-2010 – tributes and fond farewells

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Interview by Tom Dyer of Green Monkey Records on Kaos Radio. Bill discusses his time with the Magic Band, Mallard and what happened afterwards including his solo recordings, his guitars and his health. Related posts: 2023 : Progcast interview with Bill Harkleroad and Art Tripp 2017 : Samuel Andreyev interviews Bill Harkleroad 1999 : Bill Harkleroad interview Bill Harkleroad aka Zoot Horn RolloRead More →

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When I put together the Radar Station tribute to Elliot Ingber I approached his brother, Ira, and asked him if he’d like to contribute something. Ira said he’d prefer to talk to me about Elliot. So over the course of three facetime sessions we spoke about Elliot’s career and a whole bunch of other related stuff. It’s taken me a while to collate it all as there was a hell of a lot to sort through, but, finally, here is a transcript of our chat about Elliot. I also took the opportunity to ask Ira about his involvement with the Bluejeans and Moonbeams album. IRead More →

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In March 2025 I spoke at length to Ira Ingber about his brother Elliot when putting together a tribute following Elliot’s death and I took the opportunity to ask Ira about his involvement with the Bluejeans and Moonbeams album. Not much is written about this 1974 Beefheart-lite album because it’s not liked by many hardcore fans. So, I thought it would be of interest to find out a bit more about how it came together from someone who was involved with the recording. Our chat inevitably rambled over other Beefheart topics and so I have also included some of  these reminiscences and comments from IraRead More →