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Many thanks to John French, drummer and (now) singer extraordinaire for sending along his thoughts about what it was like for Drumbo to perform Beefheart’s great songs for a wildly appreciative audience during the spring 2003 UK gigs. Memories of UK Trip The flight over was uneventful (thank heavens). I brought my wife Donna and daughter Jesse with me for this trip and drummer Robert Williams was on the same flight. We landed about 2:20 in the afternoon Monday 31st March and were met by Juan our tour manager and Barry. We were then driven in a large van to our hotel in London, aRead More →

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Michael Traylor is the new drummer for the reformed Magic Band. He provided a brief biography and agreed to answer some questions about himself and his work. By Derek Laskie As a Florida teenager from the swamps Michael Traylor played in the rock group “Purple Passion” which released two “regionally popular” singles on Atlanta’s Vevour label in 1969 and recorded an unreleased album in Nashville in 1971. He studied classical composition and theory at Chipola College and Florida State where he became interested in different types of 20th century composers. It was at this time that he first became aware of Captain Beefheart. During hisRead More →

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In: 2003 04 07 Shepherds Bush Empire London
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The Magic Band Shepherd’s Bush Empire ON PAPER this looked a suspect proposition: after all, who goes to see Eric Clapton’s band sans Eric? But Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band were always more than sidemen; these were players inducted into the secrets of the Captain’s musical universe during long rehearsals in which creative tensions could mean swinging fists. No musician sounded quite the same again. This five-piece line-up has briefly reconvened after encouragement from a longtime fan of the music, Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons. And, with the Captain having changed careers 20 years ago to paint and sculpt in the Mojave Desert, this packedRead More →

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To all the fans who showed up and offered support in our June/July tour – have a wonderful Christmas. Hope to see you next year. Part One: Amsterdam to Liverpool My wife Donna had tears in her eyes standing on the impersonal LAX sidewalk the morning I left. We’d never been separated this long before and we only had moments in the hustle and bustle to say a rather formal goodbye. I walked inside and took my place in the long line behind a tennis player from Germany who was going home to visit her family. We conversed about universities, sports training, and torn kneeRead More →

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In: 2006 05 16 Swedish television, Reunion multimedia
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On 16 May 2006 the Magic Band made their first live television appearance for 25 years on Swedish TV4 television. Ralf Nygård of TV4 (also the cameraman at Camber Sands for the Magic Band’s concert there) helped make it happen and the Magic Band appeared on their breakfast show, no less. John French and Mark Boston were also interviewed although that is yet to appear on YouTube. Circumstances Steal Softly Thru Snow Featuring John French, Denny Walley, Mark Boston, Gary Lucas and Michael Traylor.Read More →

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In: 2003 04 07 Shepherds Bush Empire London
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Many thanks indeed to Cormac for sending along his photos of the pre-gig Fire Party People meet and the gig itself. Comments from Cormac. “Dennis Martian, the cat in the hat and Fast Paul, the communications nerve centre of theMagic Meet, getting a message from Stewart or Melissa.” “Dennis at the window in his hat, my friend Graham Montgomery from Dublin (there were two other Dubliners not pictured) I don’t know who that is at the table, Ben with something under his hat, Andy Bean with his back to the camera, and Stewart beardy-face Osborne.”   Benjamin Horrendous Cormac Gary Lucas, Rockette Morton, Drumbo, DennyRead More →

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In: 2003 04 07 Shepherds Bush Empire London
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Many thanks indeed to Ian for sending along these splendid photos. Pre-gig crowd shots – note Benjamin Horrendous’ zipper head and plethora of Fire Party people. Cormac giving Dennis Martian some of his fire. Rockette Morton and Denny Walley Gary Lucas reads an untitled poem Drumbo   Rockette Morton, Drumbo, Denny Walley   Denny Walley Drumbo, Gary Lucas, Rockette Morton Ben, still keeping it zipped.Read More →

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In: 21st Century Magic Band, Reunion live shows
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The following gigs have all taken place. For news of upcoming concerts, please see the latest reunion news from the blog. 2003 UK, All Tomorrow’s Parties, Camber Sands, East Sussex Sunday 6th April 2003. This was recorded by the BBC and broadcast on John Peel’s Radio 1 Show and on Radio 3’s ‘Mixing It’ programme. See ATP photos taken by Janet The Planet (Denny Walley’s wife). UK, Shepherds Bush Empire, London Monday 7th April 2003. Photos taken by Ian Archer Photos taken by Daniel Frampton Photos taken by Geoff Geddes Photos taken by Cormac O’Donoghue A film of this show is available on the Crows Milk DVDRead More →

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In: 2003 04 06 ATP Camber Sands
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Many thanks indeed to Janet for taking her photos of the 2003 Magic Band’s Camber Sands show, and to her huband Denny Walley for sending them along. Here’s Denny’s message: I had my wife Janet “The Planet” take these shots. I spoke with John French this morning, and he said that you might like some of them, so here you go! It was great to meet some of the Fireparty Folks, and especially to PLAY for them. The acceptance of TMB by such a diversified audience, was overwhelming to us. We LOVED it! Dons music is too important for it not to be played andRead More →

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In: 2003 04 07 Shepherds Bush Empire London, Live in Concert & Crow's Milk DVD, Videos and DVDs
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Containing both an 80 minutes live show from April 2003 recorded at Shepherds Bush Empire, London and a 50 minute documentary narrated by John Peel and directed by Elaine Shepherd, this PAL format DVD was a real treat when released in 2004 by Subdiva. Its only available second hand now – copies do regularly turn up at amazon.co.uk Update – November 2014: Copies are available from Proper Records You can read more and view both the films here at the Radar Station via YouTube: Live In Concert Crows Milk documentaryRead More →

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In: 21st Century Mirror Men
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Catalogue number: PRPCD026 Label: Proper Records Released: May 2005 Track list Matt Groening Introduction Moonlight On Vermont Floppy Boot Stomp Smithsonian Institute Blues (instrumental) Abba Zaba Circumstances On Tomorrow (instrumental) Steal Softly Thru Snow (instrumental) My Human Gets Me Blues (instrumental) Alice In Blunderland Hair Pie Grow Fins Veterans Day Poppy (instrumental) Mirror Man When It Blows Its Stacks Electricity Big Eyed Beans From Venus Album overview from Steve Froy The music was recorded live on tour and it features performances from the shows The Magic Band played in 2003 and 2004 at the Royal Festival Hall, The Garage, Edinburgh Liquid Room, and the ATPRead More →