Frank and Don finger puppets

By:
On:
In: Art, In the press, Memorabilia
With: 0 Comments

The UK music magazine, Mojo, has recently published a 140+ page Frank Zappa special in their ‘Ultimate Collectors Edition’ series. Well worth checking out this has several pages about Don and Frank’s relationship including new interviews with Gary Lucas and Art Tripp. If you’re looking for an unusual Zappa/Beefheart related Christmas present then look no further. Check out the Frank and Don finger puppets. However, if you have a bit more cash to splurge then how about the ultimate Christmas present … one of Don’s original oil paintings! Apparently the Michael Werner Gallery in New York have ‘Black Doily‘ for sale at 40,000USD. This 1992Read More →

Savage Pencil on Gary Lucas and Dracula

By:
On:
In: Magic Band people, Music
With: 3 Comments

Gary Lucas will be in London on Sunday 21 November to perform the UK premier of his new solo guitar score accompanying the 1931 Spanish-language “Dracula” at Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of the London Jazz Festival. This event was just immortalized in a cartoon strip by the legendary Savage Pencil in the new issue of The Wire magazine: Click picture for large view. From The Wire issue 319 September 2010; reproduced by permission. More info about this event is available at Gary’s website, including reviews for the recent US premier of this show. Many thanks to Gary for the info.Read More →

WFMU

By:
On:
In: Art, Memorabilia
With: 3 Comments

A postcard arrived through my door this morning from WFMU announcing their auction between 5 and 12 October promising “rare records, comics, art, useless ephemera and more!” One of the items on offer is a “signed print by Captain Beefheart” though I have no idea what this entails. It could be album artwork or it could be a print of a Don Van Vliet painting. All will become clear on 5th October at WFMU’s auction page. John Fahey fans will also be interested to learn that some of his artwork is similarly available. Oh, and some “Butthole Surfers toilet paper” too.Read More →

Trout House detail

By:
On:
In: Life, Magic Band people, Memorabilia
With: 4 Comments

Charlie Rosenkranz, the current owner of the Woodland Hills “Trout House” where the Magic Band lived and conceived Trout Mask Replica, emailed me today to say the house is on the market again. You can see the seller’s info online and it has some great interior shots which I’ve never seen before. My favourite is this detail of one of the doors: If you have a spare $325,000 and your enthusiasm for Trout Mask Replica knows no bounds, this would be an unbeatable bit of memorabilia. Charlie writes: It’s up for sale.  I injured myself several months ago and haven’t been able to work orRead More →

Michael Traylor

By:
On:
In: In the press, Magic Band people, Music
With: 0 Comments

Michael Traylor, who shared the drum stool with John French during the recent Magic Band reunion tours, is featured in the latest issue of the US-based Classic Drummer Magazine. In an article entitled Artistic Adventurer Michael discusses the contrasting sytles of playing Beefheart Music with the Magic Band and playing with pop/rocker Tommy Tutone. Check the Classic Drummer website for more about the magazine.Read More →

Gary Lucas and Najma Akhtar

By:
On:
In: Magic Band people, Music
With: 0 Comments

Friday 17 September 7.30pm Transcender: Najma Akhtar & Gary Lucas + Parvathy Baul Tickets £15/20 Produced by the Barbican Concert at LSO St Luke’s, 161 Old Street London EC1V 9NG Two very different, but equally transporting, takes on Indian vocal traditions. Najma Akhtar’s music-making springs from a love affair with the Ghazal tradition of South Asian mystical poetry: here she teams up with legendary rock and blues guitarist Gary Lucas. Parvathy Baul is a young performer of ancient and hypnotic Baul songs. Akhtar has been at the forefront of the World Music scene for the last two decades. Born and raised in England she hasRead More →

By:
On:
In: Magic Band people, Tributes
With: 1 Comment

Film curator, writer and lecturer, Gerry Fialka, is interviewing John French as part of his ongoing series of MESS (Media Ecology Soul Salon) interviews: Echo Park Film Center 1200 N Alvarado St. (at Sunset Blvd.) Los Angeles Saturday 9 October 2010, starts 7pm Tickets: $5 The evening begins with a showing of the Crows Milk documentary about the Magic Band reunion. At 8pm Gerry will be talking to John French. This will be followed by the showing of the film of the 2003 Shepherds Bush show plus some of John’s home movies of Don. John will also be signing copies of his book. Sounds likeRead More →

By:
On:
In: Magic Band people, Multimedia, Music, New releases, Tributes
With: 0 Comments

Here are some golden birdies, bits, bobs and doodads for your delectation: Moris Tepper has a new CD out called A Singer Called Shotgun Throat, a title suggested by Don apparently. Full details can be found on Moris’s website. For those manic collectors out there I’ve been trying to document all the Beefheart titles available as flexi discs. These are strange releases emanating from Russia and Poland. Check out what I’ve found so far on this Russian flexi discs page. If you’ve got others please let me know. YouTube continues to be a great source for hearing attempts at Beefheart covers. Here’s a selection ofRead More →

By:
On:
In: Life, Magic Band people, Music, Tributes
With: 8 Comments

Here’s a treat if you can make it to: The Magic Room Gallery 155 North Beacon Street, Brighton, Massachusetts 02135 On Friday 10 September 2010 – 8pm until 11.30pm Tickets: $20 Gary Lucas will be presenting a Captain Beefheart Symposium where he will will give a lecture and musical demonstration devoted to his mentor and childhood hero Don Van Vliet aka Captain Beefheart. This will involve Gary showing rare video footage of the man and the band, delve into his complex artistic oeuvre as both a composer — by performing some of his fiendishly difficult solo guitar compositions live — and as a painter byRead More →

By:
On:
In: In the press, Life
With: 4 Comments

In 2010 some interesting articles began appearing on the Yahoo Associated Content website under the byline of Grant O’Neill. As they seem to have gone missing, or just hard to find, the author has agreed for copies to be posted here at the Radar Station. Grant is a pseudonym for Don Aldridge a guy from Lancaster who knew Don and many of the Magic Band back in the sixties. I spoke to him many years ago and part of that interview was printed in the ‘Steal Softly Thru Snow’ fanzine. Don Aldridge is an American ASCAP songwriter, author and publisher who has worked with a numberRead More →

By:
On:
In: Magic Band people
With: 1 Comment

A new Tom Waits documentary DVD “Under The Influence” features interviews with John French (Magic Band drummer, arranger, latter-day front man and biographer).  Produced by Chrome Dreams (who also made Captain Beefheart Under Review a few years back)  the DVD dissects Waits’ varied influences and I think we can guess why Captain Beefheart’s right hand man was enlisted to help tell part of the story. Intriguingly there is an extra short on the DVD called “John French Spills The Beans” – perhaps just an extended interview. If you have any more info please do let me know or post it below.Read More →

By:
On:
In: Magic Band people
With: 1 Comment

Stephen Toman has just got in touch to alert me to his recent John “Drumbo” French interview which has just been published online.  Don’t miss it: lots of John’s thoughts about the Magic Band, the book, the reunion and far beyond. Many thanks, Stephen. John French’s book, Beefheart Through The Eyes Of Magic is available now from Amazon and elsewhere, don’t forget to buy your copy.Read More →

Trout Mask tattoo

By:
On:
In: Tributes, Your stories and tributes
With: 10 Comments

I had a message from Claire from Brooklyn: A few months ago I was getting tattooed by Myles Karr at Three Kings Tattoo in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I asked him what his specialty was. “Anything weird.” he said. “Oh, so like, the cover of Captain Beefheart’s ‘Trout Mask Replica’?” I asked, referencing the first “weird” thing that came to mind His eyes widened. “YES. Anywhere you want it, as big as you want it.” In his excitement he quoted me a ridiculously cheap price. I couldn’t really pass up such an offer from one of Brooklyn’s finest tattooers….  So now I’m wearing my very own ReplicaRead More →

By:
On:
In: Magic Band people
With: 4 Comments

Beefheart’s one-time manager, Herb Cohen, has died aged 77. Cohen was a larger than life character, a hard nosed businessman who seemed to have a penchant for obscure talent. Not only did he have Don on his roster but he also managed Zappa, Tim Buckley, the GTOs, Wild Man Fischer and Tom Waits. Unfortunately his relationship with Zappa soured and they fell out in 1976 amidst a nasty legal wrangle which left Cohen with the rights to many of the albums released on the Straight label. None of these albums have had a decent release on CD … Lick My Decals Off Baby still awaitsRead More →

By:
On:
In: Magic Band people
With: 1 Comment

Henry Kaiser kindly sent us the following info today: Groove Family Fundraiser for Breast Cancer presents Robben Ford & Renegade Creation Ultraviolet Licorice (featuring Bob Bralove, Henry Kaiser, John French (aka Drumbo), Dan Schwartz) Steve White and the Barstool Pidgeons & Jonathan McCuen Saturday April 17 at the majestic Ventura Theater 26 S. Chestnut St., Ventura, CA  93001 • 805-653-6489 Doors open at 7:00 • Show starts at 8:00 General Admission: $25.00 Many thanks to Henry for the tip-off. Henry says the current plan is for Ultraviolet Licorice to play for 90 minutes as the third of three acts. If you attend, please feel free to post aRead More →

By:
On:
In: Books, Memorabilia, Music, New releases
With: 6 Comments

For all you collectors out there here’s a nice box set based around Freddy Bannister’s book. Freddy promoted many of Beefheart’s early 70’s tours as well as organising the famous Knebworth festivals. Apart from the book there’s some great Beefheart photographs, facsimilies of festival programmes and flyers … plus extra special bonuses of some prime Beefheart concerts. Find out moreRead More →

By:
On:
In: Multimedia, Music
With: 7 Comments

Don walked/fell off the stage during the band’s performance at the Mt Tamalpais Fantasy Fair and Mountain Music Festival in 1967. This was supposed to have been a warm up for an appearance at the Monterey Festival but Don’s acid induced dive caused Ry Cooder to quit the band and their big opportunity to make a name for themselves was missed. Now, amazingly, some hitherto unknown photographs of the band’s (short) appearance have surfaced on YouTube. Sadly, Don’s dive isn’t captured in any of the shots, but they’re worth a look anyway. Thanks to Louis for the heads up on this. Update 12/03/2010: I’ve writtenRead More →

By:
On:
In: beefheart.com
With: 5 Comments

I’d like to offer a sincere big thank you to Derek, our erstwhile news editor, for all his help and close attention to detail over the last few years. He’s conducted an impressive Big Dig through anything with even a faint whiff of Beefheart about it and brought us some really interesting and illuminating stories. Who could forget Derek’s interview with Herb Bermann; a character so mysterious in the Beefheart universe that many have even posited he didn’t exist? Derek tracked him down, interviewed him and delivered the results to you here at beefheart.com I’m sure Derek will still pop up here occasionally in theRead More →