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Post by Stevie on Dec 18, 2010 9:04:56 GMT
Don Van Vliet gives up the struggle aged just 69 years. Admittedly not one of the most widely known of recording artists, but amongst his peers (if he had any that is!) surely one of the most influential recording artists of the last century. Certainly one of my favourites.
"Fast 'n' bulbous!"
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Post by Michael Messer on Dec 18, 2010 9:38:20 GMT
That is very sad news. Captain Beefheart was one of THE great artists of our time. He had suffered with MS for many years. Sad news indeed.
Shine On Michael
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Post by oldnick on Dec 18, 2010 10:14:08 GMT
On hearing Autumn's Child on the John Peel show I immediately bought Safe as Milk. Saw the Captain at Birmingham Town Hall in the early 70's, although he forsook music for art he was a great innovator who created a unique style, a sad loss.
"Also a tinned teardrop"
Nick
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2010 10:41:10 GMT
as he inspired others they will continue to inspire, however, a sad loss David
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Post by oldmanblue on Dec 18, 2010 11:04:19 GMT
an artist i did not get into untill late on but im glad i did.R.I.P. CAPTAIN,
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Post by honeyboy on Dec 18, 2010 11:24:56 GMT
Captain Beefheart's 10 Commandments of Guitar Playing1. Listen to the birds.That's where all the music comes from. Birds know everything about how it should sound and where that sound should come from. And watch hummingbirds. They fly really fast, but a lot of times they aren't going anywhere. 2. Your guitar is not really a guitar, your guitar is a divining rod.Use it to find spirits in the other world and bring them over. A guitar is also a fishing rod. If you're good, you'll land a big one. 3. Practice in front of a bushWait until the moon is out, then go outside, eat a multi-grained bread and play your guitar to a bush. If the bush doesn't shake, eat another piece of bread. 4. Walk with the devilOld Delta blues players referred to guitar amplifiers as the "devil box." And they were right. You have to be an equal opportunity employer in terms of who you're bringing over from the other side. Electricity attracts devils and demons. Other instruments attract other spirits. An acoustic guitar attracts Casper. A mandolin attracts Wendy. But an electric guitar attracts Beelzebub. 5. If you're guilty of thinking, you're outIf your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something that is fur bearing. 6. Never point your guitar at anyoneYour instrument has more clout than lightning. Just hit a big chord then run outside to hear it. But make sure you are not standing in an open field. 7. Always carry a church keyThat's your key-man clause. Like One String Sam. He's one. He was a Detroit street musician who played in the fifties on a homemade instrument. His song "I Need a Hundred Dollars" is warm pie. Another key to the church is Hubert Sumlin, Howlin' Wolf's guitar player. He just stands there like the Statue of Liberty-making you want to look up her dress the whole time to see how he's doing it. 8. Don't wipe the sweat off your instrumentYou need that stink on there. Then you have to get that stink onto your music. 9. Keep your guitar in a dark placeWhen you're not playing your guitar, cover it and keep it in a dark place. If you don't play your guitar for more than a day, be sure you put a saucer of water in with it. 10. You gotta have a hood for your engineKeep that hat on. A hat is a pressure cooker. If you have a roof on your house, the hot air can't escape. Even a lima bean has to have a piece of wet paper around it to make it grow. Sure 'nuff 'n yes I do - filmed in 1968 Ry Cooder talks to John Peel about his time with Captain Beefheart, and why he left the Magic Band (a week before the Monterey Pop Festival). "You take the raw blues elements, like the John Lee Hooker thing down to their purest form, which is just sound, and then take your John Coltrane crazy time signature free jazz Ornette Coleman thing and hybridize them all together. It was a great idea."
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Post by growler on Dec 18, 2010 12:00:03 GMT
Captain Beefheart was one the first live American group I went to see , this was way back in about 1972 ,they were playing at a venue somewhere in London, could have been the Finsbury Park Astoria. I did not no much about this group at all before the show, but remember it being a wonderful professional performance, that stuck with me for years,especially the image of his drummer at the time he looked like one of those Chinese guys with a moustache, bald and a long ponytail at the back of his head, but what a wonderful drummer he was.
RIP Captain Beefheart
Growler
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2010 13:09:11 GMT
Very sad Thanks for posting the 10 commandments honeyboy
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Post by oldmanblue on Dec 18, 2010 13:57:21 GMT
growler was that the gig where the captain was introducing the band ,the drummer claimed he did not get a big enough cheer & walked off.he did play the finsbury park astoria ,as that is were a mate of a mate did the sound or lights it was a long time ago i cant remember .
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Post by growler on Dec 18, 2010 14:54:58 GMT
Thanks for confirming it was the Astoria oldmanblue , on a rethink I reckon it was about 73/74. as for the drummer walking off , I cannot remember it but there was a lot of strange things going on during the performance. I remember them doing ' Sure nuff n yes I do. I was totally blow away by it.
Ohh the Finsbury Park Astoria .......... wonderful venue it was
regards
Growler
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Post by SoloBill on Dec 18, 2010 21:45:39 GMT
Sorry to hear the Captain has passed.
Must put Trout Mask Replica on right now,
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Post by oldmanblue on Dec 19, 2010 0:11:03 GMT
captain beefheart owned the copyright on the names of the band members rocket morton ed marimba etc the finsbury park astoria was rainbow 2 for a while i also saw peter tosh there late 70's early 80's things that far back & earlier are becoming a blur.omb
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Post by daddyslide on Dec 19, 2010 6:00:29 GMT
The Captain is a great experience and it is very sad taht he's gone.
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Post by rickS on Dec 19, 2010 9:32:42 GMT
So Sad Baby... I became besotted with his music in the early 70s, around the time of Spotlight Kid & Clear Spot ( 2 GREAT albums), & when I backtracked thru Decals & Trout Mask I thought ( & still do ) he was the greatest & most creative artist in the world of rock - the band were stunning too, & managed to retain the momentum into the 1st Mallard album..such a loss..
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Post by Stevie on Dec 19, 2010 10:51:43 GMT
It was an obvious choice for him to fall back on painting. His lyrics painted images in the mind. "Pumpkins span the hills with orange crayola patches" How about "The Man With The Woman Head" from the "Bongo Fury" album made jointly with Frank Zappa? Not wishing in any way to start a flame war, but right next to Zappa's "The Muffin Man" on the same album, Zappa's effort just comes across as clever but (c)rude, "CB's performance is just sublime in comparison. Who was the really creative one of the two? Listen to "The Man With The Woman Head"....you decide (sic) www.beefheart.com/walker/lyrics/manwithwomanhead.htm"And the pantaloon duck- white goose neck quacked "webcore, webcore"" M'lud, I rest my case! It's always the way with this sort of thing, if you don't "get it" it's your loss man!
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