disinformation | captain beefheart

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captain beefheart
by Richard Metzger - February 24, 2001

1999 was, at long last, the year when the musical genius of Captain Beefheart (AKA Don Van Vliet, born February 18, 1941) was finally appreciated by more than just a handful of music afficiandos with extremely fine taste. With a spate of pristine digitally remastered reissues of Beefheart and the Magic Band's oeuvre hitting stores daily, the publication of Bill (Zoot Horn Rollo) Harkleroad's "Lunar Notes" memoir of life on the road with the good Captain, and the "Grow Fins" 5 CD set of Beefheart rarities about to be released, Beefheart fever seems to be at an all time high.

And it's about time!

When the evil blues growl of Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band debuted in the wake of the "British Invasion" of the mid-1960's few knew what to make of their radical sound (Listen to "Safe as Milk" today and you will immediately know why!), but when Beefheart's Dada classic "Trout Mask Replica" was released on Frank Zappa's "Straight/Bizarre" label in 1969, absolutely no one was prepared for its mutant bee-bop skronk and stream of consciousness nonsense lyrics. If you can imagine a shotgun wedding of Salvador Dali and Ornette Coleman, you're kind of in the "Trout Mask" ballpark.

Kind of.

Retired from music now, reportedly suffering from Multiple Sclerosis and living in the desert outside of Barstow, California, Don Van Vliet, the artist formerly known as "Captain Beefheart" has become one of America's finest Expressionist painters.

A special shoutout must be given to the Radar Station webmaster, Graham Johnston for putting together the ultimate Beefheart Web site, chock full of rare bootleg tracks, fantastic video performances, a huge gallery of Van Vliet's paintings, full concerts recordings and tons of articles from magazines dating back to 1965. He even found a copy of Van Vliet's birth certificate. "You gotta trust us": it's a great place to waste your entire work day.

Electricity
For experienced Beefheart fans. Has a pretty on target consumer guide to the various shoddy compilation CDs.

Beefheart RealAudio Files From Tufts University, 1971
Hank's Strictly Personal Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band Concert History. With photos, too.

Zoot Horn Rollo
Mister Zoot Horn Rollo play that long lunar note and let it float! Guitar god extraordinaire, Zoot's solo in 'Big Eyed Beans from Venus' is always on the 'Top 10 Best Guitar Solos of All Time' lists. You can buy an autographed copy of his Magic Band memoir here also. It's a fun read for sure and he was there from 1968 to 1974. Check it out!

Gods And Monsters
Innovative guitarist Gary Lucas' offical home-page.

The Radar Station
Where's the Beef? you ask. It's right here, baby! If this isn't one of the single best fan sites on the entire World Wide Web, I dunno what is! With enough Beefheart mixed media (video, MP3 files, paintings, magazine articles, etc) to keep you busy for years to come.

This Is Your Captain Speaking
1993 interview with Don Van Vliet originally broadcast on Dutch radio. In RealAudio.

Victor Hayden
Home-page of artist Victor Hayden AKA 'The Mascara Snake'. With interviews and scans of his paintings.

Home Page Replica
One of the best Beefheart sites in cyberspace! Lots of rare articles and a few video files.

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