LumpyStuff

This Heat "S.P.Q.R." from "Deceit", 1981 [ThisIs!2]

S.P.Q.R.

On January 26, 1971, Richard Einhorn interviewed Don Van Vliet -- aka Captain Beefheart -- in a motel room in New York, for radio station WFMU. Also present for the conversation were Mark Boston ("Rockette Morton"), Art Tripp ("Ed Marimba"), and manager Grant Gibbs. Einhorn, who has since gone on to become a composer of some renown, was nineteen years old at the time. 

In 2001 Einhorn unearthed the tape while digging through his archives, and generously made CDs of the interview available to members of The Fire Party, the internet Captain Beefheart discussion list (http://www.beefheart.com/community/fire-party-discussion-list/). The discs did not circulate widely, however, so I asked him for permission to make the recording available again. He agreed, with the proviso that I "please be sure to spread it far and wide." Thanks to Soundcloud, I can honor that request.

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Since my original posting, I’ve unearthed a letter from Mr. Einhorn about his experience. Here is an excerpt:

“At the time I was a dj for WFMU—FM, a 'progressive radio station' in New Jersey that pioneered the 'free form format'. I had been a Beefheart fan for several years and when concerts were announced for early '71 in the city, the station arranged for me and another staffer (I forget whom) to interview him.

Based on info from the timeline website (my tape boxes just say 'beefheart interview'), the interview took place on January 26, 1971 in a Holiday Inn in Manhattan. The site said that the hotel was on the east side, but that may be wrong. According to my recollection, most likely it was the Holiday Inn in the west 50's on Eighth Avenue, the scene somewhat later on of the capture of the fugitive radical Angela Davis.

Perhaps the most interesting thing from my perspective (and the reason I dug it out) is than Don seems very generous, if somewhat paternalistic, towards the band's contributions and throughout the interview stresses their autonomy, their musicianship and their personal musical growth. This appears to contradict Bill Harkleroad's memoir. When I read it, I wanted to check if my recollection was right. (I suspect that Bill is accurate about the lack of formal credit and also 'eyeball to eyeball acknowledgement' but had no idea how much Beefheart praised the band during at least this interview. This is not to say that he doesn't deserve more credit. If Bill was the man doing most of the arranging/ rehearsing, he has been woefully under—appreciated and underpaid. Nevertheless, the genius behind the music is, to my ears, obviously Don).

A little bit about the New York shows. According to the timeline, they took place at 'Ungano's' in New York and there were two shows (I may be wrong but I think the club was actually called Ungaro's). My distinct recollection is that in fact there were four shows, two a night. I recall going to all four and meeting Jan and Don briefly after the last set of day 2 (which was probably after our interview on the 26th). I don't recall the lost instrument disaster, but I do remember seeing Ornette at one of the shows. More importantly, I remember that the group played so well that I was in tears. Apparently Gary Lucas was there too, I didn't know him then, but I can corroborate his perception of Harkleroad. He was simply awesome. As was Don. As were they all.”

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To learn more about Mr. Einhorn's music, visit his web site at www.richardeinhorn.com where you'll find much information about his prodigious output, including music samples. To read Einhorn's touching eulogy for Don Van Vliet, visit http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/in-memoriam-don-vliet-by-tristero.html. 

Obtain the file here: http://bit.ly/1Km08PD

Captain Beefheart Interview by Richard Einhorn for WFMU, January 26, 1971

Another entry in my ongoing series of power stone pieces. Featuring Korg Monotribe and Korg MS-20.

Sodalite

The storm

Mombu Storm

BPV+SLR

Track 6
Band: Arbe Garbe &amp; Eugene Chadbourne
Album: The Great Prova

06 Down The Drain

New York

Dream Baby Dream is taken from the album The Cherry Thing out 18. June 2012 on Smalltown Supersound

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Neneh Cherry &amp; The Thing: Dream Baby Dream

La Escopeta Del Hombre Plebeyo

An unnerving musical glimpse into an unusual proposition of love, from the album"Lost in Detritul", by Fingal Capaldi, and featuring the eery vocals of Sara Yael. 

siamese twins

21st Century Schizoid Man(King Crimson cover)

The show is now archived at http://archive.wslr.org —from there you can also listen to a live stream- Tuesdays 11pme. 
Playing the difficult sounds of DC9V, Laurie Anderson, Yoko Ono, Ann Magnuson, Bjork, The Slits, Fancy Rat, Mans Trash, The Residents, Peelander-Z, Zappa, Devo, Pere Ubu, Social Climbers, Ralph Carney, Land of Nod, Mark Stewart & Maffia, John Cage, Harry Pussy, John Zorn, GODSNACK, X-Legged Sally, Murdered By Robots, PeepingTomb, Bogus Pomp, Marlo Eggplant, They Might be Giants, Pleasures, Eskimo folk songs, Talking Heads, The Fall, Brian Eno, Eugene Chadbourne, Capt' Beefheart & His Magic Band, Rat Bastard & the Laundryroom Squelchers, Negativeland, Zoogz Rift, Flo & Eddie, Permanent Make-up, Tom Waits, Music From The Film, Bongwater, Flaming Lips, The Uh, King Missile, Laurie Anderson, B-Hole Surfers, Mike Watt, Alice Cooper, The Tubes, Moog Cookbook, Swollen Monkeys and many more artists who are or were on the bleeding edge of avante-garde/experimental music.
Hosted by art noise/experimental music aficionado: Rob Demperio aka The Head Lump
With a focus on local (So.W.FL) & Florida artists & scenes and to national and international artists, scenes and sounds. The music and interviews played comes from a wide variety of sources including: vinyl, cassettes, cds and various digital sources. 
Convenient consumption at http://archive.wslr.org
Please tune-in and feel the burn.

Arbe Garbe is a band that experiments with traditional folk sounds combined with punk, free jazz and noise. Active for fifteen years, they blend music styles and languages: Italian, Spanish, English, and other more obscure archaic languages. Over the years they have collaborated with artists from varying backgrounds, such as the American singer Eugene Chadbourne (with whom they recorded a live album The Great Prova), David Toffolo, Aleksandar Zograf and the poet Mariangela Gualtieri, which enrich the contaminated style of the group. Arbe Garbe’s strength lies in its live performances, and is in fact famous for their visual and acoustic force which captures their audience with an unstoppable wave of energy.

06 Down The Drain

Arbe Garbe

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