Paintings

Sing Softly

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

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