Lunar Notes: Zoot Horn Rollo's Captain Beefheart Experience

by Bill Harkleroad, Billy James

Bill Harkleroad joined Captain Beefheart's Magic Band at a time when they were changing from a straight ahead blues band into something completely different. Through the vision of Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart) they created a new form of music which many at the time considered atonal and difficult, but which over the years has continued to exert a powerful influence. Beefheart re-christened Harkleroad as Zoot Horn Rollo, and they embarked on recording one of the classic rock albums of all time - Trout Mask Replica ¬- a work of unequalled daring and inventiveness. Further LPs like Lick My Decals Off Baby and Clear Spot highlighted what a truly innovative band they were, and what a dazzlingly original guitarist Harkleroad was becoming. Since Captain Beefheart's retirement from the music industry, many outside commentators have tried to put their finger on what was so special about The Magic Band of that time. Now for the first time we get the insider's story. Harkleroad reviews the often uncomfortable and difficult inner workings of the band, giving an unparalleled insight into the way the music was put together. At last, we find out what it was like to record, play and live with an eccentric genius such as Beefheart.

Genres: Music, Biography

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Bill Harkleroad, known professionally as Zoot Horn Rollo, is an American guitarist. He is best known for his work with Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band. In 2003, he was ranked No. 62 in a Rolling Stone magazine list of "the 100 greatest guitarists of all time".

Reviews

[Tentatively, Convenience · Rating 3 out of 5]

review of
Bill Harkleroad & Billy James's Lunar Notes — Zoot Horn Rollo's Captain Beefheart Experience
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - December 17, 2019

For the complete review go here: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...

I 1st heard of this bk from my friend Brainpang who participates in 1 or more post Beefheart / Magic Band list-servs & is, therefore, much more aware of relevant activities than I am. He wasn't that fond of the bk but I was fairly interested — partially b/c I still love most of the Beefheart / Magic Band recordings & partially b/c I've enjoyed Zoot Horn Rollo's guitar playing.

The bk was published in 1998 & has Acknowledgements listing the following:

"Websites:

Ant-Bee Web Bizarre
http://ourworld.compuserve/homepages/...
PO Box 2017, Carolina Beach, NC 28428-0297, USA

Home Page Replica
http://www.shingingsilence.com/hpr

Electricity
http://www.cybercomm.nl/~tiotoa/elect..."

Of course, the URLs are no longer any good but "Ant-Bee Web Bizarre" still exists & is here: https://ant-bee.com . "Home Page Replica" is here: http://www.shiningsilence.com/hpr/ . I didn't find "Electricity" but I didn't look very hard either.

Harkleroad/Rollo prefaces the bk by explaining:

"I want to thank Billy James for his effort. He's the one who had to decipher and put on paper, my endless ramblings into a tapedeck. I probably should have pulled a few punches in my thoughts on some of the people described here. I think life is hard enough without spreading negativity, but I couldn't start censoring myself and keep the feeling of leaning over to a friend and whispering something." - p 10

Ok, I think that's fair enuf. I didn't really find the bk to be that negative, I'm interested in the subject & I'm glad to have a fairly candid acct. I'm entirely too familiar w/ the interactive difficulties of collaboration. If I were to write a bk about some of my own activities it might be more scathing.

I 1st heard what was then Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, according to my list of records that I've been keeping since I was 13 in 1967, when I got "Safe as Milk" in early 1970. I wd've been 16. But that's not the way I remember it. I remember hearing "Lick my Decals off Baby" (now by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band - an improvement, IMO, b/c it was no longer possessive) 1st & playing it for a small group of friends at my house. I was astounded & mystified by it. Musically, it was unlike anything I'd ever heard before. When I tried explaining it to my friends I speculated that the lyrics appeared to be ecologically concerned. I eagerly listened to everything I cd find by him / them ASAP.

Then along came "Unconditionally Guaranteed" in 1974 & no matter how much I loved what went before it was difficult for me to find anything likeable about such an obvious attempt to make commercial music. "Bluejeans and Moonbeams" in 1975 was similarly nauseating. I even hitch-hiked to Washington DC to hear them play during this era even tho it was probably the lowest point in his career for me. I remember shouting out something like "What happened to Antennae Jimmy Semens"? Semens, for me, was the weirdest one of them all &, therefore, the one I was most interested in. As records like "Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)" came along it was hard for me to care anymore. I was relieved that the schmaltz drek of the 2 'pop' records wasn't repeated but, still, IMO, Beefheart's last records were somewhat watered-down reruns of the "Lick my Decals off Baby" & "Clear Spot" eras w/o much new to offer.

Nonetheless, the early records from "Safe as Milk" up to "Clear Spot" are so fabulous that Beefheart and the Magic Band will always be in my pantheon of musical greats.

There's a Foreword by Henry Kaiser. As I recall, he grew up on Gibson Island, the scion of the Kaiser Aluminum family. I 1st heard of him thru a musician friend who grew up in the same gated community. In the '70s & '80s he had a reputation as a prominent guitar improvisor — esp for his reputedly fabulous array of FX pedals. I've never listened to much of his music but being reminded of him thru this bk makes me realize that I need to further my musical education by doing so. He writes:

"I first saw Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band back in 1967 at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco, a little after the Safe As Milk album was released. Before the show started, I remember a big pile of bumper stickers being given away under the black lights up on the Avalon balcony." - p 11

That's the bumper sticker that came w/ "Safe as Milk". I still have mine. It was even on the bumper of my car in 1977. I'm glad I salvaged it from there. Kaiser also had the (mis)fortune of witnessing the very unMagic Band later.

"The band and Don told me to come visit them the next summer up in Trinidad, California and I did so. I stayed in touch and went to see them play many times. In 1973 I went to a gig in LA (I had spoken to Bill a couple of weeks before and had planned to see him at a show) but I was completely shattered when the Bluejeans and Moonbeams new and not-so-Magic Band came out on the stage instead of my friends." - p 13

Kaiser stresses the importance of Rollo's guitar-playing to him. I felt similarly until I heard him play w/ Mallard. Then he just seemed to be a generic Southern Rock slide-guitarist & I had to once again give Beefheart himself his due for tormenting the Magic Band's music into its unique shape.

"For my generation of guitar innovators and improvisors, Zoot Horn Rollo is of paramount importance. I've learned so much from him and have continued to do so over the years. Many of my colleagues such as Eugene Chadbourne, Davey Williams, Jim O'Rourke, Fred Frith, David Torn, Elliott Sharp and Bruce Anderson say likewise." - p 15

&, indeed, that's an impressive list, to me. I've witnessed Chadbourne & Sharp & O'Rourke each play live once & Williams twice & those were all remarkable concerts (although I think O'Rourke played something other than guitar when I heard him). Frith, esp, has been connected to some of my favorite avant-rock bands — including Henry Cow & The Art Bears.

Being able to get the early history from Harkleroad was a treat.

"In 1964 Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band were a pretty straight-forward blues band doing Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker stuff. They were "the band" in the little town just north of Los Angeles called Lancaster. I too was playing in a local cover band called BC and the Cavemen. In the same band as me was Mark Boston (Rockette Morton), PG Blakely and a singer who was closer in age to the Beefheart band members - they were the "old" guys. They were about 24 which was ancient to a kid of 15." - p 21

& I've listened to Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, & John Lee Hooker & never been remotely as moved by it as I have been by Beefheart. It was what established them as outside the blues genre, the weirdness that really did it for me.

"We met up with a crew of people who were Timothy Leary's followers - "the Brotherhood" - a sect of people that were based at Laguna Beach. Their whole deal was this psychedelic prayer book, Alan Watts, and lots of LSD." - p 22

One of the things that interested me about reading this was the extent to wch it overlaps my own life. Harkleroad is describing a time in the mid-'60s for him but, for me, I crossed paths w/ a "Brotherhood of Man" in the fall of 1972 when I was hitch-hiking back from the West Coast to the East & I got picked up by a guy who was w/ a woman & a daughter & 5 dogs. The adults seemed either exceptionally frazzled by LSD or sleep-deprivation or both. It was revealed to me that the car we were in was stolen. The man told me that he'd been doing a radio tour talking about the Brotherhood of Man & that he'd had to flee b/c a Satanist group had a death warrant out on him & were pursuing him in their attempt to kill him. I've written about that in more detail in my bk entitled How to Write a Resumé — Volume II: Making a Good First Impression.

"By now all the Beefheart Band, except Jerry, was living together in a house that they had rented on Entrada Drive in Woodland Hills. This was to be my home over the next months and the place where the music for the Trout Mask Replica was conceived. The garden with the bridge, as pictured on the Trout Mask LP sleeve, was our back yard. The house itself had two bedrooms, one upstairs that was Don's and a tiny one downstairs that rotated as a room for the rest of us. The living room was the rehearsal space where we could curl up in a corner to sleep." - p 23

In my own life, I think of the summer when I was 20, 1974, when I lived in a communal house in Manhattan Beach, MD, wch I was told the neighbors called "La Mancha" b/c its occupants were considered to be foolishly fighting windmills. The 3 main other people that I remember being there at the time were Jeff Silverman, a Baha'i bass player; Glenn Collister (?), a guitarist; & Brian Wolle, a drummer & cornetist. Jeff had been in a band called "Howdy Duty" that Brian's brother, Kenny, had been the drummer for. Brian had been in a band called "Sterling" & later played w/ me in various configurations. An astonishing number of Baltimore/Annapolis-based bands can be read about in Joe Vaccarino's astoundingly well-researched & lovingly-presented bk entitled Baltimore Sounds ( http://www.baltimoresounds.com ). Highly recommended.

When I 1st moved into La Mancha I lived in the furnace rm. That was a closet w/ maybe 2 or 3 ft alongside the furnace where I cd sleep. I was very skinny at the time, weighing little more than 95 pounds. After a brief while, I got the attic rm. There were 2 entrances to that: 1 from the foyer off the front door & 1 thru a trap door in the ceiling of the steps-hallway that linked the foyer to the floor below the entrance. In order to enable 2 more guys to squeeze into the foyer rm & use it as an undisturbed bedrm, I climbed shelving next to the steps to reach the trap-door to get in the attic — thusly bypassing the foyer. 1 of the 2 guys who moved in was a Vietnam vet. They lived there for a mnth before they stole from us & stealthily moved out in the middle of the night. B/c the house was right next to a branch of the Magothy River there were roaches there in a quantity I hope to never see again. At night, a living carpet of them covered the kitchen sink area. I tried to get welfare as an Unemployed Musician but was informed by the social worker that "musician" is not a profession. I ended up working as a dishwasher at the Naval Academy. Now, THAT'S a REAL profession! In other words, while Harkleroad's description of his living conditions may seem extreme, I imagine that many musicians were living similarly all over the US & elsewhere. It was at La Mancha that I started decomposing "Dead Man with a Horn": http://idioideo.pleintekst.nl/d1974De... .

"I was starting to stretch out from a strictly blues mentality myself. Before I joined the band I had listened to a lot of John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Thelonius Monk. At the time within the band all those things were talked about as acceptable influences. Later on, all that was scrapped for the "art" of the band - seemingly condemning those jazz players for playing notes. Certainly, I was starting to embrace music which was a step further out on a limb, like Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, Stockhausen and Harry Partch." - p 28

Again, I can relate. Harkleroad, soon to be dubbed "Zoot Horn Rollo", is up to early 1968 in his chronology. I didn't discover Coltrane until, maybe, 1972 (& the 1st record I got by him, "The Coltrane Legacy", was entirely too straight for me), Miles Davis in 1971 (w/ "Bitches Brew", wch was wonderful), Ornette Coleman until 1971, Stockhausen until maybe as late as 1974, & Partch until 1973.

Ahhh.. but there was so much other music of importance to me: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Cream, Moby Grape, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Soft Machine, Country Joe and the Fish, Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd's "Ummagumma", The Mothers of Invention, Arthur Brown, Canned Heat, Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, The Band, King Crimson, Dr. John the Night Tripper, Bonzo Dog Band, The Incredible String Band, Joni Mitchell, Ry Cooder, Van Dyke Parks, Eric Dolphy, Tim Buckley, The Fugs, George Russell, Erik Satie, John Cage, Matching Mole.. that just takes me up to 1973. Some of you might notice that I have no problem mentioning other rock bands of the time instead of just jazz & avant-garde classical influences. Beefheart and the Magic Band, while certainly amazingly special, were far from alone as pioneers of the 'out' in the blues/rock/pop world. I got "Strictly Personal" in 1971. I loved it, I loved the phasing, phasing being unusual at the time. Then I heard that the phasing had been added w/o Beefheart's knowledge or permission & that he hated it. I still loved it anyway.

""Moonlight On Vermont" and "Veteran's Day Poppy" ended up on Trout Mask Replica, I never heard "Kandy Korn" after that day. During that time we were rehearsing the rest of the tunes we got word from Victor, Don's cousin, that the album was already out! Sure enough, Victor showed up one day with it under his arm. Don exploded! He was in complete shock. The way I understood it from Don was that Bob Krasnow, the band's manager prior to me joining, had taken the master tapes and done a special number on them without anyone's permission. It being the time of LSD, accounted for all the phasing and so-called creative mixing." - p 29

I can certainly understand everyone's fury about such liberties being taken & perhaps the record wd've been even better if it'd just stayed w/in Beefheart's vision but I STILL LOVE IT. I love the bestowing of names too. Such touches help insure an overall creativity rather than just one while the band is playing — leaving them to return to 'normality' while they're not.

"Just as Zappa had given Don the name Captain Beefheart, so Don bestowed those of us in the Magic Band with our own nicknames. The name Zoot Horn Rollo came up quite early on. At first I thought, "What? I don't know if I like it". Then I had a change of heart and thought, "Oh whatever - I'm in the Beefheart band and this is the coolest thing on earth.["]" - pp 30-31

For the complete review go here: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give this a lower star rating, except there's so little information about the inner workings regarding Capt. Beefheart and his Magic Band otherwise. It reads very conversationally; in other words, it sounds like he dictated his thoughts to an editor, who transcribed it and shuffled it around for reading purposes.

Nonetheless, it's a first hand account of one of the most alien-sounding bands I can think of, and is worth a look for that reason alone.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amateurish editing & proofreading (there are a lot of spelling/grammar errors) doesn't stop this from being a very compelling read.

This book, along with John French's long essay in the "Grow Fins" box, thankfully dispels once and for all the myth that the Magic Band were the soulless puppets of Don Van Vliet. Thanks Zoot.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I'm a big fan of the music that Bill Harkleroad (aka Zoot Horn Rollo) created with Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, this book only illuminates that work to a minor degree. The text was derived from a set of taped interviews with the subject, and preserves a conversational cadence that doesn't promote analysis or insight. So for Captain Beefheart obsessives, there might be some small reward in reading these pages, but for anyone else, it's just not all that interesting.

[Stephen Toman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable and quick read. Feels like Harkleroad talking to you. Fairly rambling but if you’re a Beefheart fan, and a guitarist, you’ll get something out of this. John French’s books goes into much more detail but this is a nice companion piece.

Ignore the terrible editing, and I don’t mean the way Harkleroad’s thoughts have been written down verbatim - I’m fine with that; actually I like it - but things like random number ‘1’s appearing between paragraph spaces or as a second ‘l’ in ‘cal1ed’, numerous typos, and generally sloppy formatting. Nothing that detracts from the book but overall gives it a sloppy feel reminiscent of the recording process Harkleroad describes, where the band would spend so much time learning material only to have it casually recorded with terrible amps and unsympathetic producers.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book but it is in need of a cleanup by the publishers.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bill Harkleroad went from Captain Beefheart protege to effective Magic Band musical director before leaving in his disgust and accomplished polythythmic/polyphonic recording in his wake. This very honest, open memoir reads like a transcript of Harkleroad in monologue: genuine and conversational. Decrypting the Don Van Vliet alter ego and recalling what shows and sessions he could, Harkleroad did take the time to turn his ears back to the Beefheart and Mallard recordings and give his track-by-track recollections, opinions, and looking-back assessment making this book also an informative listening guide.

[Allan Heron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notwithstanding that this was written beforehand, this is almost a companion release to John French's considerably more substantial book on the Beefheart years.

It's a short book and lacks the detail of the French tome but it does provide significant levels of corroboration for what's in that book.

It leaves a feeling that you did want more detail but you also feel that Bill's puzzled why anyone should be so interested. Inevitably, all Beefheart fans should be exactly that.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to learn about Capt. Beefheart. He seems like a real prick.

[John Issitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for Beefheart fans. Human, accessible and honest - great.

[Nick LeBlanc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conversational, unedited, lighthearted, this is really more of a listening guide than a memoir. ZHR is a much more gracious person than he has to be when discussing Beefheart. His dedication to music for art's sake is refreshing and admirable and puts a lot of today's corporate money grabbing in stark relief. This won't make a Beefheart fan out of you, but it may deepen your appreciation if you are already there. The whole affair is sort of like an underdeveloped issue of 33 1/3 (for better and for worse).

Read on archive.org

[KV · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book for Beefheart aficionados. His conversational style is very relaxed and easy to read, and I essentially read this over the course of about 3 hours, spread over a bit over a week. If you're interested in that music (and the perspective of a person who made it) then this is a must-read. Henry Kaiser's forward is also hugely informative.

[Terry Cornell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book for my wife a few years ago. She went to high school with Bill, and new some of the people mentioned early on in the book. Now that I'm taking guitar lessons again, thought I'd get this inside look at Captain Beefheart. Written in the first person, it's interesting that Harkleroad's 'voice' changes from the late teen, early 20's guitarist he was at the start, to the mature guitar teacher he is today by the end. Not the most polished prose, but overall interesting. After all Bill is known as a great guitarist, not a writer. I knew he grew up in the A.V., but was surprised to learn that before Beefheart and the band split up, they were residing in Trinidad in Humboldt County. This was a few years before I found my way to Arcata to attend HSU. Most of the book was interesting, but the chapters breaking down each album song by song I found a little tedious. A true Beefheart fan, or a more accomplished musician would probably find these areas much more interesting. A quick read if you're interested in Beefheart, the music scene of the 1960s-70s, or ties to the Antelope Valley at that time.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Captain Beefheart interviews for decades it's refreshing to hear what the other guys in the Magic Band have to say about creating their innovative music.
This book is a very rare glimpse into the Magic Band by one of their most talented members. Beefheart prefers to shroud his work in mystery, but Zoot Horn Rollo is here to tell the tale. I enjoyed his book a lot.

[Ian]

Recommended

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Filled with typos, seems slapdash, but essential nonetheless.

[Ned · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Revealing

[Yuri Zbitnoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not essential literature by any means, but an insightful read nonetheless. Especially if you are interested in Beefheart.

[Beefheartfan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as definitive as John French's book "Through The Eyes of Magic", but still has some interesting details and perspectives of the classic era of The Magic Band.

[Yoshiyuki Nishio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Savage but funny.