SXSWorld
Issue link: https://sxsw.uberflip.com/i/81866
Captain Beefheart to Be Remembered and Celebrated at SXSW by Scott Schinder the infl uence of Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart, looms larger today than ever. While Beefheart's idiosyncratic rewriting of the rules of blues, R&B and jazz sharply divided audi- ences during the '60s and '70s, his visionary work is now widely recognized for its unparal- leled originality and continues to inspire and astound new listeners. Beefheart's remarkable achievements will be the subject of SXSW Music's "Tropical Hot Dog Panel." Th e panel (named after his 1978 tune "Tropical Hot Dog Night") will feature veteran avant-garde guitarist/composer Gary Lucas, who launched his musical career with a fi ve-year, two-album stint in the fi nal incarna- tion of Beefheart's fabled Magic Band, as well as serving as the mercurial artist's co-manager. In the years since Beefheart abandoned music to concentrate on painting, Lucas has emerged as a potent musical force in his own right, releasing more than 20 albums and engaging in an array of adventurous projects, including collaborations with fi gures as diverse as Jeff Buckley, Lou Reed, John Cale, Leonard Bernstein, Nick Cave, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith and the U.K. electronica outfi t, Future Sound of London. While continuing with his own career, Lucas also has spearheaded a series of eff orts that revisit and explore Van Vliet's musical legacy. From 2003 to 2006, he and other Beefheart alumni toured and recorded with a reconstituted Magic Band. He now co-leads Fast 'n' Bulbous: the Captain Beefheart Project, a jazz-oriented, all-instrumental ensemble that performs instrumental versions of Beefheart material. "I keep coming back to Don's music," Lucas asserts, "because I fi nd it about the richest, most life-affi rming sui generis music I've ever encountered. It is never, ever boring." By the time Lucas began working with him, Beefheart had a fear- A lthough he had been retired from music for nearly three decades when he passed away in December 2010, Gary Lucas to apply many of the lessons learned working with Don." In addition to honoring Beefheart at SXSW, Lucas also will be doing some reputation as a harsh taskmaster whose technically challenging musical ideas were matched by the demands he made of his band members. "I shared many of the same ups and downs with him as other musicians who came through the ranks," Lucas affi rms. "But I prefer to remember and accentuate the positive experience of knowing and working with him. "Th e positive side," Lucas notes, "was that he was a mentor who his own showcase set, in which he will play his original solo guitar score for the 1931 Spanish language version of Dracula, which he has previously performed at the Havana Film Festival and the London Jazz Festival. In addition, he is gearing up for the release of a new album by his longstanding band Gods and Monsters, as well as one by Wild Rumpus, an electronica/dance collaboration with DJ Cosmo. To top things off , he is planning a new recording project in Havana with an all-star band of Cuban musicians. Lucas views the SXSW panel as an opportunity to celebrate showed me a whole new way to view the world—not just the world of music, but the entire universe. Th e downside was that once you entered his orbit as a player, you were expected to devote yourself 100 percent to his vision, and not even think of trying to do your own music on the side. When I was younger, that was okay, as I viewed his music as the be-all and end-all of everything I wanted to achieve. But as I grew older, I decided it was time to make my own creative mark, so it became time to move on to develop my own career, where I was able 52 SXSW ORLD / M ARCH F ILM- I A 201 1 Beefheart's music and expose it to new listeners. His goal, he says, is "to accentuate the positive, loving and warm side of the man, as there have already been several books that dwell obsessively on the negative aspects of working with him. And also to instill a sense of wonder in people that yes, here was a true giant who once walked the earth—not just in music, but also painting, poetry and sculpture." As a de facto gatekeeper of Beefheart's body of work, Lucas states, "I do feel some responsibility. I think his legacy is an ultra-impor- tant one and should be handled respectfully and in a positive spirit. Especially in an age where the awareness of the historical continuum of music is fading fast, and the attention spans of younger fans are get- ting shorter and shorter." ■ "Gary Lucas plays Spanish Dracula" is scheduled for Tuesday, March 15, at the Central Presbyterian Church (200 E. 8th St.). The "Tropical Hot Dog Panel" will be held on Wednesday, March 16, at 12:30pm in Room 12AB of the Austin Convention Center.