Captain Beefheart - The Magic Band

The Magic Band

The members of the original Magic Band had come together in 1965. At this time Van Vliet was simply the lead singer of the group, which had been brought together by guitarist Alex St. Clair. As in many emerging groups in California at the time, there were elements of psychedelia and the foundations of contemporary hippie counterculture.

Thus, it seemed quite logical to promote the group as "Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band", around the concept that Captain Beefheart had 'magic powers' and, upon drinking a 'Pepsi', could summon up "His Magic Band" to appear and perform behind him. The strands of this logic emanating from Vliet's Beefheart persona having been 'written in' as a character in a 'teenage operetta' that Zappa had formulated, along with Van Vliet's renowned 'Pepsi-moods' with his mother Willie Sue and his generally spoilt teenage demeanor.

Read more about this topic:  Captain Beefheart

Famous quotes containing the words magic and/or band:

    Both magic and religion are based strictly on mythological tradition, and they also both exist in the atmosphere of the miraculous, in a constant revelation of their wonder-working power. They both are surrounded by taboos and observances which mark off their acts from those of the profane world.
    Bronislaw Malinowski (1884–1942)

    And the heavy night hung dark
    The hills and waters o’er,
    When a band of exiles moored their bark
    On the wild New England shore.
    Felicia Dorothea Hemans (1783–1835)