Articles and interviews:
Don't forget to look at the music-related articles archive for more interviews, articles and thinkpieces.
| Don Van Vliet Quotes |
| A collection of the wit and wisdom of Don Van Vliet, all featured in the 'Don Van Vliet Quote Of The Moment' section on the main index page. Read it! |
| Refusal Of Leave To Land |
| A bizarre and humorous incident which lead to the Magic Band being refused entry to the UK in 1968 and deported to Hanover. This is the cover sheet and text of the official report. Read it! |
| A Study of Captain Beefheart |
| by Patrick Carr, from 10th March 1972 Crawdaddy. Includes an illuminating interview in which Don speaks about Ornette Coleman and environmentalism. Read it! |
| Beefheart's Boogie |
| by Andrew Weiner. This interview is from Creem magazine, sometime in 1972, and features Beefheart discussing drugs, super-stardom and the importance of being nice. Read it! |
| Miss Joan Lobell to marry...Capt. Don Van Vliet Beefheart, USAF? |
| This bizarre oddity is a prank that first appeared in the Baltimore, Maryland newspaper The Sun on 2nd September 1973. Easily the strangest item at the Radar Station. Read it! |
| Captain Beefheart Pulls A Hat Out Of His Rabbit |
| by Byron Coley and Robert Carey. This informal chat covers topics such as New Wave, cleanliness, and Don's selling of a vacuum cleaner to Aldous Huxley. Originally appeared in the January 1979 edition of New York Rocker. Read it! |
| Captain Beefheart |
| by Kristine McKenna, from Wet magazine, 1st May 1980. This interview features Don chatting on a wide range of subjects, from art and music to ants and philosophers. Not to be missed. Read it! |
| Captain Beefheart's Far Cry |
| by Lester Bangs. This excellent interview / article was taken from the 1st/7th October 1980 issue of Voice, and features Don talking about his relationship with Jan, his individual manner of speaking, and his meaning behind some of his songs. Read it! |
| Beefheart's Baby |
| by Jeffrey Peisch. Taken from the January 1981 edition of Trouser Press, originally titled 'Captain Beefheart'. In this article Don discusses his creative muse. Read it! |
| An Old Fart At Play: Conversations With Captain Beefheart |
| by Lou Stathis, taken from the August 1983 edition of Heavy Metal Magazine. Don talks about what makes him different, his problem with light, and more. Read it! |
| The Pop Life |
| by Jon Parelas, from 18th December 1985 New York Times. An early piece about Don's move from music to painting. Read it! |
| Where's The Captain? |
| by Kristine McKenna, from January 1988's Spin Magazine. This fascinating interview finds Don Van Vliet discussing President Charlton Heston the "big yellow tooth", his music, painting and his relationship with his cat Garland. Read it! |
| Yeah, I'm Happy |
| by Dave DiMartino, an excellent article from Mojo Magazine, December, 1993. Fascinating, but this article provoked some allegations of misrepresentation from John French; allegations which the author strongly denies. See item below. Read it! |
| Letter from John French |
| Drumbo's response to the above 'Yeah, I'm happy' article. Read it! |
| Dave DiMartino comments on controversy surrounding above article |
| In particular, DDM strongly refutes allegations that he made up quotes for his article, and includes the full transcript of an interview which Henry Kaiser alleges never happened. Read it! |
| Strictly Personal |
| by Dave DiMartino, an interview with Don Van Vliet from September, 1993. Accompanied the 'Yeah I'm Happy' article in Mojo Magazine, December, 1993. Read it! |
| The Spotlight Kid |
| by Anton Corbijn, photographer and friend of the Captain. He took the famous Ice Cream For Crow desert snaps, and numerous others scattered through this site. Read it! |
| Pearls Before Swine |
| by Luca Ferrari, from the Stand Up To Be Discontinued book. Read it! |
| Re-Achieving Naivety |
| by Ben Thompson - long but highly recommended reading. First published in the 21st August 1994 Independent on Sunday just before the Stand Up To Be Discontinued exhibition hit England. Read it! |
| Beef Encounters |
| Accompanied the 'Re-Achieving Naivety' piece in The Independent On Sunday. Features Gary Lucas, John Peel and Craig Scanlon talking of their fondness for Van Vliet. Read it! |
| Selection of reviews for 'The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart' |
| What the press thought about the BBC documentary. From mixed sources in August 1997, all sent to me by Alex Pope, many thanks. Read it! |
| An Octafish Speaks - exclusive |
| Otis Owens, ex-Zappa-employee and friend of various Magic Band members exclusively answered a few questions for this site on 19/4/98. Read it! |
| John French writes about the Woodland Hills house - exclusive |
| An exclusive response to Angel's photographs of the house where the Magic Band lived and rehearsed Trout Mask Replica. Read it! |
| Don talks to Bono |
| A telephone conversation from 2001 which appeared in the Christmas special of Oor magazine, December 2001. Read it! |
| Don and Jan's Wedding - exclusive |
| An exclusive account of Don and Jan's wedding from Mike Bugbee who ended up present at the ceremony in 1969 with Don, Jan and Bill Harkleroad. Read it! |
| Don Vliet and Agostinho Rodrigues - exclusive |
| Steve Froy uncovers some of the facts surrounding the mystery of the sculptor, Agostinho Rodrigues, who Don claimed to have studied under. Read it! |
