Jeff Cotton

For those who have always had an eye for the most oblique and adventurous music, the name Jeff Cotton should not sound mysterious. Known at the court of Don Van Vliet/Captain Beefehart with the nickname Antennae Jimmy Semens, the Californian guitarist has entered into legend above all for having played on "Trout Mask Replica", one of the most important and influential albums in the history of rock. Leaving behind the fundamental and exhausting experience with Beefehart, Cotton played, with friend Merrell Fankhauser, in the unknown and fascinating MU, before retiring to private life in the Hawaiian archipelago, where he will always continue to take care of his guitar.
What follows is the result of a very long chat with the very kind Jeff, who for the first time confesses to an Italian interlocutor.

Hi Jeff! It's a pleasure to have you here with us! To start, can you tell us what kind of musical training you had and who were your first musical heroes?
I was about 7 years old when I began singing harmony with my mother and her girlfriend. My mother had been an entertainer, a singer in her early years in Alaska, with her own weekly radio show, so she cherished every opportunity to sing. In the fourth grade, I believe it was I got a little Flutafone, one of those little plastic horns. Within months, I was ready for a real horn. My grandmother who I consider my angel for many reasons, bought me a professional wood Leblanc clarinet and I played it through my 12th year of school. So I did read music. However, on my 13th birthday, my parents gifted me with a KAY arch top acoustic guitar. It had been in the attic of my mom’s singing friend and from that day forward I was gone! In bliss. I managed to take four guitar lessons and as I left that fourth lesson, I remember thinking that I could teach myself.  I had managed to learn the lead and rhythm guitar parts from “Walk Don’t Run.” by the Ventures.  Early on, the Ventures were at the top of my list.  
Even though I was playing professionally at fourteen, I also continued playing clarinet for a time in the Antelope Valley High School symphony.  I was also active in the Acapella choir and took every musical course available. And at AV High is where I met John French.  And Although they went to different high schools, this is around the time that I met Mark Boston and Bill Harkleroad.  It’s well known that the four of us played together in “Blues in a Bottle” before becoming the Trout Mask Replica lineup, of course with  the addition of Don Vliet, the Captain himself.  
Back to my favorite influences…. of course the Beatles were a great inspiration, and in 1964 as the Exiles, upon releasing our first record, we opened up in Beatle Wigs and outfits, singing their songs to a packed hall.  That first record charted at #9 in the valley.  I formed the Intruders and later the Allusions and often we would play lunch breaks in the cafeteria.  They would set up a  stage for us and we were even asked occasionally to play in the Gymnasium for Assemblies. I’d have to say that to a degree I gravitated to instrumental music.
Then there was “The Shadows” out of the UK. And do you remember The 13th Floor Elevators? Although they were a vocal band, I say they were way ahead of the times with spiritually oriented songs. I used to listen to the LP at half speed, rather than at 33 & 1/3 rpm’s. I also loved Jimmy Reed and his band. This was my first real introduction to the blues.  His harmonica playing in the high register was fantastic, and the music just seemed to float, along, nearly weightless.  

What kind of family and social environment did you grow up in? What kind of boy were you?
I was a shy, quiet and sensitive young boy. My dad was the assistant manager of the Porterville airport in Central California so I spent Some years living on the airport, flying with my parents in our various small planes and sometimes I would go up with other pilots that would fly in for the day. My parents were cool, open minded people and for the most part, I was basically free to choose my own activities. I caught the model airplane bug and designed and built all sorts of planes. The airport was 1 mi. Square so I had plenty room to stretch my wings.

Before joining Captain Beefheart's Magic Band, you played in Merrell and The Exiles, a band led by Merrell Fankhauser and in Blues In A Bottle. What do you remember about that period? What kind of guy was Merrell?
I met Merrell Fankhauser when my dad and his dad got to talking one day at the airport in Lancaster, California, in the Mojave desert. When they found out that we were both guitar players, they got us together. And our first session was so much fun, that we decided to start a band. Thus the “Exiles”were formed. I had only been playing for about one year and Merrell had several years experience already so he brought me up to speed by teaching me the first songs. We did Ventures tunes, and as I mentioned above, the Beatles, as we had exceptional vocal harmony.  We could do the Doo Wop of the late 50’s and early 60’s too. Merrell was much older than me, as was Don Vliet. In fact they were the same age. 

When and how did you meet Captain Beefheart? What impression did he make on you?
In those days there was a venue called Exposition hall, and most of the bands whether local or not, would gig there.. So we(Blues in a Bottle) would play and sometimes there would be a Battle of the Bands. Of course, we were all transfixed by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band. Older musicians who had been playing Delta blues, rather than the common fare of City blues. I particularly liked their band props, like a food blender on stage, grinding away at thin air throughout the performance. While we lost a battle of the bands to them, at another time, we actually upstaged them!  Now, this was something that Don just would not have. He’d come up in front of each of us and check us out.  After one particular set, he just came up and introduced himself with, “Hey man, you sounded really good.” When Don was in the room, you could feel a presence that was noticeably different, almost alien or foreign.

Tell us a little about how the "Mirror Man" sessions came about... In those sessions, the other guitarist was Alex St. Clair Snouffer. What kind of relationship did you have with him, also on a musical level?
The “Mirror Man” sessions were my earliest recordings with the Magic Band. Unlike “Trout Mask Replica”, most of the ideas for the tracks were verbally communicated and we worked them up. And of course, that album left a lot of room for ad-libbing or jamming.
Not sure if you’ve heard this story, but before leaving the Band-house for the sessions, Don had unbeknownst to John and I told his girlfriend Laurie to spike our tea with LSD. Hey, that would be a good title for a song, “Did they spike your tea with LSD? Is that why you can’t focus on me?”. Anyway, I remember as I approached the big doors which opened up into TTG Studios, they suddenly seemed 15 feet tall and made of rubber. What a time to Come On! I have to say that it was an exhilarating experience, although unexpected by either John or myself. I can still remember kneeling in front of my amplifier feeding back as we ad-libbed “Korn Ring Finger”, which I highly enjoyed at the time. Having someone like Alex who was actually the founder of the Magic Band as a band-mate, was awesome.  He was a patient and no nonsense person and friend.  I was sad to see both Alex and our bass player Jerry Handley, go. 

What do you remember, instead, about the "Strictly Personal" period?
"Strictly Personal" was sort of a continuation of "Mirror Man", but the music was more tightly arranged with much less jamming and by far my favorite of the two albums. I even liked the Psychedelic chop chop that our producer Bob Krasnow used without our permission.

How, at the time, did you relate to the news coming from Vietnam? If I remember correctly, you yourself-risked being drafted…
So, I had been drafted into the Magic Band just a few months earlier, and I received notice to appear at the draft board for induction into the military. Now you can imagine I wasn’t having it! 
Aside from the once in a lifetime opportunity to play in the Magic Band, paramount in my mind was, I am not going to go to a foreign country, take the lives of innocent men, women, and children to satisfy these “armchair warriors” that had infiltrated the US military at the time. I was hip to their agenda. But to make a long story short, with the bands help, we managed to get me out of the draft (this incident in itself would make a great story!).

Tell us!
So the guys concocted a plan. Not recalling exactly my attire, it was definitely outrageous, in comparison with what was happening at the time in 1967. I believe we painted my fingernails, etc. They gave me some hashish, some speed, some hard liquor and I was promptly driven to LA County General Hospital to do the deed. If you haven’t been to this hospital, it is intimidating. As they drop me off, I look up and there are probably 100 or more steps; maybe 200. Just as I begin my ascent, I see these two orderlies in white gowns at the top (I’m thinking here’s my opportunity) and when they see me, I go into a freak out frenzy. I just love theater! Flailing hands in the air and as if trying to speak, I promptly fall down on the lower steps. Next thing I know I am grabbed and jabbed, and that is the last of my recollections. So the next thing I remember, is coming to, in the living room of the Band House. The Thorazine shots had rendered me unconscious for two days… Next, I sign on for weekly outpatient visits at Camarillo psychiatric  facility and truly enjoy the experience. I would sit across from the shrink and say things like, you know a fly just buzzed around and landed on the back of your shirt, and I am back there, and I can see him clearly. “Kinda’ like “Seeing  through a fly’s eye”. Several months pass and I head to the Los Angeles induction center, downtown Los Angeles to be Drafted. I walk in with a thick dossier cataloging all of my experiences at the facility. So you go in there, and you are told to follow these three lines. One being white one yellow and I believe(it’s been 56 years!)a red line. Anyway, the first tests are for physical fitness. I pass the tests with flying colors! Ouch! Now there are only two lines. We come to an area where there are several makeshift booths to the right and to the left of the lines. I force myself out of the line and come to a booth with a man inside. I drop the heavy folder and open it for him and blurt out, “I’ve had LSD 32 times”. He says, you had LSD 32 times? I said “Yep”, at least. He stamps my book and says go home. Soon, I receive a letter in the mail from the draft board stating that I have been excused with a 2Y classification. This is the same as a student deferment. Whew…. I’m off the hook and ready to cook! Thanks to The Magic Band incarnation which included Alex St Clair, Jerry Handley, John French, Don Vliet and myself. This band was for a relatively short time, a formidable force in the 60’s movement of the Blues. I cannot recall another band that was playing Delta Blues, at that particular time.

And now we come to the era of "Trout Mask Replica". Over the years, many things have already been told, but, having the pleasure of having you here with us, can you kindly tell us what you thought when Beefheart told you that you were going to live in what I like to call "Trout House"?
It was just up the road from our previous place on Golondrina ave. Only a short walk, away. We checked it out, liked it, I liked especially for the fact that we had a fair amount of property. You probably heard that there was a giant eucalyptus tree right next to the house and Don, being paranoid, eventually had a Tree Doctor come to size up the situation. He didn’t want it falling on him. We had plenty of space, lots of tall brush and as you can see on the TMR album, a small bridge over a little creek. Bill and I would often go out into the bush and rehearse our parts individually and sometimes we would play the movements together. More on this later.

Don loved to give a nickname to all the musicians who played with him. In your case, he chose Antenna, Jimmy Semens...
Don learned that I had a hole in my head on the right side which would occasionally grow seeds. I wanted to have the hole threaded and an antenna installed. So I think Don equated the seeds with semen, therefore Antenna Jimmy Semens.

There has often been talk of a sinister atmosphere, regarding the one that reigned in that house. What did you do, when you were not busy rehearsing?
I spent more hours with Don as the scribe, taking all of it down, than I spent rehearsing with the Band. Many mornings after spending the entire night, writing out  lyrics and reciting them to Don, I would hear Bill and Mark tuning up and John tuning his drums for that day’s rehearsal. I spent much time not only learning the movements, but rehearsing them with the guys while in a virtual dream state. I’ve been told numerous times by those who visited us in the Trout house, that the atmosphere was so thick, that you could just about cut it like butter. That was due to Don‘s presence, yet to a large degree due to the enormous amount of mental energy and focus of the four of us musicians. Don would very seldom show his face and definitely would not rehearse with us.

Many still talk about "Trout Mask Replica" as an album characterized by a good dose of improvisation. Actually, I know that every single note was memorized by the band, because Beefheart was very keen on the fact that his musical "vision" was not altered. What do you say about that?
It is true Don did not want his vision altered. Sorry to pop this bubble, however Don really had no clue how to structure the parts that he wrote, because his vision was only partial. So John French volunteered and did an excellent job. Thank you, John, because I didn’t want it myself. I was very happy with lyrics, as I really understood and got what Don was saying.

What was Don saying?
So among much cartoonist imagery, something like acid cartoons, Don would deal with Real issues of Life. The environment, man’s inhumanity toward man…

In that house, there were also episodes of violence. In short, Don, when necessary, knew how to impose his leadership even with force...
A word or two about that. The majority of the violence was mental, emotional and psychological. The procedures Don used were in some degree taken from a book that was given to him personally by Charles Manson. And you know that Manson used acid on his followers. I know for a fact that both John French and I had been given small doses, until that night that we walked in to TTG Studios to do the "Mirror Man" sessions and we were totally lit up by the cup of tea prepared by Laurie, at the behest of Don.

Frank Zappa originally wanted to make "Trout Mask Replica" as a kind of "anthropological field recording", using his sound engineer, Dick Kunc. What do you member about that?
An anthropological field recording is perhaps Frank’s way of thinking, let’s see if we can do this album “on a shoestring”. And then we’ll only need to go in the recording studio for the vocal overdubs. And so the two young boys living nearby, upon hearing us, walk over to see what’s up and there and then, the “field recording” was brought to life.

The album was produced by Frank Zappa, but from what I understand he didn't do much, apart from drinking coffee, smoking and giving some advice...
So as you have probably heard elsewhere, we were so well rehearsed that most songs were done in one take but a few took several. Frank was totally blown away! And you are correct: Frank didn’t do much because there was not much for him to do. If you remember “Ella Guru”, you can hear me in the middle saying “hello Moon, hello Moon”. Frank was standing up watching us play and in his arms was Moon Unit who was about one year old at the time, so I said “hello” through the glass of the control room. However, I will say that, had Frank brought in some quality amplifiers for the band, “Trout Mask Replica” would have been even better.

Were your amplifiers not that great? How would TMR have been better?
Actually, I felt lucky to have an amplifier. We were extremely poor and had to use whatever we could find. The album could have been much better if we would’ve had quality equipment, including our guitars. I could take the Gibson semi Hollow body guitar that I played on “Trout Mask Replica”, hold the neck with one hand, push on the body of the guitar and bring it more than a half tone out of tune! A musician needs to spend time with his equipment, experimenting in finding the best sounds, as well as just the right amount of sustain, etc. We walked into the studio cold, plugged in to amplifiers we’d never used and 15 minutes later, begin cranking out the album!

What kind of person was Frank Zappa? How did he behave with you?
Frank was very businesslike, very focused and I think he was a great guy. We jammed at his place in the Canyon and it was fun and pretty cool, I’d say… I would play a real slinky bottleneck riff, and he would dance all around me. A nice combo. I just learned recently from the guys themselves, that Frank considered me his favorite Beefheart musician. I have not a clue why!

And Laurie, Don's girlfriend at the time?
Laurie was very sweet, she seemed very innocent and would serve Don hand and foot.  She too, was very seldom let out. I think she deserved better.

What makes "Trout Mask Replica" a huge album is also the interplay between your guitar and Bill Harkleroad's. Would you like to tell us how the understanding between you two was born?
Bill and I, going way back to the High school days, had a healthy respect for one another’s playing. We would blow each other‘s minds. Yet there was never a hint of ego between the two of us, and you know how rare that is with guitar players! Our styles were so different and I think we complemented one another.

How did you divide the guitar parts?
The parts that we played were given by John French. John  understood that Bill was the clean, technically accurate player and I was more about feeling and warmth.

Had you made any modifications to your guitars?
No modifications whatsoever, just very big strings. I felt lucky just to have a guitar to play. You couldn’t be much poorer than we were. And in those days, I played so intensely that I would break a number of strings in rehearsal. When I joined the band, I was asked to give up my fender Jaguar and use a Gibson Hollow body. A totally different instrument, which severely limited my dexterity, yet I soon realized, would be just what the doctor ordered for the feedback I used, particularly on “Mirror Man” and “Strictly Personal”. Almost sounding like a horn.

Did you use any special tunings?
For “Trout Mask Replica”, we only used standard tuning.

Tell us some anecdotes dating back to the time of "Trout Mask Replica". Something you've never told before...
OK, here goes… Above I dealt with the somewhat INVISIBLE violence that the four of us experienced, however you know that occasionally it became physical. This incident has not been widely shared due to the fact that for many years, after my ejection from the Magic Band, I was focused primarily on raising my family of three children, and running a number of successful small businesses. And of course, I chose to stay out of the Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band spotlight until 2021.
Anecdote 1: So here’s a story that has not been made public. Early one afternoon as we were rehearsing in our fire engine red living room, Don asked me to come outside with him. I put down my guitar, and followed him down the stairs and out to the laundry room, the place where  both Bill and I would frequently go to rehearse together. As Don and I walked out toward the building, donning his black leather jacket, casually putting on his black leather gloves while walking, we enter the structure. He immediately turns to me with this angry face, and begins to throw swift punches. Looking directly in his eyes, every punch he throws, I catch with a hand. He tries another and another. After a good twenty seconds or so, Don abruptly moves backward a few feet and looking directly at me he says, “Fuckk man!”. Quickly turning away, he heads back to his bedroom. I never hear a word from him about this incident, ever again, nor did he Dare mention this to the other band members, because his “spell” would have been in danger of going “poof”. Interestingly enough, I neglected to share this story with John, Bill and Mark, until several years ago, as we were being interviewed by Billy Bob Thornton for an upcoming Documentary. While being interviewed, it dawned on me just perhaps WHY Don dispatched Burchell to do his dirty work.
Anecdote 2: So, It was one of those “normal” days of waking up, strapping on our instrument and picking up where you’d left off, the evening before. At this particular time, John French had already been expelled from the group and Don brought in Jeff Burchell, who by the way, was not a dramme. So Don Vliet walks in late morning in his robe, stands a few feet from the “Fake Drumbo”, He looks over at Burchell, raises an eyebrow, then kick me hard he gets off the throne, walks around Mark, comes over to me and, without warning, raises his cowboy boot heel and kicks me hard, back onto the floor. I was rushed to the hospital, being left on a gurney in the hallway for several hours until a room became available. So it was reported that I had broken ribs but in fact, I also had a punctured left lung. That was the last straw for Jeff Cotton! If this is what it takes to bring me to my senses, than it was well worth it.
Anecdote 3: Bill and I were outside on this particular sunny day, in the bush. Keep in mind that even though the weeds were taller than us, we were only a few feet from one another. All of a sudden I look up  and overhead was a huge beautiful, shining silver mother ship. I said, “Do you see that Bill?”. “Yep, I do”, he says. Now, this ship was like a long silver sausage which had  what looked like small wings set back from the nose cone in the front, and a pair of identical wings in the same position, near the rear of the fuselage. And in perfect formation directly behind the wings and near the fuselage on either side, was a flying saucer.  Meaning two saucers in front and two saucers in back.  As I recall, they were traveling East. It probably took 30 seconds for them to vanish from site as they were moving quite slowly. The next day, the newspapers around the story as thousands of people had witnessed it.

Which songs on "Trout Mask Replica" were the most difficult for you to learn to play?
That is a difficult question to answer and I hope that this makes sense. Many of the movements/parts in specific songs on “Trout Mask Replica”, could have been exchanged with parts in another song with out much notice. And when you’ve stripped music down to the basics, leaving behind the concepts of genre, as well as their attending techniques,  it’s no longer a matter of difficulty.

For the photo sessions of "Trout Mask Replica" you wore women's clothes and a baseball cap...
In those days, it wasn’t about gender. It was about blowing minds, standing and saying “No” to the current establishment of the time and making a statement. Hopefully at that time, it made the hair stand up on the backs of some.

Tell us how "The Blimp (mousetrapreplica)" was born, a song in which your voice is the protagonist!
It has been so long ago, I don’t recall the specifics other than we had just finished it and because I was the “Antenna bird”, “the chirper”, it naturally fell to me to recite it to Frank, over the phone. He was wise enough to hit the record button. I have the distinction of being the only person in the history of the Magic Band who Don Vliet allowed to sing lead vocal on any of his music. I would pat myself on the back, but, at my age it’s pretty difficult to reach back there!

Can you briefly describe the other members of the Magic Band at the time: Mark Boston, Bill Harkleroad, John French and Victor Hayden.
So Mark Boston was a great guy who absolutely thrived on playing bass guitar. He was a lot of fun to be around and every chance we got, we would take him away from the family house, his family house where things were pretty strict, I would say. I would think it was very challenging for him.
Bill Harkleroad was laid-back, and you could tell by his skill, how he loved the blues.
John French and I go way back and we were close friends. I remember going into his rehearsal room where his drums were set up and he played me on. I believe a 45 RPM “Fingertips” by Stevie Wonder.  I believe this was the period of time when I started the “Allusions”. A fair number of really great musicians passed through this group.
Victor Hayden was just Don‘s cousin. He wasn’t a musician, he was a painter and a very eccentric one.Why Don brought him in, I will never know. Maybe for affect. Being a clarinet player myself from a very young age, I couldn’t really get behind the fact that Don brought in a non-musician to squawk a little and to be recognized on “Trout Mask Replica”. However, he was a kind person and showed concern for our seeming plight, yet quite embarrassed at the honor of being included.

Don had also entrusted you with the task of writing down some of his poems and reciting them to him, when necessary, out loud. Why did he choose you?
I don’t think Do actually chose me. I volunteered, for a number of reasons; one being, I did not want the task of transcribing the music!

How does it feel to know that you played on one of the most legendary and influential records ("Trout Mask Replica") of all time? An album that, for many fans and critics, is the greatest rock album of all time?
Francesco, I am honored that there are those alive in the world today who think highly of our work on TMR. I can say without a doubt that all of our fans are truly unique individuals themselves. Still, there are not many people who are willing to search outside of the box. All things considered, for us four musicians our work was “a labor of love” and our Love  and commitment to the music is probably the most important reason we were able to successfully pull it off.

I don't think it was easy to make a living from your music back then. How much did you usually make playing around? Royalties weren't something you could count on...
Actually, we could’ve made a great living playing live in those days. However Don Vliet,, being both mentally and emotionally unstable, did not understand the importance or the benefits of performing regularly. Had we accepted the invitation to play Woodstock, our history would have looked quite differently. I remember Don’s comments about Woodstock. “I wouldn’t wanna go play for a bunch of hippies in the mud!”. As to royalties: due to poor management (dishonest management), there were none for the Magic Band. Don’s publishing company, God’s Golf Ball, received the royalties.

Don didn't like hippies very much, in fact it seems he hated them (he had, for example, a distaste for Grateful Dead fans)! What was your relationship with them and with the psychedelic counterculture in general?
Remember: Don was much closer in age to the Beatnik era, than the Hippie generation. The four of us were six or seven years younger than he was... I remember that we played a Love-in with the Grateful Dead and Timothy Leary and as I recall, Jefferson Airplane. The Dead seemed like good people from what I could tell. They would bring their families, their wives, their children to their gigs. I think that was great. And I think all in all, that the psychedelic community dug the Band. Have you heard “Trout Mask Replica” while tripping?  I’m sure that you’ll agree, one will henceforth, never see music the same way, ever again!

What do you remember about the tour in England in 1968? And about your participation in the International European Pop Festival in Rome, which was also held in 1968?
So, as you recall, the line-up was Don, Jerry Handley, Alex St. Clair, John French and myself. Our first tour, I remember landing at Heathrow Airport, being stopped at customs, arrested, and taken down stairs to a holding cell, I believe for several reasons. First off, our attire was different. I was dressed in a thick leather World War II pilots coat. I do not recall whether I was wearing the yellow plastic construction helmet or the chimney sweeps hat. Maybe the sunglasses that had two little six shooters (pistols) pointing at one another on the top rim. I’m sure they thought we were carrying drugs or something of that nature. Secondly, our manager Bob Krasnow, didn’t have our work permits in place when we landed. So some hours later they decided to deport us to Denmark. The next day, we were allowed entry to the kingdom. What I heard at the time, was that Bryan Epstein, being politically influential, pulled some strings. And the International Pop Festival was a gas!  Everyone was kind and super friendly, super stoned, and quite spaced out. I remember it took them quite a while to figure out how to turn the lights on in the stadium. But it was very exciting. And to see us from our hotel room afterwards on the European news was exciting. As I recall at that time, there was a viewing audience of something like 17 million people on the News channels.. And that was the concert where my guitar strap broke, I quickly, but gently, dropped down on one knee with my guitar, touching the floor and played through the song. I have to say that the most beautiful countryside that I’d ever laid my eyes upon, having been to a number of European countries would have to have been Italy. Stunning!

Don didn't know music and often used gestures or metaphors or whatever was needed to make himself understood. What was the strangest request he made to you in an attempt to get you to understand what he wanted you to play?
Although none of the following was used on the TMR record as I recall, there was a period of time in the Trout House when Don would take my guitar, and having had no experience playing, he would make overtones, and clicks and pops while slowing rocking back and forth on the stool. Then, he’d ask me to reproduce them.  That was all fine when playing at a snails pace, but imagine doing this at the tempo of a “Hair Pie” or “When Big Joan Sets Up”!  I developed my own style of clicks and pops which can be heard on one of our favorites, “Ant Man Bee”.

At some point, you were kicked out of the band. What was your reaction? How did you feel?
Honestly it was a great relief to be free. Free to do what I wanted, and especially to begin writing music again. It was a creatively pregnant time for me, I was able to pick up where I had left off in the days of Blues in a Bottle.

As soon as you left the Magic Band, did you immediately go and play with Merrell Fankhauser's MU or did you have some other musical experience?
Just a few months after leaving the band and moving back to the desert. A close friend of mine, Charlie Aston, rented an old house and property way out in the desert, half way between Lancaster and Edwards Air Force Base. It was an old Homestead in High Vista, miles from civilization and the modern amenities such as electricity.  This house came fully furnished with feather beds, a wind up phonograph and a cistern on the roof for water catchment, in the rare event of rain. One day, my friend and I are sitting outside, looking West. I’m rocking in a rocking chair, playing the tenor sax that Charlie had brought for me to play. Beginning ever so slowly just above the horizon was a small dot, the size of a pencil eraser… As I play, it begins to grow larger and and larger and ever closer and closer. It begins to take shape as a great transparent rectangle, but with the corners perfectly rounded off. It was geometrically perfect. I keep playing and we both witness this image coming closer and closer, until the entire sky before us was filled with this thing. After maybe one, maybe two hours, it gradually begins to fade and finally it disappears. So, I haven’t spoken with Merrell for some month’s and the next day I drive back to Lancaster, somehow compelled to share my cosmic experience. At this time, he is living in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles and He tells me that at the exact time, he himself had been visited by two individuals from the UK. He said they looked like Hobbits and they came to his door looking for Jeff Cotton. So they come in, Merrell is catching them up on my whereabouts when they ask him if they could sprinkle some powder in the fireplace which was burning brightly at that time. So they take the powder, toss a handful in the fire and the next thing Merrell remembers he is running swiftly on Ventura blvd., about a quarter mile from his house. He’s feeling these bursts of energy passing him and buffeting his shoulders as he runs. So he gets back home, finds his bass player under the table crawling around and mumbling something unintelligible. There is no sign of the two hobbit-like individuals. As you know, at this particular time in history, there was much interesting speculation as to extraterrestrials and phenomena such as visions. Right there and then we decided to form another band and that was the first beginnings of what wasto become MU. I soon moved down to Woodland Hills and with the support of Randy Wimer on drums and Larry Willey on bass and high vocals, MU began to take shape. New Music began pouring out of me effortlessly and I now had a Band that could play the music and was vocally and harmonically strong, as well.

Why did you leave MU at some point? If I understand correctly, you had a sort of conversion to Christianity...
We moved to Maui in 1973. And yes, after some years in the secret societies, I converted to Jesus Christ. I had begun to see the Light. And By late 1974, our musical paths had begun to diverge. Merrell was leaning ever more toward the commercial style of music and I, being still influenced to some degree by my two and a half years in the Magic Band, began leaning more toward the avant-garde. The other two members were more interested in following my musical path. And this time, I fell in love with a beautiful Hawaiian lady. It was time to move on, to begin a family (I have three children whom I greatly love and adore) and to follow the new path which was rapidly opening up for me.

And then... did you continue to play music? Would you like to reconstruct your musical journey up to today?
So, my new wife was full of surprises! We moved to our Honeymoon Cottage in Huelo, the area where the first Hippies had settled. Our place was on the Tropical side of Maui, twenty feet back from the Cliff with a vertical 100 foot drop into the ocean. Absolutely breathtaking! Our outhouse was just within five feet from the cliff itself. Imagine sitting there at night: two seats beside one another, no roof, just the stars above us and the sound of the breaking waves crashing on the cliffs. In the afternoons, we enjoyed seeing the giant turtles down below. We both began writing music together like crazy. She was a super creative writer, playing mandolin, keyboards and accompanied me with harmony vocals. Through the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties we played some great gigs. Erna was  an original artist and had numerous shows in the islands which we would play. She was also a professional Belly Dancer and we staged some great performances on the island of Hawaii. I also played several gigs with my then brother in law, well know for writing “Moonlight Lady” and “Hula lady”, real contemporary standards, among others. And on the island of Kauai, we played some memorable festivals with me on my bass clarinet.  This was the instrument that Bunk Gardner (Frank Zappas technician) had modified for me by soldering a hearing aid on the top of the “gooseneck” and making the horn electric. So, I would play through an amplifier also using a microphone to create a blend.

During these years, what did you do for a living?
In 1976 we moved to the Island of Kauai, within just acres of the breathtaking spot where the famous movie “South Pacific” (1958) was filmed. We’d wake up in the morning and to the right of us was the gurgling stream, not ten feet away, and to our right, the soothing sounds of the Ocean, two hundred yards away. In those days, there was seldom a soul on that beach… Just behind us, within walking distance was Mount Makana, a Pyramid, and just down the road, the trail leading to the wettest spot on earth, which has recorded nearly 600 inches per year. There is flora and fauna, found nowhere else on Earth and as reported, one of the last if not the last Menehune. “Green Bamboo”, from my album “The Fantasy of Reality”, was written there, as I looked up at Mount Makana. In late 1977, the two of us with our one and a half year old daughter made the decision to go on the road as self supporting Medical Missionaries. We travelled the state of Hawaii, the West Coast and all the way up to Alberta, Canada. Our procedure was to begin with a two hour health lecture, illuminating the healing principles in the Bible, playing a set of original music and finishing with natural treatments. I had been blessed to be protege to several older and well experienced Medical Missionaries. In our arsenal we used Acupressure, Massage, Chiropractic, as well as Iridology (Iris Diagnosis) and of course Prayer. From 1980 onward, I started a Merchant Services (Credit card processing) business and also an ATM Business allowing me much freedom. Erna opened the first Modeling Agency on Maui, as the movie industry was just beginning to take off, here. I also opened a successful Wood Floor Finishing business and in 1985 I bought a little Janitorial business, built it up and sold it.

Was there ever a chance you would return to the Magic Band before Beefheart retired to private life?
Honestly, I had no desire to fall into the trap again. As you probably know, while the remaining Magic Band Members played with Don, on and off for some years, as well as doing many interviews, I chose too take a back seat and then in 2021 finally broke silence agreeing to an audio interview with Samuel Andreyev. You may have viewed his excellent critique of “Frownland” from “Trout Mask Replica”.

When was the last time you met Don?
I think the last time our paths crossed was in a 7-Eleven in Lancaster, California. In late 1979. He walked up to me and says: “I know what you’ve been doing, man. I’ve been following what you’ve been up to.” “Did you hear that John Wayne passed away?  So, I’m smoking a pipe now”.

Do you remember the day Don died? How did you find out? What did you think?
The day he passed away, I saw it in the news… It seemed to me that he was too young, only 69. I will always have a special place in my heart for “the Captain”.

And today... what does Jeff Cotton do?
Today, semi retired, I still have my small businesses which allows me to write and record and to continue my musical growth. “The Fantasy of Reality” was released in late 2021 and if you haven’t heard it, is a purely solo work. I play all instruments. This album is a smorgasbord of seven genres comprised of twenty-two songs and spans fifty years of material. It was released on the Madfish label, a division of Snapper Music, out of London. By the way, if anyone is interested in the album, I purchased the remaining inventory and am willing to sell. I have 100 with with a large poster of the cover, included. The second album is complete, except for some drum tracks. John French has agreed to record drums on one of the instrumentals. The track is jazzy with bottleneck lead guitar, straight soprano sax and bass clarinet. Bill Harkleroad has agreed to add his guitar work on one of them, as well. I’m looking forward to the contribution of these two. And not yet sure whether to go with a record company or to finance the release, myself. I would like to release it sometime this year. It will be titled “The Roaring Twenties”.

Last curiosity: your 10 favorite albums of all time
Not necessarily in this order
John Coltrane - Kulu Se Mama (1966)              
The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones No. 2  (1965)
The Ventures – Walk, Don’t Run (1960)            
The Beatles - Rubber Soul (1965)                  
Son House - Father Of The Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions (1992)
13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators (1966)   
Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Chile (1971)
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Strictly Personal (1968)
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica (1969)
Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain (1960)