1. NAME:  Bill Anderson

2. DATE OF BIRTH:   5-8-1959

3. OCCUPATION:  Proofreader, musician

4. PLACE OF RESIDENCE:  Austin, TX

5. WHAT YEAR DID YOU BECOME A FAN?:
I didn't become a hardcore fan til 2007.  Before that I only had a passing familiarity with the Captain.  In my mind I associated him with Frank Zappa, who is not that interesting to me.  But people hearing me play often assumed I was a Beefheart fan, and any time I heard something I was impressed.  The first time I ever saw a videotape of Beefheart was in the early 80s, and I thought it was great, but I never really immersed myself in the music til last year. Very inspiring.
 

 
 

SAFE AS MILK : _____________________5
MIRROR MAN : ____________________10
STRICTLY PERSONAL :______________ 9
TROUT MASK REPLICA : ____________3
LICK MY DECALS OFF BABY : _______ 6
SPOTLIGHT KID : ___________________4
CLEAR SPOT : ______________________ 2
UNCONDITIONALLY GUARANTEED : 11
BLUEJEANS & MOONBEAMS :  _____  12
SHINY BEAST : _____________________ 1
DOC AT THE RADAR STATION :_____  7
ICE CREAM FOR CROW : ____________8

That was really hard to do.  Picking the last five was easy, but deciding between the top seven could change from month to month.  Am I the only person who thinks Shiny Beast might be his best record?  Sometimes I also feel that Spotlight Kid is a neglected masterpiece.  Some of my favorite Beefheart songs are on that record, sometimes it's my favorite album.
 
 

Velvet Underground,
Lee Dorsey,
Bob Dylan,
The Beatles,
Daniel Johnston,
James Brown,
Howlin' Wolf,
George Jones,
Robert Johnson,
Neko Case

8. NUMBER OF ALBUMS OWNED:
 

9. HOW DID YOU FIRST DISCOVER CAPTAIN BEEFHEART & THE MAGIC BAND,
AND WAS THERE A PARTICULAR SONG THAT MADE YOU SEE THE LIGHT?:
I had heard or seen things over the years, but really it was when a friend of mine lent me "Safe As Milk" about 5 or 6 years ago,  because a garage band I was in wanted to cover "Plastic Factory."  The song "Electricity"  was the first song that really blew my mind.

10. NUMBER OF BEEFHEART GIGS SEEN, AND WHICH YEARS:
none

11. ART SHOWS VISITED:
none

12. ANY CONTACT WITH DON?:
none

13. MUSICAL ABILITY / TRAINING:
Guitar player.  I can fake it on bass.  Self-taught but i've been playing in bands for 25 years, have toured all over the United States, and have played in Europe and Canada on several occasions.

14. ANY OTHER INFO YOU WISH TO ADD?
I will register on the musician's page as well.  I am so glad I finally investigated all of Beefheart's stuff.  I have been an avid fan of old blues for many years, have played in bands that took an off-angle approach to the blues, and have always incorporated blues into my playing. Listening  to Beefheart has made me see the way into even more free use of the stuff I love.  Last year was very inspirational in that way, I bought all the albums listed above and got WAY into, to the degree that Beefheart was all I'd listen to for a whole week at a time.