Richard "Brave Midnight Hatsize" Snyder was guitarist on the Magic Band's last tour, and bassist and marimba player on the final album "Ice Cream for Crow". He has very kindly agreed to answer a few questions I sent to him via email.
 
 

1. How did you come by your Magic Band name? Is there any special meaning or reason for it?   I remember how, in a very deliberate manner of speaking, he laid out his "vision": "Get a pair of khakis -- make sure that they're 100% cotton.  Then color them with Rit dye, 'cardinal red'.  Then get a long sleeve t-shirt...100% cotton...and Rit dye that 'cardinal red'.  We're gonna get you a red derby -- from Jay Lord Hatters in New York.  They do Doc Severinsen's hats so you know...they do good work!  We're gonna need to get your hat size, though. You can call Gary and let him know what it is and he'll get in touch with them."

2. I saw you at the Venue London, in 1980. It was a wonderful performance, and you seemed to be really enjoying it. Could you tell me your impressions of that night, and the UK in general?

Our time at the VENUE was a bit of a whirlwind -- at least, it was for me. We were very well taken care of, and Richard Branson would come backstage to make sure that we were all very happy (he was, apparently, a "true" fan of Don's!).  I'd heard that our show was rather well attended by other British musicians of that era -- but I didn't get to meet any of 'em!  I was most anxious to have met Jah Wobble (being a bass player first, I wanted to know just how he got all that TONE out of his equipment!), but I was probably headed down one hallway while he was headed down another.

As I may have said before, I really have a soft spot in my heart for the UK in general.  One thing that I found especially (dare I use the word) charming were these small signs posted in the several flower beds bordering the walkway that read (and I'm paraphrasing as close to what I can remember) "Please do not offend the flowers by placing your trash in the flower beds.  Use the appropriate receptacles provided for this purpose. Thank you."  Such a 'civil' use of language for such a message to the populace!  In America, you'll see similar signs that may simply read "Please don't litter."  Everything is "lowest common denominator" in the 'bleedin' Colonies', I s'pose...

3. Who wrote the set lists?

Don and Jan pretty much threw the sets together -- especially since Jan prepared his "cue cards" and had to know which ones to write up! Don had the band learn many songs for the tour...but some of them were either performed rarely, once only or...not at all!  In fact, I had gone through the trouble of hunting down a rare double-neck Danelectro bass/guitar (bass on the top half, guitar on the bottom), as Don told me that that was what Rockette Morton used...and that I needed it to play "When I See Mommy, I Feel Like A Mummy" correctly.  Well, I hauled that thing all over Europe -- and we played the song but once...at a "soundcheck"...at a small club in France.  Needless to say, when we got back from the tour, it was one of the first instruments that I sold.  Just the frustration of having to haul it all over the place -- and only to play it once at a "soundcheck" (i.e., not for an audience) was enough to taint that hunk of wood and wires for the remainder of my days on this planet.

4. Can you tell us what it was like making the "Ice Cream for Crow"  video?  Three words sum it up:  fun, tedious and HOT!!  It was in excess of 110 degrees that day, and the only saving grace was that it was a dry heat.  If it had been humid, then it probably would have rendered all of us unwatchable!

Don, of course, could be very entertaining when we were waiting out our "downtimes", but he would get called away to other activities on the set (including an intereview with Kristine McKenna) during the day, so we couldn't always be availed of his musings over the charms of the desert and its denizens. Otherwise, Don seemed to like Daniel Pearl a lot and trusted his judgement throughout the shoot, so overall it was a very pleasant experience.

As a side note, I was the "props" man on the shoot, running all over the place trying to locate/requisition the various items on a list that Don had prepared in the weeks previous. The whole task bordered on being that of a "scavenger hunt" -- here's *some* of the items I remember tracking down (though I no longer have the original list, unfortunately):
        1.  A large rubber "prop" boulder (the one from which Don pulls out a tissue at the beginning of the video.  Don cut a slit in the rubber with a pocketknife to put the tissue into -- and I was a little worried that the prop company would penalize me for returning the boulder in "damaged" condition, but apparently they didn't notice...or care.)
        2.  Several boxes of Hartz bird seed (which, inexplicably, were rendered unrecognizable by their inclusion in a black-and-white segment of the video.  They were placed all over the area, in the fore- and background, but their distinctive bright orange boxes were lost in the picture when they were reduced to just another shade of grey, though at one point, Jeff knelt down and picked up one of those boxes in his mouth while playing his white "Mello-Bar" guitar.)
        3.  Artificial potted plants (which Gary and Cliff place on the desert floor.)
        4.  Dozens of black plastic spiders (which were not only placed on Cliff's snare drum and "launched" when he struck it, but were also attached to a number of threads on sticks and, at one point, dangled in front of Cliff's face while he played.)
        5.  A papier-mache igloo (which I was supposed to dance around, though this shot didn't make the final cut.  Apparently, the contrast of an igloo in the desert wasn't an effective enough image after they saw what it looked like on film...!
        6.  The "famous" tumbleweed (believe it or not, I actually had to make sure that we had a suitable tumbleweed for the video.  BTW, the name of the tumbleweed was "Sir Ecology Officer", and the tissues that were continually being collected in it were a 'visual link' to the tissue that Don took from the boulder to wipe his head with when he intones "It's so hot" at the beginning of the song.  It's THAT hot!)

I know that there were more little items that I had to grab up for the shoot...but that's enough for the sake of the "unasked question"!

5. Were there any plans to make a follow up to "Ice Cream"?

As far as any of us knew, this was just the beginning of another new chapter.  Don was still contracted to provide more albums to Virgin, and we all had at least expected that there would be a tour to follow up the release of "ICFC".  In fact, Virgin regularly asked for live recordings (in the hopes of releasing a "live" album), but Don was never too keen on the idea.  I think that Don expected that the video would provide him with the same kind of "promotional" exposure that live appearances would have generated, but as we all know, that was not to be the case.  Perhaps the resistance by MTV to air his video may have been another "straw" set to break the proverbial camel's back...and Don just didn't want to ride that particular camel (i.e., the music business) anymore after that.
Of course, I'm only speculating...

6. Have you had any contact with Don or any other  Magic Band members since?

DON:
The last ime that I saw Don "in the flesh" was many years ago now -- at an art show of his in Santa Monica.  He was there in his wheelchair -- and I just remember feeling pretty uncomfortable with seeing him that way, not out of any sense of embarrassment, but just because I hadn't expected it in the least.  He told me that he had fallen off of a ladder, but he told another friend of mine that an old automobile accident that had injured his back had been reaggravated (perhaps by the fall from a ladder?).
However, this could have truly been the first indication that MS was beginning to take away some of his physical capacities, though he was still quite verbal and expressive at that time.

We used to speak rather frequently on the phone, but as he was a chronic insomniac, his tendency to call you at 2:00 - 4:00am in the morning coupled with his desire to have your complete attention could be a pretty taxing combination on a regular basis -- but utterly charming and even welcome when such late-night/early-morning encounters were pursued with a lesser zeal.  After a while, he just stopped calling.  No reason in particular -- the calls just stopped.  Chances are excellent that he was simply able to find a more willing and/or suitable conversation partner for those late-night chat sessions, that's all!
 

Of my post-Beefheart years, Jeff (or Moris, as he shall only answer to now) was the only one of the band members with whom I'd have the greatest amount of contact, even playing for some time (live shows only, no recording) in his band.  I've had recent contact with Robert via E-mail -- but Eric (who's been the busiest of us all) is the one with whom I've had the least contact, though he's the sweetest, gentlest soul you'd ever have the pleasure to know (and the one of us that Don still manages to hold in the highest regard!).
BTW, I bought Eric's mellotron from him -- so "Sue Egypt"'s voice still lives!

Actually, there was ONE time...and one time only...that Jeff (oops, "Moris"), Robert and myself got up on stage together at a club in L.A. called The Music Machine.  We really just wanted to go on stage and just play...ANONYMOUSLY -- just have a little fun, no pressure.  However, Jane Cantillon (if I remember the spelling), a Hollywood scene-hopper, saw fit to take the stage and announce gleefully to the audience, "Now, ladies and gentlemen, we present to you...THE MAGIC BAND! Yowww!!!".  The audience could have cared less. The unwelcome pressure was on us.  The wind was fully taken out of our sails...and we sucked.

I guess that I've just come to realize that, though she was just a well-meaning fan -- and that I essentially forgive her for "blowing our cover" -- it served to make a casual get-together a rather frustrating experience...one that we were initially excited about doing it before that moment.  Oh, well...

As I stated above, I did a "tour of duty" with Moris Tepper's band, but inasmuch as I was still actively playing in The Mystery Band, it became just a bit taxing on my system to try to maintain two full-time musical pursuits and still keep the ol' "day job".  Add to this the fact that Moris lived in an area several miles away (whereas the M. BAND were my "local homeboys") and that I wanted to do a series of (admittedly ill-conceived and executed) solo shows myself and a decision to stop playing with Moris was a phone call away.

In retrospect, my leaving only served to benefit Moris.  The changes in his approach and instrumentation after my departure were much more exciting than those we had fashioned during my tenure.  Good on ya, Moris!

7.What do you think of the "Grow Fins" retrospective, and the current upsurge of interest in Beefheart & the Magic Band?

I think that, in light of The Beatles' "Anthology" and the Zappa "beat the boots" releases, it's GREAT that record companies large and small have figured out that if any schlub with a CD-R can crank out and sell unauthorized copies of an artist's work, they'd best provide a legal and affordable outlet for in-demand rarities.  Can you imagine what "Grow Fins" would have cost if it were a bootleg being sold at record conventions and swap meets hither and yon?

One must keep in mind what has been REVENANT's "game plan" to date:  to archive and release difficult-to-obtain recordings (usually only available on 78rpm records!) by America's legendary folk, blues and country artists.
"Grow Fins" may indeed be their first foray into what could be considered "rock" music -- and I think that they should be commended for what they have done and encouraged to continue to do more!  "Grow Fins, Vol.2"!

8.What other musicians / artists do you admire, and is there anyone in particular you'd like to work with?

This could get real wordy (as if it hasn't been already!).  I'll admit that, despite my long and abiding passion for Don's music, I'm a bit of a "singer-songwriter" enthusiast, with Jimmy Webb being a particular favorite.  Listen to Jimmy's "Words & Music" album (which, BTW, was released at the same time as "Lick My Decals Off, Baby"!) and you'll see what I'm on about.  In fact, these two records, "...Decals..." and "Words & Music", are my two favorite records of all time -- no contest.

I will always shine a light on the particularly overlooked genius of Jerry Yester, whose finest moments came on the Judy Henske/Jerry Yester releases, "Farewell Aldebaran" and "Rosebud".  Besides his extensive producing credits (Tim Buckley, Tom Waits, Pat Boone(!), Spanky & Our Gang, The Association, Aztec Two-Step, Billy Mernit,etc.), Jerry stepped away from the Modern Folk Quartet to fill in for the departed Zal Yanovsky in The Lovin' Spoonful (refer to the wonderful "Everything Playing" album) before releasing two solo 45s.  After the two *amazing* records that he recorded with his then wife/lyricist Judy Henske, Jerry seemed to fade away from the music scene, only popping up here and there as a producer and arranger (notably with America and The Manhattan Transfer).  After a period of "payin' the bills" playing clubs in Hilo, Hawaii, Jerry worked with the reunited original Modern Folk Quartet beginning in 1985, releasing his *only* solo CD five years later, "Just Like The Big Time...Only Smaller".
Jerry currently tours with a reunited Lovin' Spoonful (minus Sebastian and Yanovsky, however), making the club and "county fair" circuits on a regular basis.  'Nuff said?

Noting well that I have a generalized affection for the late-'60s/early-/70s, some of the other artists and bands whose records would make it to that "desert island" with me would be Family (Roger Chapman's group, of course - not the Prince-sponsored funk-pop band!), Prefab Sprout (the only really worthwhile artist to arise out of the '80s decade -- Paddy McAloon is a genius), The Kinks (not forgetting Dave Davies' solo stuff), Genesis (as long as either Gabriel or Hackett are still on board) and King Crimson.

I'm much more attracted to some of what may be considered the "lower echelon" of rock celebrity. Some of my favorite "success-challenged" artists (but who released at least one "genius" record) are MU (Jeff Cotton's contribution to The Magic Band has been perpetually underestimated!), Christopher Milk (John Mendelssohn's attempt to meld the Bonzo Dog Band with The Kinks), Tranquility (Terry Shaddick's harmony-pop band prior to establishing a lucrative songwriting career), Silver Apples (featuring the "Simeon", a primordial synthesizer cobbled together with a batch of Army surplus audio oscillators!), 'Chunky, Novi & Ernie' (whose first Ted Templeman/John Cale co-produced record still delights me), Colours (the North American Beatles?  It sounded like it!), Duncan Browne ("Give Me Take You" is essential listening) and Emmitt Rhodes (whose first "one man band" album laid out a stencil that would be copped by the likes of Todd Rundgren and Michael Penn)-- just to name a few of the all-too-many that I'm inclined to have a strong opinion regarding!

I'm sure that "that's quite enough of that", however!

As far as there being anyone in particular that I'd love to work with, I might answer that there's someone that I'd love to work with...again! Michael Penn is quite possibly the most erudite and inventive artist that I've ever had the pleasure of being in the company of.  We did some inconsequential recording together in his home studio -- and his awareness of music, recording techniques and arranging are nonpareil.  If he ever wanted me to join up with him, I'd drop it all to do so -- though nowadays it would be very difficult for me to arrange it, unfortunately.

9.What music projects have you been involved in since leaving the Magic Band?

Well, when Don announced his retirement, I really didn't know what to do. I had been working part-time in both a mental health/drug recovery facility and a record store while I waited for the anticipated tour to begin, but once I knew that Don was "calling it quits", I started working full time at the record shop...and I'm still there to this day, largely concentrating on the store's "web-based" responsibilities (www.poobah.com).

I also ended up "re-schooling", taking bass lessons to improve my technique and reading skills, as well as taking several music courses in composition and arranging.

Some of my post-Beefheart musical pursuits were the short-lived "Two Balls And A Bat" (with Cliff Martinez), Moris Tepper's band, and the ongoing "Mystery Band" affair (which is essentially a group of guys who have known each other for so long that we still feel like kids when we start playing). Besides having done a few "solo" shows just to get that irritating urge out of my system, I've been a bassist-for-hire, with a stint in the orchestra pit for a production of "Evita" being the best-paying of the lot of them!

10.What are your plans for the future?

At this point in my life, my plans are few and small.  Family responsibilities keep me well-enough busied to keep any hopes of pursuing even a nether-region musical career completely in check.  However, The Mystery Band continue to work together, even if we can only rehearse and/or perform on the odd occasion.  We have been doing some recording -- and hope to have a project ready for release in the year 2000.  Wish us luck in keeping our deadline!

Link to   Justin Sherill's interview with Rick . Used with permission. Thanks Justin.