These two photos were taken on 3rd April 1986, the first public day of Don Van Vliet's art exhibition at Waddington Galleries in London, England. In the first photo Don is pictured with Andrew Bean (on the left) and the musician Epic Soundtracks (real name Kevin Paul Godfrey) - Epic Soundtracks is also with Don in the second photo. The painting on the wall in the backround is Don's 1985 work "Ghost Gait, Ghost Gate”. See below . . . .
Don and ‘Epic Soundtracks’ Kevin Godfrey
Thank you to Andrew Bean for the correct info.
"When I was working on "Doc at the Radar Station" with Don in 1980, I would visit him at the mobile home park. I'm writing from memory, but at that time, I recall Gary Lucas was managing him, and Gary's wife, Ling, worked in a book store and they both lived in Manhattan. I noticed that Don had several "coffee-table" books on art and artists. Every now and then, he would open a book, point to a photo of the artist and say, "Look how he's dressed!" or "Look at his hair!" I, of course, wanted to see the ART.
Anyway, a few years later, when I saw photos of Don, it was like he was physically looking and dressing like several of the artists of whom he had previously shown me photos. His hair for sure, was different. Gone were the hats. He was wearing conservative tweed or wool blazers. In essence, what I'm saying is that he definitely seemed to be trying to capture the physical appearance of the artists in the books. I was surprised when I saw photos similar to these posted and struck by his new "image". My reaction to his success as an artist was relief. I had always worried about him as he seemed so dysfunctional and financially challenged. Ironically, I fit that description myself -- mostly from working with him. LOL I was both relieved that he had some financial security, and saddened to hear that he was in poor health. I wasn't surprised by the latter, because he seemed to take on an unhealthy appetite for cocaine in his final days as a musician.
In retrospect, I wonder if he wasn't trying to compensate for his lack of physical strength. I used to ride to rehearsal with him which was at Robert Williams house in Hollywood. He had a little cassette recorder and was constantly singing ideas into it. "LISTEN TO THAT, MAN!" He would say to me, while playing it back. I had, of course, heard it when he was recording it. Of course, my head was spinning with all the guitar parts I was trying to learn for the "Doc" session. So, the pressure was ON. Honestly, it was quite annoying to be pulled in so many directions at once. It was like dealing with an ADHD child. I hadn't really worked with him for four years, although I did fill in for his drummer (Gary Jaye) who had quit two weeks before a West Coast Tour in 1977.
The band at that time was Eric, Tepper, Denny Walley and I. They were rehearsing in a storage facility in the San Fernando Valley (Panorama City, I think). I drove down a few times and tried to make a go of it after the tour, but I saw the same situation. Nothing getting done. Don constantly drawing and never participating in rehearsal, or just creating new stuff he never finished. And, no money at all. So, I left.
In 1980, I helped him finish "Doc" after Richard Redus ( who replaced Denny) quit in early 1980. I played mostly guitar, which I hadn't really played in four years. It was stressful, because I took it so seriously. Tepper helped me with all the parts ( we switched roles, as I had helped him on the original BCP in 1976.) Victor (The Mascara Snake) came down from the Bay Area and took photos one day at the session when we played. I was playing bass on "Sheriff of Hong Kong" that day. It was the last time I ever saw him -- well, no, I ran into him at the grocery store a few days later. A couple of years later, I saw Don for the last time before he moved to Trinidad. He had come in to a local venue to hear me play with a jazz group.” John French
Don Van Vliet - 'Ghost Gait, Ghost Gate’ 1985 oil on canvas
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