8-01-2025 4:04am

"B Inspired" Celebrates John Yamrus' Memoir Exposing Real Artists

Lesley Misko Editor

“In this wonderfully quirky little book, John Yamrus muses on the music, art, and writing that disturbed him, left him with unanswered questions, and “made purchase” on his soul. John wrestles to define the attitude, influences, and purpose of creating great art. He suggests that if we want to create great art, the world may never understand, and that doesn’t matter. Take some time to ponder why you create something, if it’s for you or others. These are the unspoken questions below the words in this book.” Nolcha Fox, author of “Words into Elephants”

by Jane Stahl

When John Yamrus sent me news of his latest book--a memoir titled Captain Beefheart Never Licked My Decals Off, Baby, I winced. Captain Beefheart? Decal-licking? Who? What? Why? I had to know. Plus, I needed to catch up with John after 4,000 published poems and 44 published books.

The message in his latest--Captain Beefheart Never Licked My Decals Off, Baby--describing "real" artists resonates, and I recognized John. In our 7th "B Inspired" podcast episode together, we had a good time--as usual.

Find John's episode on "B Inspired" podcast on your favorite podcast platform.

Also, following is an article, "Talk About Synchronicity," that John wrote about his recent encounter with Jeff Cotton, the guitar player who played on Trout Mask Replica, the subject of his recent book.

by John Yamrus

Talk about synchronicity...and blind, stinkin’ luck! Every now and then I seem to do something right (no matter what my wife says). Here’s the story: I recently published a book called

Captain Beefheart Never Licked My Decals Off, Baby. It’s a really short book (trust me), but I had high ambitions and tried to touch a lot of bases with it.

On the surface it’s a book about a 1968 rock and roll album that very few people have heard of and even fewer (trust me, again!) understand or appreciate. The album is called Trout Mask Replica and the group is Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band. The title of my book kinda references an album they released right after Trout Mask, called Lick My Decals Off, Baby and people have told me (as if I didn’t already know) that giving my book the title that I did doesn’t make any sense, but you gotta look at it from my perspective and think about how bad it would have been if I called the book something like Captain Beefhear's Trout Mask Funhouse or something like that. It wouldn’t have made any sense, and you wouldn’t be reading this article right now because I wouldn’t have cared a rip to write it.

Anyway, for some reason, the book struck a chord with readers...people who regularly buy my books and people who are still able to look back at the ‘60s and smile. And that’s cool.

Like I was saying, the book tries to touch a lot of bases in a very few number of pages – but hey, I am known mostly as a minimalist. I’ve even taken it so far as to publish a poem that’s just one word long. I can talk about that poem and the dust it stirred up in a ton of places and all the “literary” arguments it caused, but right now I’ll leave that conversation sit for another time and place...right now I’m talking about my Beefheart book, and the things in the book that have absolutely nothing at all to do with The Captain or his music or that one, strange and wonderful album. Things like the genetic duplication of dinosaurs and the pros and cons of running away from home. And why are there very few corner candy stores around anymore? What’s with that? And whatever happened to the nice old man and old lady who ran the one you used to go to?

If you can dig all that, maybe you’ll dig the book.

But, I was talking about synchronicity...at least that was the first line of this little article here. Synchronicity. It’s such a nice word. It feels good when you say it. It makes you sound like you know what you’re talking about. It makes you sound smart.

Most times, I don’t. And most times I’m not, so I looked it up...synchronicity. The first definition I found described it as “The simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related, but have no discernable causal connection.”

That’ll work. No discernable causal connection.

Now, put that thought in your back pocket and let me get back to talking about the book. Like I said, it was doing well (and that’s a relative term, because I’m very much a small press kind of guy with small press kind of sales, so you know what that means) and I was looking for ways and places to help get the word out...for me and my publisher and even those few readers who have stuck with me thru everything for more years than I care to count. Actually, I do count...I can tell you how many books I’ve published (43) and how many poems I’ve published (exactly 3,587 as of yesterday morning) and how many years I’ve been doing all this (55. My first book came out in 1970, which actually makes me older than dirt or snot, whichever came first).

So, here I am, looking for ways to get the word out on my little book about a band nobody’s heard about and an album very few love. And I start looking around...on my computer. I start looking up websites and Facebook groups about Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band and I was sort of surprised to see just how many Beefheart groups and sites there are. Tons of them. Some with just a few members...maybe a couple dozen or a hundred or so...and some with thousands and thousands. I have to say I was surprised. And the marketer in me...the salesman in me...starts to thinking...what if I joined some of these groups and posted some things about my book? Wouldn’t that be a great way to get the word out and get a couple or two or three new readers?

So, I did it. First, I joined some groups and then started posting some of those goofy little ads about my books that have served me so well in the past. I geared it toward the Beefheart book, of course...and when people responded with a comment or a “like,” I took it from there. And it was fun. It still is. And then it got to a point where I was even in some “chats” or whatever the heck they’re called (Remember, I’m 74 and not the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to computers and things), and I start talking back and forth with someone named Jeff. He seemed like a nice enough and smart enough guy, so I looked up his name (I’m at least smart enough to be able to do that) and the guy’s name is Jeff Cotton. A nice name. Ordinary enough. Jeff.

I can’t say we talked for very long...I mean, we didn’t swap photos of our dogs or early girlfriends or anything like that, but, we talked and he really seemed to know what he was talking about when it came to Trout Mask. And then (I’ll keep this short and maybe even leave out some stuff that doesn’t need to be brought up here and now)...and then he sends me this old publicity picture of himself from way back in 1968...back when he was more popularly known as Antennae Jimmy Semens. It turns out that Jeff Cotton...the same Jeff Cotton I had been talking with back and forth...the guy who seemed to know an awful lot about the Trout Mask album was and still is Jeff Cotton, AKA Antennae Jimmy Semens! He played freakin’ guitar on one of my favorite albums ever. How cool is that???

Talk about synchronicity. Talk about cool. Talk about this old rock and roll lover having a pinch me moment! I couldn’t wait to tell my wife! I couldn’t wait to tell everybody! My stupid little book got me talking with the Antennae Jimmy Semens.

I told Kathy, and I don’t think she was impressed. Much. I mean, she smiled, but it was the kind of smile you give your old uncle Dutch when you see he finally figured out how to put his toupee on straight. But, we’ve been married 50 years (as of a couple weeks ago)...long enough to know that she thought I did good.

So, here I am, right now, sitting here at my desk in the basement. I got a new book out...I got to talk (however briefly) with the guy who played guitar on Trout Mask Replica, one of the best and coolest albums ever...and I have a wife who loves me enough to let me know when I finally went and got my wig on straight.