St. Clair joined his first band, the Omens, around 1959; Vliet (Beefheart) did occasional vocals with them. St. Clair went to work around Lake Tahoe in 1964. He returned to Lancaster in 1965 and teamed up with Doug Moon, Jerry Handley, and Terry Wimberley in a blues band. After Vliet was invited to sing with them and Vic Mortensen joined as drummer, the first incarnation of the Magic Band was formed. It was around this time that Snouffer changed his name to St. Clair and Vliet changed his to Van Vliet. St. Clair claimed, "We changed our names because the police were after us for smuggling sponges into Nevada."
St. Clair played on the band's first two albums, Safe as Milk (1967) and Strictly Personal (1968). He left the group in June 1968, having become both musically and financially disappointed after a botched European tour. Bill Harkleroad took his place in the band. St Clair returned to the group in 1973 for their Clear Spot tour, and also played on the 1974 album, Unconditionally Guaranteed, before leaving again.
St. Clair returned to music in Denny King's Boogie Band and appears on their album Evil Wind Blowing. He rejoined the Magic Band after the departure of Winged Eel Fingerling, and was with them for the Clear Spot tour of North America and Europe. St. Clair again left the band due to financial problems, as did Zoot Horn Rollo, Rockette Morton and Ed Marimba.
St. Clair was found dead of a heart attack in his apartment at the beginning of 2006.[1]
The Captain Beefheart song "Owed T'Alex", which was written in the mid 1960s, though it was unreleased until the 1978 album Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller), was written about St. Clair's trips to Carson City to visit his mother.
Referencesedit
^ ab"Alex St Clair". The Independent. 2 April 2009. from the original on 2016-08-31. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
External linksedit
Obituary by Steve Froy
January 01, 1970
alex, clair, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, december, 2020. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Alex St Clair news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2020 Learn how and when to remove this message Alex St Clair born Alexis Clair Snouffer September 14 1941 c January 5 2006 1 was an American musician Alex St ClairBirth nameAlexis Clair SnoufferBorn 1941 09 14 September 14 1941DiedJanuary 5 2006 2006 01 05 aged 64 GenresRockOccupation s Musician songwriterInstrument s Guitar drums trumpetYears active1959 1970s Twice guitarist for Captain Beefheart St Clair was a contemporary of Frank Zappa and Beefheart at Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster California where St Clair played trumpet and Zappa played drums They bought their first guitars within days of each other St Clair joined his first band the Omens around 1959 Vliet Beefheart did occasional vocals with them St Clair went to work around Lake Tahoe in 1964 He returned to Lancaster in 1965 and teamed up with Doug Moon Jerry Handley and Terry Wimberley in a blues band After Vliet was invited to sing with them and Vic Mortensen joined as drummer the first incarnation of the Magic Band was formed It was around this time that Snouffer changed his name to St Clair and Vliet changed his to Van Vliet St Clair claimed We changed our names because the police were after us for smuggling sponges into Nevada St Clair played on the band s first two albums Safe as Milk 1967 and Strictly Personal 1968 He left the group in June 1968 having become both musically and financially disappointed after a botched European tour Bill Harkleroad took his place in the band St Clair returned to the group in 1973 for their Clear Spot tour and also played on the 1974 album Unconditionally Guaranteed before leaving again St Clair returned to music in Denny King s Boogie Band and appears on their album Evil Wind Blowing He rejoined the Magic Band after the departure of Winged Eel Fingerling and was with them for the Clear Spot tour of North America and Europe St Clair again left the band due to financial problems as did Zoot Horn Rollo Rockette Morton and Ed Marimba St Clair was found dead of a heart attack in his apartment at the beginning of 2006 1 The Captain Beefheart song Owed T Alex which was written in the mid 1960s though it was unreleased until the 1978 album Shiny Beast Bat Chain Puller was written about St Clair s trips to Carson City to visit his mother References edit a b Alex St Clair The Independent 2 April 2009 Archived from the original on 2016 08 31 Retrieved 29 December 2020 External links editObituary by Steve Froy Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alex St Clair amp oldid 1158720631, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
