Acting as accompaniment for the enigmatic and wild Captain Beefheart, The Magic Band is one of the most notable backing bands in experimental rock's history. The rotating collection of musicians toured and recorded with Beefheart from the mid-1960s to the early-1980s, crafting a unique hybrid of psychedelia, blues, rock and free jazz. In 2003, while curating a showcase lineup for All Tomorrow's Parties, Matt Groening (Simpsons, Futurama) urged The Magic Band to reform. The group eventually agreed and compiled a lineup of musicians pulled from several different formations of the band's history. With the absence of Beefheart (who by all accounts was a rather controlling leader) The Magic Band was able to show off the impressive and idiosyncratic music it'd helped create decades prior.
