Moby Grape

Moby Grape is an American rock band that was founded in the 1960s and continues to be found sporadically together to live concerts. All five founding members were both songwriters and singers, who stylistically combined elements of folk rock, blues, country music and jazz with each other in their songs. The band is one of the most influential formations of the San Francisco music scene of the 1960s. Its history is contaminated with human tragedies, bad decisions and corporate litigation, which persist to this day.

• 2.1 Singles
• 2.2 albums
• 2.3 Jerry Miller Solo
• 2.4 Bob Mosley solo
• 2.5 Peter Lewis solo
• 2.6 Alexander " Skip" Spence solo
• 2.7 Don Stevenson Solo

History

1966-1967

The group was founded in late 1966 by Alexander " Skip" Spence and Matthew Katz. Spence had played on the first album by Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, drums. Katz had been the manager of the group, the Spence added later encouraged her to form a band, the Jefferson Airplane was like and in which he would play guitar and sing. The other members are Bob Mosley (bass guitar), formerly of The Misfits from San Diego, Jerry Miller ( lead guitar ) and Don Stevenson (drums ), both ( Miller) had played at The Frantics, The Warlocks and The Bobby Fuller Four and Peter Lewis ( guitar), son of actress Loretta Young and former member of The Cornell. After Spence and Mosley had given the name of the band Moby Grape and a contract with the prestigious record label Columbia Records in prospect, the musicians by Matthew Katz, with whose management it were up early not satisfied parted. After Columbia Records, however, insisted on a negotiating partner and Katz both to as well as a liaison for concert organizers presented available, he could return to his function.

Katz, the group had also financially supported at its inception, by paying the rents of apartments for Spence and Mosley and musical equipment for a number of musicians and others. Only Lewis was thanks to his wealthy origins not rely on such support. Katz asked for his support of the band's written confirmation that the band name should be his personal property. Because of their precarious financial situation, the musicians agreed. This meant that until today Katz complains in publications records and CDs the group to court if they appear without his consent under the name Moby Grape. The still living band members obtained by any royalties for their previous work.

Similarly, at the same time active band Buffalo Springfield, with whose members Stephen Stills, Neil Young and Richie Furay they were friends, had three Moby Grape guitarist who cooperated with each other in a form which they called crosstalk. Jerry Miller took over driven mainly by the Lead function, the rhythm and Lewis Spence, the fingerpicking.

For her debut album Moby Grape, published in 1967, controlled all five musicians songs in, with Mosley, Lewis and Spence usually composed alone, Miller and Stevenson together. The album received in 2003 by Rolling Stone magazine space 121 on the list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The song included on the album Omaha by Skip Spence in 2008 reached number 95 of the Rolling Stone list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.

Columbia Records released, along with the debut album, all songs on the record, in addition to five singles. The to 1965 focused primarily on popular music and jazz record company reached with this step that the band of critics has been considered as over- hyped. The album, however, received good reviews and sold satisfactory. The song contained therein Hey Grandma was soon out of gecovert The Move on their first album in 2005 was part of the soundtrack of the film The Interpreter ( starring Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman ) and in 2009 was again interpreted by The Black Crowes on their album Warpaint Live. The single reached Omaha as only the charts (No. 88 in 1967 ). Miller and Stevenson 8:05 composition has been covered to Country Rock standard and by artists such as Robert Plant, Guy Burlage and others.

Mid- June 1967 were Moby Grape at the Monterey Pop Festival. Matthew Katz, who had arranged the concert, demanded one million U.S. dollars by the film producers DA Pennebaker to film the band gig for the rights. This was rejected and the appearance of the group took place on a date on which little audience was present. In addition to this debacle, some of the musicians were sued for seduction of underage girls. The lawsuits were later dropped, but the relationship of the group to her manager had arrived again at its end.

1968-1969

The second album Wow / Grape Jam, released in 1968 and produced by David Rubinson, reached number 20 on the Billboard pop albums. It was a double album with studio recordings on Wow and improvised blues sessions with Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield on Grape Jam. The songs showed more maturity and were elaborately arranged to part with brass and strings. The group had significantly developed its work on the guitars and the choir singing, reminiscent of The Byrds. Outstanding compositions were bitter wind (Bob Mosley ), He ( Peter Lewis) and Can not Be So Bad ( Miller / Stevenson ). Murder In My Heart For The Judge ( Miller / Stevenson ) was covered an integral part of the live repertoire of the band and of several other artists. A special feature was the piece Just Like Gene Autry, a Foxtrot ( Spence ) in the style of Ballroom Music of the Big Band era and correctly only at 78 revolutions of the turntable playable. Also in 1968 drove the band with a guest appearance on the soundtrack of the film The Sweet Ride at.

Skip Spence, who had also introduced the song Motorcycleirene and until then, the central figure of the band had been in live performance, took towards the end of the recordings to Wow in New York an overdose of LSD, with the result that he and his bandmates Don Stevenson other persons in a hotel attacked with an ax. After he was overwhelmed, the police took him first to the Tombs prison in New York, later in the neighboring Psychiatry Bellevue Hospital, where he was treated for six months. During this time he wrote several songs that he recorded after his release in Nashville and later appeared on his only solo album, Oar. He was doing all the instruments himself.

Spence at the time was no longer a member of Moby Grape. The doctors had found him in schizophrenia ( as later with Mosley ) and the musician has since no longer able to pursue a vocational activity or to live of regular music. The band without Spence began in 1968 with the recording of their new album Moby Grape '69, which was released in January 1969. Again contributions from all band members were present, with the outstanding songs It's A Beautiful Day, Today and Truckin ' Man ( Mosley ), Ooh Ooh Mama ( Miller / Stevenson ) and If You Can not Learn From My Mistakes (Lewis). Even a contribution of Skip Spence was made possible by the band one of Spence 1968 unfinished recording of his song seeing (also: Skip's Song called ) completed it together. At the end of the recordings Mosley left the band, so that on Ooh Mama Ooh the bass had to be played by Miller. To the dismay of his bandmates Mosley joined the U.S. Marines, but was dismissed seven months later.

Miller, Lewis and Stevenson met with respect to Columbia Records, the contractual obligation of another album with the recording of Truly Fine Citizen, published in late 1969. The songs were indeed from the usual quality, but ran the powerful soul voice and idiosyncratic bass guitar from Mosley miss, the had to be replaced by the Nashville session bassist Bob Moore. The work of the new producer Bob Johnston, who had produced albums by Bob Dylan, inter alia, Simon & Garfunkel, the Byrds and Leonard Cohen, led to further confusion among the fans. Undoubtedly, the musicians were matured, as evidenced by songs like Right Between The Eyes and Changes, Circle Spinning ( Lewis ) and the Instrumental Love Song, Part Two ( T. Dell'ara ), the Johnston produced clear and transparent Nashville However sound with clearly separate electric guitar and acoustic guitar had retracted significantly from the times of the crosstalk. In addition, the band was now in a lawsuit that Matthew Katz had initiated because of the name rights. In order not to risk that Katz royalties for their songs pocketed, Miller and Stevenson published their compositions under the pseudonym T. Ara ( the name of their Road Manager). The band eventually broke up in late 1969.

After the separation, Miller and Stevenson founded with John Barrett (bass) and John "Fuzzy " Oxendine (drums) The Rhythm Dukes, which later joined Bill Champlin. The band in which Stevenson mainly played guitar, stepped 1969-1971 mainly as the opening act on and their only album was released in 2005.

1970-1989

1971, found all five band members, and Gordon Stevens (violin, dobro, mandolin ) one of the recordings for the reunion album 20 Granite Creek, which appeared in the same year on Reprise Records and was again produced by David Rubinson. The band's sound was again more collectively, with intense guitar work and a lead guitar by Jerry Miller, the more oriented towards jazz influences. Outstanding pieces were Gypsy Wedding ( Mosley ), Baby, I'm The Kind Of Man That You Can Trust ( Miller), About Time ( Stevenson ) and Apocalypse Horse In The Rain (Lewis). The contribution of Spence consisted of the Chinese Instrumental song played by Koto him on the Japanese stringed instrument. In Ode To The Man At The End Of The Bar Mosley sang his drunkenness.

During the last days of the venue Fillmore East Moby Grape were there on a few times to present their reunion album. In these concerts they played songs that had not appeared on the album, including When You're Down The Road and Just A Woman ( Mosley ), There Is No Reason (Lewis), We Do not Know Now and Sailing ( Spence ). Sailing was last sung by Spence at a Moby Grape appearance in 1996 in Palookaville. In the Fillmore East Mosley singing his Ode To The Man a cappella. As Spence retired shortly thereafter, the group disbanded again.

In the 1970s and 1980s, members of the group were getting back together in different formations. Bob Mosley and Jerry Miller participated, together with the rhythm guitarist Michael Been ( The Call later ) and John Craviotto (drums ) under the name Fine Wine 1976 eponymous album, which was released only in Germany on Polydor Records. In 1977, Mosley, along with Craviotto and the band's founder, was there very well known Neil Young, a member of The Ducks, which occurred near Santa Cruz, California and some studio recordings brought about, however, were never published. Today, some of which can be heard on the internet.

1978 was on Escape Records LP Live Grape published with recordings of live performances with Jerry Miller, Peter Lewis, Skip Spence, Cornelius Bumpus (tenor saxophone, vocals), Christian Powell (bass ), John Oxindine (drums ) and Daniel Spencer (drums). Spence was it again to hear the first time as a singer with his contribution Must Be Goin 'Now Dear. Lewis contributed with That Lost Horizon with one of the most memorable songs and Miller proved with extended improvisations that he had continued to develop in the direction of jazz. At the same time it also came from the Country Rock Here I sit, with the typical Moby Grape backing vocals.

In 1984 an album titled Moby Grape, and later unofficially called Moby Grape '84, on the record label by Matthew Katz, San Francisco Sound. Surprisingly, band and manager seemed to be closer to again. During the recordings, it was, however, mainly to new songs by Bob Mosley, sang of this and studio musicians such as keyboardist Richard Dean, accompanied. Peter Lewis contributed two songs in and Don Stevenson with Jerry Miller the song Too Old To Boogie sung by Stevenson. Vocally and instrumentally, Miller, as well as Spence did not participate. The sound of the recordings corresponded to the characteristic of the 1980s was to make it sound techniques and test Moby Grape Matthews contemporary. However let the album to the fans appear as pseudo - Moby Grape The absence of Miller's guitar, the ubiquitous keyboard and the work of studio musicians in general. Lewis ' Silver Wheels and Mosley's Queen Of The Crow, however achieved, the quality of earlier songs.

In the summer of 1987 were Moby Grape, along with It's a Beautiful Day, Fraternity of Man, and Strawberry Alarm Clock, on several shows. Miller, Lewis, Mosley, Spence and Stevenson played among others at the Marin Civic College and Cupertino 's DeAnza College, especially the classics of their first two albums.

In the following years there were repeated sporadic joint appearances in various compositions, Spence was always activated and involved by his peers when his health allowed it. The band performed the process on the basis of the re- strained by Katz court proceedings regarding the band's name, as Mosley Grape, Grape or The Legendary Melville.

Was released in 1989 a music cassette with new studio recordings of all the band members under the title Moby Grape. After Katz complained again to the use of the name and the tape was removed from the market and released with new packaging under the name of Legendary Grape, The Melville again. The recordings are also available on CD since 2003, including bonus tracks. In contrast to 1984, all band members except Skip Spence were actively involved, and Richard Dean on keyboards and vocals. As an outstanding song All My Life can be referred to, written by Spence.

1990-2005

In the 1990s and until 2006 published Mosley, Miller and Lewis solo albums. Stevenson retired from active life as a musician. Mosley and Spence lived mainly in homelessness.

The double album Wow / Grape Jam first appeared in the late 1980s as a CD on Matthew Katz's San Francisco Sound label. 1993 published the Legacy Recordings Sampler Vintage: The Very Best Of Moby Grape on which the entire first album, the '69 almost completely, selected tracks from Wow and Truly Fine Citizen and studio outtakes are included LP Moby Grape. This CD the band with new compliance and access to a new audience.

1994 strained the band members turn to a case against Matthew Katz. You could prove that the former producer and manager of the group, David Rubinson, had in 1973 the rights to the songs of the musician in a secret agreement to Katz assigned, had been established at a time, as in Mosley and Spence schizophrenia and they are not legally were competent. The procedure, which lasted until 2006, with the result that the musicians for the release of the CD Vintage: received no royalties The Very Best Of Moby Grape.

2006-2011

After a three -decade-long legal battle with Matthew Katz, the musician Moby Grape - 2006 changed its name finally got back. In September 2007, the band played in front of 40,000 spectators at the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco at the Summer Of Love 40th Anniversary Celebration. In October of the same year, Sundazed Records released the first five albums the band with bonus tracks on CD and vinyl. A month later, the company had to stop again because Matthew Katz had complained again to the publication of the production of Moby Grape, Wow and Grape Jam.

Sundazed Records, which pointed out in the process that it had the rights to the publications of Sony Records, as the legal successor of Columbia Records obtained, although presented further production as requested, but published in 2009 instead of the sampler The Place and the Time and in 2010, the first official live album of the band, Moby Grape Live. Sony Records in 2004 had the sampler Crosstalk: The Best of Moby Grape and 2007 Listen My Friends! The Best of Moby Grape issued

After decades of living in homelessness and affective disorder and alcoholism suffering, died Alexander " Skip" Spence 1999 to the consequences of lung cancer, a few days before his 53rd birthday. The last years of his life he had found a place in a social institution.

Jerry Miller will today both as a solo artist and with his Jerry Miller Band in the Washington area.

Peter Lewis released a solo CD in 1995 and 2003, together with David West, the album Live in Bremen in the German record label Taxim. From 2000 to 2003 he participated in the reunion of the band Electric Prunes, on the album Artifact he starred in 2002.

Bob Mosley lives in the area of Santa Cruz, California, where he occasionally with the country music veteran Larry Hosford and, as a duo, with former keyboard player for the Doobie Brothers, Dale Ockerman, occurs.

Don Stevenson, who still occasionally plays with his former musical colleagues, works full time as a real estate broker in Canada.

Recent concerts by Moby Grape be disputed especially by Jerry Miller, Bob Mosley and Peter Lewis, now with the support of the son of Skip Spence, Omar, on guitar and vocals and the son of Jerry Miller, Joseph, on drums.

2010 played Stevenson, Miller and Omar Spence together at the South by Southwest Music Festival, on which Peter Lewis solo occurred.

2011 appeared the first solo album by Don Stevenson, in which Jerry Miller also participated.

Discography

Singles

• Changes / Fall On You (1967 )
• Sitting By The Window / Indifference (1967 )
• 8:05 / Mister Blues ( 1967)
• Omaha / Someday ( 1967)
• Hey Grandma / Come In The Morning (1967 )
• Can not Be So Bad / Bitter Wind (1968 )
• If You Can not Learn From My Mistakes / Trucking Man ( 1969)
• Ooh Mama Ooh / It's A Beautiful Day Today (1969 )
• Gypsy Wedding / Apocalypse ( 1971)
• Goin ' Down To Texas / About Time (1971 )
• Gone Fishin '/ Gypsy Wedding ( 1972)

Albums

• Moby Grape ( 1967)
• Wow / Grape Jam (1968 )
• Moby Grape '69 (1969 )
• Truly Fine Citizen (1969 )
• 20 Granite Creek (1971 )
• Omaha (1971 )
• Great Grape (1973 )
• Fine Wine ( 1976) ( Bob Mosley, Jerry Miller, Michael Been, John Craviotto )
• Live Grape ( 1978) ( Jerry Miller, Peter Lewis, Skip Spence )
• Moby Grape '84 (1984 )
• Murder In My Heart (Sampler, 1986)
• Legendary Grape (1989, since 2003 on CD)
• Vintage: The Very Best of Moby Grape ( Columbia / Legacy, 1993)
• Crosstalk: The Best of Moby Grape ( 2004)
• Listen My Friends! The Best of Moby Grape ( 2007)
• The Place and the Time ( 2009)
• Moby Grape Live (2010)

Among many covers of Moby Grape - songs by Robert Plant, The Move and other several tribute albums have been published since 2002, as Mo'Grape (2000), Even Mo'Grape (2002), Still Mo'Grape, Forever Mo and Just Say Mo.

Jerry Miller Solo

• Now I See (1993 )
• Life Is Like That (1995 )

Bob Mosley solo

• Bob Mosley (1972 )
• Never Dreamed (1974 )
• The Darrow Mosley tape (1974 )
• Wine And Roses ( 1986)
• True Blue (2005)

Peter Lewis solo

• Peter Lewis ( 1995)
• Live In Bremen (2003, with David West )

Alexander " Skip" Spence solo

• Oar (1969 )

Don Stevenson Solo

• King Of The Fools (2011)