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Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 29 Apr 2011, 16:28
by zoomboogity
toomanyhatz wrote:zoomboogity wrote:two Peter Lewis shows in L.A.:
Friday 29 April - Pig'n'Whistle, Hollywood
Saturday 30 April -
Cafe 322, Sierra Madre
His band (on at least some of the set) will include erstwhile BCBer Bixhenry as well as yours truly.
Also, I'm also putting these shows on as a birthday present to myself. No cake, no singing the birthday song, no need for presents (unless it's money
- doing this stuff ain't cheap), just something to entertain myself and other folks as well. Two completely different sets each night. Hope to see a bunch of people, BCBers and otherwise, there!
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 29 Apr 2011, 16:37
by Matt Wilson
I've got another party to attend tonight, Richard but I'll try to be there tomorrow night.
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 29 Apr 2011, 16:42
by sloopjohnc
zoomboogity wrote:toomanyhatz wrote:zoomboogity wrote:two Peter Lewis shows in L.A.:
Friday 29 April - Pig'n'Whistle, Hollywood
Saturday 30 April -
Cafe 322, Sierra Madre
His band (on at least some of the set) will include erstwhile BCBer Bixhenry as well as yours truly.
Also, I'm also putting these shows on as a birthday present to myself. No cake, no singing the birthday song, no need for presents (unless it's money
- doing this stuff ain't cheap), just something to entertain myself and other folks as well. Two completely different sets each night. Hope to see a bunch of people, BCBers and otherwise, there!
That's cool Richard. Sounds like a fun night.
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 30 Apr 2011, 23:57
by zoomboogity
sloopjohnc wrote:That's cool Richard. Sounds like a fun night.
It was. Great job by Peter and the band (Hatz, Bixhenry, Bill Bentley). More of the same tonight, I'm expecting. The tour rolls on...
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 01 May 2011, 17:01
by Matt Wilson
Good show last night. Peter was excellent, playing a couple of Moby Grape songs, some solo stuff, a blues I didn't recognize and he let Willie handle most of the vocals on the Beatles' "Yes it Is." There was a jam on a Skip Spence song too.
A guy from the Electric Prunes was there and Bobzilla stopped by as well. I got to talk to Toomanypillowz and the whole evening was fun.
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 01 May 2011, 21:22
by Charlie O.
So did he really play "Dark Magic" for a full hour, as promised?
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 01 May 2011, 21:25
by toomanyhatz
Charlie O. wrote:So did he really play "Dark Magic" for a full hour, as promised?
It was more like 6 minutes.
According to the observers I spoke to, it was the highlight of (at least the first) evening.
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 02 May 2011, 01:02
by bobzilla77
I enjoyed it a lot. Peter was in good spirits and seemed pleased to be playing his own material, no one hollering for Omaha and Hey Grandma, though he drop Fall On You for the closer. The entire band was clearly more prepared for this show, paying close attention to each other, and it was a big improvement comapred to last January.
Happy birthday Richard!
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 02 May 2011, 19:39
by zoomboogity
bobzilla77 wrote:I enjoyed it a lot. Peter was in good spirits and seemed pleased to be playing his own material, no one hollering for Omaha and Hey Grandma, though he drop Fall On You for the closer.
It's a cool position he's in - there's the name recognition of being in a (semi-remembered) '60s rock band, but they had no "big hit" for people to fixate on. Unlike almost everyone from his scene/generation, his current songs are every bit as good as anything he wrote back then - In This Place is a particular favorite of mine - and he's still in great voice, so a receptive audience will get treated to something much cooler than a nostalgia act.
They even got me to play drums for literally the first time in over 15 years on Sunday. (We played Dark Magic and Fall On You.) I used to play drums all the time until I met you, Bob, then I figured I'd just stick with the bass and leave the drumming to the professionals. I can't make my left hand and arm work properly anymore, so gotta avoid the rolls and fast triplets and stuff like that, but I can still keep time, so that's half the battle.
This weekend really has become one for the history books. All the months of logisticizing paid off in spades. Thanks for coming out on Saturday (you too, Matt!). And of course, thanks to Peter, Willie, Dave and Bill. Here's to more in the very near future...!
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 20 May 2011, 17:49
by toomanyhatz
Same band- Peter Lewis, Bix, myself and Bill Bentley- opening for Willie Nile at McCabe's in Santa Monica tomorrow (Saturday) night. Local folks- come on down!
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 20 May 2011, 18:09
by Matt Wilson
Sweeeet! My family is in Arizona, so I think I just might stop by barring anything unforseen.
Where is McCabe's by the way?
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 20 May 2011, 20:07
by toomanyhatz
On Pico near the border of Santa Monica and WLA- just a couple blocks or so west of the 10 freeway underpass and about 4 or 5 blocks west of the Bundy exit.
Unfortunately we have limited guest list slots or I'd see if I can get you one. We're the opener, and just doing a short set. If you're into Willie Nile too, though...(I have my opinions about the appropriateness of the bill, but I'll keep 'em to myself.)
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 20 May 2011, 21:16
by zoomboogity
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 31 May 2011, 19:00
by zoomboogity
Looks like Peter has some more shows coming up, this time with Detroit poet M.L. Liebler:
Friday 24 June -
Beyond Baroque, Venice (L.A.)
Saturday 25 June -
Linnaea's, San Luis Obispo
Sunday 26 June -
Ashkenaz, Berkeley
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 31 May 2011, 19:32
by der nister
too bad some revolving revue could not be built from surviving members of the Grape, Big Brother, Kak, Tweedy Bros, Beefheart, Mad River, etc., could be interesting and they could probably make some money
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 11 Jun 2011, 07:18
by zoomboogity
Not Moby Grape, as it's labeled on the youtube clips - it's the Skip Spence tribute concert in Santa Cruz, 2008, with Omar Spence singing:
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 11 Jun 2011, 07:55
by zoomboogity
Diesel Park West - All Come To Meet Her
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 11 Jul 2011, 07:57
by zoomboogity
Back at ye olde Pig'n'Whistle with Peter, Bixhenry and Hatz on Saturday July 30. This time I'll be joining in on a few (and hopefully not embarrassing myself in the process).
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 11 Jul 2011, 11:18
by Balboa
zoomboogity wrote:Back at ye olde Pig'n'Whistle with Peter, Bixhenry and Hatz on Saturday July 30. This time I'll be joining in on a few (and hopefully not embarrassing myself in the process).
Cool! Wish I could be there!
Re: Moby Grape
Posted: 01 Feb 2012, 01:23
by Charlie O.
I'm currently reading
The Last Sultan, Robert Greenfield's biography of Ahmet Ertegun.
Ahmet comes off as a pretty cool guy, overall - but one not above some weaselly behavior, and certainly not above shafting one of his competitors... especially if that competitor was Columbia prez Clive Davis.
As Bob Rolontz, the longtime head of publicity at Atlantic, would later say, "Ahmet knew how to play Clive. When he got an act that wasn't quite right, he would spread the word that it was a great band and Clive would sign them for big money." [...]
After Moby Grape had told Ahmet they would sign with Atlantic because he had promised to work closely with them on their album, one of the members of the group called to tell him that because Davis had offered them twice as much money, the band had signed with him instead. They had however inserted a clause into their contract that would permit Ahmet to come into the studio and work with them as much as he liked.
How Clive must have giggled into his sleeve at the very idea! Greenfield continues:
Knowing he had lost the band to Davis, Ahmet said he was very sorry to hear the news because he had intended to put out three singles at once when the album was released, something no record company had ever done before. A few months later, Ahmet was delighted to read in Billboard that the new Moby Grape album was coming out with three [sic] singles. As he would later say, "They made them do it. Which was one of the reasons that the record didn't make it."