Moby Grape

Do talk back
User avatar
zoomboogity
Shakin' All Over
Posts: 5307
Joined: 17 Jul 2003, 07:42
Location: Screwball Cultural Center

Re: Moby Grape

Postby zoomboogity » 23 Dec 2015, 04:15

Charlie O. wrote:
zoomboogity wrote:I think he's also the same person who's singing. He certainly doesn't sound like anyone in the group.

Sounds like Mosley to me!


Listening to it now. I think you're right!

From a comment on some blog:

http://stuckinthepast08.blogspot.com/20 ... -1968.html

“The Lake” was a song that was recorded because Columbia records had a contest to pen a Moby Grape song. The actual winner was a song called “Hairy Mary” which was nixed by Columbia records A&R men. “The Lake” was chosen by the record company as the “winner”. If you listen closely at the end of the song you can hear the guys saying “Poor Roger Muckey, Mucker was so un-lucky” and at the very end they say “what ever happened to Hairy Mary?” Roger Muckey was the author of “Hairy Mary” which the Grape never did record although it was their choice as the winning song. so……..WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HAIRY MARY?


I forget where I read this and who said it, but one of the band members was asked about this. He couldn't remember what the words were, but he said something like, "Well, it started with being called Hairy Mary... and it all sort of went downhill from there." That sounds like something Jerry would say!
Image

"Quite."

User avatar
Charlie O.
Posts: 44849
Joined: 21 Jul 2003, 19:53
Location: In-A-Badda-La-Wadda, bay-beh

Re: Moby Grape

Postby Charlie O. » 23 Dec 2015, 04:47

:lol:
Image

User avatar
Six String
Posts: 23075
Joined: 16 Jul 2003, 20:22

Re: Moby Grape

Postby Six String » 24 Dec 2015, 02:32

I never knew that about the flags. Mine is the orange flag so I guess that males it a second pressing of the mono lp. My old Acoustic Research integrated amp had a merhod to balance the output of a cartridge and you had to use a mono lp to make the adjustments. I always used the Moby Grape album, particularly Hey Gramdma to do it.
Everything is broken
B. Dylan

User avatar
zoomboogity
Shakin' All Over
Posts: 5307
Joined: 17 Jul 2003, 07:42
Location: Screwball Cultural Center

Re: Moby Grape

Postby zoomboogity » 16 Sep 2016, 05:06

Peter and Arwen Lewis in Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fran-more ... 42708.html



The Frantics, with Jerry Miller, Don Stevenson and Bob Mosley, c.early 1966:

https://www.facebook.com/SFtimes/videos/509844399066657



[EDIT: cool group photo deleted from whatever site had posted it, so replaced it with this one.]

Image
Last edited by zoomboogity on 18 Dec 2016, 02:26, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
Charlie O.
Posts: 44849
Joined: 21 Jul 2003, 19:53
Location: In-A-Badda-La-Wadda, bay-beh

Re: Moby Grape

Postby Charlie O. » 16 Sep 2016, 05:23

zoomboogity wrote:The Frantics, with Jerry Miller, Don Stevenson and Bob Mosley, c.early 1966:

https://www.facebook.com/SFtimes/videos/509844399066657

Far-out - never knew their Bobby Darin connection! (though that pre-dates the Moby Grape guys' involvement)
Image

User avatar
zoomboogity
Shakin' All Over
Posts: 5307
Joined: 17 Jul 2003, 07:42
Location: Screwball Cultural Center

Re: Moby Grape

Postby zoomboogity » 01 Dec 2016, 02:14

Make America Grape Again!


User avatar
Charlie O.
Posts: 44849
Joined: 21 Jul 2003, 19:53
Location: In-A-Badda-La-Wadda, bay-beh

Re: Moby Grape

Postby Charlie O. » 17 Dec 2016, 17:21

Just thought of this - something I last heard on a 78 when I was a kid. Possible inspiration for a certain Skip Spence song title? (the verse starting at 1:09)


Image

User avatar
zoomboogity
Shakin' All Over
Posts: 5307
Joined: 17 Jul 2003, 07:42
Location: Screwball Cultural Center

Re: Moby Grape

Postby zoomboogity » 05 Jan 2017, 04:52

Peter Lewis podcast on Australian radio:

http://www.southernfm.com.au/general/th ... on-podcast

He goes into some detail about Skip's exorcism in the late '70s, around the 97:00 mark.

User avatar
zoomboogity
Shakin' All Over
Posts: 5307
Joined: 17 Jul 2003, 07:42
Location: Screwball Cultural Center

Re: Moby Grape

Postby zoomboogity » 09 Jun 2017, 04:26

I just got an advance copy of Peter Lewis' new album, Just Like Jack. (The title refers to Kerouac.) Very happy with it. He's still got it, and he has enough songs for another album. It's coming out on Steady Boy Records. Highly recommended!

Now it's time for another stumble down memory alley, starting with two photos of Skip with Jefferson Airplane.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

User avatar
zoomboogity
Shakin' All Over
Posts: 5307
Joined: 17 Jul 2003, 07:42
Location: Screwball Cultural Center

Re: Moby Grape

Postby zoomboogity » 03 Oct 2018, 18:33

This one's been dormant for over a year, but the newly-available Monterey Pop footage is worth adding.



Also, Peter and Arwen Lewis appeared on Merrell Fankhauser's Tiki Lounge webshow. It looks a bit awkward - bringing in a second microphone for the interview section might have helped - but the Mike Douglas and Steve Paul tv clips appear in a higher quality than had been previously available on youtube.


User avatar
Charlie O.
Posts: 44849
Joined: 21 Jul 2003, 19:53
Location: In-A-Badda-La-Wadda, bay-beh

Re: Moby Grape

Postby Charlie O. » 03 Oct 2018, 19:05

Have you read that crappy book yet, zoomb?
Image

sloopjohnc
Posts: 63924
Joined: 03 Jun 2004, 20:12

Re: Moby Grape

Postby sloopjohnc » 03 Oct 2018, 19:06

Charlie O. wrote:Have you read that crappy book yet, zoomb?


I quit about 3/4th the way through.
Don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk!

User avatar
zoomboogity
Shakin' All Over
Posts: 5307
Joined: 17 Jul 2003, 07:42
Location: Screwball Cultural Center

Re: Moby Grape

Postby zoomboogity » 03 Oct 2018, 22:11

Well, I was going to just keep quiet about it, but since you asked :lol: ...

[EDIT: On reflection, I went off a bit about personal stuff that I usually know better to keep to myself. So let's just leave it at this.]

I finally read it, and I can sum it up in two words: Purdu University. That's just one of the misspellings that should never have gotten through. Larry Coreal, The Blue Magoos, Belleview Hospital (which he even spells correctly a couple times), Johnny Carviotto... just obvious stuff that any of us would have caught.

Then there are all the things that got left out. The word "schizophrenia" doesn't appear anywhere in the book - there's your first warning sign. No mention of the specific lawsuits over the years - it's not as if Katz could sue him or slap an injunction on it if he just stuck to what's on record. No mention of the later reunions, just a couple photos from the Melvilles era. No mention of the four surviving members reuniting one last time to attempt recording an album, and the reasons why it fell apart. At least that would help resolve the story on a personal level.

I didn't read the whole thing (Matt Wilson loaned it to me), because it's a page-turner for the wrong reasons. Aside from a few Jerry quotes that made me chuckle, there wasn't much relavatory about it. It was mostly this guy's "personal journey" with the music, which is okay (barely) for a blog, but it's his story, not theirs. He just goes through the first five albums, remarking on each song whether or not he actually has anything to say about them. Bob initially refused to partcipate, but he eventually gave in, although his responses seem pretty unenthusiastic. Peter also declined to participate because he's been working on his own memoirs, which have evolved into a 100-year family history, dating back to his grandmother moving to Los Angeles with her kids in 1916, his childhood, his mom's childhood, his private years in the 1980s, the various band reunions over the years, then onto the present with him making music with his daughter.

I love a good floating narrative (Peter's memoirs take huge leaps across the decades), but starting with the 1971 reunion was pointless. So I started reading Part 2 first, which didn't help. To top it off, whenever the guy tried to get florid with his writing, it just fell flat. One example, from when he's interviewing Don:

Looking out of the window, I notice that the traffic on Eglinton Avenue has thinned out and the line of cars is gone. Each of those cars is heading to a different destination. And this exact configuration of cars will never again form a traffic line in front of this cafe.


Well, no fucking shit. And this guy is 46 years old?

There's a great story here to be told, but it's not in this book. I'm actually surprised it got picked up. It doesn't do the band any favors, and it's not exactly something a budding writer should want on his resume. We're better off waiting for Peter to finish his book. He's not going to shop it around until he's done, so the only deadline he has is his own. I've been helping him with the proofreading, and the story is in much better hands with him, as he was there every step of the way. It wasn't all lawsuits and misery either, there were some genuine good times, some of which are hilarious. At the rate he's going (450 pages so far, and the Grape saga has only gotten as far as Monterey Pop), this may turn into a series of books. He has tons of great stories, his recall is excellent, and he's a brilliant raconteur. AND he knows how to spell Purdue!
Last edited by zoomboogity on 14 Oct 2018, 19:10, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Charlie O.
Posts: 44849
Joined: 21 Jul 2003, 19:53
Location: In-A-Badda-La-Wadda, bay-beh

Re: Moby Grape

Postby Charlie O. » 04 Oct 2018, 04:39

I wanna read that book!
Image

User avatar
Charlie O.
Posts: 44849
Joined: 21 Jul 2003, 19:53
Location: In-A-Badda-La-Wadda, bay-beh

Re: Moby Grape

Postby Charlie O. » 15 Apr 2019, 02:01

Image

I know this isn't a Fugs thread, but as I'm a Fugs fan I'll note that their Golden Filth LP was recorded at these shows.

And I finally got to hear The Frantics' "Someday"! Despite what that bozo said in his book, it's a completely different song. It's no "Human Monkey", but it's nice to hear.


Image

User avatar
zoomboogity
Shakin' All Over
Posts: 5307
Joined: 17 Jul 2003, 07:42
Location: Screwball Cultural Center

Re: Moby Grape

Postby zoomboogity » 16 Apr 2019, 05:07


User avatar
Charlie O.
Posts: 44849
Joined: 21 Jul 2003, 19:53
Location: In-A-Badda-La-Wadda, bay-beh

Re: Moby Grape

Postby Charlie O. » 16 Apr 2019, 05:56

It's the thought that counts.
Image

User avatar
billy
A pound
Posts: 1579
Joined: 19 Aug 2014, 23:47
Location: Dulag luft

Re: Moby Grape

Postby billy » 16 Apr 2019, 06:55

zoomboogity wrote:There's a great story here to be told, but it's not in this book. I'm actually surprised it got picked up. It doesn't do the band any favors, and it's not exactly something a budding writer should want on his resume. We're better off waiting for Peter to finish his book. He's not going to shop it around until he's done, so the only deadline he has is his own. I've been helping him with the proofreading, and the story is in much better hands with him, as he was there every step of the way. It wasn't all lawsuits and misery either, there were some genuine good times, some of which are hilarious. At the rate he's going (450 pages so far, and the Grape saga has only gotten as far as Monterey Pop), this may turn into a series of books. He has tons of great stories, his recall is excellent, and he's a brilliant raconteur. AND he knows how to spell Purdue!



Oh damn! Is this the Cam Cobb one?

It was on my list to get. I just loved the fact there was a book in existence. Are there no redeeming features?

More importantly, are there are any alternative recommendations at all?
mantochanga wrote:Dave Bartram from Showaddywaddy - on telly every week, but most people didn't even know his name. No burdening us with his issues or personal life, just a straightforward entertainer. Navvy!

User avatar
Matt Wilson
Psychedelic Cowpunk
Posts: 32516
Joined: 16 Jul 2003, 20:18
Location: Edge of a continent

Re: Moby Grape

Postby Matt Wilson » 16 Apr 2019, 17:13

Skip Spence died today in 1992 (was it?). I just ordered the latest three-disc version of Oar in his honor.
Now maybe I'll finally like it.

User avatar
zoomboogity
Shakin' All Over
Posts: 5307
Joined: 17 Jul 2003, 07:42
Location: Screwball Cultural Center

Re: Moby Grape

Postby zoomboogity » 18 Apr 2019, 04:26

.
Last edited by zoomboogity on 18 Apr 2019, 04:29, edited 1 time in total.


Return to “Yakety Yak”