Moby Grape

Of the many groups to emerge from San Francisco in the late sixties, Moby Grape stood out as the band that most preferred structured songs to freeform. From May 1967 to 1969, they were a fairly important group, combining country, folk, pop and rock w...more

Of the many groups to emerge from San Francisco in the late sixties, Moby Grape stood out as the band that most preferred structured songs to freeform. From May 1967 to 1969, they were a fairly important group, combining country, folk, pop and rock with psychedelic elements. Moby Grape was a soft version of acid rock, but it had all the elements of a psychedelic band. Unfortunately, the band was a victim of too much hype, overindulgence, bad management and bad luck. Guitarist-vocalist Skip Spence was living with a practicing witch and ingesting too much acid, and he was committed to Bellevue Hospital in 1968 after attacking drummer Don Stevenson with an ax. Spence was eventually diagnosed as schizophrenic and in 1994 was found living in a residential care facility in San Jose. The remaining members of the band have reunited under various names, including Maby Grope, Mosley Grape, the Melvilles and the Legendary Grape....less