Skip spence

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It was recorded over seven days in December in Nashville, and features Spence on all of the instruments. Described as "one of the most harrowing documents of pain and confusion ever made", [6] the album was recorded after Spence had spent six months in Bellevue Hospital. Spence had been committed to Bellevue following a delusion-driven attempt to attack Moby Grape bandmates Don Stevenson and Jerry Miller with a fire axe. At the time of Spence's release from hospital, he had written a number of songs that he wanted to record. Producer David Rubinson suggested that Spence record at the Columbia studios in Nashville, where there was a particularly patient recording engineer, Mike Figlio. Rubinson instructed Figlio to keep the tapes running at all times, to record everything that Spence did.

Skip spence

Skip Spence, who has died of lung cancer aged 52, played a seminal role in the San Francisco psychedelic rock scene of the late s as a member of two of its most influential bands, Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape. He also became its most notorious acid casualty, spending the last 30 years in and out of mental hospitals. Spence was always weird. At the age of 11, he rang up Little Richard to complain about him deserting rock 'n' roll for religion. Weird things happened to him. Born in Windsor, Ontario, he was a singer-guitarist on the mids San Francisco coffee-house circuit and an electric guitarist with an embryonic Quicksilver Messenger Service. He was invited to join Jefferson Airplane on drums because, according to the leader, Marty Balin, 'he looks like a drummer'. Spence's only previous experience had been with a school marching band. He settled well enough to play on the band's first album, Takes Off, and contributed to the writing of some of its most memorable songs, including the opening Blues From An Airplane. Balin remembered him as 'this beautiful kid, all gold and shining, like a little Buddha' - a far cry from the dishevelled hobo he was to become. After several months with the Airplane, Spence decided to return to guitar.

According to the Grape, Joanna was a self-proclaimed white witch. Archived from the original on May 20,

In the same year, he released his only solo album, Oar , and then largely withdrew from the music industry. He had started his career as a guitarist in an early line-up of Quicksilver Messenger Service , and was the drummer on Jefferson Airplane 's debut album, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off. He has been described on the AllMusic website as "one of psychedelia's brightest lights"; [2] however, his career was plagued by drug addiction coupled with mental health problems, and he has been described by a biographer as a man who "neither died young nor had a chance to find his way out. His father, Alexander Lett "Jock" Spence — , [4] was a machinist, a salesman, and played Route 66 as a solo singer-songwriter and piano player. In the late s, the family relocated from Windsor to San Jose, California , based on Spence's father finding work in the aircraft industry.

In the same year, he released his only solo album, Oar , and then largely withdrew from the music industry. He had started his career as a guitarist in an early line-up of Quicksilver Messenger Service , and was the drummer on Jefferson Airplane 's debut album, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off. He has been described on the AllMusic website as "one of psychedelia's brightest lights"; [2] however, his career was plagued by drug addiction coupled with mental health problems, and he has been described by a biographer as a man who "neither died young nor had a chance to find his way out. His father, Alexander Lett "Jock" Spence — , [4] was a machinist, a salesman, and played Route 66 as a solo singer-songwriter and piano player. In the late s, the family relocated from Windsor to San Jose, California , based on Spence's father finding work in the aircraft industry. At the age of ten, he was given his first guitar by his parents. Spence was a guitarist in the band the Other Side before Marty Balin recruited him to be the drummer for Jefferson Airplane apparently because he looked the part. He was dismissed by the band after taking an unannounced vacation to Mexico. He briefly considered joining Buffalo Springfield as a drummer before returning to the guitar to co-found Moby Grape.

Skip spence

There are a number of musicians whose names could come to mind when talking about Jefferson Airplane, its lighter, softer spin-off, Jefferson Starship , and that group's own spin-off band, Starship. Most notably, Grace Slick sang female lead vocals for all three bands. And while originally not part of the second group, Airplane's lead male vocalist, Marty Balin, joined Jefferson Starship soon after they formed , reprising his old role. But while the voices behind those acts are arguably the most recognizable, not much is said about their drummers. Alexander "Skip" Spence is possibly the only exception to that last statement, and it isn't just because he was the first person banging the skins for Jefferson Airplane. The Canadian-born Spence was only on board for the Airplane's debut album, but what followed was a fascinating, yet ultimately troubled musical career that most notably included his time with Moby Grape and the release of his solo album "Oar," a commercial flop that influenced many a well-known musician , including the likes of Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, and late Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan. Here's a closer look at Spence's tragic life story, starting from his brief stint with Jefferson Airplane and the unusual way he was invited to join the would-be psychedelic rock trailblazers. Prior to joining Jefferson Airplane, Skip Spence was briefly a member of the San Francisco-based garage rock band The Other Side , playing rhythm guitar for the group in when they were still known as The Topsiders.

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Wednesday 13 September Monday 15 January The instructions to Figlio had been simple: just keep the tape rolling. Rubinson chose to stay away from the studio, concerned that Spence's recording activities would be distracted by the presence of a producer. He was the Brian Jones figure of the band. I got a phone call after a couple of days. History has tended to reduce Skip Spence to a caricature, an acid casualty to file alongside the similarly labelled Syd Barrett or Roky Erickson. Monday 2 October Monday 1 January Spence has been described on the Allmusic website as "one of psychedelia's brightest lights".

All are paying tribute to a man whose last meaningful music was made 30 years ago but whose legacy still burns bright. For the past three decades the man in question has been in declining physical and mental health, living on the streets or in care. Now things have deteriorated further.

Retrieved December 17, The first CD reissue of Oar was released by Sony Special Products in and was totally remixed from the multitrack masters. Fine Wine Oar The Ducks. Neither could radio or critics. Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Articles with hAudio microformats Articles with MusicBrainz release group identifiers. This weirdly wonderful mixture of psychedelic folk whimsy has acquired such a cult following that a tribute CD, More Oar, featuring performances by Beck, Robert Plant, Tom Waits and REM is due for release later this year. He entered Columbia Studios on December 3. Louder Sound. Skip was a medium and would simply express what was coming through him. Best of all was a squalling burst of psychedelic guitar energy and infectious vocal harmonies known as Listen My Friends. Then Katz betrayed him. Thursday 7 March Thursday 21 December