moby grape

another san fran band that made use of actual rock dynamics was moby grape, whose first five albs are being reished on cd 'n' vinyl by the smiling folks at sundazed in october and november. possessing _five_ singers (that's evabody, including the drummer) and three gtrists (the goodun, jerry miller, and the drummer, don stevenson, were pac nw expats from the same scene that produced the kingsmen / raiders / wailers / sonics). most notable member was alexander "skip" spence, who'd originally drummed in the j. airplane and subsequently became a notable drug casualty of the scene after cutting the estimable oar album. he penned the grape's best song, "omaha" (first song in first clip below) and showed considerable energy onstage (see first song in second clip -- that'd be "hey grandma," which like all the toons in the clips comes from their first 'n' best alb).