Bob Mosley from Moby Grape

[Danglestrap]

Moby Grape’s first album has been with me a long time now and one of its many pleasures is Mosley’s strikingly powerful playing and singing.

1. is anyone here aware of whether he used his fingers or a plectrum?

2. also, if you have anything to add about his sound or gear etc that would be great

 

[Michedelic]

Moby Grape’s first album has been with me a long time now and one of its many pleasures is Mosley’s strikingly powerful playing and singing.

1. is anyone here aware of whether he used his fingers or a plectrum?

2. also, if you have anything to add about his sound or gear etc that would be great

P-bass, fingers, Fender Bassman or Showman amps…


Big fan here. I’d rather listen to them or the QMS instead of the Dead any day. My wife(and I)are good friends with Tiran Porter of the Doobie Brothers, and he has played with Jerry Miller and Peter Lewis off and on for years(the origins of the Doobies date back to a failed back-up band for Skip Spence). Around ‘96, Jerry, Peter, with Bob wandering around on stage, plus Tiran and an additional guitarist and drummer, performed as the Grape in LA; amazing show. Obviously, Skip was absent, and Bob was not doing well at that point, but he managed “Murder In My Heart” and some other tunes, a special night. He sporadically has put out music over the years…

 

[Danglestrap]

Thank you for the wonderful response, Michadelic.

I posted because they came up on a random spotify mix and - hearing them unexpectedly - I was struck again by their various parts.

Jerry Miller is also someone whose playing really interests me - and I want his jazz-box, too!

I think he’s still playing the same one..?

P-bass, fingers, Fender Bassman or Showman amps…


Big fan here. I’d rather listen to them or the QMS instead of the Dead any day. My wife(and I)are good friends with Tiran Porter of the Doobie Brothers, and he has played with Jerry Miller and Peter Lewis off and on for years(the origins of the Doobies date back to a failed back-up band for Skip Spence). Around ‘96, Jerry, Peter, with Bob wandering around on stage, plus Tiran and an additional guitarist and drummer, performed as the Grape in LA; amazing show. Obviously, Skip was absent, and Bob was not doing well at that point, but he managed “Murder In My Heart” and some other tunes, a special night. He sporadically has put out music over the years…

 

[Michedelic]

Thank you for the wonderful response, Michadelic.

I posted because they came up on a random spotify mix and - hearing them unexpectedly - I was struck again by their various parts.

Jerry Miller is also someone whose playing really interests me - and I want his jazz-box, too!

I think he’s still playing the same one..?

Jerry, as of the late 90’s/2000’s, was still playing that big old Gibson; we saw him with Tiran and a drummer in Santa Cruz, but he has since moved back to the Pacific Northwest, and I’m not sure if he’s still musically active.

 

[jeffb28451]

Thanks for the info. I loved those guys when I was in my teens and played the grooves out of the albums. I just recently replaced those with new(er) albums and, hopefully, will find more when I start streaming later this month
( finally!).

 

[StephenR]

Moby Grape is one of my favorite 60s Bay Area bands. I only got to see them twice, once in 1968 at the Anderson Theater in NYC opening for Procol Harum and again 6/30/96 at Maritime Hall in San Francisco. I can't remember what kind of amps Bob used at the 68 show but most likely Fender. He was at the Maritime Hall show but only sang a bit, Tiran played bass. Bob was in rough shape, they had found him living under a bridge in L.A. he sang pretty well but looked and acted like a disoriented homeless person. It was nice to see him reunited with his friends but very sad, too, he was such a powerhouse player and singer in his prime. They also did a gig at Palookaville in Santa Cruz in August of 96 where Skip was on stage with them briefly.

Jerry Miller still plays around the Bay Area from time to time. He did a gig with Terry Haggerty (ex Sons of Champlin lean guitarist) at the Ashkenaz in Berkeley a couple of years ago. I was friends with the original publishers of Relix Magazine, they used to host parties in the Bay Area in the early 90s and I was at one that Jerry attended. When he left he went around the room and said goodbye and shook hands with each person individually, seemed like a really nice person. Out of all the well known Bay Area musician's at the party that year everyone was most psyched that Jerry had come.

 

[Velofixer]

Jerry, as of the late 90’s/2000’s, was still playing that big old Gibson; we saw him with Tiran and a drummer in Santa Cruz, but he has since moved back to the Pacific Northwest, and I’m not sure if he’s still musically active.

He is active in the NW, there was a Seattle Times article about him in the last month.

 

[Michedelic]

He is active in the NW, there was a Seattle Times article about him in the last month.

Is this the article?
Fate stomped all over Moby Grape, but Tacoma guitar god Jerry Miller is still rocking and rolling with the punches
Very well done. As for Mosley, there’s scant current info, but I came across this from a couple of years ago…
EASY ED'S BROADSIDE: Moby Grape Is Still Afloat - No Depression