June 02, 2025

209B. SNEAK PEEK OF SKIP SPENCE PART 2: GRAPE DAZE WITH MOBY GRAPE BIOGRAPHER CAM COBB (GRAPE EXPECTATIONS EPISODE 4)

9 minutes

Episode 4 of our Grape Expectations Series features Moby Grape & Skip Spence biographer Cam Cobb talking about Skip’s rollercoaster ride through those early days of Moby Grape, a tale which includes disastrous tours, lawsuits, police busts, horribly nefarious managers, a fake touring version of the band, mysterious black magic witches, drug-induced madness, insane asylums, and attempted murder with an axe. And, no joke—that’s just within the band’s first two years.

Here’s just a few of the many things that Cam discusses with Discograffiti in Part 2 of our discussion:

A step-by-step reconstruction of the hunt for talent that wound up pulling together the original band;

The manifold ways in which Matthew Katz failed them as a manager;

How The Summer of Love ironically wound up beating this great band down;

A discussion about why Skip’s songs of biblical reckoning took a sharp left into novelty-adjacent Weird Al territory!

*** This episode includes a cameo appearance by the great JERRY MILLER, who talks with Cam about the band’s early days as they began to gel as a unit!

There’ll be a short sneak peak running publicly for free, but the entirety of this podcast will only be accessible on the Major Tier of Discograffiti’s Patreon. Don’t miss it, or you’ll only be getting part of the story. Get it as a one-off, get the full series, or better yet just subscribe.

Full Episode: Patreon.com/Discograffiti (available on the Major Tier & up)

Free Sneak Peek: linktr.ee/discograffiti

Purchase the full Grape Expectations Collection at a discount: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/collection/1467935⁠

Subscribe to Discograffiti's Patreon and receive a ceaseless barrage (4 shows a week!) of must-hear binge-listening. It’s completely free to be a basic member, $1 to get your backstage pass, $5/month for the weekly Sunday show by & for our community, $10 for weekly early release, ad-free, super-extended Director's Cuts of the main show plus access to half our Patreon episode archive, & $20 for Discograffiti’s weekly bonus episodes and access to our entire Patreon episode archive. There are now over 300 Patreon episodes.

Order Cam Cobb’s Skip Spence bio: ⁠https://a.co/d/iuSyBGc⁠

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Order the Digital version of the METAL MACHINE MUZAK 2xLP (feat. Lou Barlow, Cory Hanson, Mark Robinson, & W. Cullen Hart):⁠ www.patreon.com/discograffiti/shop/197404⁠

Order the $11 Digital version of the MMM 2xLP on Bandcamp:⁠ https://discograffiti.bandcamp.com/album/metal-machine-muzak⁠

Order the METAL MACHINE MUZAK Double Vinyl + Digital package: www.patreon.com/discograffiti/shop/169954

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Venmo Dave A Tip: @David-Gebroe

Web site:⁠ http://discograffiti.com/⁠

CONTACT DAVE

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By David Gebroe

4.3

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