Hey there out in Doobie land -- I belong to a listserve for Moby Grape -- very active, I might add -- and was curious how aware those folks are of the Doobie Brother/Moby Grape connection. So far, I've gotten once response, which follows: "That's very cool about the Doobie-Grape connection. I don't think I'll ever listen to their music the same way again." enlightenment! yes! If you want to see what I wrote, just keep scrolling. I cut and paste it here. It's kinda poorly (and hastily written), but it gets the point across for the intended audience. --- Curt, Portland OR here it is (BTW -- "Skip" refers to Skip Spence, one of Moby Grape's guitarists) ---- --- cut --- Just wondering if everyone out there in Moby Grape land knows of the full impact the Grape had upon the Doobies. Essentially, had there never been a Moby Grape, there'd never have been a Doobies. Story goes, Doobies drummer-to-be John Hartman moved to the Bay Area from the East coast in 1970 or 1971 with the express interest of trying to reform Moby Grape. During this process, he got to know Skip. Skip, living in San Jose at the time, knew another musician named Tom Johnston, and suggested the two get together. Hence, the beginnings of the Doobies was born. (Tom Johnston was the Doobies lead singer and songwriter during the 1971-1975 era.) The Doobies have revealed many a time that they modeled themselves after the Grape. Even to the point where they eventually added a third guitarist -- Skunk Baxter -- specifically because it was so Moby Grape-ish. In fact, if you look on the back cover of their very first album -- it's simply titled "The Doobie Brothers" and pictures them standing in front of the Chateau Liberte up above Santa Cruz -- there's a mention of Skip. It says something along the lines of, "Special thanks to Skip Spence". On the Doobies website there are numerous mentions of the Grape as major influences and links to the realgrape website. Curt Portland, OR _________________________ To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe doobiefans-list" in the body.
