Weighted Down: The Complicated Life of Skip Spence

Weighted Down is the first biography of the legendary ’60s cult musician Skip Spence.

As a member of era-defining bands Moby Grape, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane, Spence played a large part in setting the agenda and aesthetic for many other groups of the era. His only solo album, the hugely psychedelic and occasionally challenging Oar, cemented his reputation, and he has since gone on to be celebrated by the likes of Tom Waits, Beck, and Robert Plant.

However, the musician’s life was aggrieved by substance abuse, erratic behavior, and poor mental health. Cobb regards Spence’s life as a whole, warts and all, from his visionary recordings, to his idiosyncratic personality and untimely death at the age of 52.

Skip Spence was a soldier, a rockstar, an innovator, an addict, a cult phenomenon, and a ward of the state. The characters in his story include Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Santana, B.B. King, Neil Young and many more.

Spence’s story is the story of the 60s, and one that has never been told in full. It’s the story of San Francisco, the biggest bands in America, Columbia Records, The Hells Angels and rock ’n’ roll mayhem.

Weighted Down is a first-hand narrative of Skip Spence, told by his friends, bandmates and family, and includes a trove of never-before-seen photographs.

Dr Cam Cobb is a scholar based in the University of Windsor in Ontario. His scholarly work has considered social justice within special education and issues with the arts. He has spent time living and working in South Korea. ’Weighted Down’ is his full-length consideration of troubled ’60s musician and West Coast legend Skip Spence.