Skip Spence Canadian-born musician and singer-songwriter Date of Birth: 18.04.1946 Country: USA

Introduction
Skip Spence was a Canadian-born musician and singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the American rock bands Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape. Despite his immense talent and influence on the non-commercial music industry and the psych-folk genre, his career was plagued by drug addiction and mental health issues. Described by a biographer as a man who "died young, never finding a way out," Spence left a lasting impact on the music industry before his untimely death.

Early Life and Career
Alexander Lee "Skip" Spence was born on April 18, 1946, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. His father worked as a machinist, and in the late 1950s, the family relocated to San Jose, California, in search of job opportunities in the aviation industry. At the age of 10, Spence received his first guitar from his parents.

After completing school, Skip joined the United States Navy and later gained recognition as a folk artist in the San Jose area from 1964 to 1965. He initially served as a guitarist for the American psychedelic rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service before Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane recruited him as the drummer. Spence participated in the recording of Jefferson Airplane's debut album, "Jefferson Airplane Takes Off," but left the band to become one of the founding members and the guitarist of Moby Grape.

Rise to Fame and Struggles
It was with Moby Grape that Skip Spence achieved the most significant success in his career. He wrote several songs for the band, including the acclaimed composition "Omaha," which was featured on their debut album. In 2008, Rolling Stone magazine named "Omaha" one of the 100 greatest guitar songs of all time.

During the recording of Moby Grape's second album, "Wow," in 1968, Spence, under the influence of LSD, attempted to break down the door of the band's hotel room with a fire ax. Jerry Miller, a member of the band, remembered, "Skip radically changed when we were in New York. There were a few people leading an uncontrolled lifestyle and heavily involved with drugs. And he started messing around with these people. Skip disappeared for a while. The next time we saw him, he had shaved off his beard, was dressed in black leather, chains all over him, sweating like a pig. I don't know what the fuck came over him, but he was high on something. And then he started chopping on the door of my hotel room. The receptionist said some crazy guy was wielding an ax over the head of a bellhop." Another member of Moby Grape, Peter Lewis, described the incident as a scene from the movie "The Doors," with Spence imagining himself as the antichrist and trying to save Don Stevenson by attacking him with the ax. Stevenson pressed charges against Spence, who was incarcerated in "The Tombs" prison. It was during his time in Bellevue Medical Center that Spence was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Solo Career and Final Days
After his treatment, Skip Spence, wearing only pajamas, rode a motorcycle to Nashville to record his only solo album, "Oar," in 1969. Despite his descent into heroin and cocaine addiction, Spence remained a formal member of Moby Grape, although he contributed little to the band. There is a story that Spence was mistakenly declared dead and brought to a morgue in San Jose with a tag on his toe when he suddenly stood up and asked for a glass of water. A week after falling into a coma and being placed on life support, Spence briefly regained consciousness and played his compositions. He passed away on April 16, 1999, from lung cancer, two days before his 53rd birthday.