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Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2009 > June > 25 > Entry
R.I.P. Sky Saxon
Sky Saxon, founder of the brilliant ’60s garage band the Seeds, died Thursday morning at St. David’s Hospital.
The newly minted Austinite, born Richard Marsh, was hospitalized Monday with what doctors suspected was an infection of the internal organs, but cause of death has not yet been released.
Saxon fell ill last Thursday, but performed at Saturday at Antone’s with recent Austin collaborators Shapes Have Fangs.
Sky’s wife Sabrina Saxon posted news of his passing on Facebook this morning: “Sky has passed over and YaHoWha is waiting for him at the gate. He will soon be home with his Father. I’m so sorry I couldn’t keep him here with us. More later. I’m sorry.”
We are sorry as well.
Saxon was the founder of the Seeds, one of the all-time great first-wave garage rock bands. If the Rolling Stones was the sound of five British guys trying to imitate Muddy Waters and Howlin Wolf and failing in new and strange ways, ’60s garage rock was the sound of American kids trying to imitate the Stones and (similarly, brilliantly) missing the mark.
The Seeds fell together in 1965 around a core of Saxon and guitarist Jan Savage with keyboardist Daryl Hooper and drummer Rick Andridge. The bands’s first couple of singles — ‘Can’t Seem To Make You Mine’ and ‘Pushin’ Too Hard’ — are ’60s punk classics, snotty and fuzzy and brief. Check out their first two albums — ‘The Seeds’ and ‘A Web of Sound,’ both from that magic rock year 1966 — for perfect examples of proto-psychedelic roar.
After a few more records, Saxon broke up the Seeds in 1970, joined the spiritual commune the Source Family, adopted the name Sunlight and played with the Source Family band YaHoWha 13 now and then.
He continuted to make albums since with various lineups, distributing his music via the Internet at www.skysaxon.com. He came to Austin in March for the second annual Psych Fest and never really left, according to his publicist, keeping a very low profile until recently.
We profiled him here in March.
Comments
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By papajohn morton
June 25, 2009 11:37 AM | Link to this
It’s a sad day for us all.he was instrumental in bringing Hunger into the psychedelic rock scene with Pushin too Hard.he gave bands from the 60’s a new found freedom to really create music with heart and soul and I’m glad I got to see him and talk at Fuzzfest.rest his gentle soul———Peace PapaJohn Morton
By Michael Des Barres
June 25, 2009 11:58 AM | Link to this
YOU MUST BE THE ONLY ROCK JOURNALIST IN HISTORY TO CLAIM THE STONES AND THE SEEDS FAILED.
By Joe Gross
June 25, 2009 12:16 PM | Link to this
Mr. Des Barre,
As I’m sure you understood, that was meant as the biggest of compliments.
The Stones created something new in their attempts to imitate American blues acts. Similarly, garage bands who sounded tried to capture some of the Stones’blasted R&B sound and air of danger and aggression came up with something totally amazing.
Again, I’m sure you understood that, but I apologize if I wasn’t clear.
By Elvis Smith
June 25, 2009 12:41 PM | Link to this
Sad news. My daughter was named after Sky Saxon.
By Allan Wise
June 25, 2009 12:54 PM | Link to this
“Mr. Farmer” plays in my head ( at least once ) every day. THANK GOD FOR SKY SUNLIGHT SAXON.
By Skyler
June 25, 2009 1:45 PM | Link to this
We were blessed to play music with Sky Saturday night. I’ll never forget Sky, he was truly sunlight in our lives. He taught us so much in such a short amount of time he was in Austin. Sky was such a sweet man with a heart of gold.
Skyler
By HappyParts
June 25, 2009 1:50 PM | Link to this
“missing the mark.” Huh? What mark did they miss? - Making a passive compliment, or not - As a ‘journalist’ I would think being assertive, clear and direct in an obituary is key. This is not a review of a show, or a record- this is about a life, and one that shined brightly, inspired many - clubs, bands, ideas, sound….blah, blah, blah.
By Seeds Fan
June 25, 2009 3:36 PM | Link to this
The author was not saying they “failed”. He said that they failed in their attempt to sound like the Stones. I think the author agrees with all Seeds fans that in that particular failure……they were a success, creating something that will live on forever.
Just as the Stones failed at recreating the Chicago Blues Sound. What they created in their failure was better than if they had succeeded.
Now let’s just re-focus on celebrating the life and memory of Sky. May his family and friends soon know peace.
By Sid Wren
June 25, 2009 3:53 PM | Link to this
I was fortunate enough to meet Sky when he played Manchester, England a few years ago and saw him play a number of times in London also. A gentleman in every sense and a garage-punk genius.
By Laura
June 25, 2009 5:21 PM | Link to this
Too bad the same day deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett will take attention away from the far greater loss of Sky Saxon. Comes in threes?
By April
June 25, 2009 6:26 PM | Link to this
Ah, I recall many a weekend night, my sister and I enjoying The Seeds (or whoever was playing) at the Hullabaloo on Sunset Blvd in the mid-60s. A lot of regular bands played there. The Seeds were one of the best.
By Pyramid
June 25, 2009 7:10 PM | Link to this
I played with Sky this dicember. He gave me a new name and i agree with the people who says that he’s a great SOUL, and a great musician. Thank you Sky
By Sunny Sun-Downer
June 25, 2009 7:13 PM | Link to this
I was/am a good friend of Sky Sunlight Saxon. He always called me “Champion.” He told me that he turned the Stones on to the concept of “Flower Power” right before they came out with their album “Flowers!” He also told me that before Jim Morrison became famous, that he used to stand in front of Sky in stunned amazement at clubs on the Sunset Strip, absorbing Sky’s stage presence, to duplicate it later on. I agree w/”Seeds Fan” that we should ‘re-focus on celebrating the life & memory of Sky!’Soon he’ll be singing & dancing w/Arthur Lee & all the other LOVE-ly Living Legends of Eternity… “Well all I want is to just be free, & Live my life the way I wanna be!” Peace Brother Sky -=0=-
By E Aquarian
June 25, 2009 8:16 PM | Link to this
Sky Saxon is my Brother in YaHoWha -our Spiritual Father-who named him Arelich Aquarian. Sky is a dear & gentle soul-the real thing. He spoke ill of no one & knew exactly who he was. We-the Source Family-were in Hawaii (‘75) & I needed help in the muddy rain forest. Arelich wore patent leather shoes! Sky knows that life & death are but the bookends of our lives. His will be easy passage-his soul reviews his life’s river for 3 1/2 days-we are chanting the Sacred Name of God 24/7. Everything that happens-every circumstance and event-is for your own Soul’s Growth. YaHoWha, 1973
By Lenny Helsing
June 26, 2009 4:31 AM | Link to this
Yeah I can only add that Sky was something else indeed, and The Seeds were one of the very greatest combos the rock world has ever produced. It was an honour indeed to meet and befriend the great man when he came to play in Aberdeen, and Glasgow, Scotland a few years ago. The group I play for The Thanes were fortunate enough to be the opening group when Sky and his brand new band of Seeds tore it up at Glasgow’s King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut. Although I only spent a few hours with him over a couple of days, Sky was a very amiable and friendly guy, full of fun and joy, still wanting the best out of life, and telling us he loved the music we were playing, and taking the time to hang out, ask Seedy questions and generally wanting to put the world to rights. And wasn’t the Sky Saxon and The Seeds LP ‘Red Planet’ just the best thing he’d been involved in since the heady daze of the original SEEDS. Oh yeah I really do think so. Well Sky I think you’ve now found the true entranceway to play!
By japp
June 30, 2009 9:42 AM | Link to this
like a seed he s still there underground and will reborn anyway so long mr sky………
By Jimmy Valentine
July 1, 2009 1:43 PM | Link to this
I have difficulty describing the influence Sky had on me. And will continue to have on me.
In the few years I knew him he taught me a lifetime worth of lessons. Sky taught me to never give up. Sky showed me the way of forgiveness and true love for my fellow beings of all sorts. Sky taught me patience. With his help he taught me how to make a great album (Pisces Rising was produced by him over the phone and on line!).
The musical legacy he left us will continue to enrich our lives and the lives of those yet unborn for ages to come!
Right now I just want to reflect on the loss of my friend and teacher…Perhaps at a later time I will get into more detail, but more than likely I won’t. So many people were always trying to ride his cosmic and very long coat tails. For me just having him as a friend and being blessed with having worked with him for a brief time is enough…If Sky taught me anything it was that with my heart in the right place and my mind unpolluted, I don’t need to be anybody’s side man. I can shine on my own.
So in closing I would like to say thank you Sky. Thank you for seeing something in me that I did not. Thank you for your influence and helping to shape my music. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for your love.
I love you and I will miss you my friend…
Jimmy Valentine
By Ivy
July 5, 2009 9:03 PM | Link to this
Just wanting to add my voice of sorrow at the loss of Sky Saxon. We’ll miss him tremendously.
By Spyros "spacefreak"
August 3, 2009 5:24 AM | Link to this
YOD HEH VAU HEH! One of the greatest psych heads walking this earth. At last he achieved to free himself once for all from his earthly bonds. Fly high brother!
By MarkRight
October 28, 2009 5:22 PM | Link to this
Cool post as for me. It would be great to read something more about that matter.
By Johnawson
December 1, 2009 2:15 PM | Link to this
The Seeds were the best of the best!! Mid-sixties punk/psych being the coolest and best music ever, Sky Saxon’s Seeds were the cream of the crop! This is one of rock ‘n’ roll’s saddest losses, but his spirit of coolness will live on forever. toke up, wear a paisley shirt, knee boots and honor this rock ‘n’ roll icon. I wonder if the square world will ever give the seeds and other garage greats their just due? maybe in a hundred years?