Sky Saxon wanted to resurrect a new version of Seeds. Starting in 2001, the first incarnation of this band included Sky Saxon- Lead Vocals, Michael Amundson - Guitar, Gary Stern- Drums ,Dave Klein - Keyboards and Rick Collins- Bass. During these first shows there was also a talented artist by the name of John Miner producing some memorable posters for the band.
The band later had guitarist Mark Bellgraph and drummers Norman Cabrerra and Justin Palamini.

Dave Klein and Norman Cabrerra are touring as garage ghouls with their band The Ghastly Ones.

 

The following Press came from gigs which included all of the above mentioned musicians.

Press

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L A Times-

Feb. 2003

 

POP MUSIC REVIEW
Resurrected Doors, Seeds find the past
In separate shows, Jim Morrison's old mates come up shorter than Sky Saxon's new crew because of higher expectations.

Both the Doors and the Seeds formed in Los Angeles in 1965, each with a lineup of vocals, guitar, keyboards and drums. They shared psychedelic tendencies, but the similarities pretty much ended there. The Doors went on to become a rock icon, with their legacy of dark, sexual, personal and political urgency only deepening after singer Jim Morrison's death in 1971. The Seeds, fronted by scruffy eccentric Sky Saxon, could claim only a niche in the obscure garage-rock pantheon. Still, separate performances this weekend by what's left of both groups brought to mind puzzling and not easily answered questions about what, exactly, is being true to one's roots. The issues weren't so urgent for Saxon, the only original member appearing with the Seeds at the Knitting Factory Hollywood on Saturday. You couldn't really accuse the colorful singer-songwriter and his latest lineup of younger musicians of cashing in on the band's relatively obscure legacy, which included one barely Top-40 hit, the driving 1966 single "Pushin' Too Hard."

Now sporting a bassist, the quintet mostly stuck to middling renditions of such trippy artifacts as "Pushin'" and the chiming ballad "Can't Seem to Make You Mine" that matched Saxon's enthusiastic, if not terribly gripping, performance. However, it was hard to feel outrage over the hour, mostly because there wasn't much at stake to begin with. Not so for Friday's return of the Doors -- a.k.a. the 21st Century Doors, or the Doors: 21st Century --

at the Universal Amphitheatre.

From left to right;

 

Mark Bellgraph, Norman Cabrerra, Sky Saxon, Rick Collins

 

Also adding a bassist, original keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger appeared with Ian Astbury of English goth band the Cult handling vocals, but without original drummer John Densmore (or, for that matter, his replacement, Stewart Copeland, who was replaced, without explanation from the band members, by local drummer Ty Dennis). Densmore has sued his former mates for using the group's old name, but Manzarek insisted throughout Friday's show that the Doors, while continuing to honor Morrison's poetic tradition, are a new thing. OK, so what's this new thing got? A logo that looks a lot like the old Doors logo, a two-hour set of nothing but old Doors tunes and the promise of a new album later this year. Repeated claims that this group is "keeping the music alive" felt disingenuous. The Doors' music seemed to be living on quite well already, and while Astbury filled the part visually, his faithful following of Morrison's texts didn't make up for his limited vocal range and lack of risk-taking. The rented rhythm section did fine, but genuine sparks were minimal, furthering the sense that the whole affair was a sad replay of something that was once great. The fans in the packed house certainly enjoyed themselves. But what sort of honor was it, really, for the Doors to resurrect their singer's memory, just so they could bury him once and for all?

L A Weekly -
May 2002


SKY SAXON AND THE SEEDS
at Spaceland, May 24
Sky Saxon, the extraterrestrial-obsessed militant vegetarian and tenured rock & roll wildman cherished by fans of primitive 1960s psych-garage savagery, seems more lucid and crafty than he's been in years. Stalking through the club in a wild plastic zebra print and patent-leather getup, Saxon is a far warmer and content figure, one in stark contrast to the almost intimidating, scattered hustler who used to turn up at Hollywood clubs trying to shake loose any action or comfort that could be gained. The man who rose to prominence with the stabbing, mad-dog bite of "Pushin' Too Hard," then segued into a morass of hallucinogenic indulgence typified by the 16-minute "March of the Flower Children," has survived a destructive course of chemical and commercial adversity and emerged, surprisingly, as a resilient elder, far more tribal godfather than burned-out grandpa. Opening with a slightly jumped-up version of "Can't Seem To Make You Mine," Saxon put his vocals across with forceful, clear-toned strength, and the angular, choppy, hard-riffing Seeds sound made an ideal counterpoint to his careerlong style of passive-aggressive performing -- he was playing mostly to the wall and rear of the stage, only occasionally glancing into the crowd. This is a brand of detached cool that no one can match, an almost dismissive presentation that only heightens the impact of a classic set list.

Saxon clearly retains all the offbeat drive and charm that's earned him a spot as one of rock & roll's key forces. The ultimate moment came when he performed most of one song seated on the stage with his back to the audience, a characteristically effective bit of non-entertainment that was both classic Sky and convention-shredding rock rebellion at its best. (Jonny Whiteside)

These Seeds, nary an original among them, held up their end of the deal with competence if not aplomb, and Saxon seemed happy as hell to be working with them, sinking his fangs

 into "No Escape" and "Girl I Want You," and throwing down a frantic "Evil Hoodoo" with a machine-gun momentum that had the crowd stomping and howling. The propulsive music was broken up by Saxon's repeated invitation for all to join him aboard the spaceship that had apparently carried him to town, and it was clear that none would refuse taking the trip. "Pushin' Too Hard" sealed the underworld pact between performer and audience.

      Sky Saxon– Vocals

         Gary Stern– Drums

             Dave Klein– Keyboards

                                                  Michael Amundson

                                                                                 – Guitar

 

                    Rick Collins, Sky Saxon. Dave Klein, Norman Cabrerra, Mark Bellgraph

L A Weekly -
March 2002
With this long over due visit from the wild Sky Sunlight Saxon,
Los Angeles rock & roll is due for a baptismal dose of masterly liberation from one of it's most vaunted underworld guerrillas.
Saxon of course is the volcanic shouter of the 'Seeds' psycho-garage ultra classics "Pushin Too Hard" and "Can't Seem To Make You Mine," songs that have taken root in inumerable troubled teenage minds and launched an armada of gloriously disruptive bands since their mid 60s release.Among rock's great damaged yet unstoppable figureheads.Saxon bears a mythic,almost mystical reputation: part bandstand survivor and part oracular visionary,a cat whose utter commitment to manic rock and roll life rates him as one of the 20th century's key cultural saboteurs.He's got a new CD,called "TIMELESS". These Seeds are more than able to keep up with this perpetually intense singer.Timeless,indeed.

Skratch Magazine
March 2002

Los Angeles garage legend Sky Saxon still continues to astonish by merely surviving as "Sky Saxon" all these years.He's a card carrying member of the surviving '60s Bonkers club,along with Roky Erickson,Syd Barrett,Skip Spence and all those great men,whose genius is still misunderstood or worse yet ridiculed by critics and the layman. "Sky's the limit" -well if you really took this expression to heart and related it to The Seeds frontman,you're looking at a Dionysian demi-god whose drug use and outlandishness spouts Timothy Leary-ian proportions. This is the man responsible for such monumental proto-garage punk songs as "Pushin Too Hard"(covered and immortalized in The Rodney on The Roq comp, Vol.2,by O.C. punkers,The Klan),"Can't Seem To Make You Mine" (sex charged by Shirley Manson and gang in the '90s alterna hit machine: Garbage),and so forth. The timeless nature of The Seeds music can be attributed to the simplicity rule:rock and roll that is basic and simple will stand the test of time and appeal to hipsters throughout the generations. It could only take a man with bravado and eccentricities like Saxon's to cull unpretentious rock that will kick the crap out of spoon-fed,third-rate,folkie poll-tirade.

Sky Saxon is truly rock and roll.So it comes as no surprise that the gem of a club nestled in the scrupulous Highland Park area of Los Angeles was packed"butt to gut"with trendoids from all over the Southland,record geeks and the odd permanently drunk and hilarious local patrons.

If this show did not embody the axiom "raving rock madmen still conquer all vacuos life forms" then you can bathe me naked in dung until I cease to live.Sky was accompanied by a formidable backup band .The new Seeds wasn't just another pick up band hurriedly formed to serve their master.They were all fans of the original Seeds going so far back that they may have learned to play their instruments listening to The Seeds in their youth.It's that die hard dedication that allowed them to stand out as their own next to such a titian as Sky.The new Seeds came across with a sorely necessary youth edge(if you've seen a few bands from the 60s recently you would know why such energy is necessary.For Christ's sake the Las Vegas grind reeked of ben Gay and hairdressing oil).This show secretly made you wish to transport into the future to see how The Hives and The White Stripes will be doing in 30 years.

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