Sky Saxon
b. Richard Marsh. Saxon emerged from the nascent Los Angeles music circle during the early '60s. He recorded Goodbye as Little Richie Marsh, before taking his above sobriquet as the frontperson of two groups, the Soul Rockers and the Electra Fires. In 1965 he formed the Seeds, arguably the city's finest punk/garage group, which later evolved into a psychedelic/flower-power attraction. Although the quartet split up officially in 1969, Saxon retained the name for a series of increasingly deranged singles, including Love In A Summer Basket and Shucking And Jiving. The singer, who variously dubbed himself Sky Sunlight, Sunstar, or Sky Sunlight Saxon, subsequently founded several groups, known either as the Universal Stars Band or Star's New Seeds Band. A series of self-mythologizing, yet engaging, releases ensued, many of which featured cohort guitarist Rainbow. FIREWALL was a collaboration with Mars Bonfire, who wrote Steppenwolf's million-seller, Born To Be Wild. It featured cameos from several luminaries from the 'new psychedelic' movement, including members of the Dream Syndicate, Yard Trauma and the Plimsouls, in turn confirming Saxon's revered status among this particular group of musicians. Now domiciled in Hawaii, Saxon remains an idiosyncratic figure, yet one who, in common with Roky Erickson, still commands a considerable cult following.