JEFFERSON STARSHIP, a
collaboration of celebrated musicians that plays from the rich
songbook of its legendary forefathers JEFFERSON AIRPLANE and the
original incarnation of JEFFERSON STARSHIP, prevails as one of the
most critically acclaimed touring acts today. Steeped in the
fantastic realms of science fiction and the contemporary American
shadowland, JEFFERSON STARSHIP features a stellar cast of old and
new players, including songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Paul Kantner,
vocalist Marty Balin, both of whom founded JEFFERSON AIRPLANE and
were crucial in developing the renowned "San Francisco
Sound" that changed the course of pop music forever.
In 1965, Kantner and
Balin formed JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, embarking from Balin's San
Francisco nightclub The Matrix. With Casady, guitarist Jorma
Kaukonen, vocalist Signe Anderson and drummer Skip Spence, JEFFERSON
AIRPLANE became the first San Francisco rock group to sign a
recording contract with a major label. Their first album on RCA,
Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, was released in 1966. Vocalist Grace
Slick joined the AIRPLANE in 1967, bringing with her, the hits
"Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit," anthems
that announced the "Summer of Love "and permanently
altered the perspective of an entire generation. Both songs hit the
Top 10 that year, making JEFFERSON AIRPLANE the most successful rock
band in America.
Born of the decade
marked by civil rights activism, the war in Vietnam and the
counterculture Mecca of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, Kantner's
group defined the psychedelic nation with their appearances at the
Monterey Pop, Woodstock and Altamont music festivals. Now icons in
the reformation of American music and thought, the LPs Surrealistic
Pillow, Crown of Creation, Bless its Pointed Little Head and
Volunteers surpassed the limits of musical and lyrical expression
previously unexplored, introducing strident and striking political
tracts, yet capable of evoking the most tender emotions.
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE disbanded in 1972, leaving in its wake the canon
of work that includes "It's No Secret," "My Best
Friend," "Comin' Back To Me," "Plastic Fantastic
Lover," "We Can Be Together," "Today,"
"Wooden Ships" (with David Crosby and Steven Stills) and
"Volunteers" (which, nearly 30 years after its inception,
was featured in the Oscar winning film Forrest Gump and the PBS
documentary Baseball).
Earlier, in 1970,
Kantner embodied his utopian vision of music and community with the
science fiction opus Blows Against the Empire. Recorded with Slick,
Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, David Crosby, Graham
Nash, David Freiberg, Peter Kaukonen, Joey Covington, Harvey Brooks
- Blows Against the Empire was nominated for science fiction
literature's prestigious Hugo Award. To date, the album is the only
recording in rock 'n roll history to have been honored so. The Blows
Against the Empire collaboration was the prototype for Kantner's
next ensemble, JEFFERSON STARSHIP, which he formed in 1974.Joined by
Balin, Slick, lead guitarist Craig Chaquico, bassist Pete Sears and
drummer John Barbata, the first incarnation of JEFFERSON STARSHIP
reigned as one of the most artistically and commercially successful
rock groups for a decade.
Jefferson Starship's
initial release, Dragonfly, spawned the rock radio staples
"Ride the Tiger" and "Caroline," both penned by
Kantner. The band's breakthrough album came a year later with Red
Octopus, which featured the hit single "Miracles" and
catapulted the group to the top of Billboard's album chart four
separate times in 1975. The band's subsequent releases -- Spitfire
(1976), Earth (1978), Freedom at Point Zero (1979) Winds of Change
(1981) and Nuclear Furniture (1983) --generated the hits "With
Your Love," "St. Charles," "Count on
Me,""Runaway" and "Jane." Balin left the
group in 1979 to pursue a solo career. His 1980 debut release, Balin,
yielded the hit "Hearts." In 1983, Kantner released his
second solo album, Planet Earth Rock & Roll Orchestra, featuring
guitarist Ronnie Montrose, Slick and China Kantner, the daughter of
Kantner and Slick.
The next year, Kantner
departed from JEFFERSON STARSHIP to work on his own projects.
Kantner rejoined with Balin in 1985 to form the KBC BAND, which
produced the 1987 Arista release KBC Band (including the Kantner
hit "America") and also featured keyboardist Tim Gorman
from the Who and guitarist Slick Aguilar from David Crosby's band.
In 1987, Kantner embarked on a fact-finding tour of Nicaragua and
the Sandinista government. Upon his return to the U.S., he published
his journals of the trip in Paul Kantner's Nicaragua Diary. In 1989,
Kantner briefly reunited with JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, a much anticipated
project that resulted in an album, Jefferson Airplane, and a summer
tour.
In 1991, Kantner was
back on the road with a stripped down, acoustic ensemble called PAUL
KANTNER'S WOODEN SHIPS, a trio that included Aguilar and Gorman from
the KBC BAND. In addition to his classic songs, Kantner and his
group performed new material which received resounding praise. The
success of this project prompted Kantner to reinvent his electric
band, and JEFFERSON STARSHIP took off once again. In addition to
Aguilar and Gorman, Kantner recruited former collaborators Jack
Casady and the late blues violin master Papa John Creach; former
Tubes drummer Prairie Prince; and former World Entertainment War
vocalist Darby Gould.
Shortly after the band's
rebirth, Marty Balin rejoined JEFFERSON STARSHIP, ending a 15-year
hiatus from the group. Papa John died in early 1993, weeks after
touring Europe. Concurrently, a sensational young vocalist, Diana
Mangano joined the group with her debut at "Woodstock In
Mexico", replacing Gould,. In classic Kantner style, the group
expands at times to include family members Grace Slick and daughter
China Kantner; original JEFFERSON AIRPLANE vocalist Signe Anderson;
drummer's Trey Sabatelli and Dean Johnson; &
keyboardist/guitarist John Ferenzik (from Todd Rundgren Band www.ferenzik.com).
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