The Paul Kantner Science Fiction Rock & Roll Motion Picture Show!
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| 'Tales From The Mothership' 4-CD Set |
“Roswell UFO Parade & Festival Hosts Jefferson Starship Sci-Fi Extravaganza” read the headlines for the annual July 3rd event
that took place in Roswell, New Mexico in 2009. Jefferson Airplane
founder Paul Kantner and his legendary band Jefferson Starship and
special guests, which included original Grateful Dead keyboardist Tom
Constanten, performed a one-of-a-kind sci-fi concert at Pearson
Auditorium in Roswell in honor of the town's famed annual parade. The
group was also bestowed the honor of being the parade's 'Grand Martians'
that year and rode atop a special float especially built for them. The
entire concert was filmed and recorded, and in addition to such iconic
hits as “White Rabbit”, “Somebody To Love”, “Volunteers”, “Wooden Ships”
recorded by its forebear Jefferson Airplane (the last two penned by
Kantner), a special programme of science fiction themed compositions and
select recordings were performed, some for the first time ever! Now,
much to the excitement of Jefferson Starship fans across the globe UK's
Gonzo MultiMedia is releasing the the entire concert in an extravagant
4-CD box set.
In 1971 the band's
first album (Paul Kantner's first solo album actually), 'Blows Against
The Empire' was also the first rock music recording ever nominated for
literary science fiction's prestigious Hugo Award. In addition to
Kantner, 'Blows' featured a 'Who's Who' of Bay Area musicians including
David Freiberg from Quicksilver Messenger Service. Freiberg and Kantner,
later launched the ongoing Jefferson Starship, eventually writing the
hit “Jane.” David rejoined the band full time in 2005.
In 1991 the late
great rock impresario Bill Graham signed on to produce 'Blows' from a
'scripted stage play concept' co-written bu Paul Kantner and his (then)
new manager Michael Gaiman, a lifelong fan. Sadly, Bill was killed in a
helicopter crash and the idea was shelved until Sony Pictures pitched an
'option' for a 'Blows' motion picture in 1996. “That was a big year for
sci-fi,” recalls Gaiman. Stemming from a shared interest in 1950s
science fiction film and literature, Paul and Michael have worked
together for nearly 25 years. In 2008 they co-produced (along with David
Freiberg), 'Jefferson's Tree of Liberty,' Jefferson Starship's first
studio recording in a decade. The album garnered stellar reviews
worldwide. In 2009 Jefferson Starship headlined 'The Heroes of
Woodstock', the authorized touring commemorative of the 1969 Woodstock
Music & Arts Festival.
“On July 3rd,
2009, thanks to the Roswell UFO Festival Committee and Cool 94.9 Radio,
we got to scratch that itch and assuage a long time desire to stage a
mosh of rock music and science fiction,” says Gaiman.
Along with Paul
Kantner and David Frieberg, Jefferson Starship also features lead singer
Cathy Richardson (who played Janis Joplin on Broadway in 'Love, Janis')
and longtime band members Slick Aguilar, Chris Smith and Donny Baldwin.
In addition to Grateful Dead's Tom Constanten, special guests include
Pete Sears (the band's former bass & keyboard player on all their
hits), Barry Sless (guitar & pedal steel with Phil Lesh &
Friends), former lead vocalist Darby Gould and legendary folk artist
Jack Taylor, one of Paul Kantner's early musical influences.
Renegade
Productions, the band's frequent collaborator ('Jefferson's Tree of
Liberty' was the first album ever recorded in their new studio at the
time) staged the production and provided custom sound, lighting and
image projection. Karl Anderson of Global Recording Artists filmed the
event dubbed 'Tales From The Mothership,' a joint production of The
Roswell UFO Festival Committee and Jefferson Starship. “It's not a
documentary, not a 'rockumentary', not a 'mockumentary'...it's a
'Spockumentary,” Gaiman quips.
Along with the
entire concert from July 3, 2009, the 4-CD set also includes rehearsals
from 6/27/2009 and the band's soundcheck before the show.
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