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Joined: September 03 2005
Location: Olympus Mons
Status: Offline
Points: 15921
Posted: January 31 2016 at 13:53
.......OMG R.I.P. Paul. You will never know how much your music, singing and personality has meant to me over the decades. And only yesterday I was perusing my LP of Blows Against The Empire and thinking to myself " I wonder what Paul's up to these days ". My heart goes out to his family and friends............
I think my first album I actually bought was Volunteers. Grace was born in the town I grew up in, not that I ever saw her. Seems a lot of talent is departing the world these days.
Joined: September 03 2005
Location: Olympus Mons
Status: Offline
Points: 15921
Posted: February 01 2016 at 03:44
I dearly love all the Airplane and Kantner thingys, but I have to admit that Freedom At Point Zero is one of my all time classics, any genre. Paul had 'assumed control' of the outfit at this point (in 1979) and produced a hard-rocking album that has moved me since 1987. To this day........ Even the Planet Earth Rock 'n' Roll Orchestra album is a beauty for me. KBC Band a little less (but at least Jack Casady was involved). Such a special individual Paul was (and will be forever) - this passing has truly hit me for a round..........I thought he'd live forever..........(he will, deep inside................)
Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 20250
Posted: February 01 2016 at 04:20
I don't know why, but Kantner's death (and Signe's) touch me much deeper than Squire's or a few others like Bowie's
I guess the level of "ouchness" is equivalent to Daevid Allen's or Ian Carr's or Michael Garrick, or Marc Moulin's.... or Spencer Dryden's (drummer in Jefferson Airplane)
In the last three decades, I've been often confronted with some of my musical heroes' deaths, but they've touched me on different levels...
I guess that the Jefferson Airplane flight crew held a particular importance for me, and indeed, they got me safely to Planet Gong. Strange though, it was on an Airplane, and not on a Starship that they send me in my cosmic endeavour.
BTW, if you're not familiar with Paul Kantner's three solo albums between 1970 and 74 (and to the same extent Grace Slick's first two solo albums: Manhole and Dreams), these albums could be the proggiest stuff coming from the Airplane.
Blows Against The Empire,
Sunfighter and
Baron Von Tollbooth & The Chrome Nun (nicknames for Paul & Grace)
All three are outstanding pieces of US prog-related (if not downright prog)
Anyways, RIP to both Paul and Signe...
May you find Spencer Dryden and start jamming together
Joined: September 03 2005
Location: Olympus Mons
Status: Offline
Points: 15921
Posted: February 01 2016 at 05:26
Nice words Hugues, very nice !! I, too, have a very strong emotional connection to the Airplane and its parts. More so with them than most Prog........there's just something in the ether there that touches me more than words can say.........most Airplane albums and, as you say, Blows, Sunfighter, Tollbooth and Manhole (and the 'mainstream' part of me, Point Zero) are just ingrained within my marrow............something only Hammill and Dave Stewart (and precious few others) are capable of. I'm currently devastated........
Katner and David Crosby were/are unique songwriters.....their stuff is angular, not melodic, and this brought on a whole new way of looking at "songs". Some of that Airplane stuff had words popping up in places where harmony or instrumentals would take place.....Kantner brought in a new way of looking at a bridge or chorus. Totally unique and filled with heart, even if the point was condemning or negative.
Cros is still kicking.....God bless David Crosby!
I like to feel the suspense when you're certain you know I am there.....
Joined: March 12 2005
Location: Neurotica
Status: Offline
Points: 166178
Posted: February 01 2016 at 13:33
RIP
Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect.
Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 17524
Posted: February 03 2016 at 11:04
Sean Trane wrote:
I don't know why, but Kantner's death (and Signe's) touch me much deeper than Squire's or a few others like Bowie's ...
It signals the end of a time period in its entirety ... just about no one left, other than Carlos Santana, and Grace Slick, for big names ... that made a huge difference on the music scene in the area. I think it started way back when when Mark Donohue first died, and you knew that an age had come to an end, or was now on the way out the door.
I have almost all of Paul's work, and his work with Grace, both of which I always found to be very nice and much more interesting work, than most folks that were simply writing a couple of songs for the radio ... Paul was writing for his heart.
With the Grateful Dead finished, and any chance of some more stuff from the Starship/Airplane impossible, SF and California has lost what was one of the most vibrant and important music scenes that has ever been in the history of music ... they changed the "values" of pop music with one song, by ripping apart your ideas of one writer and story, and then proceeded to also add a voice to your feelings for many years ... from the anti-war sentiment to the inner growth later in with the first Starship album and "Ride the Tiger", thereby demonstrating his taste in music, was a lot more than just a song.
I'm pretty sure that right now, Grace Slick is not feeling super well at all, and my care and respects to her and their child, and hopefully you will both be stronger for it all.
And thank you for the great music ... RIP ... and Grace, I know you said you don't want to be a geriatric old hippie singing, but now is the time to add a few more notes to it all. It's only fitting!
Edited by moshkito - February 03 2016 at 11:26
Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com
Joined: August 09 2010
Location: West Country,UK
Status: Offline
Points: 3662
Posted: February 16 2016 at 13:44
Don't know how I didn't hear of this.. gosh, that's a real shock.. Ive had all the Airplane, solo project and early starship lps for years and years for me they just had something particular that a lot of the other west coast bands didn't have.. and a lot of that was down to the special chemistry of Paul Kantner and Grace Slick.. Something very special.. wow.. i'm lost for words.. RIP and thanks Paul.
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