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""Come to the edge," she said. "I am afraid," I said. "Come anyway," she said."" - PAUL KANTNER 2008 (from "The Threshold of Fire") In 2008, the latest JEFFERSON iteration plants a "Tree of Liberty," We invite you to join us, dance with us, sing with us, refresh yourselves and our "Tree" ... at these gatherings ... mostly real ... some almost, others having occurred. Where to begin? We have so much ground to cover & I don't want to miss a thing ... but we are in a continuum ... one simply cannot slam on the brakes when traveling FTL. 1. "The Tree of Liberty" story ... Basic tracks featuring PAUL, DAVID, CHRIS, PRAIRIE, CATHY, DARBY, DIANA and DAVID GRISMAN were completed in San Raphael Mar. 24 for all except 2 songs. Our heroes return to the studio to finish the project May 14-18. SLICK & DAVID laid the backing track for MARTY's contribution and we are hopeful of getting that 'capture' done before turning the completed tracks into Airline/SONY on June 1. There is a minor degree of controversy concerning MARTY's participation. When we planned to do this in Cuba 4-5 years ago, MARTY was to sing "Cowboy On the Run" now being handled by DAVID which is only right as DAVID was with DINO VALENTI on the original recording in 1975. MARTY was also to sing PHIL OCHS classic "I Ain't Marchin' Anymore" which CATHY will sing & record in May. MARTY brought BRUCE COCKBURN's "Rocket Launcher" to the party and he & SLICK have been performing it ever since. It is this track that SLICK & DAVID completed awaiting only MARTY's vocal. MARTY writes alot of songs ... alot of beautiful songs. It is (one of) my job(s) to "sell" what the Artists create in the form of record deals, tours, etc. The heretofore 'failure' we have endured in getting a record label ... not only to FUND a project ... but to PROMOTE it with a large ad budget (as sadly did not occur with "WOH") is somewhat derived from how congealed and focused WE are in sparking a label's enthusiasm. The old labels, record stores, paradigm's for content distribution are largely broken, clueless or non-existant ... such that bands like RADIOHEAD and NINE INCH NAILS have gone way outside the box to focus attention on their efforts ... specifically as regards innovative distribution and fan interactivity as evidenced by the latter's new instrumental project that allows their fans to re-mix 16 downloadable tracks to create "their own" versions of the music. This is brilliant! It is MARTYs desire to record a 'classic' MARTY or JS record and see it marketed as such. After many, MANY years of pitching ... I and others were unable to make a deal for such a record. This lead to the (Bush administration) doomed "Cuba Project" for which we were WELL funded and connected for media. Every year since, PAUL has pushed to make this happen ... whether it was done in Cuba, Amsterdam or at home. One insightful label exec saw the convergence of us doing these classic songs of protest, social conscience, civil rights and American revolution with the state of our government, the world, the election and to us ... it seems like THIS 'new' music of ours is playing out in current events (China? Tibet? Zimbabwe? Darfur? To name a few). The night before we started (which happened to be on PAUL's birthday), HBO debuted their fine "John Adams" mini-series and again, we couldn't shake the feeling that this project was happening at a right time. We're doing a reverse BOB DYLAN ... he went from acoustic to electric ... PAUL & DAVID became known for starting out in two of rock's most electric bands ever. Now, having traversed the speed of light, they are going back in time ... to where it all began & their influences ... and our inspiration. This may not be the record MARTY wants to make & I respect that. But I strongly posit this record is a path to greater success for the band ... for gaining new fans ... and perhaps allowing us and MARTY to make records more frequently than once every 12 years. Independent of that, I could not be more proud of our musicians ... and the final product is going to shatter and surpass all expectations. We, "THE JEFFERSON FAMILY TREE" are more known for a lyrical and vocal uniqueness ... a la THE BEATLES ... than an instrumentally explorative approach ... a la GRATEFUL DEAD. This is not to say for a second that JACK & JORMA, SLICK & CHRIS et al have not taken us to the outer reaches with their playing ... they have ... but the soaring vocals of MARTY, GRACE & PAUL (1965-70 give or take) and GRACE, PAUL, DAVID, MARTY (1974-8 give or take) and PAUL MARTY, DARBY/DIANA (1992-2005 give or take) ... now (wow!)PAUL, DAVID, CATHY expand that legacy. 2. "The Tree of Liberty" listening parties ... We have some hardcore fans ... we know who you are ... we want to give you what you want and we want you help us succeed. WELL in advance of our midnight, Sept. 1 release party (info to follow) we shall hold ONE West Coast and ONE East Coast listening party where fans, press, label and the musicians shall share fellowship, drinks & snacks and experience the finished product together. There will be a Q & A following the listen. Later that night, the band will perform. Details for how to attend the parties shall follow ... the dates and locations are listed below and should be up on the tour page. 3. BEAR RECORDS presents "Mick's Picks" archive series from the vaults of JEFFERSON STARSHIP, QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE and others ... as Voiceprint UK has started a label devoted to classic West Coast music. Details of available titles and information on purchasing shall follow. As you know, we encourage taping and trading ... but we need you to buy the music too from time to time. 4. VIP DOWNLOADS ... in an effort to better serve VIP ticket purchasers, we have created download portals that will speed delivery of your desired content. If your name is on a VIP ticket list from one of this year's shows ... REJOICE! Shortly, we shall send you a URL, password to download FLAC files which are quickly & easily convertible (with software we provide you) into FULLY DYNAMIC MUSIC ... not lossy MP3s ... rather digital clones of the original recordings. 5. TOUR SCHEDULE UPDATE ... appears below ... and all things being equal ... also on the tour page. It was so nice to see packed houses last weekend and so many friendly faces. It was equally wonderful to hear/see how much love went CATHY's way at her 'debut' - but then again ... she was terrific. I am however a little baffled that none of you commented on our support Artist in VA & NY ... acclaimed DEVON SPROULE. WE loved her and are gonna do more shows with her. The rest of you should check out www.devonsproule.com to hear her music ... and BUY IT! M |
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2008 APRIL
4 - Falls Church, VA/ State Thr. w/ MARTY, DARBY, DEVON SPROULE MAY
14 - FIRM/ "TOL" sessions P.2/ San Raphael, CA JUNE
6 - FIRM/ San Diego, CA/ Anthology ***JEFFERSON's Tree of Liberty*** JULY
3 - FIRM/ Mandeville, LA/ Fontainebleu State Park w/ BBHC, QUICKSILVER AUGUST
1 - FIRM/ London, UK/ The 100 Club SEPTEMBER
1 - HOLD/ Lenox, MA/ Berkshire Music Festival OCTOBER
11 - HOLD/ Pembroke Pines, FL/ Grand Palm Resort DECEMBER
13 - HOLD/ San Marcos, CA/ Twin Oaks Golf Club |
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