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Iconic Bay Area rock band Jefferson Starship is 50 this year and shows no signs of slowing down. The group officially started in 1974, with roots in the also-iconic Jefferson Airplane, and the current lineup includes founding member David Freiberg (who left the group in the 1980s and returned in 2005), drummer Donny Baldwin, keyboardist Chris Smith, lead vocalist Cathy Richardson and lead guitarist Jude Gold. ​While on tour in Europe, Freiberg and Richardson took the time to respond to a few questions emailed by this news organization in advance of their upcoming show at the Guild Theatre.
The Q&A has been edited for clarity and space.
Embarcadero Media: Jefferson Starship is a band with such a long history, with deep roots. I know there have been a lot of changes in the membership, and even band names, over the years. Looking back now, what do you see as the key elements of the band that still shine through to this day, and how would you describe the current vibe and sound?
Cathy Richardson: I think this band has always been about great songs and great singing. Even in all the different incarnations, Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship and Starship, which are all different bands, essentially, with overlapping personnel, as time went on. And those songs have such an imprint on the psyche of people that have grown up listening to that music. So when we play it live, it literally is like taking people on a time machine trip and it’s the magic of music and the spirit of (the late band founder) Paul Kantner; of onward; just keep it going, keep it going forever.
David Freiberg: The band today is an outshoot of Paul Kantner’s restarting of Jefferson Starship after the plain old Starship disbanded in, like, 1989, I think. So, he started it over, as it was his name anyway to start with. And it carried on from there. One of the things (that) was noticeable, even from Jefferson Airplane, there are a few key members, but other people could change, you know? They were always, I mean, all of a sudden, you could find an Afromerican violin player being in Jefferson Airplane, which is how it was when I joined Jefferson Airplane in ’72. The drummer was their, like, fourth drummer that they had since they started … So things could change and also the music changed with who was playing it, and as Paul would say, ‘Well, when we recorded it we didn’t know how it went.’ So, the recorded version is really, you know, as he says, but as we got out and played it on the road we figured out how it was supposed to go. So usually, the way you would hear Jefferson Airplane play, even right back in the ’60s, it would be nothing like the record when they got out and played it live. It was a real adventure. It was really nice.
Richardson: And we don’t try to sound like the record at all. It’s like, Paul never wanted this to be exactly like it was because it would never be. And so, he brought us all in on the strength of our ability to be an artist, not just a side person or …
Freiberg: … Play somebody else’s guitar.
Richardson: Yeah, like, make it yours, you know? And we do, and our versions are really cool and they evolve through time.
Freiberg: And they still are. And I expect evolvement.
Embarcadero Media: Cathy, you’ve had a very interesting career as well, with a lot of different projects. What made you want to get involved with Jefferson Starship and how do you balance stepping into a very well-known band like this with putting your own unique spin on things?
Richardson: Well, I, of course, jumped at the chance. Jefferson Starship is one of my favorite bands. I jumped at the chance. Are you kidding me? Yes, I didn’t even think about it. And didn’t really know even what I was getting myself into at the time.
Freiberg: I’m glad you didn’t know.
Richardson: Yeah, so it was a rough few years, but for me it made the most sense in the world because I grew up listening to this music, and I have all the vinyl and I listened to all of it when I was a teenager and I thought, ‘Oh, I was born too late, man,’ because I was born in ’69. I missed the whole thing, and I really thought that I was supposed to be a hippie in San Francisco in the ’60s, and maybe I was. And maybe I just reincarnated. Just for this specific purpose.
Freiberg: I would believe that.
Richardson: It was a perfect match for me, and having that freedom to, like, you don’t have to do it like Grace (original member and former Palo Altan Grace Slick) … of course, I borrow from Grace, I borrow from (former Jefferson Starship singer) Mickey Thomas, I borrow from (former singer) Marty Balin. Because they’re the iconic voices of the song, so I just do the best that I can with what I have to work with. And it seems to work. It seems to work.
Freiberg: Boy does it. Says I.
Embarcadero Media: What can audiences expect at your upcoming Menlo Park show? What do you hope they take away from it?
Richardson: I just hope that they have a great time warp, and, you know, feel that feeling of what it’s like to hear these songs that you haven’t heard for so long live. And we’re up here, you know, we’re playing all over the world. We’re in Luxembourg right now playing in arenas with Deep Purple. So this Menlo Park show is going to be really, really special because it’s not a big place and I think it’s going to be a really intense and awesome show. And we love all of our Bay Area friends to come out.
Embarcadero Media: When you’re not busy touring, performing, and recording, what do you like to do in your spare time?
Freiberg: Staying in shape. I take walks. Work out a little bit. So that I don’t fall apart.
Richardson: I love to be at home with my family and my kids, my cats, my squirrels. I have a whole squirrel community that I commune with and all the birds, all my tree friends. I really actually miss them, and I’m so mad that my wife is not feeding them while I’m gone … But I love to be at home and I love nature and I live right next to a nature area and I’m in the suburbs of Chicago … I have a great friend network and great family life.
Freiberg: I like to hang with my wife, and she’s got a little music career going on her own, which is only little because we were doing some stuff together, and now I’m always away, so I try to help her get along with that. Linda Imperial. That girl can sing.
Embarcadero Media: What’s next for the band, now that it’s past the half-century mark?
Freiberg: Onward.
Richardson: Onward.
Freiberg: That’s the word.
Jefferson Starship performs Nov. 14, 8 p.m., at the Guild Theatre, 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park; $78.80-$194.67; guildtheatre.com.
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