Favorite member of Jefferson Airplane (Main lineup)

leaning towards jack but marty wrote "it's no secret" and then there's that goddamn voice...

marty

JORMA

saw Hot Tuna last year for the first time -- actually seeing *any* JA alum in the flesh -- and Jorma was such a brilliant host to the whole relaxed, fun evening. Being a massive, MASSIVE, fan of the Airplane, the fact that this Tuna show was at the Old Town School of Folk Music -- with a performance space that literally does feel like a living room, it's so small. I had goosebumps. There were Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen right in front of me. So sick. If it were, say, Phil Lesh and Jerry Garcia, it obviously would have to be held at some big arena. But because JA ain't as culturally resonant as GD -- although argument could be made for better music from the former over the latter -- I was able to see these two San Fran legends in my living room. Incredible.

But yeah, Jorma, he is such a cool customer. Much love for all of them too, esp jack and grace

for any other Jorma fans, be sure that you did not miss that recent Airplane live CD that RCA put out: .. 'Sweeping Up the Spotlight: Jefferson Airplane Live at the Fillmore East 1969'

it's got a ton of Jorma singing turns, mostly old blues covers, a fascinating document of how the band must have been splintering .. where the JK/JC head was at VS. where the PK/GS head was at ... a great live show regardless, highly recommended

yeah, gotta be jorma. he's the x factor in that band.

i mean, i love the actual music that paul and grace and marty made, but i have always had this feeling that if i was in the same room with any of them i would want to get out.

whereas with jorma, i'd want to just kick back on some persian cushion and hang out all day.

they're all loveable folks.. though paul comes across like such an asshole in every interview, it seems. still, i love his shit.

Jorma, plz. kthxbye

I'd be inclined to say Jorma too, but just last week I argued with a friend who thinks that the Airplane were useless and that Grace couldn't sing. So I'm throwing her a vote just to spite him. (Yeah, that'll show him.)

Jorma for sure, then Slick, then bleh. I listened to Volunteers last week and it reminded me how little I like Balin and Kantner's singing voices. But I love the Airplane as a guitar band.

I'm on the Jorma bandwagon as well

I'm jealous Stormy - that evening sounded like heaven. Where is the Old Town School exactly?

Jorma. One of those guys whose tone is so unique you pretty much always know his playing.

Tough call...Jack Casady looked the coolest, Marty Balin had the best voice, Jorma Kaukonen's "Genesis" was the best solo work to come out of the band. But I'll vote for Grace Slick, circa '67/68. Sorry to be shallow, but she was just so incredibly beautiful.

I didn't know there was someone called Jorma Kaukonen in Jefferson Airplane, that's a totally Finnish name. Is he Finnish-American or something?

I don't know, I would have to use Google or Wikipedia to find out.

But that's who I voted for.

he's american, of finnish extraction. and a great guitarist. (and, by reputation, a totally nice guy -- as his blog seems to bear out.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sC0cWMo4TY

thanks for the blog link, tipsy. neat stuff.

Wasn't Spencer Dryden the inspiration for "Lather"? Good drummer too.

for any other Jorma fans, be sure that you did not miss that recent Airplane live CD that RCA put out: .. 'Sweeping Up the Spotlight: Jefferson Airplane Live at the Fillmore East 1969'

it's got a ton of Jorma singing turns, mostly old blues covers, a fascinating document of how the band must have been splintering .. where the JK/JC head was at VS. where the PK/GS head was at ... a great live show regardless, highly recommended

Great record. Great sound. The Airplane are oddly underrated when it comes to blistering hard rock full of jammy psychedelia. Forget the politics. The band just flat-out slayed: two guitars going nuts, slippery bass runs and three voices howling all over one another. Awesome.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

This band had such a weird trajectory! It's like how Fleetwood Macc had the blues, the folk, and then the rock pop. At least they didn't change their name constantly but they could have, the bands were so different!

You know you love me, vote early and often
http://www.amoeba.com/dynamic-images/blog/Job/582px-GraceSlick2008.jpg

Grace > Jorma > Jack > Marty >>>>> Spencer >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Kantner

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=exGqZwbCwAE

Ouch. Something to clear your head:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE31fgxopyU&feature=related

(On second thought, I do wish I had voted for Jack Casady in this poll.)

lol @ that awful video i posted not embedding

Grace Slick is totally dope and one of my favorite 60s rockers, male or female. I am 100% sure I wouldve voted for her had I voted...

That being said, Jack really deserves to be up there tied with Grace and Jorma.

https://pleasekillme.com/jack-casady/

Nice, thanks for posting

Sure.

Listening to that live album mentioned upthread. Good stuff.

They flew me out in October of 1965. The band had been together for two months. Just before I left, I had a gig where I left my bass guitar; it got stolen. I came out there without a bass, borrowed the other guy’s bass and auditioned for the gig. I got it; he was gone and I was in. It’s a brutal world. The first show I played with those guys was in Harmon Gymnasium [University of California, Berkeley, October 30, 1965; the band was Jefferson Airplane].

Another event to add to my "things that happened on the exact day you were born" list.

http://www.rocknrollarchaeology.com/deeper-digs-in-rock/2018/8/27/deeper-digs-in-rock-jorma-kaukonen
was quite a good listen.
Hadn't heard taht Casady had started out asa jazz guitarist or at least influenced. & when he was flown out to play with his teenage friend's band that friend Jorma Kaukonen hadn't heard him play bass before so was going you'd better be able to back up your claim.
NOw got that Kaukonen memoir but not got far with it yet.

THink I heard anothe rpodcast based around an interview to do with the book's release but can't think which it was right now. Think it was also pretty long.

"I got rheumatic fever that year; I was required to keep still, not run around. That’s how they treated it back then. I didn’t really come back full force until I was seven, in 1951, when I spent a good part of that year at a children’s hospital in a trial program for penicillin. During that whole period of time, I remember listening a lot to music. One of the things they did in those days when they treated you with penicillin––which they weren’t sure was going to work to treat heart disease––is they kept you in bed. I hardly moved for six months. I was really underweight, just skin and bones. One of the ways I amused myself was listening to music.

Of course, this is “pre-video”; there were no images to go along with the music, so my mind was active, imagining the orchestra parts or associating the music to various people or animals. This was a very personal world for me. It was great I could do it by myself, that I didn’t require another person; I was so isolated by my circumstance. That’s how I remember getting pulled into music––those were my first recollections to being carried away."

Wow.

It’s cool that they played with Danny Gatton back in the day in D.C.

Yeah! I didn't realize Gatton's career went back that far.