Revamped Jefferson Starship sets course for Cleveland, with Paul Kantner at helm

STARSHIP TROUPERS: "I'm working on erasing the bad history," says Paul Kantner, referring to Jefferson Starship's commercial peak in the mid-'80s. Clockwise from left are Cathy Richardson, Donny Baldwin, Marty Balin, Chris Smith, David Freiberg, Slick Aguilar and Kantner.

PREVIEW
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What: Jefferson Starship headlines a benefit concert for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District's arts programs.
When: 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24.
Also on the bill: Big Brother and the Holding Company and Quicksilver Messenger Service.
Where: House of Blues, East Fourth Street and Euclid Avenue, Cleveland.
Tickets: $25-$150 at the box office and Ticketmaster outlets, or charge by phone, 216-241-5555 (Cleveland) or 330-945-9400 (Akron).

ONLINE AUDIO: JEFFERSON STARSHIP'S PAUL KANTNER

Singer-guitarist Paul Kantner is at the helm of a new Jefferson Starship, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted group that got its start in the 1960s as Jefferson Airplane. The band's latest album, "Jefferson's Tree of Liberty," features covers of folk songs by the likes of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs. Kantner, 67, gave us a ring last week from his home in San Francisco.

Q: Who are we going to see onstage for Jefferson Starship's gig here?

A: We never know these things, do we? [laughs]

Definitely me and our new singer, Cathy Richardson, who is a splendid human being. And [bassist] David Freiberg, [keyboardist] Chris Smith, [guitarist] Slick Aguilar . . . and our drummer, Donny Baldwin.

[Singer] Marty Balin is a maybe. . . .He has a disabled daughter at home [who] he has to take care of.

So we're up in the air on Marty all the time. But the rest of the band . . . is splendid, so it's not a big worry.

We do a little stuff from [Jefferson] Airplane, from Starship -- Starship 1, Starship 2, Starship 3 -- whatever. Jefferson Starship, I should say.

Everything from "Ride the Tiger" to "Let's Get Together" to stuff off our new album.

Q: The folk songs on your new album are timeless. And, for better or worse, timely.

A: Seems to be that way, with everything going on. . . . They seem to have an appropriate connection to what's going on, just in terms of normal life stuff.

I have about 100 old folk songs that I used to do and like and love. We just went through and picked a bunch.

I have a whole list . . . for a follow-up album of just lovely folk songs that are just some of the most beautiful songs in the world, from my point of view.

Q: You're a sci-fi guy, right?

A: Well, sci-fi isn't the only thing I do, you might've noticed. I go in and out of it in various times and phases.

I found the value of science fiction very early on, in terms of opening up your imagination to the abstract and the unusual and the impossible even. In the science-fiction days of my youth, we had all the great writers like [Isaac] Asimov and [Robert] Heinlein and [Arthur] Clarke, on and on and on. It was very illuminating for me as one of the steps in my reading history.

Q: If I have my history straight, you came up with the name Jefferson Starship.

A: True.

Q: Yet you've wrangled in court with former lead singer Grace Slick and the band's ex-manager over rights to the name. Why not just call this group something else and spare yourself a headache?

A: Uhhh . . . maybe lack of imagination?

There's a certain strength to that name. . . . I like the history -- the good history of it. And I'm working on erasing the bad history of it, in the '80s when it went bad. I had to leave the band, it got so bad. I'm usually the last one at the party, as a general rule.

Q: Did I just hear you say in so many words that we're not going to hear "We Built This City" in Cleveland?

A: You probably heard that. [laughs]

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