By Scott Cronick
There are some people who say they can’t wait to retire — like me!
And then there are people on this planet like David Freiberg.
At 88 years old, the original member of Jefferson Starship isn’t only content with being a major part of rock ’n’ roll history for more than six decades, having helped create some of the genre’s most enduring songs and toured the world many times over, including a stop at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.
He’s still creating and recording original music … but more on that later.
A true legend, the singer, songwriter and founding member of Jefferson Starship has seen just about everything during his remarkable career, from the Summer of Love and the psychedelic explosion of San Francisco to the evolution of Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship and Starship.
Freiberg has played with some of the biggest names in music, helped create a catalog of songs that generations of fans know by heart and has absolutely no plans to slow down.
“I’m with this band until I drop. I’m telling you,” he said.
That’s quite an attitude from a guy who has already given the world more than his fair share of great music, which continues Nov. 20 as part of the Runaway Again Tour with Firefall, Atlanta Rhythm Section and Pure Prairie League, four bands that helped define the sound of classic rock radio in the ’70s and ’80s.
Firefall is known for its gorgeous country-rock harmonies and hits such as “You Are the Woman” and “Just Remember I Love You”; Atlanta Rhythm Section delivers Southern rock favorites, including “So Into You,” “Imaginary Lover” and “Spooky”; and Pure Prairie League’s “Amie” and “Let Me Love You Tonight” have found a whole new generation of fans through the resurgence of yacht rock.
Just a paycheck?
If you think Freiberg is simply cashing in on nostalgia, think again.
He’s having too much fun for that.
“I honestly believe that is what is keeping me alive,” Freiberg said of his current bandmates, drummer Donny Baldwin, keyboardist Chris Smith, guitarist Jude Gold and vocalist Cathy Richardson. “They’re so fantastic, and I just love it every bit. I’m having so much fun. Why would I retire?”
It’s hard to argue with that logic.
While Freiberg isn’t overly chatty at 88, he does remember some amazing anecdotes about many of his songs.
Take “Jane,” one of the band’s biggest rock anthems, released in 1979 on the album “Freedom at Point Zero.” It’s a song that has become synonymous with Jefferson Starship, but the way it came together was a little different than fans might imagine.
Freiberg actually co-wrote the song with his late friend Jim McPherson and originally envisioned it as a vehicle for another legendary Jefferson Starship vocalist, Marty Balin. But there was one problem: Balin left the band just as they were getting ready to record it.
“I had written it for Marty to sing,” Freiberg recalled. “And right about when we were getting ready to do that, this was like late 1978, I think, maybe ‘79, Marty went and quit the band.”
That left the group looking for a new lead singer, and Freiberg said the band decided the best way to find its next frontman was to see who could sing “Jane” the best.
“Mickey Thomas came in, and from the moment he opened his mouth, we knew he had the gig,” Freiberg said.
The rest, as they say, is rock history.
Freiberg also credited guitarist Craig Chaquico with helping transform “Jane” into the rocker we know today. Freiberg initially had a different musical direction in mind — inspired by a 1960s baroque-style rock sound — but Chaquico heard something else.
“Craig heard it and said, ‘How about this?’ And we said, ‘OK!’”
Good call.
A Starship departure
Freiberg has been part of several different chapters of the Jefferson family tree, but there was a time when he decided he’d had enough.
When Jefferson Starship eventually became Starship, the musical direction changed, and Freiberg wasn’t particularly interested in where things were headed. He said the band moved away from the collaborative songwriting environment he loved and became much more controlled by outside producers.
“It seemed like producers were taking over,” he said, adding that the band wasn’t writing the songs anymore.
“It was a producer’s band,” Freiberg said. “And that’s what it turned into. And nothing’s wrong with that, but that isn’t what I did.”
Freiberg took a break, but when Paul Kantner revived Jefferson Starship, he was invited to sit in with the group around 2004 or 2005.
“I did one gig, and it was fun again. I was having a great time,” he said.
He’s been there ever since.
From the Summer of Love to A.C.
Before Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship, Freiberg was part of another important San Francisco band, Quicksilver Messenger Service.
And one of his earliest career highlights came during the legendary 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival, a three-day festival featuring Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Otis Redding, Ravi Shankar and Booker T. & the M.G.’s.
Freiberg remembers it as one of those magical musical experiences.
“The first great fun moment I had was when I was playing with Quicksilver Messenger Service before I joined Jefferson Airplane,” he said. “It was such a beautiful, and well-produced with beautiful sound.”
Still making new music
Most people like Freiberg are out there playing their big hits like “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love” and cashing in, but Freiberg and Jefferson Starship recently released “Jet Pack,” a rocking new song written by Gold and Richardson.
The band returned to the former Record Plant studio in Sausalito, Calif., the same studio where “Jane” was mixed all those years ago.
“We all happened to be in the San Francisco area, and we went into the very studio where ‘Jane’ was mixed,” Freiberg said.
They recorded the song in a day, and he couldn’t be happier with the result.
“It really rocks, and we really love it,” he said, adding that audiences are enjoying it on the current tour. “It’s new, but it fits right in. It’s going over really well, and it’s a whole lot of fun to do.”
Freiberg said the band has more new material in the works, although finding time to get everybody into the studio between touring dates can be a challenge.
What to expect
If you head to Hard Rock, it will be a night of dozens of hits between the multiple bands, including other Jefferson Airplane songs like “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love,” Jefferson Starship favorites like “Jane” and “Sara,” and the later Starship hits “We Built This City” and “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.”
“We don’t have enough time to sing them all,” Freiberg said.
Jefferson Starship’s Runaway Again Tour, featuring Firefall, Atlanta Rhythm Section and Pure Prairie League, is at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City’s Etess Arena. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.com or HardRockHotelAtlanticCity.com.
Scott Cronick is an award-winning journalist who has written about entertainment, food, news and more in South Jersey for nearly three decades. He hosts a daily radio show – “Off The Press with Scott Cronick” – 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays on Newstalk WOND 1400-AM, 92.3-FM, and WONDRadio.com. He can be reached at scronick@comcast.net.
