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Craig Chaquico

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Entertainment | Three original Jefferson Starship bandmates…

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Entertainment | three original jefferson starship bandmates reunite after 40 years.

The last tour that Craig Chaquico, Pete Sears and Johny Barbata were on together was nothing short of a disaster, to put it mildly.

That would be the Jefferson Starship’s 1978 European tour. Its nadir was the infamous Lorelei Amphitheater concert in Germany. When lead singer Grace Slick, who was drinking heavily at the time, was too ill to perform, refusing to leave the group’s hotel, the crowd rioted, throwing bottles and rocks, ransacking the stage and burning it down.

The musicians lost all their guitars and amps – a quarter million dollars’ worth of instruments and gear they’d used on classic hits like “Miracles,” “Ride the Tiger,” “Runaway,” “Count on Me,” “With Your Love” and “Caroline,” to name a few.

Readers of this column may remember recent updates in this space about the miraculous resurfacing in 2014 of Chaquico’s prized 1959 Gibson Les Paul Sunburst , which had disappeared during the riot, and the return, after being missing for 35 years, of Sears’ custom-built “Dragon” bass .

And now, nearly 40 years after the Lorelei concert debacle, these three original members of the Jefferson Starship reunite for the first time on June 24 at the intimate Fenix club in San Rafael. Chaquico’s band will open the show, then be joined by Sears and Barbata. They’re billing themselves as CBS (Chaquico/Barbata/Sears).

One afternoon this week, I did a freewheeling interview with all three of them. During the call, Chaquico was in Ashland, Oregon, where he moved years ago from Mill Valley. Sears was at home in San Rafael and Barbata was in Ada, Oklahoma, his late wife’s hometown.

‘We’re gonna have fun’

“When we talked about doing this, we said, ‘Let’s jam like in the old days and see if we still like playing together,” Chaquico explains. “We’re gonna have fun and see if people like it.”

Former Airplane and Starship lead singer and songwriter Marty Balin, who wrote “Miracles,” “Hearts,” “Today,” “Coming Back to Me” and a slew of other beautiful songs, wanted to be part of this reunion, but a health problem prevented that from happening, at least for the time being.

“Marty wants to do it when he can,” Chaquico says. “We’re keeping him posted.”

It would take a complicated chart to map all the iterations of the Jefferson Starship over the decades. Airplane and Starship founder Paul Kantner had his own Jefferson Starship with Novato’s David Freiberg until Kantner’s death last year. Freiberg, who was in the Jefferson Airplane and Starship, is carrying on with that band and declined to join CBS. That may be because, after Kantner’s death, Chaquico sued him over an alleged violation of a 1985 agreement not to use the Jefferson Starship name without the permission of the other surviving members.

The irrepressible Grace Slick was in and out of the band until she quit for good in 1989, saying, “All rock ‘n’ rollers over the age of 50 look stupid and should retire.” Mickey Thomas, who replaced her, has been touring with a band he calls the Starship featuring Mickey Thomas. I told you this was complicated.

Genuinely excited

Chaquico, Sears and Barbata sound genuinely excited about their prospects. Their hope is to capture lightning in a bottle one last time, riding the wave of nostalgia generated by this year’s 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love.

“With the spotlight on the ’60s, we hope to carry on and do more work,” Sears says.

Since his days as the boy wonder lead guitarist of the Jefferson Starship, Chaquico has gone on to a Grammy-nominated career as a contemporary jazz guitarist with his chart-topping “Acoustic Highway” and “Acoustic Planet” albums, earning him a spot on Jazziz magazine’s top 100 jazz guitarists of all time.

A longtime Marin musician, Sears, who came to the U.S. from Britain after playing on Rod Stewart’s early albums, has been in bands with a who’s who list of rock and blues stars that includes Ron Wood, Long John Baldry, Hot Tuna, John Lee Hooker, Dr. John, David Nelson, Harvey Mandel, Nick Gravenites, John Cipollina and Jerry Garcia. In the four years he was with the Jefferson Starship, he and his wife, Jeanette, wrote the Starship songs “Stranger,” “Awakening,” “Save Your Love” and “Winds of Change.” He’s currently a member of Moonalice.

Barbata, who still speaks with a hint of his native New Jersey in his voice, played with the Turtles and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young before joining the Jefferson Airplane for its final album and then the Jefferson Starship. As a session musician, he’s played on more than 100 albums.

“I was asked to join the Eagles when they were first starting,” he recalls with a chuckle. “I said, ‘Who the hell are the Eagles? I’ve never heard of them.'”

Forced to resign

After the ill-fated 1978 Starship tour, bad luck continued to stalk him. He was living in remote part of Mendocino County when his Porsche crashed on a winding country road, seriously injuring him and forcing him to resign from the Jefferson Starship.

He ended up moving to his wife’s small hometown in Oklahoma. After she fell ill with cancer, he stayed by her side for three years until her death in 2016. They’d been married 34 years. He tells his story in his recent autobiography, “Johny Barbata: The Legendary Life of a Rock Star Drummer.”

“I’m ready to make some music and play with these boys again,” he says. “In 45 years of playing music, I’ve learned a lot. I’m more conscious of what I’m playing. I’m better now than I was back then.”

When these three reunite for the first time in four decades, they will be adding another chapter to the legacy of the Jefferson Starship, one of the great bands of the ’70s. While playing hits from their past, though, they won’t be looking back so much as heading straight ahead.

“Down the line, we might even record another album,” Barbata says. “Who knows what the future holds and where this thing will go?”

What: CBS, the reunion of three original members of the Jefferson Starship

When: 8 p.m. June 24

Where: Fenix, 919 Fourth St., San Rafael

Admission: $30

Information: fenixlive.com

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Craig Chaquico

• Sacred Ground
• Acoustic Highway · 1993
• Riders of the Ancient Winds
• From the Redwoods to the Rockies · 1998
• Native Tongue (New At Two)
• Acoustic Planet · 1994
• Return of the Eagle
• Blue Universe
• Panorama · 2000
• Navajo Stars
• A Thousand Pictures · 1996
• Acoustic Highway
• Panorama · 1993
• Gathering of the Tribes
• Acoustic Planet
• Mountain In the Mist
• Change of Seasons
• Shadow and Light · 2002
• Samba del Luna

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About craig chaquico.

During the '70s and '80s, guitarist/songwriter Craig Chaquico played lead guitar with the popular rock band Jefferson Starship (which later became Starship). In 1993, he released his first adult contemporary acoustic effort, Acoustic Highway. Chaquico, a musician since childhood, started professionally in nightclubs at age 14. He began his association with Jefferson Starship when he was 16. At first he began recording with a few of the members and then was formally asked to join them on tour as a lead guitarist. Simultaneously, Chaquico also helmed his own band Steelwind. He toured with both until joining the Starship permanently. Soon afterward, he developed into one of their main songwriters. Among the songs he has penned or co-penned are "Jane," "Find Your Way Back," and "Layin' It on the Line." Since the early '90s, Chaquico has worked on diversifying his music and branching out more into new age or world music, as can be heard in his song "Just One World" and the 1994 album Acoustic Planet, his blend of guitar playing and recordings of African and Native American music. The song became part of NASA's Space Ark project and is now in permanent orbit around the Earth. His first release in the new century, 2002's Shadow and Light, was inspired by the tragedy of the terrorist attacks on New York in 2001. When not playing music, Chaquico enjoys auto racing and riding his Harley in benefits for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. He is also a graphic artist and amateur astronomer. Chaquico continued to release album throughout the latter half of the '90s, but it was his charity work that deserved the most attention as he began to play one free hospital concert a week (with obvious exceptions) for children and he encouraged many of his contemporaries and friends to perform similar shows. ~ Sandra Brennan

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Moscow Metro

The Moscow Metro Tour is included in most guided tours’ itineraries. Opened in 1935, under Stalin’s regime, the metro was not only meant to solve transport problems, but also was hailed as “a people’s palace”. Every station you will see during your Moscow metro tour looks like a palace room. There are bright paintings, mosaics, stained glass, bronze statues… Our Moscow metro tour includes the most impressive stations best architects and designers worked at - Ploshchad Revolutsii, Mayakovskaya, Komsomolskaya, Kievskaya, Novoslobodskaya and some others.

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The guide will not only help you navigate the metro, but will also provide you with fascinating background tales for the images you see and a history of each station.

And there some stories to be told during the Moscow metro tour! The deepest station - Park Pobedy - is 84 metres under the ground with the world longest escalator of 140 meters. Parts of the so-called Metro-2, a secret strategic system of underground tunnels, was used for its construction.

During the Second World War the metro itself became a strategic asset: it was turned into the city's biggest bomb-shelter and one of the stations even became a library. 217 children were born here in 1941-1942! The metro is the most effective means of transport in the capital.

There are almost 200 stations 196 at the moment and trains run every 90 seconds! The guide of your Moscow metro tour can explain to you how to buy tickets and find your way if you plan to get around by yourself.

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Moscow metro private tours.

• 2-hour tour $87:  10 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with hotel pick-up and drop-off
• 3-hour tour $137:  20 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with Russian lunch in beautifully-decorated Metro Diner + hotel pick-up and drop off. 
• Metro pass is included in the price of both tours.

Highlight of Metro Tour

• Visit 10 must-see stations of Moscow metro on 2-hr tour and 20 Metro stations on 3-hr tour, including grand Komsomolskaya station with its distinctive Baroque décor, aristocratic Mayakovskaya station with Soviet mosaics, legendary Revolution Square station with 72 bronze sculptures and more!
• Explore Museum of Moscow Metro and learn a ton of technical and historical facts;
• Listen to the secrets about the Metro-2, a secret line supposedly used by the government and KGB;
• Experience a selection of most striking features of Moscow Metro hidden from most tourists and even locals;
• Discover the underground treasure of Russian Soviet past – from mosaics to bronzes, paintings, marble arches, stained glass and even paleontological elements;
• Learn fun stories and myths about Coffee Ring, Zodiac signs of Moscow Metro and more;
• Admire Soviet-era architecture of pre- and post- World War II perious;
• Enjoy panoramic views of Sparrow Hills from Luzhniki Metro Bridge – MetroMost, the only station of Moscow Metro located over water and the highest station above ground level;
• If lucky, catch a unique «Aquarelle Train» – a wheeled picture gallery, brightly painted with images of peony, chrysanthemums, daisies, sunflowers and each car unit is unique;
• Become an expert at navigating the legendary Moscow Metro system;
• Have fun time with a very friendly local;
• + Atmospheric Metro lunch in Moscow’s the only Metro Diner (included in a 3-hr tour)

Hotel Pick-up

Metro stations:.

Komsomolskaya

Novoslobodskaya

Prospekt Mira

Belorusskaya

Mayakovskaya

Novokuznetskaya

Revolution Square

Sparrow Hills

+ for 3-hour tour

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Slavic Boulevard

Vystavochnaya

Dostoevskaya

Elektrozavodskaya

Partizanskaya

Museum of Moscow Metro

• Drop-off  at your hotel, Novodevichy Convent, Sparrow Hills or any place you wish
• + Russian lunch  in Metro Diner with artistic metro-style interior for 3-hour tour

Fun facts from our Moscow Metro Tours:

From the very first days of its existence, the Moscow Metro was the object of civil defense, used as a bomb shelter, and designed as a defense for a possible attack on the Soviet Union.

At a depth of 50 to 120 meters lies the second, the coded system of Metro-2 of Moscow subway, which is equipped with everything you need, from food storage to the nuclear button.

According to some sources, the total length of Metro-2 reaches over 150 kilometers.

The Museum was opened on Sportivnaya metro station on November 6, 1967. It features the most interesting models of trains and stations.

Coffee Ring

The first scheme of Moscow Metro looked like a bunch of separate lines. Listen to a myth about Joseph Stalin and the main brown line of Moscow Metro.

Zodiac Metro

According to some astrologers, each of the 12 stops of the Moscow Ring Line corresponds to a particular sign of the zodiac and divides the city into astrological sector.

Astrologers believe that being in a particular zadiac sector of Moscow for a long time, you attract certain energy and events into your life.

Paleontological finds 

Red marble walls of some of the Metro stations hide in themselves petrified inhabitants of ancient seas. Try and find some!

• Every day each car in  Moscow metro passes  more than 600 km, which is the distance from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
• Moscow subway system is the  5th in the intensity  of use (after the subways of Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai).
• The interval in the movement of trains in rush hour is  90 seconds .

What you get:

• + A friend in Moscow.
• + Private & customized Moscow tour.
• + An exciting pastime, not just boring history lessons.
• + An authentic experience of local life.
• + Flexibility during the walking tour: changes can be made at any time to suit individual preferences.
• + Amazing deals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the very best cafes & restaurants. Discounts on weekdays (Mon-Fri).
• + A photo session amongst spectacular Moscow scenery that can be treasured for a lifetime.
• + Good value for souvenirs, taxis, and hotels.
• + Expert advice on what to do, where to go, and how to make the most of your time in Moscow.

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Victor Mukhin

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Title : Active carbons as nanoporous materials for solving of environmental problems

However, up to now, the main carriers of catalytic additives have been mineral sorbents: silica gels, alumogels. This is obviously due to the fact that they consist of pure homogeneous components SiO2 and Al2O3, respectively. It is generally known that impurities, especially the ash elements, are catalytic poisons that reduce the effectiveness of the catalyst. Therefore, carbon sorbents with 5-15% by weight of ash elements in their composition are not used in the above mentioned technologies. However, in such an important field as a gas-mask technique, carbon sorbents (active carbons) are carriers of catalytic additives, providing effective protection of a person against any types of potent poisonous substances (PPS). In ESPE “JSC "Neorganika" there has been developed the technology of unique ashless spherical carbon carrier-catalysts by the method of liquid forming of furfural copolymers with subsequent gas-vapor activation, brand PAC. Active carbons PAC have 100% qualitative characteristics of the three main properties of carbon sorbents: strength - 100%, the proportion of sorbing pores in the pore space – 100%, purity - 100% (ash content is close to zero). A particularly outstanding feature of active PAC carbons is their uniquely high mechanical compressive strength of 740 ± 40 MPa, which is 3-7 times larger than that of  such materials as granite, quartzite, electric coal, and is comparable to the value for cast iron - 400-1000 MPa. This allows the PAC to operate under severe conditions in moving and fluidized beds.  Obviously, it is time to actively develop catalysts based on PAC sorbents for oil refining, petrochemicals, gas processing and various technologies of organic synthesis.

Victor M. Mukhin was born in 1946 in the town of Orsk, Russia. In 1970 he graduated the Technological Institute in Leningrad. Victor M. Mukhin was directed to work to the scientific-industrial organization "Neorganika" (Elektrostal, Moscow region) where he is working during 47 years, at present as the head of the laboratory of carbon sorbents.     Victor M. Mukhin defended a Ph. D. thesis and a doctoral thesis at the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia (in 1979 and 1997 accordingly). Professor of Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia. Scientific interests: production, investigation and application of active carbons, technological and ecological carbon-adsorptive processes, environmental protection, production of ecologically clean food.   

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CHAQUICO – BARBATA – SEARS – reunite for the first time since 1978!

February 9, 2015 • No Comments • homepage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJRLPeFJnJI&feature=youtu.be

Craig Chaquico, Former Jefferson Starship Bandmates, Reunite After 40 Years

by: Paul Liberatore  ( [email protected] )

POSTED: Thursday, June 15, 2017 – 11:50 a.m.

The last tour that Craig Chaquico, Pete Sears and Johny Barbata were on together was nothing short of a disaster, to put it mildly.

That would be the Jefferson Starship’s 1978 European tour. Its nadir was the infamous Lorelei Amphitheater concert in Germany. When lead singer Grace Slick, who was drinking heavily at the time, was too ill to perform, refusing to leave the group’s hotel, the crowd rioted, throwing bottles and rocks, ransacking the stage and burning it down.

The musicians lost all their guitars and amps – a quarter million dollars’ worth of instruments and gear they’d used on classic hits like “Miracles,” “Ride the Tiger,” “Runaway,” “Count on Me,” “With Your Love” and “Caroline,” to name a few.

Readers of this column may remember recent updates in this space about the miraculous  resurfacing in 2014 of Chaquico’s prized 1959 Gibson Les Paul Sunburst , which had disappeared during the riot, and the return, after being missing for 35 years, of  Sears’ custom-built “Dragon” bass .

And now, nearly 40 years after the Lorelei concert debacle, these three original members of the Jefferson Starship reunite for the first time on June 24 at the intimate Fenix club in San Rafael. Chaquico’s band will open the show, then be joined by Sears and Barbata. They’re billing themselves as CBS (Chaquico/Barbata/Sears).

‘We’re gonna have fun’

“When we talked about doing this, we said, ‘Let’s jam like in the old days and see if we still like playing together,” Chaquico explains. “We’re gonna have fun and see if people like it.”

Former Airplane and Starship lead singer and songwriter Marty Balin, who wrote “Miracles,” “Hearts,” “Today,” “Coming Back to Me” and a slew of other beautiful songs, wanted to be part of this reunion, but a health problem prevented that from happening, at least for the time being.

“Marty wants to do it when he can,” Chaquico says. “We’re keeping him posted.”

It would take a complicated chart to map all the iterations of the Jefferson Starship over the decades. Airplane and Starship founder Paul Kantner had his own Jefferson Starship with Novato’s David Freiberg until Kantner’s death last year. Freiberg, who was in the Jefferson Airplane and Starship, is carrying on with that band and declined to join CBS. That may be because, after Kantner’s death, Chaquico sued him over an alleged violation of a 1985 agreement not to use the Jefferson Starship name without the permission of the other surviving members. *

The irrepressible Grace Slick was in and out of the band until she quit for good in 1989, saying, “All rock ‘n’ rollers over the age of 50 look stupid and should retire.” Mickey Thomas, who replaced her, has been touring with a band he calls the Starship featuring Mickey Thomas. I told you this was complicated.

* “It’s a terrific article, but note that there is one supposition contained in it that is factually inaccurate. The opposite is, in fact, true. Mr. Liberatore presumes Freiberg may have declined to participate in this reunion due to Craig’s lawsuit against his band for using the Jefferson Starship name. However, Craig Chaquico invited David Freiberg, and all other original Jefferson Starship members, to reunite–both before and after Paul Kantner’s passing. Some said yes, some didn’t reply, no one said no. Mr. Freiberg originally said yes, but then he changed his mind. And then after Paul’s passing, but before the filing of the pending lawsuit, Craig asked them again. David initially said yes, and then, once again, said no; that he would prefer playing with his current band, using the name Jefferson Starship, without Paul. Craig, Pete and Johny then agreed to reunite as a trio (with Marty in the wings, perhaps joining them when he can). It was AFTER all of this that Craig pursued his lawsuit–not before. Accordingly, David had declined prior to the lawsuit and not as a result of it. Important distinction. — Dara Crockett, Pilot Rock Management”

Genuinely excited

Chaquico, Sears and Barbata sound genuinely excited about their prospects. Their hope is to capture lightning in a bottle one last time, riding the wave of nostalgia generated by this year’s 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love.

“With the spotlight on the ’60s, we hope to carry on and do more work,” Sears says.

Since his days as the boy wonder lead guitarist of the Jefferson Starship, Chaquico has gone on to a Grammy-nominated career as a contemporary jazz guitarist with his chart-topping “Acoustic Highway” and “Acoustic Planet” albums, earning him a spot on Jazziz magazine’s top 100 jazz guitarists of all time.

A longtime Marin musician, Sears, who came to the U.S. from Britain after playing on Rod Stewart’s early albums, has been in bands with a who’s who list of rock and blues stars that includes Ron Wood, Long John Baldry, Hot Tuna, John Lee Hooker, Dr. John, David Nelson, Harvey Mandel, Nick Gravenites, John Cipollina and Jerry Garcia. In the four years he was with the Jefferson Starship, he and his wife, Jeanette, wrote the Starship songs “Stranger,” “Awakening,” “Save Your Love” and “Winds of Change.” He’s currently a member of Moonalice.

Barbata, who still speaks with a hint of his native New Jersey in his voice, played with the Turtles and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young before joining the Jefferson Airplane for its final album and then the Jefferson Starship. As a session musician, he’s played on more than 100 albums.

“I was asked to join the Eagles when they were first starting,” he recalls with a chuckle. “I said, ‘Who the hell are the Eagles? I’ve never heard of them.'”

Forced to resign

After the ill-fated 1978 Starship tour, bad luck continued to stalk him. He was living in remote part of Mendocino County when his Porsche crashed on a winding country road, seriously injuring him and forcing him to resign from the Jefferson Starship.

He ended up moving to his wife’s small hometown in Oklahoma. After she fell ill with cancer, he stayed by her side for three years until her death in 2016. They’d been married 34 years. He tells his story in his recent autobiography, “Johny Barbata: The Legendary Life of a Rock Star Drummer.”

“I’m ready to make some music and play with these boys again,” he says. “In 45 years of playing music, I’ve learned a lot. I’m more conscious of what I’m playing. I’m better now than I was back then.”

When these three reunite for the first time in four decades, they will be adding another chapter to the legacy of the Jefferson Starship, one of the great bands of the ’70s. While playing hits from their past, though, they won’t be looking back so much as heading straight ahead.

“Down the line, we might even record another album,” Barbata says. “Who knows what the future holds and where this thing will go?”

(l-to-r) Joan Burton (vocals, guitar, bass), Craig Chaquico (lead guitar), Johny Barbata (drums, vocals), Pete Sears (bass, piano), Jesse Bradman (vocals) not shown:  Kerry Shacklett (keyboards)

photo by Roger Ressmeyer

For more information about CHAQUICO – BARBATA – SEARS, contact:

Dara Crockett PILOT ROCK MANAGEMENT [email protected]