New Jefferson Airplane book- more 5 star reviews, 93 photos, 32 interviews, 543 pages

Hi all:

Hope you are well. A quick note please that my Jefferson Airplane
book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" has had another 2 great reviews and
was mentioned by 3 of the radio personalities on WAXQ 104.3, the most
listened to rock station in the USA. Thanks so much for your support.

The reviews are below, as in some info on the book.

Thank you for your time,
www.takemetoacircustent.net
Craig Fenton

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"Craig Fenton knows so much about the Jefferson Airplane and family, I
was asking him the questions." Marty Balin-.

93 Photos (Starting from 1963) including many never in print before,
and possibly the 2 rarest Airplane pictures ever, one with Bob Harvey
& Jerry Peloquin in the band from 1965 and the other an autographed
photo from early 1966 with Skip Spence, Paul signs his name "Paul
Airplane." 266 Questions & Answers are examined from the Airplane &
Family. These are not the same old of the same old! 121 live shows are
documented with complete and accurate information. All the obscure
songs and jams finally have titles. All special guests are mentioned
and the first and last time the song is performed is noted. 60
unreleased gems from the studio vaults are explored, including the
1965 Columbia (That is correct) demo with Bob Harvey!

Interviews for "Take Me To A Circus Tent"
Slick Aguilar (KBC, Jefferson Starship & Wooden Ships)
Peter Albin (Big Brother & The Holding Company, remembers Spencer
Dryden & Janis Joplin)
Signe Anderson (Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship)
Kenny Aronoff (1989 Jefferson Airplane drummer)
Don Aters (Famous rock and roll photographer, remembers Chet Helms)
Marty Balin (Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, & KBC)
John Barbata (Jefferson Airplane & Jefferson Starship)
Jesse Barish (Wrote St. Charles & Count On Me for the Jefferson
Starship, Hearts, and Atlanta Lady for Marty Balin)
Nick Buck (Hot Tuna & SVT)
Craig Chaquico (Steelwind & Jefferson Starship)
Tom Constanten (Grateful Dead & appearances sitting in with the
Jefferson Starship)
Joey Covington (Hot Tuna & Jefferson Airplane)
Michael Falzarano (Hot Tuna)
Barry Flast (Jefferson Starship)
David Freiberg (Jefferson Airplane & Jefferson Starship)
Darby Gould (Jefferson Starship)
Greg Douglass (Hot Tuna)
Tim Gorman (KBC, Wooden Ships, Jefferson Airplane 1989 reunion &
Jefferson Starship)
Bob Harvey (Original Jefferson Airplane bass-player)
Paul Kantner (Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, KBC, &
Wooden Ships)
Peter Kaukonen Hot Tuna, Jefferson Starship,
Jefferson Airplane 1989 reunion
(Gives a wonderful tribute to his parents)
Diana Mangano (Jefferson Starship)
Dennis McNally (Grateful Dead Publicist, and author)
Remembers those members of the Grateful Dead we have lost
Jerry Miller (Moby Grape, remembers Skip Spence & talks about
Moby Grape)
Jerry Peloquin (Original Jefferson Airplane drummer)
Sammy Piazza (Hot Tuna)
Pete Sears (Jefferson Starship & Hot Tuna)
Darby Slick (Great Society w/Grace Slick)
Jerry Slick (Great Society w/Grace Slick)
Mike Somavilla (Quicksilver Messenger Service historian,
organized the Spencer Dryden Benefit,
and is responsible for many Bay Area musicians
releasing archival material)
Bob Steeler (Hot Tuna)
Jack Traylor (Steelwind with David Freiberg, and Craig Chaquico,
songwriting and session work for Paul Kantner and Grace Slick)
Peter van Gelder (Great Society w/Grace Slick)

There was a female vocalist that tried out prior to Signe Anderson
getting the job? The person that brought the vocalist for the audition
would be part of a major band, and work with a legendary lead
vocalist.
A Jefferson Starship member wrote a song for Janis Joplin. Why did it
take so long to be released?
Would it surprise you that Paul McCartney was not the first to use the
cool name Wings as a band? A Jefferson Airplane member had used it
years prior to Paul's great solo work.
What about two Jefferson Airplane members playing together for the
first time in 37 years, and why there is not a recording of it!
How did Diana Mangano record one song for the Great Society in 2002
and they weren't even in the studio for it?
Did you know that a Jefferson Airplane member played briefly with Paul
Simon's brother?
What song did Hot Tuna perform for over 40 minutes?
Which Jefferson Airplane member was asked to be part of Steve Miller's
band in 1970?

Which two non Jefferson Airplane drummers are uncredited for their
appearance on the studio version of Feel So Good?
Which Hot Tuna member was asked to be an original member of ZZ Top?
Which song performed by Grace Slick and the Great Society did The
Jefferson Airplane decide not to record?
Which one time Jefferson Airplane member was asked about coming back
to the band circa 1967-1968?
Which Hot Tuna member almost became part of Fleetwood Mac in the mid-
seventies?

Which songs have all been performed by the Jefferson Airplane,
Jefferson Starship, and Hot Tuna?

When did Signe Anderson and Spencer Dryden play together?

Besides playing the entire album live what were the other twenty-seven
songs the KBC performed on stage.
Which J.A. member did Skip Spence reunite with 31 years later?
What Jefferson Starship song did the Jefferson Airplane rehearse for
the 1989 reunion tour and not perform?

Which drummer was waiting in the wings in case Spencer Dryden wasn't
well enough to perform at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame?

What songs did Signe Anderson and Skip Spence play in 1965 at Skips'
home and which Rolling Stones masterpiece was covered?

What song did both Paul Kantner's Wooden Ships and Emerson, Lake &
Palmer both perform as an encore?
Reviews:

1/20/07 http://theglenblog.blogspot.com/2007...o-circus-tent-
jefferson_20.html Blog Critics www.blogcritics.org


I can only say to Glen Boyd thank you so much for the kind words. Blog
Critics has days that 100, 000 people visit the sight.

The thanks also goes to the great people who supported the book, Don
Aters, Rick Martin, Mike Somavilla, Rick McNamara and Jeff Tamarkin
(For being a class act every minute of the day and for keeping the
J.A. flying with his terrific contribution to rock and roll).


Saturday, January 20, 2007 Glen Boyd
Take Me To A Circus Tent: The Jefferson Airplane Flight Manual

"The object of this book was not to reinvent the wheel, or in this
case reinvent the Plane, " author Craig Fenton explained to me earlier
this week, describing his remarkable new book on the Jefferson
Airplane.

"The aim was rather to help the spread the word, and to keep the torch
going of one of the greatest bands ever."

Amen Brother.

Make no mistake. Craig Fenton's Take Me To A Circus Tent: The
Jefferson Airplane Flight Manual is not just any rock book. It is in
fact, the final, definitive word on the music of the band which most
defined the so-called psychedelic acid-rock "San Francisco" sound of
the late sixties (the very sound which would define an entire
generation).

The fact is, this may be the most extensive, meticulously researched
account of the music of any rock and roll band ever. Period. From a
purely historical, and especially from a musical standpoint, Take Me
To A Circus Tent delves as deeply into the sixties phenomenon that was
the Jefferson Airplane as any rock and roll book ever has.

But let's get one thing straight right up front. This is a book which
focuses strictly on the music.

If you are looking for one of those sex, drugs, and rock and roll
exposes, you'd best look elsewhere. You are not going to find any
tales of band members lying face down in a pool of their own vomit.
Nor will you find the sort of acid-fueled sex-orgies which have
characterized the written accounts of other rock stars from the
sixties, fallen and otherwise.

Not that Craig Fenton didn't have his chance however. In the extensive
research that went into this book, Fenton was given what amounted to
an all-access pass, resulting in rare footage such as this, a great
clip from the Dick Cavett show in 1969 of the Airplane performing
"Somebody To Love, " with David Crosby sitting in:There are complete
interviews (and opportunities to dish the dirt) with no less than 32
Jefferson Airplane insiders contained within the 543 pages of this
book. These include everybody from original members Paul Kantner and
Marty Balin (who says that Fenton "knows so much about the Jefferson
Airplane family I had to ask him the questions"), to guys who were
there like Moby Grape's Jerry Miller and Big Brother And The Holding
Company's Peter Albin (who remembers the late JA drummer Spencer
Dryden).

These interviews make up the latter half of the book. For the first
part, Fenton exhaustively and extensively recounts the complete
history of every single song written, recorded or performed by the
Jefferson Airplane, as well as it off-shoots such as Hot Tuna and the
various Jefferson Starship aggregations.

The result is the sort of scholarly work that could have only come
from the pen of a true music obsessive. Craig Fenton is basically an
Airplane archivist. From his roots as a fan who discovered the
Airplane after hearing "The Ballad Of You Me & Pooneil" on progressive
rock station WNEW in the sixties, to his own career in rock radio, he
has meticulously documented the evolution --the flight path if you
will-- of the Jefferson Airplane.
In Take Me To A Circus Tent, no less than 121 Jefferson Airplane shows
are broken down song by song. There are also some 93 photos, many of
which have never been seen before. But we are not just talking about
photos and setlists here. Fenton breaks down everything from the first
and final performances of individual songs; who played what and when;
to songs never before officially documented at all.

On page 149 for example, we learn of an incredible show performed in
San Bernadino where the songs "Wooden Ships, " and "Volunteers" were
performed for the very first time. Later, we learn of a show in 1969
at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park days later where "Good Shepherd"
is debuted, but sung by Grace Slick, rather than the version sung by
Jorma Kaukonen on the Volunteers album.

That's the type of detail we are talking about here.

However, Take me To A Circus Tent is by no means complete. How could
it be?
By his own yardstick, Craig Fenton refused to include any information
on shows or performances that he could not confirm either through
interviews or tapes from his own rather extensive archives.

For example, I had no luck finding my own point of reference to a 1969
show in Honolulu, Hawaii where I had my first exposure to the powers
of Jefferson Airplane's live performances myself. As a thirteen year
old attending that show at Honolulu's Civic Auditorium, I met the band
on a day that also saw one of Hot Tuna's earliest performances opening
for JA. Paul Kantner was also busted for marijuana posession that very
day in Honolulu near Diamond Head.

Still, this book is about as complete as rock books get.

Word to the wise though. It is also laid out as something of a master
thesis. This is definitely a book intended more to be painstakingly
analyzed then it is to be read from cover to cover.

Regardless, I would consider Take Me To A Circus Tent: The Jeferson
Airplane Flight Manual your personal reference guide to one of the
greatest rock bands ever.
As rock and roll books go, this truly is as complete as it gets.

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http://blogcritics.org/
Blogcritic of the Month - Chris Beaumont
Blogcritic of the Day - T. Michael Testi
· Brandon Daviet Flies with Author Craig Fenton and The Jefferson
Airplane Flight Manual
Book Review: Take Me to a Circus Tent (The Jefferson Airplane Flight
Manual) by Craig Fenton
Published: January 20, 2007
Type: Review
Section: Books
Filed Under: Books: Nonfiction, Books: Entertainment, Books:
Biography, Music: Rock
Writer: Brandon Daviet
Brandon Daviet's BC Writer page
Brandon Daviet's personal site

Despite being cut from a genetically different cloth, sports fanatics
and music fanatics have a thing or two in common. While most sports
fans usually pine over self-preservation and athletic skill, music
fans (I'm a card-carrying member of the latter, for the record) tend
to lean more towards slacking off and inventing new methods of self-
destruction. One of the two camps' common traits lies in their
undying, obsessive love for their chosen heroes. Sports fanatics tend
to spend their time documenting performance statistics while music
fanatics document musical performances and the comments made about
them. Overall it's the same kind of thing and is really just another
facet of the human race's infatuation with fame and celebrity.

For author Craig Fenton, his fan-boy obsession centers around the
comings and goings of Jefferson Airplane, the highly psychedelic band
that formed in the womb of the legendary '60s San Francisco music
scene. Jefferson Airplane is perhaps most famous for introducing the
world, and Hunter S. Thompson's drugged-up lawyer, to the song "White
Rabbit". But the story of Jefferson Airplane, who have also been known
in leaner times as Jefferson Starship, is far more involved than many
people know, as Fenton details lovingly in his new book: Take Me To A
Circus Tent (The Jefferson Airplane Flight Manual).

Circus Tent is a treat for both hardcore fans of Jefferson Airplane
and casual listeners alike. While I consider myself a fairly well-read
music fan, my exposure to Jefferson Airplane has been mostly limited
to owning a copy of Surrealistic Pillow, buying the soundtrack to the
1987 movie Mannequin for the song "We Built This City, " and seeing
guitarist and the band's founder Paul Kantner perform the album Blows
Against the Empire for a small crowd at a bar I worked in several
years ago.

Fenton, on the other hand, knows his stuff - and the book is a mind-
boggling, phonebook-size documentation of the band's history. The book
shares a lot in style with the Deadbase, the meticulously compiled
history of the live performances of the Grateful Dead that any
Deadhead worth his weight in patchouli oil owns. The main difference
being that while The Grateful Dead and their fans carefully documented
the band's career from day one, Jefferson Airplane's history relies
more on recollection than historical record.

In any event, Take Me to a Circus Tent is a mesmerizing book that will
provide anyone who picks it up with hours upon hours of enjoyment.
This is truly a unique book and I highly recommend it to anyone who is
interested in the roots of psychedelic music or the band who once
asked the world, "Don't You Want Somebody to Love?"
·