© Conall O’Brien; Courtesy of The Airplane Family & FriendsA new tribute band called The Airplane Family & Friends has formed that features a variety of musicians with connections to the legendary Bay Area groups The Jefferson Airplane, The Jefferson Starship and Quicksilver Messenger Service.
The collective includes former Jefferson Starship guitarist Slick Aguilar, bassist Peter Kaukonen and drummer Prairie Prince, as well as Grace Slick‘s ex-husband and former Great Society band mate Darby Slick, who wrote the classic Jefferson Airplane hit “Somebody to Love.” Rounding out the lineup are one-time Canadian Idol winner Eva Avila and Joli Valenti, son of late Quicksilver Messenger Service singer Dino Valenti. Eva and Joli, respectively, will handle Grace Slick’s and Marty Balin‘s vocal parts for the cover tunes The Airplane Family & Friends perform.
Michael Gaiman, The Airplane Family’s manager, tells ABC Radio that the band mainly will be playing well-known Jefferson Airplane songs, along with a few tunes by The Jefferson Starship and Quicksilver Messenger Service. In addition, Gaiman reports that Avila will be singing some rare Grace Slick compositions that never were performed by the current incarnation of The Jefferson Starship.
The Airplane Family & Friends have lined up a series of U.S. tour dates this fall running from a December 7 show in Baltimore through a December 18 concert in St. Charles, Illinois. Performing with the group will be a newly created Grateful Dead tribute act called Live Dead 69 that features former Dead keyboardist Tom Constanten and ex-RatDog guitarist Mark Karan. Aguilar, Kaukonen and Prince also will play with Live Dead 69 during the trek. As its name suggests, the group will showcase songs that appeared on the 1969 concert album Live Dead.
Here are all of The Airplane Family & Friends’ and Live Dead 69’s tour dates:
12/7 — Baltimore, MD, Rams Head Live
12/9 — Asbury Park, NJ, The Stone Pony
12/10 — Pawling, NY, Daryl’s House Club
12/11 — New York, NY, B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
12/13– Sellersville, PA, Sellersville Theater & Washington House Hotel & Restaurant
12/14 — Huntington, NY, The Paramount
12/16 — Pittsburgh, PA, The Rex Theater
12/17 — North Tonawanda, NY, The Riviera Theatre
12/18 — Saint Charles, IL, Arcada Theatre
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