PRODIGAL SON FINDS KEY TO LIFE

The grassy knolls of Golden Gate Park and the opulence of 2400 Fulton Street are but a fleeting memory as Jorma Kaukonen speaks candidly about the glory days of Jefferson Airplane. He is now far removed from the epi-center of psychedelia and Haight Ashbury, firmly embedded in the rolling hills of Pomeroy, Ohio and The Fur Peace Ranch. Jorma isn’t evasive about the years with Hall of Fame band Jefferson Airplane but like most with a retention of skills, he is more concerned about the expansion of the “Blues” genre and Hot Tuna than dwelling on the histrionics of a sensationalized era. Those halcyon days playing at legendary venues like The Fillmore West, Winterland and The Avalon Ballroom are fondly retrieved from the recesses of his mind but would rather speak about last year’s appearance at Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee than the less than pleasant performance at the rain drenched festival in Sullivan County, i.e., Woodstock in August, 1969. He is revered and idolized as one of the great guitar players in the annals of contemporary music, always ranked in the one hundred most influential but numerical equations cannot measure the impact or vitality of a player. Once a musician reaches a certain plateau, others with comparable skills may play as well, but none play better., it’s just a matter of preference. Some will inquire as to who is Hot Tuna? Those mindless questions are often scoffed and dismissed as the band has been recording and releasing material since 1970 and with Jorma & Jack Casady as the integral cogs of the musical wheel, the band rolls along with no end in sight. What would entice an icon of epic proportions to venture from the often fettered demographic haven around San Francisco to a remote area near Athens, Ohio? The pundits of the Woodstock Generation are always immersed into the journey of those most emulated during the tumultuous days of the sixties and have had difficulty with The Peter Pan Syndrome.

Jorma’s journey to the Midwest has served him well as the denizens of Pomeroy, Ohio exude a distinct pride in knowing the importance and subsequent attraction of noted musicians with the advent of Fur Peace Ranch eleven years ago. Many of the celebrated personalities of hippiedom have been canonized by their peers but Jorma’s excursion from the bay was his personal search for identity away from the acerbic aftermath on the west coast and the fleeting glory of The Counter Culture. With the forty year anniversary of Woodstock on the proverbial horizon, I inquired as to a return to “The Garden” and his response was not one of exclusion in remembering what once was but the return of Jorma & Jack will be one of Hot Tuna rather than an anomaly of Jefferson Airplane survivors. He is a parent now, married to a charming, vivacious woman and two children to care for. His rightful place in the pantheons of musical immortality is far less important in the grand scheme of things as his attention is more focused on making a better life for his family than on the grandiose ideology that is the juxtaposing image of many with his legacy. The individuality of an artist and bands would ultimately evolve into a formula that is now passé’ in reference to most recording companies and the effort it took to be unique has wilted under the cookie-cutter syndrome of today’s market. The cultural significance of yesteryear makes the epoch of time the most romanticized and sensationalized known to mankind but, fleeting moments would be a vast understatement. Jorma Kaukonen will be forever etched in the folklore of sixties rebellion and the anthems that defined an entire generation but perhaps his greatest attribute will be that of an adoring husband and father, and ultimately, as it should be.
Cheers
Don Aters - 2008

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	PRODIGAL SON FINDS KEY TO LIFE The grassy knolls of Golden Gate Park and the opulence of 2400 Fulton Street are but a fleeting memory as Jorma Kaukonen speaks candidly about the glory days of Jefferson Airplane. He is now far removed from the epi-center of psychedelia and Haight Ashbury, firmly embedded in the rolling hills of Pomeroy, Ohio and The Fur Peace Ranch. Jorma isn’t evasive about the years with Hall of Fame band Jefferson Airplane but like most with a retention of skills, he is more concerned about the expansion of the “Blues” genre and Hot Tuna than dwelling on the histrionics of a sensationalized era. Those halcyon days playing at legendary venues like The Fillmore West, Winterland and The Avalon Ballroom are fondly retrieved from the recesses of his mind but would rather speak about last year’s appearance at Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee than the less than pleasant performance at the rain drenched festival in Sullivan County, i.e., Woodstock in August, 1969. He is revered and idolized as one of the great guitar players in the annals of contemporary music, always ranked in the one hundred most influential but numerical equations cannot measure the impact or vitality of a player. Once a musician reaches a certain plateau, others with comparable skills may play as well, but none play better., it’s just a matter of preference. Some will inquire as to who is Hot Tuna? Those mindless questions are often scoffed and dismissed as the band has been recording and releasing material since 1970 and with Jorma & Jack Casady as the integral cogs of the musical wheel, the band rolls along with no end in sight. What would entice an icon of epic proportions to venture from the often fettered demographic haven around San Francisco to a remote area near Athens, Ohio? The pundits of the Woodstock Generation are always immersed into the journey of those most emulated during the tumultuous days of the sixties and have had difficulty with The Peter Pan Syndrome. Jorma’s journey to the Midwest has served him well as the denizens of Pomeroy, Ohio exude a distinct pride in knowing the importance and subsequent attraction of noted musicians with the advent of Fur Peace Ranch eleven years ago. Many of the celebrated personalities of hippiedom have been canonized by their peers but Jorma’s excursion from the bay was his personal search for identity away from the acerbic aftermath on the west coast and the fleeting glory of The Counter Culture. With the forty year anniversary of Woodstock on the proverbial horizon, I inquired as to a return to “The Garden” and his response was not one of exclusion in remembering what once was but the return of Jorma & Jack will be one of Hot Tuna rather than an anomaly of Jefferson Airplane survivors. He is a parent now, married to a charming, vivacious woman and two children to care for. His rightful place in the pantheons of musical immortality is far less important in the grand scheme of things as his attention is more focused on making a better life for his family than on the grandiose ideology that is the juxtaposing image of many with his legacy. The individuality of an artist and bands would ultimately evolve into a formula that is now passé’ in reference to most recording companies and the effort it took to be unique has wilted under the cookie-cutter syndrome of today’s market. The cultural significance of yesteryear makes the epoch of time the most romanticized and sensationalized known to mankind but, fleeting moments would be a vast understatement. Jorma Kaukonen will be forever etched in the folklore of sixties rebellion and the anthems that defined an entire generation but perhaps his greatest attribute will be that of an adoring husband and father, and ultimately, as it should be. Cheers Don Aters - 2008
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