Jefferson Starship's David Freiberg still loves performing, looking forward to Friday show

Jun. 30—After decades of touring with acts like Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Jefferson Starship, David Freiberg said he hopes his time spent performing will last forever.

"That would be ideal. However, most people don't last forever," Freiberg said. "I plan on going until I can't. They'll have to take this guitar from my cold hands."

After a bit of laughter the 83-year-old added, "It's hard to stop, it's so much fun."

For now, Freiberg won't have to stop. Jefferson Starship has international tour dates booked until January 2023.

That tour is bringing the band to Kokomo Friday night for the Haynes Apperson Festival. It will be the band's first time performing in the town.

"I'm looking forward to it," Freiberg said. "I've always been aware it was there. I grew up in Ohio, so I know some places in Indiana."

After decades of performing, Freiberg said he's learned to follow the things that make him happy.

"By far, the best thing to do is have fun," Freiberg said. "No point in doing it if it isn't fun."

He chuckled upon saying so, acknowledging the similarity to Spinal Tap's Viv Savage quote, "Have a good time all the time."

Mostly, Freiberg said, the band will perform hits from the "entire gamut of the Jefferson era."

"We'll play most of the songs that people will want to hear, and we're hoping they enjoy all the songs," Freiberg said. "There's plenty of big hits. It's trying to figure out what song not to play because there's so many of them."

Although Freiberg has been performing Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship songs for roughly five decades, he isn't sick of playing them yet.

He's even grown to enjoy playing Starship songs like "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now," which Frieberg admitted would once be considered blasphemous.

"Once you start singing them, these tunes just do something," Freiberg said.

The musician noted the band's efforts to keep the performances feeling fresh. Any band member can take the song in a new direction and the others will follow suit.

"It's not likely to come out the same twice. Ever," Freiberg said. "It's not like we're doing it by rote. We try to be as inventive as we can."

He added the band just keeps its eyes and ears open, watching each other dig into the music and connect with audience members.

"You have to connect, we're all connected. You don't even realize it, but we are," Freiberg said. "We're all part of the universe. I don't get too cosmic, but it's true."

The current lineup

A founding member, Freiberg stuck with the band until it dropped "Jefferson" from its name in 1984.

"I was kind of down on playing with bands because of weird egos and stuff like that," he explained.

Paul Kantner restarted Jefferson Starship in the '90s, eventually asking Freiberg to sit in on a few gigs in 2005.

Freiberg said he hadn't realized how good the reformed band was until he sat in on the first gig. Having fun, he soon found himself on an East Coast tour. Other than time spent in the hospital, he hasn't missed a gig since.

"It's more fun than ever to me, right now," the musician said.

The band has gone through multiple personnel changes since Freiberg rejoined the group.

The most recent member to join the current Jefferson Starship lineup is guitarist Jude Gold. He joined the band in 2012.

Chris Smith, who plays keyboard, has been with the band since 1998 and Donny Baldwin, the drummer, rejoined in 2008.

Cathy Richardson, who shares the title of lead vocalist with Freiberg, joined in 2008.

Freiberg explained Jefferson Starship had been touring with other popular '60s acts in 2007 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love. Richardson had been playing Janis Joplin's parts with Big Brother & The Holding Company at the time. When Jefferson Starship's singer left the band a year later, the group asked Richardson if she would be interested in climbing aboard the Starship.

When Richardson was a teenager, Freiberg added, her favorite bands were Heart and Jefferson Starship.

Still releasing music

The tour, in part, is promoting Jefferson Starship's newest album, "Mother of the Sun," which was released in 2020. The band had to wait until 2022 to begin playing the album to live audiences, though.

Calling from the studio in his California home, Freiberg explained his favorite song to play right now is "Setting Sun," a cut from the new record. The song, he said, tells the story of a Western outlaw running from the sheriff.

The song was written in Freiberg's home studio. The band had been jamming through the song's chord changes when, all of a sudden, Richardson instructed Freiberg to start singing.

"What came out of my mouth was 'riding into the setting sun,' and I think that was about all I said," Freiberg recalled. The rest of the lyrics, he added, came from Richardson. He gives credit to the entire band for the composition.

Another single from the album, "It's About Time," features writing credits by Grace Slick, who played a key role in Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship and Starship.

The anthemic tune criticizes Trump-era politics, referencing climate change, gun violence and children in cages. The song also calls for more women in positions of power.

Richardson had been watching the 2017 Women's March on D.C. at Slick's house when she asked Slick if she would be interested in writing lyrics about it.

A few months later, the band received an envelope full of handwritten lyrics. Slick told the band to use what they could and throw out the rest. Richardson and guitarist Jude Gold took it from there, Freiberg said.

The band is still sitting on some unreleased songs. Freiberg said they started recording in Chicago but haven't been able to finish them yet.

"We started them, but it's hard to get back," Freiberg said.

He finished his thoughts on the matter with a catchphrase of Paul Kantner, an influential founding member of Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship who died in 2016.

"Onward."

James Bennett III can be reached at 765-454-8580 or james.bennett@kokomotribune.com.