| Q: And that song can be found on the recently reissued "Quah". That was Jorma's first solo album back in 1974: I'll Let You Know Before I Leave. This album was hard to get a hold of for a long time.
A: Right. It was out of print for a number of years. And we're thrilled that BMG or RCA or whatever they call themselves these days, has seen fit to re-issue it because now you don't have to go to Ebay to buy it if you want it.
Q: And we did have to! Our music director at the station was married to the song Genesis.
A: Oh, really.
Q: And, so to get a copy for the person who played it, we had to go to Ebay to find it, because it was out of print. But now we have it. And there's four previously unreleased songs. Were these from the same sessions?
A: They are all from the same session. You know, it's really funny, in the quest for outtakes with old things, in my experience, there's usually very few listenable outtakes, because the reason they're not used is usually because they're not good enough. But in this case, Tom and I originally were splitting the record. And today, Tom would just be considered a sort of a quirky singer/songwriter that plays sort of a, you know, Americana based stuff. But he was very odd to the RCA people, so they made me go back in and do most of the songs on the record. But I really like his stuff. Actually, there's still a couple more Tom things that are extremely odd that aren't even on this. But I'm just thrilled to spec out again. Tom's passed away. I'm sure his family gets a kick out of hearing him play again.
Q: And that's Tom Hobson.
A: Tom Hobson, right.
Q: Who is the co-author of the "Quah" record with Jorma.
A: Correct.
Q: See, does this come back out because now "Blue Country Heart" is a popular record and getting acclaim other labels go, "Huh, Jorma's hot again. We can put out his stuff" or --
A: I don't think that hurt any. Bill Thompson, who was the Jefferson Airplane's manager back in the day, still sort of spearheads our efforts with RCA. And RCA is re-releasing a bunch of stuff that will have some Airplane stuff in, Hot Tuna stuff. I think it was part and parcel of that. But it sure didn't hurt that I actually had a major label release to say, "Maybe we can sell 20 of these things."
Q: So when material from the Jefferson Airplane or Hot Tuna is re-issued, perhaps the original records with bonus tracks, do you have input into it?
A: Yeah, we do have input. As I said, there's always some stuff. There aren't that many bonus tracks, to be honest with you. And you never know when somebody's going to turn up. And you know, I'm certainly not a plunderer of the vaults. And there might be something that I or maybe none of us know about. And of course, we'd be thrilled if this were the case. But this many years later, they've pretty much raked the ground. But it's nice to make some of the stuff available that's been out of print for a while.
Q: And it sounds better, too, when it comes back out.
A: That would be my impression, even though there are those that swear that vinyl is the only way to go.
Q: Well, if they can get the vinyl, fine, but I mean, for the CDs, the re-mastering just sometimes -- it knocks the dust off of the stuff and it sounds great.
A: By the way, have you heard the SACD version of "Blue Country Heart"?
Q: No.
A: Because they recorded it in SACD 5.1. If you know somebody that has one of those systems, it really is a cool sound.
Q: I had not heard that. I heard a couple of the Rolling Stones' records which recently came out in the Super Audio CD.
A: Yeah, that's the Columbia -- or the Sony system.
Q: And I'm hearing some rumblings that the Beatles' stuff is going to be re-issued soon and perhaps re-done in whatever format is proper for Capital Records.
A: Right.
Q: Jorma Kaukonen is our guest today. And this is a pleasure. And he's at the Cactus Café tonight. How did it go last night? Did you have a good night?
A: It was great. It was great. And Barry's really thrilled that he was able to play the tenor guitar today, because you know, the Cactus Café is an intimate spot. And there wasn't enough room on the stage for the tenor guitar, so we had to do the song with the mandolin last night. Or Cindy's steel guitar.
Q: When you're out in this setting, I'm sure there's people that will call out for Third Week in the Chelsea or songs from Hot Tuna "Burgers."
A: And they get many of them.
Q: They do?
A: They get many of them, you bet. Absolutely. We are a cradle-to-the-grave repertoire organization.
Q: That sounds like a title to me.
A: Something. Yeah. I was going to say something else and then I realized I was on the radio.
Q: Well, tell me later, because I'd like to hear --
A: Okay. You've got it.
Q: Jorma Kaukonen's here. And again, "Blue Country Heart" is the latest album. And also, "Quah" has just been re-issued. And we're going to go back to "Blue Country Heart" to wrap it, right?
A: We are. And we're going to do a Jimmy Rodgers song. It's called Waiting for a Train. It also mentions the great state of Texas in a benevolent sort of way, so we'll do that.
SONG: WAITING FOR A TRAIN
Q: Waiting for a Train is a Jimmy Rodgers song that you'll find on Jorma's Grammy-nominated album "Blue Country Heart". Jorma, you've always sounded so grounded and psychedelic at the same time. I don't know how that happens.
A: I don't either. It was just a natural process. I mean, it's interesting from a player point of view, because I started out playing stuff like this. And then I got seduced by rock-and-roll, which was fine, which was okay. So, you know, every now and then we play something and you'll just have to go (bends guitar note) or something like that.
Q: Well, you take us to places and I thank you for that. And everyone's invited to the Cactus Café tonight. My advice would be to get there early. Jorma Kaukonen is playing with Cindy and Barry. And good luck. Nominated for a Grammy, best traditional folk album, "Blue Country Heart". Good luck with that, Jorma.
A: Thank you very much. Thanks for having us.
Q: Yeah, and Cindy, belated congratulations on your playing on that Grammy
Album of the Year by Mr. Bob Dylan.
A: (Cindy) Well, thank you. It was a wonderful experience. Thanks.
Q: And you did a great job. It was kind of like a puzzle trying to, now, is that part Cindy and is that part Auggie? I'm not really sure, but I know --
A: That's a good description.
Q: It would kind of come out of there every now and again. We want to thank Harvey and Paul, who helped make all this happen from Jorma's side, and our friend Chet. And big thanks to Jorma Kaukonen. Thank you, sir.
A: Thank you.
Q: Tonight at the Cactus Café.
(End of Interview.) |
