Music News

Jefferson Airplane Founder Marty Balin To Celebrate The Band’s 50th Anniversary With New Releases

Marty Balin, Jefferson Airplane
Marty Balin, Photo by Ali Kaufman

We caught up with Marty Balin in New York, there to give a big thank you to Steve Miller for his work with the Little Kids Rock non-profit organization.

Never one to sit still, Balin has two albums in the pipeline. The first, Good Memories, due to drop December 11, will celebrate Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship, and The Greatest Love, due—appropriately enough, along with Cupid’s annual visit—in mid-February.

Balin described Good Memories, a hefty 24-song double album, as “a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Airplane forming. I’ve been doing these old Airplane and Starship songs live in shows, and the fans have been loving them. People have said, ‘You ought to put these on a record.’ Now the 50th comes around, and it seems apropos to put this out now. This is my way of celebrating.”

Although Good Memories is a collection of the old Airplane and Starship songs, they’re performed the way Balin interprets them today, live in concert. Balin described it as “a nod to the fans, and a setup for the new album that’s coming out in February,” which will be filled with original, new material.

When asked about how the concept of a 50th anniversary hits him, Balin smiled: “I don’t really care, I get younger all the time. You can do what you want with those numbers.”

 

For more coverage of Marty Balin and his upcoming projects, check back with Elmore for more coverage, including an “Influences” interview.

Got something to say?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Be the first to comment!