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39-542: Hot Tuna is an American blues rock band formed in 1969 by former Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen (guitarist/vocals) and Jack Casady (bassist). Although it has always been a fluid aggregation, with musicians coming and going over the years, the band's center has always been Kaukonen and Casady's ongoing collaboration. Hot Tuna began as a side project to Jefferson Airplane , intended to mark time while Grace Slick recovered from vocal cord nodule surgery that had left her unable to perform. They initially named

78-424: A Dice Found . Kaukonen and Falzarano both contributed original songs. Throughout the 1990s, Hot Tuna again alternated between acoustic and electric styles. The two Sweetwater albums were predominantly acoustic sets with guests such as Bob Weir , Maria Muldaur and former Jefferson Starship bassist-keyboardist Pete Sears ; the latter was to join the group for the remainder of the decade. On August 13th, 1994

117-404: A departure from their primarily bluesy, acoustic style when Hot Tuna dropped their acoustic sets completely and morphed into a heavy rock band. In October 1974, the group performed on The Midnight Special . The albums America's Choice (1975), Yellow Fever (1975), and Hoppkorv (1976) showcase a power trio with the addition of new drummer Bob Steeler . Jeff Tamarkin's liner notes on

156-534: A form of heavy rock. Jimmy Page , who replaced Beck in the Yardbirds, followed suit with Led Zeppelin and became a major force in the 1970s heavy metal scene. Other blues rock musicians in the 1970s include Dr. Feelgood , Rory Gallagher and Robin Trower . Beginning in the early 1970s, American bands such as Aerosmith fused blues with a hard rock edge. Blues rock grew to include Southern rock bands, like

195-584: A handful of concerts in the summer of 1971 and winter of 1972) after the Fillmore East shows, Hot Tuna became an independent group. In this era, Hot Tuna's members were Kaukonen, Casady, drummer Sammy Piazza, and Creach, moving fully to the electric band format. This lineup was first documented on the album First Pull Up, Then Pull Down (1971), which was recorded live at the Chateau Liberte, an obscure club located near Los Gatos, California , in

234-630: A joint tour in November 1970 with shows at the Fillmore East . In September 1970, Kaukonen and Casady performed two acoustic-based shows as Hot Tuna without Jefferson Airplane at Pepperland (a large dance hall in San Rafael, California ) and received good reviews, further signifying that Hot Tuna could survive without the other band to support it. As Jefferson Airplane wound down and stopped regularly touring for over eighteen months (save for

273-718: A more aggressive sound common to rock. In the UK, the style was popularized by groups such as the Rolling Stones , the Yardbirds , and the Animals , who put several blues songs into the pop charts. In the US, Lonnie Mack , the Paul Butterfield Blues Band , and Canned Heat were among the earliest exponents. Some of these bands also played long, involved improvisations as were then commonplace on jazz records. In

312-411: A planned 1978 tour was canceled, with Kaukonen filling these dates by performing solo. A double live album , Double Dose , was released that year as a document of the previous year's tour. Casady and Kaukonen went their separate ways and pursued short-lived careers in the new wave bands SVT and Vital Parts , respectively. In 1979, Kaukonen released his second solo album and Grunt Records released

351-775: Is Cream 's " Crossroads ". Although it was adapted from Robert Johnson 's " Cross Road Blues ", the bass "combines with drums to create and continually emphasize continuity in the regular metric drive". Rock music uses driving rhythms and electric guitar techniques such as distortion and power chords already used by 1950s electric blues guitarists, particularly Memphis bluesmen such as Joe Hill Louis , Willie Johnson and Pat Hare . Characteristics that blues rock adopted from electric blues include its dense texture, basic blues band instrumentation, rough declamatory vocal style, heavy guitar riffs , string-bending blues-scale guitar solos, strong beat, thick riff-laden texture, and posturing performances. Precursors to blues rock included

390-693: The Chicago blues musicians Elmore James , Albert King , and Freddie King , who began incorporating rock and roll elements into their blues music during the late 1950s to early 1960s. 1963 marked the appearance of American rock guitar soloist Lonnie Mack , whose idiosyncratic, fast-paced electric blues guitar style came to be identified with the advent of blues rock as a distinct genre. His instrumentals from that period were recognizable as blues or rhythm and blues tunes, but he relied heavily upon fast-picking techniques derived from traditional American country and bluegrass genres. The best-known of these are

429-553: The Santa Cruz Mountains that was favored by the band throughout the era. The group also appeared on three tracks from Papa John Creach 's debut solo album , as well as "Walking the Tou Tou" from his second album, Filthy! The studio albums Burgers (1972) and The Phosphorescent Rat (1974) followed, with Creach leaving before the latter was recorded. These two albums featured mostly Kaukonen compositions. On

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468-486: The 1963 Billboard hit singles " Memphis " and "Wham!". Around the same time, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band was formed. Fronted by blues harp player and singer Paul Butterfield , it included two members from Howlin' Wolf 's touring band, bassist Jerome Arnold and drummer Sam Lay , and later two electric guitarists, Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop . In 1965, its debut album, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band

507-548: The 1990s, which saw guitarists Gary Moore , Jeff Healey , and Kenny Wayne Shepherd become popular concert attractions. Female blues singers such as Bonnie Raitt , Susan Tedeschi , Sue Foley , Joanne Shaw Taylor and Shannon Curfman recorded blues rock albums. Groups such as the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and the White Stripes brought an edgier, more diverse style into the 2000s, while

546-710: The Airplane's original club, The Matrix , before Jefferson Airplane resumed performing to support Volunteers . (Although Covington had been hired by Jefferson Airplane, he only performed at select engagements, with Spencer Dryden continuing to perform as the band's principal drummer until his 1970 dismissal). Once the Airplane had resumed touring, Tuna found itself opening for the Airplane. Their early repertoire derived mainly from Kaukonen's Airplane material and covers of American country and blues artists such as Reverend Gary Davis , Jelly Roll Morton , Bo Carter and Blind Blake . In September 1969, Kaukonen and Casady employed

585-667: The Allman Brothers Band , ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd , while the British scene, except for the advent of groups such as Status Quo and Foghat , became focused on heavy metal innovation. While blues rock and hard rock shared many similarities in the early 1970s, more traditional blues styles influenced blues rock in the 1980s, when the Fabulous Thunderbirds , Stevie Ray Vaughan , Georgia Satellites and Robert Cray recorded their best-known works, and

624-520: The Black Keys returned to basics. Gary Clark Jr. , known for his fusing of blues, rock and soul, has been classified as a blues rock artist, with Rolling Stone ' s Jonathan Bernstein referring to Clark's albums Blak and Blu (2012) and The Story of Sonny Boy Slim (2015) as "steeped in a sleek, modern blues-rock production style". Formed in 2017, Bulls of Prey is a successful Hungarian band in this genre. Filthy! Filthy!

663-619: The Doors and Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin , also adapted songs by blues artists to include elements of rock. Butterfield, Canned Heat, and Joplin performed at the Monterey (1967) and Woodstock (1969) festivals. In the UK, several musicians honed their skills in a handful of British blues bands, primarily those of Cyril Davies and Alexis Korner . While the early British rhythm and blues groups, such as

702-671: The Fire Maiden," "Sunrise Dance with the Devil," and "Surphase Tension" on Yellow Fever . Live performances throughout the epoch were distinguished by free-flow improvisational jams and very long sets (up to six hours uninterrupted) with extended versions of their studio material. A November 1976 concert at the Palladium in New York City featured a 16-minute version of "Invitation." However, producer Harry Maslin did not appreciate

741-551: The Hot Tuna compilation Final Vinyl . Rhythm guitarist Michael Falzarano and drummer Shigemi Komiyama joined Kaukonen and Casady for a Hot Tuna reunion tour in 1983. The group played a mix of new material alongside the classic Hot Tuna songs. This, combined with the group's hard rock and heavy metal approach, were not well received, with reports of fans walking out of shows. Hot Tuna again reformed in 1986, with producer Joey Balin joining on rhythm guitar until 1987. Kantner joined

780-472: The I. The Allman Brothers Band 's version of " Stormy Monday ", which uses chord substitutions based on Bobby "Blue" Bland 's 1961 rendition, adds a solo section where "the rhythm shifts effortlessly into an uptempo 6/8-time jazz feel". The key is usually major , but can also be minor , such as in " Black Magic Woman ". One notable difference is the frequent use of a straight eighth-note or rock rhythm instead of triplets usually found in blues. An example

819-587: The RCA "Platinum Gold Hot Tuna Collection" characterize this trilogy as being emblematic of the band's "rampage years." Kaukonen is quoted as saying the change of focus was due to the fact that "it was just fun to be loud." During this period, Kaukonen's electric guitar playing was multi-layered, prominently showcasing such effects as the Roland Jet phaser. His "rampage" style is typified by the solos on "Funky #7" and "Serpent of Dreams" on America's Choice and "Song for

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858-419: The Rolling Stones , the Yardbirds , and the Animals , incorporated American R&B , rock and roll , and pop , John Mayall took a more distinctly electric blues approach. In 1966, he released Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton , the first of several influential blues rock albums. When Eric Clapton left Mayall to form Cream , they created a hybrid style with blues, rock, and jazz improvisation , which

897-645: The album was recorded, Jorma's brother Peter Kaukonen soon replaced Kantner on rhythm guitar and Jefferson Airplane co-lead vocalist Marty Balin joined on vocals for the electric songs. In 1970, the younger Kaukonen was replaced by Paul Ziegler. That summer, RCA paid for the band to go to Jamaica to record their next album, but the album was never finished, in part due to a financial dispute between Balin (who left both bands shortly thereafter) and Kaukonen and Casady. Violinist Papa John Creach joined Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane in October 1970. Both bands finished

936-697: The band in 1987 and 1988, adding some old Jefferson Airplane songs to the setlist. Grace Slick appeared with them for one show at The Fillmore in March 1988. The band continued into 1989 and Kaukonen and Casady joined the 1989 Jefferson Airplane reunion album and tour, performing acoustic Hot Tuna sets in the middle of each show. At the end of the Airplane tour, Hot Tuna resumed their electric performances, adding Falzarano and drummer Joey Stefko. Shortly thereafter, New Yorker Harvey Sorgen replaced Stefko on drums and Galen Underwood joined on keyboards for their first album of all new material in almost 14 years, 1990's Pair

975-768: The band in a touring capacity. In 2014, Justin Guip, who had engineered the album in addition to Kaukonen's recent solo work, took over drumming duties from Warner. The band has performed live as Hot Tuna between 1969 and 1977; in 1983; and from 1986 to present: Disbanded Disbanded Blues rock Blues rock started with rock musicians in the United Kingdom and the United States performing American blues songs. They typically recreated electric Chicago blues songs, such as those by Willie Dixon , Muddy Waters , and Jimmy Reed , at faster tempos and with

1014-423: The core of the music played on album-oriented rock radio in the United States, and later the classic rock format established there during the 1980s. Blues rock can be characterized by bluesy improvisation , extended boogie jams typically focused on electric guitar solos, and often a heavier, riff -oriented sound and feel to the songs than found in typical Chicago-style blues . Blues rock bands "borrow[ed]

1053-457: The departure of Diaz, Skoota Warner officially joined the band as drummer. In November 2010, Hot Tuna performed as a semi-acoustic trio: Casady, Kaukonen and Mitterhoff at a Midnight Ramble at Levon Helm 's Barn studio in Woodstock, New York . In the same month, Kaukonen announced on his blog that Hot Tuna had begun recording its first studio album in 20 years. The album, Steady as She Goes ,

1092-663: The duo would perform with "The Band & Friends" (along with Bruce Hornsby) on the South Stage at Woodstock '94. The 1997 release Live in Japan was in many ways reminiscent of the very first Hot Tuna album, having a minimalistic sound and being recorded live at a tiny venue (Stove's in Yokohama). Falzarano and Sears stayed with the band until the early 2000s. In 2004, Casady and Kaukonen were joined by mandolinist Barry Mitterhoff and drummer Erik Diaz. In August 2009, following

1131-540: The early-mid-1960s) and his power trios , the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys , had a broad and lasting influence on the development of blues rock, especially for guitarists. Clapton continued to explore several musical styles and contributed to bringing blues rock into the mainstream. In the late 1960s, Jeff Beck , with his band the Jeff Beck Group , developed blues rock into

1170-538: The former album, David Crosby sang supporting vocals on "Highway Song", while keyboardist Nick Buck (who frequently guested with the group in the studio for the next five years before serving as a touring member in 1977) contributed to two tracks. As the band prepared for its 1974 tour in support of The Phosphorescent Rat , Kaukonen laid off Piazza after deciding to have the band return to its semi-acoustic repertoire. Kaukonen and Casady then proceeded to record Kaukonen's first solo album, Quah . However, July 1974 marked

1209-399: The group Hot Shit but then decided on the more innocuous Hot Tuna. That name came from someone Jorma Kaukonen referred to as a "witty wag" who called out "hot tuna" after hearing the line "What's that smell like fish, oh baby", from the song "Keep On Truckin'   ". Kaukonen, Jack Casady , Paul Kantner and new drummer Joey Covington played several shows around San Francisco, including

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1248-473: The group enjoyed a notable cult following for much of the 1970s, Hot Tuna failed to rival or eclipse Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship from a commercial standpoint. All but two Hot Tuna albums from the era reached the Billboard Top 100, America's Choice was their only post-1972 album to chart for more than ten weeks, peaking at No. 75. Due to emergent tensions between Kaukonen and Casady,

1287-416: The group's style and held them to a more traditional rock format (including several cover songs) for Hoppkorv . In 1977, Kaukonen began to perform solo sets before the band would perform. The trio stopped touring at the end of 1977 and performed its final concert at the Palladium on November 26, with keyboardist Nick Buck and saxophonist "Buffalo" Bob Roberts. Although live performances from all iterations of

1326-404: The idea of an instrumental combo and loud amplification from rock & roll". It is also often played at a fast tempo, again distinguishing it from the blues. Blues rock songs often follow typical blues structures, such as twelve-bar blues , sixteen-bar blues , etc. They also use the I - IV - V progression, though there are exceptions, some pieces having a "B" section, while others remain on

1365-445: The late 1960s and early 1970s, the style became more hard rock-oriented. In the US, Johnny Winter , the early Allman Brothers Band , and ZZ Top represented a hard rock trend, along with Led Zeppelin , Ten Years After , Savoy Brown , and Foghat in the UK. In the 1980s, more traditional blues styles influenced blues rock, which continues into the 2000s, with more of a return to basics. Along with hard rock, blues rock songs became

1404-564: The moniker for a week of acoustic-based concerts at the New Orleans House in Berkeley, California ; recordings culled from this engagement were released as the band's eponymous debut album in 1970. This album has become affectionately known by the group's fans as the "breaking glass album", because of the sound of breaking beer glasses during the recording of "Uncle Sam Blues". Some tracks included Will Scarlett on harmonica . After

1443-478: Was released by Red House Records on April 5, 2011. For the first half of 2011, guitarist Jim Lauderdale and harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite toured with them; later in the year they were joined by Musselwhite, guitarists David Bromberg , Larry Campbell , Steve Kimock , and G. E. Smith , and vocalist Teresa Williams. Both Campbell and Williams, who guested on the Steady as She Goes album, have remained with

1482-733: Was released. AllMusic 's Michael Erlewine commented, "Used to hearing blues covered by groups like the Rolling Stones, that first album had an enormous impact on young (and primarily White) rock players." The second album East West (1966) introduced extended soloing – the 13 minute instrumental title track included jazz and Indian raga influences – that served as a model for psychedelic and acid rock . In 1965, avid blues collectors Bob Hite and Alan Wilson formed Canned Heat . Their early recordings focused heavily on electric versions of Delta blues songs, but soon began exploring long musical improvisations (" jams ") built around John Lee Hooker songs. Other popular mid-1960s groups, such as

1521-479: Was the most innovative to date. British band Fleetwood Mac initially played traditionally-oriented electric blues, but soon evolved. Their guitarist Peter Green , who was Clapton's replacement with Mayall, brought many innovations to their music. Chicken Shack , early Jethro Tull , Keef Hartley Band and Climax Blues Band recorded blues rock songs. The electric guitar playing of Jimi Hendrix (a veteran of many American rhythm and blues and soul groups from

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