by Dave Richards
June 24. 2010
Maybe it was fate.
Mickey Thomas' first rock memory involves looking skyward before the
Beatles played Atlanta Stadium in 1965.
"All these rumors said the Beatles would land in a helicopter in the
outfield and get out and walk to the stage, which was set up around
where second base was," said Thomas.
"So, right before, all these planes and helicopters are circling
around, and all eyes are looking skyward, wondering which helicopter
is going to land.
"Gradually, you could feel the attention shifting back down toward
the field as the Beatles sauntered out of the dugout, single file,
one by one, walking to second base. I remember that moment."
Decades later, fans wait to see him take the stage, arriving not via
helicopter but Starship. He replaced Marty Balin in 1979 after the
San Francisco-based band had morphed from the psychedelic
counterculture Jefferson Airplane in the '60s to soft-rock hit-makers
Jefferson Starship via "Miracles" and "Count on Me."
After Balin and Grace Slick exited, Starship called Thomas, who
previously sang with the Elvin Bishop Band, including lead vocals on
the Top 10 hit "Fooled Around and Fell in Love."
"I didn't understand how where I was coming from musically would fit
with what Starship was," Thomas said. "Upon meeting the band, I
realized they wanted to take it in a new musical direction and
reinvent the band. For all practical purposes, it felt like a new
band, so that appealed to me."
The new Starship's first single ran counter to pop; it was the
hard-rocking, piano-laced "Jane."
"It was unexpected. I think it set people back a little bit," Thomas said.
But "Jane" was a hit, reaching No. 14, and more hits followed, like
"Find Your Way Back" and "Winds of Change." For a brief time, Slick
rejoined the band.
"That was a high point," Thomas said. "I thought it was really cool
to get a chance to sing and tour with Grace Slick."
Starship hit another peak in 1985-86 with back-to-back No. 1 hits "We
Built This City" and "Sara." In 2004, "We Built This City" hit No. 1
on a more infamous list: Blender's "50 Worst Songs ... Ever."
"If I was a critic I'd probably be on that same boat. But when I play
it live and the audience reacts the way they do, I know there are
very few who are thinking about any kind of worst list," Thomas said.
"They are all happy to hear the song. And I love doing it. I still
love the song."
Thomas said the original demo of "City" -- co-written by Bernie
Taupin -- was vastly different.
"What attracted me were the lyrics," Thomas said. "The original demo
was very quirky, kind of the most uncommercial thing you'd ever want
to hear. I never would have thought it'd be a single, let alone a No. 1 single.
"The production took it more into that vein with the big anthemic
chorus. That wasn't even included on the way it was originally
written. It was more understated."
Starship's last big chart splashes came with "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us
Now" and "It's Not Over" in 1987. Expect to hear those on Saturday,
plus a taste of early Airplane songs such as "Somebody to Love" and
"White Rabbit."
"The majority [of the set list] is from my work with the group from
the late '70s onward," Thomas said. "But I feel it's fitting and
right to give the audience a brief synopsis of the entire musical
history of the group.
"So Stephanie [Calvert] and I do a medley of some of the more notable
Airplane songs, and we mix in a couple of the more famous relics from
Jefferson Starship. We do try to touch all the bases."
That includes "Fooled Around and Fell in Love," too.
"Oh, yeah. Gotta do that," said Thomas, who will also belt a song
from his latest solo CD, a blues album.
This version of Starship has no Balin, Kantner, or Slick, though it
includes three musicians who've been with Thomas more than a decade.
He said he's on good terms with most of the former Airplane and
Starship crew, except for "a guy named Paul. He has a bone to pick
with everybody."
Thomas said Starship is wrapping up its first new CD in 20 years.
With guest spots by former Starship drummer Aynsley Dunbar and former
Ozzy guitarist Jake E. Lee, it'll feature a throwback flavor.
"It has a little more of the '70s feel than an '80s feel that I would
say is more organic," Thomas said. "It's not as synthesized. I'm
letting in a little bit more of my roots in Southern rock, blues, and gospel."
That could bode well for yet another Starship liftoff. Keep your eyes
glued to the sky.
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