Jefferson Airplane Take Off Online

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Jefferson Airplane will launch the first version of their official Web site, www.jeffersonairplane.com, on Friday.

The site will feature a deep photo archive, with many candid and behind-the-scenes shots and a detailed timeline of the seminal San Francisco psychedelic band's eight years and nine albums together -- from its founding in 1965 to 1973, when the band splintered and reconfigured itself as Jefferson Starship and, eventually, Starship.

"I know it takes time for things like this to be organic, but I think it's a good start," says former Airplane and current Hot Tuna guitarist Jarmo Kaukonen of the site. "To me, it's more of a historic thing. There are some members of the group who wanted to include things like a discussion board, but there are already sites that do that. There are quite a few unofficial sites already, and some of them are very good -- so what we're trying to do is just be a place people can go to get the last word, about new old stuff that's coming out and other projects."

Scott Wolfe, of Lucas Alexandre Design, worked closely with the band's longtime manager Bill Thompson on the project, and says the site will be updated regularly with just that type of "new old stuff" and additional rare and archived material. "We especially want to get up a lot of the concert videos and home videos," he says. "There's quite a bit of it, and some bootlegs of performances. Hopefully we'll be able to feature some of that in the store when it gets going, too, some exclusive merchandise."

The site's design, according to Wolfe, reflects the band's central place in rock history. "We want to create a kind of online museum to ensure the band's legacy, and convey its importance as a pop icon and the leaders of the era. It's especially important for younger fans, who may have heard "Somebody to Love," or "White Rabbit" in Forest Gump, to have a place to go where they can learn the history, and follow the timeline and learn the whole story."

In other Airplane news, author Jeff Tamarkin recently finished a book about the band, Got a Revolution, to be published in July 2003.

AUGUSTIN K. SEDGEWICK
(April 18, 2002)