Spacebomb: Strung out on strings
19.07.11
First, each part in the string section (1st violins, 2nd violins, violas, cellos) has several people playing the same thing, usually at least two to as many as fifteen people playing the exact same part. That said, I believe that strings have been and will continue to be an irreplaceable color of the palette of popular music record producing because strings have certain musical traits that, frankly, no other instruments can achieve. Whenever you have a mass of people playing similar or identical parts, the edges of the notes/rhythms and the details of the sound get a bit mushy — the good kind of mushy. If I may mix my metaphors, when a record is about to jump the shark, it is often the epic string arrangement that becomes the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Source: RVANews
Press Pass: Jefferson Starship
20.07.11
When Jefferson Airplane disbanded in the early '70s, Kantner moved onto his next project, Jefferson Starship, a band rooted in his solo project Blows Against the Empire, a sci-fi concept album which launched the Airplane into outer space. But for Paul Kantner, who reached both milestones with the 1960s-'70s psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane, the great mystery of music keeps him performing, now into his 70s. The band will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of that album with a show set for July 29 at 8 p. m. at the State Theatre that is being billed as a science fiction rock opera, pairing the music of Jefferson Starship with the soundtrack of "Blade... The News-Press spoke to Kantner about his band and their upcoming show.
Source: Falls Church News Press