GOODBYE BARON VON TOLLBOOTH

It's time we walked away

Set me free

I must move away

Leave you be...

Time's been good to us, my friend

Wait and see how it will end

We come and go as we please...

We come and go as we please...

That's how it must be

Here in crystal chandelier, I'm home

Too many days, I've left unstoned

If you doubt my happiness

What full pleasure feels in the Sun

Ah, don't you know I'm runnin' home...

Don't you know I'm runnin' home...

To a place to you unknown?

I take great peace in your sitting there

Searching for myself, I find a place there

I see the people of the world

Where they are and what they could be...

I can but dance behind your smile...

I can but dance behind your smile...

You were the world to me for a while

D.C.B.A.-25

This is a song from The Jefferson Airplane's album Surrealistic Pillow. It was written by Paul Kantner . Oddly the only Kantner song on that LP

I remember reading someplace that "DCBA-25" referred to the song's chord progression. 

You will notice it from the first when you listen to it, and it is repeated throughout the song. It is generally assumed that this chord progression (D-C-B-A) gave rise to the name of the song. 

It has also been surmised that '-25' was added to the title of the song to make a reference to the chemical LSD-25, which we know is a hallucinogenic drug Acid. 

As for the lyrics of the song, One can assume that at some stage Paul was leaving someone or someplace, and wanted to leave a small eulogy to that parting. 

Some would imagine that this song would also be perfect for background music if you were actually taking Acid, as it seems to have that peaceful and loving atmosphere which is most desirable when your mind is being stimulated beyond anything it has so far experienced. 

By the way, many interpret the line "too many days I've left unstoned" differently from the usual interpretation of "too many days that I didn't get stoned". I think this line is a reference to the phrase "stones left unturned". I think Paul is saying that there are many days which he did not investigate life as fully as he could have. 

I put together some of Paul's songs. Some of them are known but I tried to stay away from the basic Airplane>Starship > I am sure that you will hear many of those over the next week or so . Here are 24 from Paul's works as my tribute to  a legend.

D.C.B.A.-25      Surrealistic Pillow 

Martha      After Bathing At Baxters

Wild Tyme   

Won't You Try > Saturday Afternoon

The Ballad Of You And Me And Pooneil

Crown Of Creation    Crown Of Creation

Have You Seen The Saucers   30 Seconds Over Winterland

We Can Be Together     Volunteers

Let's Go Together   Blows Against The Empire

Have You Seen The Stars Tonite

When The Earth Moves Again    Bark

War Movie

Twilight Double Leader    Long John Silver

Sunfighter      Sunfighter

Million

Your Mind Has Left Your Body   Baron Von Tollbooth

Lightnin' Rose -Freedom At Point Zero

Things To Come

Girl With The Hungry Eyes

I Came Back From The Jaws Of The Dragon  Winds Of Change

Planet Earth Rock And Roll Orchestra    PERRO (83)

Planes    Jefferson Airplane (89)

Martha Under Venusian Sun    Windowpane Collective

Love Theme From Bladerunner

KANTNER AND FRIENDS

 

 Perro, or Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra, was the name given to the group of musicians who played, recorded and jammed together in the early 70′s. They were, essentially, members of Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Crosby, Stills and Nash. Their first album together, Blows Against The Empire, was released, not as the Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra, but as Jefferson Starship (a name later used for Grace Slick and Paul Kantner’s band formed in 1974). They then officially became Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra on David Crosby’s If I Could Only Remember My Name.

In 1971, these musicians got together for rehearsals at Wally Heider Studios and, luckily for us, these sessions were recorded (see below) yielding some truly remarkable music and interactions between this collective group of inspired and supremely talented artists. They were as follows:

    David Crosby – guitar, vocals
    Graham Nash – guitar, vocals
    Paul Kantner – guitar, banjo, vocals
    Grace Slick – piano, vocals
    Jorma Kaukonen – lead guitar
    Jack Casady – bass
    Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals
    Phil Lesh – bass
    Bill Kreutzmann – drums
    Mickey Hart – percussion
    David Freiberg – viola, vocals
     and others

 The following LP's were recorded as PERRO and each was released as solo works by the main artist......

1970  Blows Against The Empire - Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship
1970  If I Could Only Remember My Name - David Crosby
1971  Songs For Beginners - Graham Nash
1971  Sunfighter - Paul Kantner and Grace Slick
1972  Graham Nash and David Crosby - Nash and Crosby
1972  Rolling Thunder - Mickey Hart
1973  Baron Von Tollbooth And The Chrome Nun - Kantner, Slick and David Freiberg

A return to the title Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra was used for a 1983 Lp by Kantner and others

Planet Earth Rock N' Roll Orchestra

Wally Heider Recording Studios
San Francisco, CA
1970-1971
Recorded By Stephen Barncard

Disk 1

01: Jorma And Jerry's Jam 1
02: Dope Rap With Piano
03: Solo Piano
04: Jam Slide
05: Wooden Ships Jam
06: Walking IN The Mountains
07: Is It Really Monday
08: Mountain Song #1
09: Loser #1, #2
10: Under Anesthesia(False Start),aka"You Sit There"
11: Under Anesthesia, aka "You Sit There"
12: Mountain Song #3

Disk 2

01: Wall Song #1
02: Over Jordan, aka "Wayfaring Stranger"
03: Wild Turkey, aka "Leather Winged Bat"
04: Loser #3,#4
05: Epp Hour, aka "Rounds"
06: Wall Song #2
07: Mountain Song #4
08: Tamalphais High(At About 3),aka "Kids And Dogs"
09: Kids And Dogs
10: NO Song
11: Violin Jam
12: Guitar Solo 1

IT'S A GAS !

Kantner Balin Casady Band

Pittsburgh (Oakland), PA

1987/04/13

1st gen excellent soundboard

Setlist

01 - Mariel

02 - When Love Comes

03 - Wrecking Crew

04 - It's Not You, It's Not Me

05 - Crossfire

06 - Ride The Tiger

07 - Hold Me

08 - Planes

09 - Today

10 - Dancing With The House On Fire

11 - Plastic Fantastic Lover

12 - America

13 - Volunteers Of America

14 - applause and tuning

15 - Dream Motorcycle.flac

16 - The Girl With The Hungry Eyes

17 - Mysterious Eyes

18 - 100 Million

19 - It's No Secret

20 - applause and false end of show

21 - Hide My Heart

22 - Solidarity

23 - Midnight Hour

REPLICANT

 

 I have always enjoyed the music of Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship. with some people you either really like them or you reaaly hate them. Paul's dabbling in sci fi themes was like an added bonus for me. This posting is from the Starship's rendition of the Bladerunner score . Paul mixes the music of both the Airplane and Starship (and other themes) to create his vision of the classic sci-fi piece

Jefferson Starship "Blade Runner Against The Empire"

25Th Anniversary Of Dragon-Con
(One Of The World's Biggest Sci-Fi Conventions)
Hyatt Regency Centennial Ballroom
Atlanta, Ga/ Sept. 3, 2011

Scintillated By The Cresting Wave Of Electronica, Jefferson Starship Created A Unique 'Mosh' Of Paul Kantner's Music (& Some Sci-Fi 'Covers') And The Score Of Vangeleis' "Blade Runner."

01 Main Titles (Mc) > Sunrise
02 Your Mind Has Left Your Body
03 Brain Damage
04 Hal's Tales Of The Future (Mc)
05 Rachel's Song
06 Universal Copernican Mumbles
 07 Sketches Of China
 08 Love Theme
09 Hyperdrive
10 Space Oddity
11 Have You Seen The Saucers?
12 -15 Blows Suite
  Xm >
  Have You Seen The Stars Tonight? >
  Starship >
   Home
16 The Burbling Of You, Me & Pooneil
17 Somebody To Love

Paul Kantner/ 12-String, Vocals
David Freiberg/ Acoustic Guitar, Percussion, Vocals
Darby Gould/ Vocals
Slick Aguilar/ Electric Guitar, Vocals
Donny Baldwin/ Drums, Vocals
Chris Smith/ Keyboards, Bass
Mc-Squared/ Korg Kaossilator Pro, Moog Filtatron, Beatmaker 2

KANTER AND SLICK 88

 

Paul Kantner and Grace Slick perform together at the Campasina Benefit for Nicaragua.

01 Paul Intro
02 America
03 Volunteers
04 Wooden Ships
05 Mariel
06 Common Market Madrigal
07 Have You Seen The Stars Tonight
08 White Rabbit
09 Carlos Fonseca

Paul Kantner: Acoustic Guitar and Vocals, Grace Slick: Piano and Vocals.

GO RIDE THE MUSIC

"Wooden Ships" was written at the height of the Vietnam War, a time of great tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, nuclear-armed rivals in the Cold War.


Like Tom Lehrer's "We Will All Go Together When We Go" and Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction," the song seems to deal with ever-present fears of an apocalyptic nuclear war.In this interpretation, the words of the song depict the horrors confronting the survivors of a nuclear holocaust in which the two sides have annihilated each other. A man from one side stumbles upon a man (or woman, as in Jefferson Airplane's version) from the other side and asks him/her, "Can you tell me, please, who won?" Since the question has no real meaning in the circumstances (or even at all), it is left unanswered. To stay alive, they share purple berries that have presumably not been poisoned by radiation. The lyrics beg "silver people on the shoreline" to "let us be"; these are commonly to be men wearing radiation suits. As wooden ships are carrying the survivors away, radiation poisoning kills those who have not made it aboard

Wooden Ships Words by Paul Kantner and Stephen Stills Music By David Crosby


If you smile at me you know I will understand
Cause that is something everybody everywhere does
In the same language
I can see by your coat my friend that you're from the other side
There's just one thing I got to know
Can you tell me please who won
You must try some of my purple berries
I been eating them for six or seven weeks now
Haven't got sick once
Probably keep us both alive
Wooden ships on the water very free and easy
Easy you know the way it's supposed to be
Silver people on the shoreline leave us be
Very free and easy
Sail away where the mornin sun goes high
Sail away where the wind blows sweet and young birds fly
Take a sister by her hand
Lead her far from this barren land
Horror grips us as we watch you die
All we can do is echo your anguished cry and
Stare as all you human feelings die
We are leaving
You don't need us
Go and take a sister by her hand
Lead her far from this foreign land
Somewhere where we might laugh again
We are leaving

Go ride the music

A SAUCERFUL OF KANTNER

Have you seen the saucers?
Have you seen the saucers?

Do you know there are people out there
Who are unhappy with the way that we care
For the Earth ... Mother!

Have you seen the saucers?

Tranquility Base -
There goes the neighborhood ...
American garbage dumped in space and no room left for brotherhood

Have you seen the saucers?

You've seen our lights in your western sky California ...
The rainbow skies ...
The government tells you another missile is flying
Have you any idea why they're lying to you?
To your faces
Did they tell you?

Have you seen the saucers?

Have you seen the saucers?

Star children on the black road to salvation
Children of the forest, child of the Woodstock Nation
You've gotta care for the needs of your planet
Catch the dawn that once was there
First-born atomic generation
Open the door, don't you know that's what it's for
Come on and join us ... on the other side of the Sun

Have You Seen The Saucers? Words and Music Paul Kantner

EPIC TALE OF ALEXANDER

When the time does come near again
When the day does seem clear again
Make it in the night time
The dreams ends in the light time
All of you come away
Just a bow shot away
Let me tell you 'bout a story now
A tale of glory and power
And I don't even know your name
But I thought I'd tell you all about it just the same
We are all creatures of fame, lightness and liberty
In the times of the olden times
Of ancient ladies and maritime splendor
Priests of Karnak and Thebes
Could walk through the ocean and the seas
When the pyramid she would sigh
The waters streamed from the sky
The ocean you know is your firend
Your brother and sister just as sure as sin
Put your hands in the water
Rest your feet on the sea
You don't have to let your body die
You can come back again if you try, if you try
This song was made then by you and me
A billion years before these oceans rolled
Oh I can see you burning brightly
You shine like silver like sun gold
And a hundred years from today
All you people will be gone away
Down into the heart of the sea
Back to the time of wonder why you and me
And I don't even know your name
But I thought I'd tell you all about it just the same
If you laugh real hard you win the game - hands down
Before old Alexander 'twas just the same as now
Can you smell the blood of fame, lightness and liberty?

Alexander The Medium Words and Music Paul Kantner

DATED PROPHECIES

One slight drawback on Paul's Sci Fi/Prophetic songwritings was that he had a tendancy to date himself . a lot of his songs made reference to events coming in the near future(early 70's as such) I guess the revolution he wrote of is still in the making. Great songs though.

In nineteen hundred and seventy-five,
all the people rose from the countryside,
locked together hand in hand all through this unsteady land,
to move against you government man do ya' understand,
gonna roll roll roll the rock around roll roll roll the rock
around lift the rock out of the ground

At the Battle of Forever Plains,
all my people hand in hand in hand in the rain,
the laser way won the day without one single living soul going down.
the government troops were circled in the sun gun found themselves on the
run... from our nation, the rock is raised no need to hide from
the other side now... transformation

call high to the constellation headquarters call high to the
most high directors send out the transporting systems and
send out the sun finders
thirteen battalion of mind raiders three hundred master
computer killers from great platforms in the mountains
twenty mile lasers & great giant trackers... twenty miles
south now in 1975 all my people rose from the countryside until we
meet again and touch our hands together in another land
until we meet again & see each others minds we
three have met again and touched our hands talking of
Napoleon in the garden we will muffle the drums tomorrow mornin
gonna roll roll roll the rock around gonna roll roll
roll the rock around lift the rock out of the ground

War Movie Words and Music Paul Kantner

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE KANTNER KIND

Paul had always had a strong interest in the sci fi and historical worlds. It can be evidenced as far back as the "Crown" LP The next few samples and visuals will feature some of his works up and including his collaboration with the PERRO group of musicians.


Twilight Double Leader Words and Music Paul Kantner

Get down now and roll around me
Get down now and be my queen
Get down now and roll around me
Chinese dance around the queen.

Twilight double leader
Comin' home to feed her
Charioteer - already been here
Determination structure.

Have you heard about your brothers and your sisters
Livin' in the mountains...free from the city life.

You can feel it in the streetime
Hunin' for the lifeline
Twilight all around you - around & around you
You can make it in the nitetime.

And if you're lost midway - third of the week
She gonna find the right way to get to you.

Twilight double leader
Comin' home to please her
Walkin' on the water..disappearing daughter
Citadel redeemer.

Ain't got time to hang around - movin' slow...
I just got to go
I just got to go
I just got to go.

LYSERGIC MELODIES

Paul Kantner named this melodic folk-rocker in reference to the songs chord progression and the numerical part '25' is the designation chemist Albert Hofmann assigned to his best known chemical discovery LSD-25. DCBA 25 is one of the most overlooked Airplane songs . It foretells of the great song writing that Kantner would contribute to the fold. Paul was and still is the mainstay of the band and his songs deliver a vivid imagination and thought provoking works. DCBA is from the Pillow LP

DCBA - 25

I must move away
set me free
I must move away
leave you be...
time's been good to us, my friend
wait and see how it will end
we come and go as we please...
we come and go as we please...
that's how it must be
Here in crystal chandelier, I'm home
too many days, I've left unstoned
if you doubt my happiness
what full pleasure feels in the Sun
ah, don't you know I'm runnin' home...
don't you know I'm runnin' home...
to a place to you unknown?
I take great peace in your sitting there
searching for myself, I find a place there
I see the people of the world
where they are and what they could be...
I can but dance behind your smile...
I can but dance behind your smile...
you were the world to me for a while

Words and Music by Paul Kantner

LIFE IS CHANGE

You are the Crown of Creation
You are the Crown of Creation
and you've got no place to go.

Soon you'll attain the stability you strive for
in the only way that it's granted
in a place among the fossils of our time.

In loyalty to their kind
they cannot tolerate our minds.
In loyalty to our kind
we cannot tolerate their obstruction.

Life is Change
How it differs from the rocks
I've seen their ways too often for my liking
New worlds to gain
My life is to survive
and be alive
for you.

Paul Kantner (the rhythm guitarist/singer for the band and writer of the song) based the song off of a quote from John Wyndham's 'The Chrysalids': "They are the crown of creation; they are ambition fulfilled, and they have no where to turn. But life is change, that is how it differs from rocks, change is its very nature."

In context of the times that the song was written, it can definitely be seen as a metaphor of sorts to the era that the band was in the midst of: great conflict both abroad (Vietnam), and here in the States between what essentially was mainstream society and the band's own counterculture. The line "In loyalty to their kind/they cannot tolerate our minds./ In loyalty to our kind/ we can not tolerate their obstruction" refers to the hippie's ideas and growing voice, and the government's attempts to keep them down.

Very revolutionary, like much of what this band did during the late sixties.

BARON VON GRUNT AND PERRO

P.E.R.R.O. The Planet Earth Rock And Roll Orchestra (as dubbed by Paul Kantner) were a group of musicians that came together for a series of albums." Sunfighter" and "The Chrome Nun" were two of those LPs Credited to Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, and David Freiberg, Baron von Tollbooth & The Chrome Nun was the first album made by these erstwhile members of Jefferson Airplane since the breakup of that group. Like such other spin-off projects as Blows Against the Empire and Sunfighter, this one featured a supporting cast of San Francisco Bay Area musicians including present and former members of a variety of groups, such as The Grateful Dead (lead guitarist Jerry Garcia, percussionist Mickey Hart, and lyricist Robert Hunter, who wrote the words to "Harp Tree Lament"), Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (singer David Crosby), and The Flying Burrito Brothers (bassist Chris Ethridge), as well as other former members of The Airplane and future members of Jefferson Starship. The Pointer Sisters even guested on one track. Despite the co-billing, the album's guiding force was Slick, who sang on every track and wrote or co-wrote six of the ten songs, though there was still room for the unbilled Jack Traylor to write, play acoustic guitar, and sing lead vocals on the song "Flowers of the Night," a celebration of monarchial overthrows throughout history. Perhaps more outside songwriting should have been employed, since the compositions here were second-rate. The public was catching on, too: Kantner's Blows Against the Empire had reached the Top 20, but Baron von Tollbooth didn't come near the Top 100. The team would attempt one more splinter project, Slick's "solo" album Manhole, then re-organize as Jefferson Starship in 1974 with the notable return of singer/songwriter Marty Balin. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide