Sunday and just kicking back a bit after another stress filled week at work and here is one of my favorite ways to create a little fresh air space in the old noggin: listening to John Cipollina and his friends in Quicksilver Messenger Service make the Bo Diddley beat and the wailing solo guitar become as one. Few guitarists had as unique and instanly recognizable style as JC. I got to see him 2 weeks before his death from Emphysema and he looked like a straw man only thinner. Yet he could still sit on his Fender Amplifier and with a band composed of members of 3 other Bay area bands (P. Albin-Big Brother, Spencer Dryden-Jefferson Airplane and Barry Melton-Country Joe & The Fish) blast out his signature riffs with the usual amazing aplomb. Here's a taste...
and I can't resist this bit of JC with the Dead: