Their personnel sometimes changed based on who was busted on the latest pot possession rap. Musically loose, plenty of rough edges, rarely over-produced, no slick singer, just a tough dual guitar attack always looking for a little open space to stretch it out as far as they could go. They made hippie music, simple straight forward lyrics, mostly love songs and some social commentary thrown in (from the freak point of view). Sadly, today Quicksilver Messenger Service is too often overlooked as an essential classic rock experience. In the words of guitarist Gary Duncan, "We had no ambition toward making records, we just wanted to have fun, play some music and make enough money to be able to afford to smoke pot". Maybe they just weren't ambitious enough. Tougher than the Grateful Dead, looser than the Jefferson Airplane, but never managing to achieve the popularity of either they faded away after 1975. They loaded up their from-the-heart songs with free-form jamming in gigs at classic venues like the Fillmore and Avalon, they stretched out and improvised, pushing their music in unpredictable directions. Quicksilver Messenger Service was one of the best bands to emerge from the Sixties Haight Ashbury - San Francisco scene. He continued to work with Greg Elmore, David Freiberg, Gary Duncan, Dino Valenti, and others on Quicksilver Messenger Service projects during the 1970s.Shady Grove - The Quicksilver Messenger Service Page While on break from recording and touring with the Rolling Stones, Nicky joined Greg Elmore, David Freiberg, and John to record a musical masterpiece titled "Shady Grove".Īfter Shady Grove, John began to develop his own band known as "Copperhead" and spent less time working on projects with Quicksilver Messenger Service. The third album was made without Gary Duncan, and featured Nicky Hopkins on Keyboards. (Jim Murray quit the band before they started recording.) The self titled debut album was a studio version of the Quicksilver Messenger Service sound, followed by the "Happy Trails" live album. The first two albums relied heavily on the dual guitar work of John Cipollina and Gary Duncan, the bass playing of David Freiberg, and drumming of Greg Elmore. These three albums are some of the great masterpieces of the San Francisco acid rock era. Shady GroveAlthough Quicksilver Messenger Service released many albums, John was mainly involved with the first three releases. Bill Graham, a famous music promoter, was a big fan of John's guitar playing and helped to promote the music of Quicksilver Messenger Service at venues across the country. Their concerts included performing in the San Francisco area at the Winterland, the Fillmore, the Avalon Ballroom, the Matrix, and the famous Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Quicksilver Messenger Service was a San Francisco dance hall band that made it's mark through live performances. The band played alongside the other top legendary San Francisco bands such as Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and many other great acts. During the 1960's, Quicksilver Messenger Service was one of the most popular and well respected bands playing in the acid rock scene. John Cipollina, Greg Elmore, David Freiberg, Gary Duncan, and Jim Murray were the founding members of the San Francisco psychedelic rock band known as Quicksilver Messenger Service.
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