Quicksilver Part 5: David Freiberg Reveals The Full Story Behind Quicksilver Messenger Service’s Debut Album (Interview Part 2) (The Crazy Tale of Quicksilver Messenger Service Series) (Ep. 277)
DiscograffitiShow Notes
Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives. The Crazy Tale of Quicksilver Messenger Service is an audio documentary series that was crafted to act as the ultimate assemblage of fact and opinion on one of the greatest bands to ever walk the face of the earth. This 8-episode series is built around a 2 1/2 hour interview with The Patti Smith Group’s Lenny Kaye, and the main event: an unprecedentedly detailed five-hour interview with last man standing David Freiberg, a very special experience that—regardless of how you feel about the group—will absolutely blow your mind with its unique twists and turns. There’s in-depth commentary on their history, a slew of endlessly wild stories, and star ratings for every release. Prepare yourselves: Lenny Kaye’s the wind up, and David Freiberg is very much the pitch.
This is Part 5 of the series—and part 2 of my discussion with David—in which we cover the time period during which Quicksilver Messenger Service recorded their classic self-titled debut album.
Here are just a few of the many things that David discusses with Discograffiti in this podcast:
The group’s collective reluctance toward signing with a label, after all their friends’ bands had hit the big time; The massive volume of local gigs they played in the Bay Area; The band’s first release as a 4-piece outfit, on the original soundtrack album for the film Revolution; The unintended positive consequence for the band when Jim Murray split after Monterey; The life-changing LSD experience that begat David’s “The Fool”; And an in-depth, track-by-track deep dive on every song off Quicksilver Messenger Service.
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Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives. Feed Your Head: The Great Jefferson Airplane Deep Dive is an audio documentary that was consciously crafted to act as the ultimate repository of fact and opinion on one of the greatest bands to ever walk the face of the earth. It includes long-form interviews, commentary on their history, wild stories, and star ratings for every release.
Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives. Feed Your Head: The Great Jefferson Airplane Deep Dive is an audio documentary that was consciously crafted to act as the ultimate repository of fact and opinion on one of the greatest bands to ever walk the face of the earth. It includes long-form interviews, commentary on their history, wild stories, and star ratings for every release.
Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives. Feed Your Head: The Great Jefferson Airplane Deep Dive is an audio documentary that was consciously crafted to act as the ultimate repository of fact and opinion on one of the greatest bands to ever walk the face of the earth. It includes long-form interviews, commentary on their history, wild stories, and star ratings for every release.
Four years ago, a guy named Rudy Fischmann started listening to Discograffiti. He signed up for Patreon. I reached out to him, and we became fast friends. He’s 54—just three months older than me—and he told me during our first conversation that he had brain cancer. He began making this show—in case you’re unfamiliar with it, I’m pretty sure The Discograffiti Soldiers of Sound Podcast is the world’s only podcast within a podcast. And yet here we are, 150 episodes later, and Rudy has created a show that’s lasted far longer than most regular podcasts. And it’s literalized the Discograffiti community, bringing folks together far and wide as friends, collaborators, and…hell, possibly even as lovers, as far as I know.
Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives. The Crazy Tale of Quicksilver Messenger Service is an audio documentary series that was crafted to act as the ultimate assemblage of fact and opinion on one of the greatest bands to ever walk the face of the earth. This 8-episode series is built around a 2 1/2 hour interview with The Patti Smith Group’s Lenny Kaye, and the main event: an unprecedentedly detailed five-hour interview with David Freiberg, a very special experience that—regardless of how you feel about the group—will absolutely blow your mind with its unique twists and turns. There’s in-depth commentary on their history, a slew of endlessly wild stories, and star ratings for every release.