Quicksilver Messenger Service

[morf]

Just found out this band existed, I really like their music. Anyone else heard of em?

 

[zillo]

Absolutely. Cippolina was ourageous, and the rest of the band as well. I particularly enjoy Happy Trails and the first album.

Great jamming band, lots of energy, big grooves, and good chops!

 

[Passinwind]

Anyone else heard of em?

Sure, saw 'em play live a number of times ca. 1970. They were very popular back then. If you check out the old Fillmore-era poster art you'll see their name quite a bit.

One of my bands once opened for The Dinosaurs too, which featured John Cippolina and a bunch of other frickin' Bay Area hippies from sister bands.

 

[AxtoOx]

Yes, I'm that old too.:scowl:

 

[Passinwind]

Yes, I'm that old too.:scowl:

Geezer!

Younger than me by a bit though...

 

[iplaybassguitar]

John Cippolina is definatley a sick guitarist...sick music they made.

 

[bholder]

Zombie Thread Revival!!!! Just came here to post one, but this already exists!



Loved that band.... when they were firing on all cylinders, they flew so very high.....

 

[bholder]

And Cipolina's wicked wiry lead playing, with that insane hybrid distortion he used (tubes and early solid state combined).... Completely unique to him, that sound, shouldn't have worked, but it somehow did for him...

 

[jerry]

Saw them a few times, they were everywhere back then, helped define FM radio. Some really good albums with Nicky Hopkins, but Dino's ego kinda did them in.

 

[bholder]

Saw them a few times, they were everywhere back then, helped define FM radio. Some really good albums with Nicky Hopkins, but Dino's ego kinda did them in.

I was almost 10 years too young to actually see them (and on the wrong coast anyway), but I was listening! They were a part of those formative, transformative years.... was just a wee laddie still in short pants! hehe (But along with Cream and Jefferson Airplane, they definitely carved those deep blue ripples in my mind hehe)

 

[Michedelic]

Massive fan of the original quartet(although before they recorded the first album, there was an additional vocalist/guitarist who appeared in their set at the Monterey Festival). The second album, with lots of live performance, got heavy rotation on my freeform FM rock station at the time, but that first album had some brilliant moments…John Cippolina was such a unique talent, intense vibrato plus some pedal steel type bends, and used the wah very expressively. I thought he was way beyond anything Garcia did, and I much preferred them and Moby Grape over the other SF bands.
By the third album, second guitarist Gary Duncan had left, replaced by British keyboard whiz Nicky Hopkins, but when Dino Valenti came onboard, that ruined everything for me. His whiney pitchy vocals were awful, and of course that’s when they had their Top 40 hits, go figure.

This was an early attempt at a single, perhaps a little too weird even in psychedelic times…

Bassist David Frieberg went on to do vocals only in Jefferson Starship, and Cippolina worked with British band Man, then with Link Wray further into the 70’s. When I first encountered the band Television, I heard quite a bit of early QMS in what they were doing, so I was sold.

 

[droningearth]

found couple of Lps from flea markets, cool band.