In the summer of 1984, Jefferson Starship were touring in support of their Nuclear Furniture album. The commercial direction of the band’s sound during this time would mark the snapping point for Paul Kantner, who left the band and took “Jefferson” with him. When Starship released Knee Deep in the Hoopla the following year, it would prove to contain the first two #1 singles for any incarnation of the band (“We Built This City” and “Sara”).

These interviews with Mickey Thomas (vocalist) and Craig Chaquico (guitarist) speak to this commercial leaning. Recorded specifically for promoting the tour, the two seem content to play into the hands of the radio listeners, promising that there would be plenty of “rocking out.” The same questions are posed to each individual, leading to a bit of repetitiveness, but it’s also interesting to see how the responses differ. It’s a telling snap-shot of the band at that time, and the perfect supplement to the show posted at Wolfgang’s from this tour.

Mickey Thomas 00:00 – What you can expect from a Starship show: synths, new and old material 00:54 – Touring as the final stage of songwriting 02:06 – “Consistency” within the Jefferson Airplane/Starship 03:15 – Updating classic songs: “White Rabbit,” “Somebody to Love” 04:26 – New songs on the tour 05:05 – Playing songs live vs. in the studio 06:21 – The origins of the title Nuclear Furniture / an accidental concept album 07:03 – Not trying to make a statement on nuclear power and war 07:40 – The puns on the album sleeve 08:10 – What happens after the shows 08:58 – The anxiety associated with performances 10:04 – Meaning behind “Layin’ It On The Line”

Craig Chaquico 00:00 – New energy in the band: Peter Wolf, more hard rock 01:43 – Touring as the after-party for recording an album 03:21 – “Consistency” within the Jefferson Airplane/Starship 05:51 – Trying to keep up with technology / road-testing songs 07:23 – Playing classic songs with the new approach 08:59 – Song selection for the tour 09:48 – Live performances vs. studio recording: weeding out bad ideas, looking out for air guitarists 11:21 – Emotions after finishing a show 12:43 – Looking forward to playing “Sorry Me, Sorry You” live 13:25 – “Magicians” as a highlight of the set

From his house in Los Angeles (complete with his kids running around in the background), Graham Nash phoned in to talk with Scott Muni shortly after the release of the first CSN&Y album since Déjà Vu. And while the album and the reunion dominate the conversation recorded here, Nash is also a little more nostalgic about the tunes he decides to introduce to fulfill his responsibility as DJ for the World of Rock radio show. Besides some cuts from the new CSN&Y album, he also gives the back-story on songs from The Hollies, Woodstock, and Joni Mitchell.

00:00 – Intro 00:39 – The CSN&Y album American Dream 01:47 – Origin of the American Dream title 02:19 – Making solo records to survive 02:58 – Intro to “Soldiers of Peace” / Nicaragua 04:28 – The Hollies: new-found success 05:21 – Intro to “Stop Stop Stop” / Soupy Sales, belly dancing 06:29 – Possibility for CSN&Y doing another album 07:55 – Intro for “Shadowland” 08:46 – The “W-word” / 20th anniversary of Woodstock 09:49 – Intro to “Woodstock” / Joni Mitchell and Dick Cavett 10:36 – Intro to “Our House” / Joni Mitchell 11:17 – The Crosby & Nash album in the works 11:49 – Intro to “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” / in praise of the U.S. 12:43 – Intro to “Don’t Say Goodbye” / Love and energy at home 14:04 – In praise of Scott Muni / outro

OUTTAKES 14:44 – Children of the World 15:36 – Explosive chemistry in CSN&Y 16:42 – Writing a song or producing for another musician 17:26 – Taking time off to learn computers, graphics, and video 17:45 – Stephen Stills writing a book 18:12 – David Crosby’s book / hitting rock-bottom 19:21 – Interruption as kids come home from school 19:40 – Intro to “Clear Blue Skies” / pollution