Fort Lauderdale Magazine: You began your career by earning three Billboard Top 100s as the bassist and songwriter for Quicksilver Messenger Service.
David Freiberg: Yes, I played the most bass with Quicksilver. The first time I played bass was with them. Before we made the band, we got all the guys together and realized none of us were bass players, so I volunteered to be it [laughs].
FLMag: “Fresh Air” happened to be one of my favorites. I really loved that song. And “The Fool” also. Did you write either of those?
DF: I wrote the lyrics for “The Fool.” I woke up and brought out my typewriter [laughs].
FLMag: I also heard that you’re one of the oldest rock musicians still playing. Is this true?
DF: I don’t know how that happened [laughs]. But I figured, if I want to keep living, then I better keep playing.
FLMag: You are also the sole remaining co-founder of Jefferson Starship and alumnus of Jefferson Airplane. You joined Jefferson Airplane and did the final tour. How long after that did the name change to Starship?
DF: Well, we were transitioning. It was Paul and Grace who pulled me into the band because Marty [Balin] had left. They were really missing the harmony in some of the songs they were doing. They didn’t ask me to do any of Marty’s tunes, but I do now because somebody has to so beautifully, and they have to get played live.
FLMag: How did it feel writing songs with the iconic Grace Slick?
DF: Oh, it felt great! So, that’s what happened after we got off the road. Paul and Grace both owed RCA an album, so the first one we did was Paul’s album called Ballad of the Chrome Nun. It said Paul Kantner, Grace Slick and David Freiberg on that. That was kind of our co-introduction. Then, we did Grace’s album, which was Manhole, and I have a song on that one too. And then we said, “Hey, we haven’t been playing. It’s been like a year and a half—what’s going on?” [laughs]. “We better go out and play.”
FLMag: You started out folky. What made you switch to rock?
DF: To be honest, probably The Beatles. Although I never had anything against rock and roll, I was a folk singer and having a real good time at it. But all of a sudden here come The Beatles, and they were kind of folk singers too. When we saw the Hard Day’s Night movie, we kind of had a community living in one house with Paul Kantner in San Jose. We saw the movie and I said, ”That’s the same as us! We better plug in” and we did [laughs].
FLMag: I want to talk about a song that happened to be and still is one of my favorites, and you played keyboard in the song. It was the most magical melody I have ever heard. I’m sure you know which song I’m talking about—“Miracles.” I think that’s a song well-known by everybody even if they don’t know Jefferson Starship.
DF: Yes, I did know what song you were talking about [laughs].
FLMag: Was that the group’s most successful single also?
DF: I think it probably was.
FLMag: Yes, that must make you proud.
DF: I think it has been played probably more than 24 million times. There’s this thing called SoundExchange, which shows you plays on streaming mostly, and the top song I ever played comes about every month. You get a check, a kind of small check [laughs], but “Miracles” is always on there.
FLMag: In addition to playing songs from Jefferson Airplane, are you still creating new music?
DF: Yes, we still are. We put out a CD collection in 2020, which was not a great time to put out an album [laughs]. We had one song that was written by Jude [Gold], Cathy [Richardson] and Grace.
FLMag: What is your relationship with Grace these days? Are you still friends? I’m sure you are. You’ve had a great relationship.
DF: Sure, we are. We are friends with Paul and Grace’s daughter, China. She’s a big booster for us. She’ll come out and sing with us every now and then.
FLMag: It’s wonderful that you still have a relationship. I also have been a longtime fan since my teen years. In the ’60s, “Somebody to Love” was my favorite. I enjoyed listening to a female voice for a change—no offense—but it was nice to listen to that female voice.
DF: I love female voices. I started in folk music. I had a girl named Michaela—bless her soul—she’s passed now. We were David and Michaela touring around the country as a folk duo [laughs]. I love singing with women. Quicksilver was the first group I sang with that didn’t have a woman [laughs].
FLMag: Yeah, they had a nice little sound for sure. I love that you are keeping the band alive by bringing new life into this era with such incredible hits and timeless music that is played all over the world. It’s the same sound but different times, and it’s incredible that you’re keeping it so alive.
DF: We’ve kind of evolved. Paul re-formed Jefferson Starship in the early ’90s after Starship dropped the “Jefferson” from the name and did “We Built This City” and “Not Gonna Stop Us.” Anyway, I left the band then too. And then, in the early 2000s, I rejoined Paul with that and he had a keyboard player named Chris Smith who has been playing with Starship since 1998. That’s a long time to be playing steadily, so now it’s 2025 and that’s pretty good [laughs].
FLMag: Well, you sound amazing. At this age, most people don’t even have their minds, never mind their voices.
DF: I don’t know if I still have my mind but somehow still have this voice [laughs]. And again, singing with a girl, Cathy Richardson—she’s fantastic.
FLMag: So having lived a life of success, what advice would you give to upcoming musicians?
DF: The best advice is: Don’t give up. Never give up. If you love music—don’t give up. Keep on singing no matter what.
FLMag: That makes perfect sense.
DF: Even if you don’t make it, it will be worth it.
FLMag: You mentioned Cathy Richardson, who is a Grammy-nominated vocalist. Tell me a little about the rest of the band.
DF: I feel so good playing in this band that it’s hard to remember the last time I felt this good playing in a band. Our drummer is Donny Baldwin, who joined Jefferson Starship in the early ’80s and played on all the Starship hits too like “We Built This City,” and he sings a lot of high harmonies also; and we have a fantastic lead guitarist named Jude Gold. This whole band was playing in Jefferson Starship with Paul when he passed away. Paul’s and Grace’s families both told us they wanted us to keep it going and not let it die. There’s nothing we love better and we kept it going.
FLMag: David, it has been an absolute pleasure.
WHAT: Jefferson Starship: 50th Anniversary Runaway Again Tour
WHEN: March 9, 7pm
WHERE: Wells Hall at The Parker
TICKETS: browardcenter.org
