''Pair a Dice Found'' is an album by the American

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

band

Hot Tuna Hot Tuna is an American blues rock band formed in 1969 by former Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen (guitarist/vocals) and Jack Casady (bassist). Although it has always been a fluid aggregation, with musicians coming and going over the ...

. Released in 1990, it was their first

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

since '' Hoppkorv'' in 1976.

Background

In 1989,

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1965. One of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the San Francisco Bay Area, ...

reunited for a tour and eponymous album on

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

. In between sets, lead guitarist

Jorma Kaukonen Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen Jr. (; ; born December 23, 1940) is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist. Kaukonen performed with Jefferson Airplane, and still performs regularly on tour with Hot Tuna, which started as a side project with bassist ...

and bassist

Jack Casady John William Casady (born April 13, 1944) is an American bass guitarist, best known as a member of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. Jefferson Airplane became the first successful exponent of the San Francisco Sound. Singles including " Som ...

performed as

. After attending a show and seeing the positive reaction to Hot Tuna, Epic executives offered them a recording contract. Kaukonen produced the album, and described the sessions as easy-going, with songs requiring minimal takes. He and Casady were joined by

Michael Falzarano Michael Falzarano is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has been a professional musician since the 1970s, most notably in Hot Tuna, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Memphis Pilgrims, a Memphis-style rock and roll/blues b ...

on rhythm guitar and Harvey Sorgen on drums. Compared with previous albums, Kaukonen has relatively few writing credits, with the rest made up of blues covers, songs from contemporary writers, and originals from newcomer Falzarano. It also features a cover of the 1960s protest song " Eve of Destruction," intended as a comment on the then-current

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. (A cover of "

Endless Sleep "Endless Sleep" is a "teenage tragedy" pop song written and originally recorded by rockabilly singer Jody Reynolds in 1957. Background Reynolds wrote the song in 1956, after listening to Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel", and first performed it ...

" was also recorded during the sessions, and later released on '' Live at Sweetwater Two''.) In a press interview, Kaukonen described the choice of material: "I picked out songs I can still relate to. My whole era of songwriting back in the '70s, I sort of refer to as the 'canyons of your mind' songwriting school, though, and I don't find it easy to relate to those bizarre, introspective songs anymore."

Track listing

#"It's Alright with Me" (Jorma Kaukonen) #" Parchman Farm" (

Mose Allison Mose John Allison Jr. (November 11, 1927 – November 15, 2016) was an American jazz and blues pianist, singer, and songwriter. He became notable for playing a unique mix of blues and modern jazz, both singing and playing piano. After moving to N ...

) #"Urban Moon" (

Randall Bramblett Randall Bramblett (born 1948) is an American musician and singer-songwriter, whose career as a solo artist, session player, and touring musician, has spanned five decades. He has worked with Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Goose Creek Symphony, Ro ...

) #" Eve of Destruction" ( P. F. Sloan) #"AK-47" (Michael Falzarano) #"Shot in the Act" (

Scott Mathews Scott Mathews (born July 25, 1955) is an American music producer, composer, performer, and entrepreneur. He has appeared as a musician, songwriter or producer on recordings with sales of more than 50 million units which earned more than 30 gol ...

Ron Nagle Ron Nagle (born February 21, 1939) is an American sculptor, musician and songwriter. He is known for small-scale, refined sculptures of great detail and compelling color. Nagle lives and works in San Francisco, California. Life Born in S ...

) #"Brand New Toy" (Falzarano) #"To Be with You" (Falzarano) #"Flying in the Face of Mr. Blue" (Bramblett,

Davis Causey Sea Level was an American rock band from Macon, Georgia. Formed in 1976, the band was an offshoot of the Allman Brothers Band. Between 1977 and 1980, the band released five studio albums which incorporated elements of funk, blues and Latin musi ...

, Bucky Jones) #"Love Gone Flat" (Falzarano) #"Bulletproof Vest" (Falzarano) #"Ken Takes a Lude" (Kaukonen) #"

San Francisco Bay Blues "San Francisco Bay Blues" is an American folk song and is generally considered to be the most famous composition by Jesse Fuller. Fuller first recorded the song in 1954, which was released by the World Song label in 1955. A " one-man band" renditi ...

" (

Jesse Fuller Jesse Fuller (March 12, 1896 – January 29, 1976) was an American one-man band musician, best known for his song "San Francisco Bay Blues". Early life Fuller was born in Jonesboro, Georgia, near Atlanta, United States. He was sent by his moth ...

) #"Happy Turtle Song" (Kaukonen)

Personnel

– vocals, lead guitars, rhythm guitars, lap steel guitar, dobro *

– bass, 4-string guitar, 5-string guitar, fretless guitar, background vocals *

– rhythm guitar *Harvey Sorgen – drums *Galen Underwood – keyboards, background vocals, rhythm guitar on "Urban Moon", "Shot in the Act", and "Flying in the Face of Mr. Blue", sequenced percussion on "Urban Moon" ;Additional personnel *

Rick Danko Richard Clare Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of The Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. During ...

– background vocals on "Parchman Farm" and "Eve of Destruction" *The Phantoms (Charlie Staxx,

Joe Veillette Joe Veillette (born March 13, 1946), is a luthier and the owner of Veillette Guitars. He specializes in the crafting of unusual and innovative handmade guitars, basses, and other stringed instruments. Early life Veillette is originally from Broo ...

, Jane Veillette) – background vocals on "Urban Moon", "Brand New Toy", "To Be With You", and "Flying in the Face of Mr. Blue" *Vanessa Lillian, Ginger Lee, Rick Sanchez – background vocals on "Bulletproof Vest"

Production

– producer *Rick Sanchez – co-producer, engineer, mixdown at Beartracks *Michael Caplan – executive producer *Harvey Leeds – executive producer *Galen Underwood – production assistance *Ira Wilkes – production coordination *Harvey Sorgen – second engineer at Dreamland *John Yates – second engineer at Dreamland *Doug Rose – second engineer *Carl Studna – cover photo *Vanessa Lillian – art direction *Howard Fritzson – design

References

''Pair a Dice Found''
on

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''Pair a Dice Found''
on deaddisc.com # # # # #

Notes

{{Authority control Hot Tuna albums 1990 albums Epic Records albums