(USA) – Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, Hot Tuna, head out on tour celebrating the release of Jorma’s memoirs, Been So Long: My Life and Music on St. Martin’s Press. The autobiography will be on sale August 28 and is available to pre-order online from Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
With a foreword by Grace Slick and an afterword by Jack Casady, the book is an account with Jorma writing naturally what was in his heart and mind. It is a wonderful combination of personal and cultural history.
Publisher’s Weekly describes it as “A mesmerizing storyteller, Kaukonen delivers a memoir as intricate and dazzling as his music.”
As a founding member of two legendary bands, Jefferson Airplane and the still-touring Hot Tuna, Jorma Kaukonen has achieved incredible success. A member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a Grammy recipient, Kaukonen has played with many well-known and historic musicians, including his contemporaries Jerry Garcia and Janis Joplin. For the first time, he is sharing his story in Been So Long: My Life and Music. The book will also include an exclusive five track companion album. The tracks include live recordings of “Been So Long,” “Song for the High Mountain,” “Broken Highway,” “River of Time,” and “In My Dreams.”
With a foreword by Grace Slick and an afterword by bandmate Jack Casady, BEEN SO LONG is an intimate portrait of an artist who was at the forefront of Psychedelic Rock and has since become one of the most highly respected interpreters of American roots music, blues, and Americana. Kaukonen’s memoir reveals the stories behind the songs, lessons from a life in the music industry, and his reflections on a remarkable decades-long career.
“Music is the reward for being alive,” writes Jorma Kaukonen in this candid and emotional account of his life and work. “It stirs memory in a singular way that is unmatched.” BEEN SO LONG is the story of how Jorma found his place in the world of music and beyond. The grandson of Finnish and Russian-Jewish immigrants whose formative years were spent abroad with his American-born diplomat father, Jorma channeled his life experiences—from his coming-of-age in Pakistan and the Phillipines to his early gigs with Jack Casady in D.C. to his jam sessions in San Francisco with Jerry Garcia, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, and other contemporaries—into his art in unique and revelatory ways.
BEEN SO LONG charts not only Jorma’s career in music but goes into never-before-told details about his addiction and recovery, his troubled first marriage and still-thriving second, the creation of the Fur Peace Ranch Guitar Camp, which he operates with his wife, Vanessa, and more. Interspersed with diary entries, personal correspondence, and song lyrics, this memoir is as unforgettable and inspiring as Jorma’s music itself.
Kaukonen is constantly looking to take his musical horizons further still, always moving forward, always infusing his classic sound with fresh insights and the depth that comes with a lifetime as a performer. His memoir, BEEN SO LONG, is a continuation of that artistic exploration.
Aug 25 NedFest, Nederland, CO Electric Hot Tuna w/Steve Kimock
Aug 26 NedFest, Nederland, CO Jorma Kaukonen
Aug 28 Center for the Arts, Jackson, WY Electric Hot Tuna w/Steve Kimock
Aug 30 Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA Electric Hot Tuna w/Steve Kimock
Aug 31 Revolution Hall, Portland, OR Electric Hot Tuna w/Steve Kimock
Sept 01 McDonald Theatre, Eugene, OR Electric Hot Tuna w/Steve Kimock
Sept 02 Mt Winery, Saratoga, CA Electric Hot Tuna w/Steve Kimock
Sept 04 Crest Theatre, Sacramento, CA Electric Hot Tuna w/Steve Kimock
Sept 06 El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA Electric Hot Tuna w/Steve Kimock
Sept 07 Brooklyn Bowl, Las Vegas, NV Electric Hot Tuna w/Steve Kimock
Sept 08 Scottsdale Ctr for the Arts, Phoenix, AZ Electric Hot Tuna w/Steve Kimock
Sept 10 The Rialto Theatre, Tucson, AZ Electric Hot Tuna w/Steve Kimock
Sept 11 KiMo Theatre, Albuquerque, NM Electric Hot Tuna w/Steve Kimock
Sept 21-24 Pick-N_Putt, Fur Peach Ranch, Pomeroy, OH Jorma Kaukonen
Sept 27 State Theatre, Ithaca, NY Acoustic Hot Tuna
Sept 28 Academy of Music, Northampton, MA Acoustic Hot Tuna
Sept 29 Caramoor, Katonah, NY Acoustic Hot Tuna SOLD OUT
Sept 30 Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY Acoustic Hot Tuna
Oct 04 Greenwich Odeum, East Greenwich, RI Jorma Kaukonen
Oct 07 Lost Weekend Records, Columbus, OH Jorma Kaukonen (signing & performance)
Oct 11 Chandler Center for the Arts, Randolph, VT Acoustic Hot Tuna
Oct 12 The Cabot Theater, Beverly, MA Acoustic Hot Tuna
Oct 13 Payomet Perf. Arts Ctr, North Truro, MA Acoustic Hot Tuna
Oct 14 The Egg, Swyer Theatre, Albany, NY Acoustic Hot Tuna
Oct 19 Rev. Gary Davis Weekend, Fur Peace Ranch Jorma Kaukonen
Oct 26 Fur Peace Ranch, Pomeroy, OH Jorma Kaukonen
Nov 09 – 12 Fur Peace Ranch, Pomeroy, OH Jorma and Jack
Nov 10 Fur Peace Ranch, Pomeroy, OH Acoustic Hot Tuna
Nov 15 Gramercy Books, Bexley, Ohio Jorma Kaukonen (book signing)
Nov 16-19 Fur Peace Ranch, Pomeroy, OH Jorma Kaukonen
Nov 17 Fur Peace Ranch, Pomeroy, OH Electric Hot Tuna
Nov 21 Beacon Theatre, New York, NY Electric Hot Tuna
Nov 23 Waterville Opera House, Waterville, ME Acoustic Hot Tuna
Nov 24 Tupelo Music Hall, Derry, NH Acoustic Hot Tuna
Nov 25 Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield, CT Acoustic Hot Tuna
Nov 27 City Winery, Washington DC Acoustic Hot Tuna
Nov 29 The Gordon Ctr Perf Arts, Owings Mills, MD Acoustic Hot Tuna
Nov 30 People’s Bank Theatre, Marietta, OH Acoustic Hot Tuna
Dec 01 The Ark, Ann Arbor, MI Acoustic Hot Tuna
Dec 03 Music Box, Cleveland, OH Acoustic Hot Tuna
Dec 05 Clyde Theatre, Fort Wayne, IN Acoustic Hot Tuna
Dec 07 Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago, IL Acoustic Hot Tuna
Dec 08 Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hopkins, MN Acoustic Hot Tuna
Dec 09 Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI Acoustic Hot Tuna
Dec 11 Delmar Hall, St. Louis, MO Acoustic Hot Tuna SOLD OUT
Dec 12 Liberty Hall, Lawrence, KS Acoustic Hot Tuna
2019
Jan 21 Jam Cruise 17, departing Miami, FL Electric Hot Tuna
Jan 22 Key West Theatre, Key West, FL Acoustic Hot Tuna
Jan 24 Plaza Theatre, Orlando, FL Acoustic Hot Tuna
Jan 25 Capital Theatre, Clearwater, FL Acoustic Hot Tuna
Jan 26 Southwest Florida Events Center, Bonita Springs, FL Acoustic Hot Tuna
Jan 28- Feb 1 Fur Peace Ranch On the Road, Sanibel Island, FL Jorma Kaukonen
Follow Hot Tuna’s Escapades:
