San Francisco Blue: Bob Harvey

Former Jefferson Airplane member Bob Harvey has found his way back to writing
and recording music with the band "San Francisco Blue". Bob decided to call
the band San Francisco Blue because his musical roots are in both San Francisco
and Bluegrass music, which he played as part of the Slippery Rock String Band
that he co-founded in 1963 and reformed in late 1965 after leaving the
Airplane. This website will let fans hear four unreleased cuts from Jefferson
Airplane, with Bob Harvey on Bass, recorded in August 1965 as demos at CBS.

What San Francisco Blue is all about is rooted in bluegrass music and strongly influenced by both folk-rock and psychedelic music. The true beginning of the band San Francisco Blue took place in Saudi Arabia, where Bob met Brian Fowler and the two began playing and writing together. Brian Fowler was born in Louisville, KY, where he began playing Mandolin and
guitar at age 13. Brain rekindled Bob's passion for music, which led to their co-founding the band "San Francisco Blue. In 1995 they began recording what would become their first Album, "Idiot's Vision"..After the release of that
first album in 2000, Bob and Brian performed in and around Columbus, GA. In 2001,
Brian and Bob split up. Bob kept writing and recording, while Brian put two bands together, "Jones Avenue" and "Superczar" and released five albums with Zeitgeist distribution and four College Radio compilations on shuteye Records.

as well as a movie soundtrack called "Chaos God and the Sunmonster" In the spring of 2004, Bob came to the realization that, while he was writing good material, he sorely missed the magic that was such a big part of playing and writing with Brian Fowler. The two of them talked a few times and then Bob began playing and singing with Brian's band "Jones Avenue" which they found enjoyable, opening for Nick Turner (Hawkwind Founder) and Spaceseed in Cullman, AL In September of 2004. Bob was offered a festival gig for the Cartersville, GA Arts Festival. He and Brian decided to perform as "San Francisco Blue. Dr. David Wisdo was also invited to perform, but he had a heavy teaching schedule. Bob and Brian performed on stage next to the Cartersville Train depot on October 16th, 2004. It was a real hoot. Even the passing trains added to the mix which the producers (the Groovy Brothers) were recording live. It was a great show and they got a live album out of it as well - plus the realization of how much they enjoy performing at festivals. But the biggest revelation was how much they had each grown musically and how good they sounded together.
The live album has just arrived and Bob and Brian are pleased. "San Francisco Blue, Live on the Cartersville Express is great and it will help get more festival gigs. Over the past several months, Brian and Bob have been also recording a new studio Album called "Hurting For People". The title cut is a song originally written by Bob Harvey and Skip Spence when they were both members of Jefferson Airplane. Bob resurrected the song after almost 40 years, when he was asked to do a song for the Moby Grape/Skip Spence tribute album for the year 2004. Bob had forgotten most of the tune that Skip had written, so he and Brian built on those chord changes that he remembered, and finished - then recorded "Hurting For People" which is now the title cut on their upcoming studio album. Last month, Bob made a trip to Tacoma, WA, where he met and played with one of the guitar greats, Jerry Miller, of Moby Grape. He also met and played with other top local musicians like guitarist Arnie Nordwal, violinist Gordy Lockard and bassist Mike Blackburn. Debra Kennard, moderator of the top Moby Grape site is putting together a benefit to help Jerry Miller get his financial house in order, so he can concentrate on his music and hopefully record a new album. Bob has agreed to headline the upcoming Benefit. San Francisco blue isn't just having a resurgence - this is more like Re-birth which has led to new lyrics which in the end will hopefully be just one more Harvey-Cooley-Fowler blockbuster -Seeds of Revolution Lyrics by Harvey/Cooley If you see me in the crosswalk with my freshly broken heart I'll be searching for a world to which "My God" can play a part Please don't call me Christian, that's not Spirit - only art So to all you Pharisees, this woe is just the start I wish I had the energy that I wasted in my youth Praying for a future in which all men saw the truth Now some hypocritic preacher tells me how to know the truth

He says he is god's hand and wants to share my voting booth Last night the ghost of Socrates spoke to me in dream He asked where's my flying car, where is my time machine begged him please forgive us, we're not as simple as we seem He said wait - Is that a country filled with refugees?When tomorrow looks upon us I hope they can be kind But will they say we shut our eyes for fear of being blind? Or that we spoke the magic curse that clouded our own song We fight war with war - when it's war that is the wrong When I think of all my children and the world my fathers made Remembering my freedom and the ransom that they paid I have that homesick feeling as I watch their glory fade Forgotten history is the seed of revolution

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