Hot Tuna is an American band, formed by bassist Jack Casady and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen as an acoustic (and occasionally electric blues) spin-off of Jefferson Airplane. The band's fans often refer to them loudly as "Hot Fucking Tuna." Hot Tuna at first used to open Airplane concerts and afforded Kaukonen and Casady the opportunity to further explore and develop their love of traditional blues music. As Jefferson Airplane slowly wound down in the early 1970's, the "sideshow" gradually became a new musical entity in its own right.

Their early repertoire was derived mainly from the American country blues artists such as Rev. Gary Davis and Arthur Blake (Blind Blake). Originally a duo, Casady and Kaukonen added Will Scarlett on harmonica and released a live album in 1970,"Hot Tuna". This album was recorded in the fall of 1969 at the New Orleans House in Berkeley and is affectionally known by Tunaphiles as the " breaking glass album". This was followed by a long series of well received albums that played mostly to a small but devoted cult following. Following the release of the eponymous debut album, the band went electric and added violinist Papa John Creech and drummer Sammy Piazza and issued the album "First Pull Up, Then Pull Down" recorded live at the Chateau Liberte, Santa Cruz , CA in April 1971. The studio albums Burgers (1972) and Phosphorescent Rat (1973) followed. The year 1974 marked a departure from their primarily acoustic style when TUNA morphed into heavy rock band. The albums America's Choice (1975), Yellow Fever (1975), and Hoppkorv (1976), showcase a power trio with the addition of new drummer Bob Steeler. Their live performances during this period were typified by freeflow improvisational jams and extremely long sets. They are often considered a forerunner of modern jam bands, such as Phish.

Casady and Kaukonen went their separate ways in the late 1970's, but re-formed Hot Tuna in the mid-1980's with guitarist and producer Michael Falzarano. During the 1990's, Tuna again alternated between acoustic and electric styles, an example of the former can be found on the 1997 release " Live in Japan". In many ways this was reminiscent of their very first album, having a minimalistic sound and being recorded live at a tiny venue (Stove's in Yokohama). Falzarano stayed with the band until 2002 when he left to release and promote his solo album The King James Sessions, which features Pete Sears, another long-time member of Hot Tuna. Other musicians have come and gone over the group's several incarnations; the name Hot Tuna has essentially become shorthand for "Jack Casady, Jorma Kaukonen". Most recently (2004-2005), they have toured with multi-instrumentalist Barry Mitterhoff and drummer Erik Diaz.

Throughout the band's history they garnered much fan support based on their pro-taping policy, allowing fans to record their live shows. Recently (July 2006) the band has changed their stance, no longer permitting taping.

As former members of the Jefferson Airplane, Kaukonen and Casady are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Discography

Albums

• Hot Tuna (1970) * First Pull Up, Then Pull Down (1971) * Burgers (1972) * The Phosphorescent Rat (1973) * Quah (1974) (by Jorma Kaukonen with Tom Hobson, produced by Jack Casady) * America's Choice (1975) * Yellow Fever (1975) * Hoppkorv (1976) * Double Dose (1977) * The Last Interview? (1978) * Final Vinyl (1979 compilation) * Splashdown (1984) * Historic Hot Tuna (1985) * Pair a Dice Found (1990) * Live at Sweetwater (1992) * Live at Sweetwater 2 (1993) * Trimmed & Burning (1995) * In a Can (1996 compilation of Hot Tuna, First Pull Up Then Pull Down, Burgers, America's Choice and Hopkorv) * Classic Hot Tuna Acoustic (1996) * Classic Hot Tuna Electric (1996) * Splashdown Two (1997) * Live at Stove's (1997), later expanded and re-released as Live in Japan * And Furthurmore... (1999)

External links

• Hot Tuna Official Website
• Hot Tuna Official Live Downloads
• Hot Tuna discography from Music City