DEADWOOD, S.D. (12/12/22) – “You cannot talk about rock in the 1970s without talking about Grand Funk Railroad!” – David Fricke, Rolling Stone Magazine. This quote sums up the legacy that is Grand Funk Railroad. The iconic band joins forces with Jefferson Starship for a one-night-only performance at Deadwood Mountain Grand on Thursday, April 13th.
Originating from Flint, Michigan in 1969, this top selling American rock group of the 70’s is “Comin’ To Your Town To Help You Party Down!” Grand Funk Railroad is extremely excited to be touring in 2023 marking a 54-year milestone. After playing to millions of fans on the band’s tours from 1996 to 2022, Grand Funk’s 2023 Tour with Jefferson Starship will continue to reach both new and long-time fans.
Known as “The American Band,” the high-energy five-piece group will play forty shows all over the USA this year. Grand Funk Railroad includes original founding members Don Brewer (vocals and drums, writer and singer of the multi-million selling hit, “We’re an American Band”) and bassist Mel Schacher, “The God of Thunder.” Joining Don and Mel are true “All Stars.” Singer Max Carl is a rock veteran from 38 Special. Max penned and sang 38’s highest-charting hit Second Chance and was co-founder of California’s legendary Jack Mack and the Heart Attack. Don refers to Max as “the best blue-eyed soul singer on the planet.”
Lead guitarist Bruce Kulick is best known for his 12 years with KISS and also has credits with Michael Bolton, Meatloaf and Billy Squier. (KISS members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley were influenced early on by Grand Funk.) Keyboardist Tim Cashion has a master’s degree in music from the University of Miami. Affectionately called “Dr. Tim,” his credits include stints with Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band and English soul man Robert Palmer.
Grand Funk laid the groundwork for such bands as Foreigner, Journey, Van Halen and Bon Jovi with its signature hard driving sound, soulful vocals, muscular instrumentation and forceful pop melodies. The fact that Grand Funk’s legacy still reigns over the Classic Rock landscape fifty years after its 1969 birth in Flint, Michigan is a testament to the group’s influence and staying power.
Mega-hits “We’re an American Band”, “ I’m Your Captain/Closer to Home”, “Locomotion”, and “Some Kind of Wonderful” still receive continuous airplay on
Classic Rock radio. “We’re an American Band” has received notoriety in recent years being used in movie soundtracks and in television/radio advertising. The huge hit was featured in a General Motors national TV ad campaign and in Disney’s animated feature film “The Country Bears”. The song was also featured in the Cuba Gooding Jr. film “RADIO”, and also in the swashbuckler “SAHARA” starring Matthew McConaughey.
The group’s widespread appeal is also evident in its prestigious recording achievements. Over their career, Grand Funk has had 19 charted singles, 8 Top 40 hits and two Number One singles “We’re an American Band” and “Locomotion”, both selling more than one million each. The group has now accumulated 13 gold and 10 platinum records with record sales in excess of 25 million copies sold worldwide. The most recent gold CD award was presented to the band for their greatest hits package “Grand Funk Railroad the Collectors Series”.
The members of Jefferson Starship past and present have been exploring the mysteries of music for more than 1000 collective years. Give or take. But who’s counting? Jefferson Airplane founding member Paul Kantner created Jefferson Starship with that collective spirit in mind and carried it with him throughout his life.
Kantner knew that combining powerful creative forces, personalities and talents could create something far greater than the sum of its parts. Between 1974 and 1984, Jefferson Starship released eight gold and platinum selling albums, twenty hit singles, sold out concerts worldwide and lived out legendary rock and roll escapades.
Today’s Jefferson Starship remains dedicated to breathing new life into the living catalog of the Jefferson legacy, going to the edge, pushing the sonic boundaries and staying true to the original spirit of the music, on and off stage.
In 2014-15, the band played a series of free concerts for America’s Veterans and was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the US Department of Defense.
Co- founder David Freiberg also started another Fillmore- era San Francisco band, Quicksilver Messenger Service, who often shared the bill with the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. David is a world class singer, producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist. He was also a member of Jefferson Airplane, and co- wrote one of Jefferson Starship’s all-time biggest hits, “Jane” – which he sings. David is the band’s Buddha and guru. If you get into the same room with David, you will be blessed.
Donny Baldwin became part of the San Francisco music scene in the early 70s growing up there. From 1973 to 1978 Donny was with the Elvin Bishop Band. During this time he toured and recorded six albums, which included the #1 hit single, “Fooled Around and Fell In Love”. Donny was a member of Jefferson Starship from 1981 to 1989. In January 1994, he joined the Jerry Garcia Band. He has toured and recorded with Kenny Loggins, Pablo Cruise, Chuck Berry, Van Morrison, Ronnie Montrose, Greg Allman, Heart, Lydia Pense & Cold Blood, .38 Special and Eddie Money. Donny returned to Jefferson Starship in 2008. His driving, rock solid grooves are the backbone and his super- high harmonies provide a glorious sheen to the sound of the band.
Cathy Richardson joined Jefferson Starship in 2008, and anchors the historic role made famous by Grace Slick. Her professional credits include fronting her own bands- CRB, Macrodots and Nelson Street Revival- producing and releasing seven independent albums. She was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Art Direction of Cathy Richardson Band’s 2003 release, “The Road to Bliss.” She starred as Janis Joplin in the original Off Broadway cast of “Love, Janis” and also in Chicago, Sag Harbor, NY, San Francisco, Phoenix and Tucson and has toured the US as lead singer with Janis’ original band, Big Brother and the Holding Co. Cathy recently released a download-only single, What I Am, available on iTunes.
Chris Smith joined Jefferson Starship in 1998, instantly winning the job of keyboardist, after touring with the Supremes and Lou Bega. Chris’ film and television music has been heard on dozens of shows including the #1 rated series “CSI” and the Academy Awards telecast. In 2000, he assumed the seeming impossible task of playing piano AND (synth) bass simultaneously. Chris has been keyboardist longer than any in the band’s history. Chris grew up in the suburbs of Connecticut and currently resides in Los Angeles.
Lead guitarist Jude Gold jumped in for a 10 country, three- month international tour with 48 hours’ notice- when Slick Aguilar had to drop out to deal with a life threatening illness- and continues to this day to freak us all out with his awesomeness. Jude’s innovative, monster chops take the Jefferson songbook to new dimensions and have made him an irreplaceable ingredient to the band’s sound. Jude has toured with contemporary stars Miguel Migs, Stu Hamm and JGB. He’s an instructor at Musician’s Institute, Los Angeles Editor at Guitar Player Magazine and host of the podcast, No Guitar is Safe.
Tickets go on sale for Deadwood Mountain Grand Reward Members at 10 a.m. Tuesday, February 7th and to the general public at 10 a.m. Friday February 10th. They will be available at the Deadwood Mountain Grand Box Office or at ticketmaster.com. Ticket buyers should note that TICKETMASTER is the only official ticket broker for Deadwood Mountain Grand. Beware of third party websites and offers. Both hotel reservations and ticket arrangements may be made by calling 877-907-GRAND.
For more information, visit www.deadwoodmountaingrand.com or call 605-559-1188. To open your free Grand Rewards Center membership and enjoy the benefits of purchasing advance tickets ahead of the general public, bring a photo ID to the Grand Rewards Center counter, located in the Deadwood Mountain Grand Resort Casino.
Deadwood Mountain Grand Hotel, a Holiday Inn Resort is the restored 1906 Homestake Mining Co. ore processing plant that overlooks Historic Deadwood, which features a 98-room luxury hotel, full service restaurants, 210 state-of-the-art casino games, high stakes gaming action including Dale’s Sportsbook Bar & Grill, a 3,000 person entertainment and event center and a multi-level parking garage.
