Quoted from an interview with Jefferson Airplane Founder Marty Balin:

We were rehearsing in the Fillmore on an early April day. We were sitting below the stage, in this big room, playing by ourselves. Suddenly a big guy comes in wearing a suit and tie -- it was Beatles road manager Mal Evans. He booms out in his thick British accent: "Master Paul McCartney'd like to visit."

"*What*? Well, then, send him in," I said.

In comes Paul. Man, we freaked out. I mean, any commercial success we were enjoying was due to the Beatles coming to America in the first place.. So we sat around and talked about the Beatles, about the Airplane, and music in general.

We broke up the rehearsal and went back to the apartment Jack [Casady, Jefferson Airplane's acclaimed bassist] and I shared in this old Victorian off of Haight and Fell. Jack and Paul got into a discussion about bass playing; the British musicians were learning what we already knew, that Jack was brilliant. Jorma and Jack kept trying to get Paul to jam with them; they were noodling all the time on their guitars. Jack took Paul back to his hotel room that night, so I'm sure they talked a lot more about music. There's a story that Paul tried to play, but couldn't, because he's left-handed and Jack had a right-handed bass. I don't know.

I do know Paul just wanted to relax. He was mainly interested in shooting home movies of the Haight-Ashbury scene. I told Paul about some of the things happening in the Haight, and gave him some places to shoot. Ever since the days of the Beatles, he'd taken the little home movie camera around and filmed the places and excitement surrounding them. He liked to film the scenes, gallery openings, people in their element; he wasn't reclusive like John. Paul was always going out, socializing, meeting people.

Later, I went into my room to get way from the crowd that was in the main part of the house. Paul came in, and we talked a little more about music.

"What's new with the Beatles?" I asked. "What's next?"

Paul smiled. "Oh, I happen to have a little tape here."

He pulled a tape out and we put it on. It was the song "A Day in the Life." I just about lost it; I could not believe what I was hearing. Up until then, the Beatles had been like gods to us. Anything they did was amazing, and in 1964 and 1965, it seemed that every two weeks, they had a new single. They were fantastic, and an inspiration to just about everybody in the rock music world.

So he played this song. I just did not have the words to describe it. "Man, that's the most amazing thing I've ever heard," I said.

[End of excerpt.]

On Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 9:45:56 AM UTC-5, Norbert K wrote:
> Quoted from an interview with Jefferson Airplane Founder Marty Balin:
>
> We were rehearsing in the Fillmore on an early April day. We were sitting below the stage, in this big room, playing by ourselves. Suddenly a big guy comes in wearing a suit and tie -- it was Beatles road manager Mal Evans. He booms out in his thick British accent: "Master Paul McCartney'd like to visit."
>
> "*What*? Well, then, send him in," I said.
>
> In comes Paul. Man, we freaked out. I mean, any commercial success we were enjoying was due to the Beatles coming to America in the first place. So we sat around and talked about the Beatles, about the Airplane, and music in general.
>
> We broke up the rehearsal and went back to the apartment Jack [Casady, Jefferson Airplane's acclaimed bassist] and I shared in this old Victorian off of Haight and Fell. Jack and Paul got into a discussion about bass playing; the British musicians were learning what we already knew, that Jack was brilliant. Jorma and Jack kept trying to get Paul to jam with them; they were noodling all the time on their guitars. Jack took Paul back to his hotel room that night, so I'm sure they talked a lot more about music. There's a story that Paul tried to play, but couldn't, because he's left-handed and Jack had a right-handed bass. I don't know.
>
> I do know Paul just wanted to relax. He was mainly interested in shooting home movies of the Haight-Ashbury scene. I told Paul about some of the things happening in the Haight, and gave him some places to shoot. Ever since the days of the Beatles, he'd taken the little home movie camera around and filmed the places and excitement surrounding them. He liked to film the scenes, gallery openings, people in their element; he wasn't reclusive like John. Paul was always going out, socializing, meeting people.
>
> Later, I went into my room to get way from the crowd that was in the main part of the house. Paul came in, and we talked a little more about music.
>
> "What's new with the Beatles?" I asked. "What's next?"
>
> Paul smiled. "Oh, I happen to have a little tape here."
>
> He pulled a tape out and we put it on. It was the song "A Day in the Life.." I just about lost it; I could not believe what I was hearing. Up until then, the Beatles had been like gods to us. Anything they did was amazing, and in 1964 and 1965, it seemed that every two weeks, they had a new single. They were fantastic, and an inspiration to just about everybody in the rock music world.
>
> So he played this song. I just did not have the words to describe it. "Man, that's the most amazing thing I've ever heard," I said.
>
> [End of excerpt.]

Another terrific post, Norbert. I've just been checking out rec.music.beatles intermittently, but moreso lately.
Bruce, I've been enjoying your "Yeseterday's Papers" British singles reviews clips, too.

Question: I see there's also a group called rec.music.beatles.moderated, but it seems to have died out in 2012. I went back to its beginning in November, 1996, and see from the "Welcome to rec.music.beatles.moderated" kickoff post that the original moderaters were:

saki (sa...@dna.bchs.uh.edu)
Ed Chen (e...@evolution.bchs.uh.edu)
Bruce Dumes (b...@ici.net)
Neal Katz (ne...@aol.com)
Maurizio Codogno (m...@beatles.cselt.stet.it)

Did this group form because (as rec.music.dylan did) the original group became a flame fest? Why did it die out in 2012? Did the core participants move on, basically?

On Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 11:40:14 AM UTC-5, Willie Williams wrote:
> On Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 9:45:56 AM UTC-5, Norbert K wrote:
> > Quoted from an interview with Jefferson Airplane Founder Marty Balin:
> >
> > We were rehearsing in the Fillmore on an early April day. We were sitting below the stage, in this big room, playing by ourselves. Suddenly a big guy comes in wearing a suit and tie -- it was Beatles road manager Mal Evans. He booms out in his thick British accent: "Master Paul McCartney'd like to visit."
> >
> > "*What*? Well, then, send him in," I said.
> >
> > In comes Paul. Man, we freaked out. I mean, any commercial success we were enjoying was due to the Beatles coming to America in the first place. So we sat around and talked about the Beatles, about the Airplane, and music in general.
> >
> > We broke up the rehearsal and went back to the apartment Jack [Casady, Jefferson Airplane's acclaimed bassist] and I shared in this old Victorian off of Haight and Fell. Jack and Paul got into a discussion about bass playing; the British musicians were learning what we already knew, that Jack was brilliant. Jorma and Jack kept trying to get Paul to jam with them; they were noodling all the time on their guitars. Jack took Paul back to his hotel room that night, so I'm sure they talked a lot more about music. There's a story that Paul tried to play, but couldn't, because he's left-handed and Jack had a right-handed bass. I don't know.
> >
> > I do know Paul just wanted to relax. He was mainly interested in shooting home movies of the Haight-Ashbury scene. I told Paul about some of the things happening in the Haight, and gave him some places to shoot. Ever since the days of the Beatles, he'd taken the little home movie camera around and filmed the places and excitement surrounding them. He liked to film the scenes, gallery openings, people in their element; he wasn't reclusive like John. Paul was always going out, socializing, meeting people.
> >
> > Later, I went into my room to get way from the crowd that was in the main part of the house. Paul came in, and we talked a little more about music..
> >
> > "What's new with the Beatles?" I asked. "What's next?"
> >
> > Paul smiled. "Oh, I happen to have a little tape here."
> >
> > He pulled a tape out and we put it on. It was the song "A Day in the Life." I just about lost it; I could not believe what I was hearing. Up until then, the Beatles had been like gods to us. Anything they did was amazing, and in 1964 and 1965, it seemed that every two weeks, they had a new single. They were fantastic, and an inspiration to just about everybody in the rock music world.
> >
> > So he played this song. I just did not have the words to describe it. "Man, that's the most amazing thing I've ever heard," I said.
> >
> > [End of excerpt.]
> Another terrific post, Norbert. I've just been checking out rec.music.beatles intermittently, but moreso lately.
> Bruce, I've been enjoying your "Yeseterday's Papers" British singles reviews clips, too.
>
> Question: I see there's also a group called rec.music.beatles.moderated, but it seems to have died out in 2012. I went back to its beginning in November, 1996, and see from the "Welcome to rec.music.beatles.moderated" kickoff post that the original moderaters were:
>
> saki (sa...@dna.bchs.uh.edu)
> Ed Chen (e...@evolution.bchs.uh.edu)
> Bruce Dumes (b...@ici.net)
> Neal Katz (ne...@aol.com)
> Maurizio Codogno (m...@beatles.cselt.stet.it)
>
> Did this group form because (as rec.music.dylan did) the original group became a flame fest? Why did it die out in 2012? Did the core participants move on, basically?

Thanks, Willie! I don't know the answers to your questions. It seems plausible that RMBM started to keep out the craziness that would sometimes break out in RMB.

I encounter the occasional archived post in this group from Saki or Ed Chen.. Nothing recent, however.

I never thought there was much by the Jefferson Airplane worth owning
other than what's on the ironically titled The Worst of the Jefferson
Airplane (actually their best of).

I wasn't crazy about the '70s Jefferson Starship either when Balin
stepped up, I think my favorite incarnation was the '80's/'90s Starship
when they recruited Mickey Thomas to sing lead on some great AOR tracks.