Craig's Mailbag
Send us your questions for Craig or the band and we'll see if we can get some answers for you.
"Craig, did Starship ever play at the Super Bowl?" Mark Richards
Answer: "Hi Mark! That's a memory question isn't it? Those are tuff (ha ha). Seriously, we never played at the Super Bowl as Jefferson Starship or Starship, but we have played at a game between Super Bowl Champs, our pals the SF 49ers and the LA Rams! The mayor of San Francisco proclaimed Dec. 9, 1985 as Starship Day in San Francisco and we played a few songs at half-time. It was a blast!
FYI - I've played a few National Anthems on my acoustic guitar at Lakers basketball games and Kings hockey games. I've only done a handful of those though, but every time I do, the home team wins! Seriously, I'm a secret weapon, put me in coach!
Funny thing, when I went out on the ice to play at a Kings game I stepped off the red carpet that they roll over the ice for the person doing the Anthem to stand on. So right toward the end of my performance in the middle of the arena, I start to get down and go for this big climax of the song on my guitar right. Well, I planted both my feet wide apart for the grand finale, but one foot is off the carpet now and on the ice ok? As I'm ripping through the end of the song, leaning back and into the guitar, getting all into it, getting ready to go for that high note...and the land of the FREEEE my left foot starts slip on the ice, ever so slowly, and there is absolutely nothing I can do to stop it.
Now, I find myself doing the splits in slow motion in front of thousands of people in the arena and on TV while trying to keep it together on the guitar not always easy to do even when I am not doing the splits on the ice in slow motion! Hey, I didn't miss a note OK, but by the time I finished the song I was laying on my back in the middle of the ice! The crowd went crazy! They loved it and thought I did it on purpose! (James Brown babeee!) So, I just went along with the impression they all had of that little "slip up" on my part...and to this day, if anybody asks, I say, "Yeah, I meant to do that!" that is my story and I'm sticking to it!
Thanks for the question Mark, I hope to see you at a concert sometime soon. Or a Super Bowl, or on the court, or the ice! All the best to you till then." Cheers, Craig
"Did Carvin guitars approach you about using their instruments and creating a line of "Craig" guitars?" Janis Mayer
Answer: "Hi Janis! Good question! Yes and no, actually I approached Carvin originally at a music trade show down in L.A. (NAMM show) and said I was interested in playing one of their guitars before I bought one. I was amazed at how their stock guitars were already set up just exactly the way I would modify all of my own guitars that I would play for the studio and for stage! They sounded great right out of the box, had the best tuners, best feeling knobs and pots, fret sizes, intonation, harmonics, and neck feel. Everything was perfect and the guitars fit my hands and body just the way I liked it. So, I have been playing Carvin guitars for over 20 years now, going back to the electric six string I played on stage, in the studio, and the double-neck 12 string combo guitar that I used on Find Your Way Back in concerts live with Jefferson Starship and Starship.
When I switched to the acoustic guitar for my solo stuff 10 years ago, Carvin didn't have an acoustic guitar line like what I was using, so, I had a Washburn guitar that I customized for my own recording and touring. When the folks at Washburn heard the guitar they wanted to know what I did to it and if they could make a Craig Chaquico Signature Guitar that sounded like that. So I said, "Sure, as long as a tree was planted for every guitar made." BTW, thousands were made...thousands of trees were planted!
I started noticing a lot of variations in my signature guitars that were being made now in mass and sold out there, and I started to worry about quality control issues since the guitars were starting to be made off shore instead of the USA too. Hey, if it has my name on it, I want it to be awesome ok! Plus, I began longing for a guitar that was a little easier to play live and had more features from my electric guitar days along with a more beautiful body design, contour, and wood combination along with some specific tuners and pick ups that I was becoming very fond of. FYI, I used to have to stuff T-shirts in the Washburn guitars to keep them from feeding back live and the guitars ended up weighing a ton! (Harley-Davidson T-shirts seems to sound the best and last the longest...just like the bikes!)
As it turns out, I had been talking with Carvin about some of the new guitar ideas I had for years before we actually did a Craig guitar there. Then I noticed some of my design ideas popping up in this magnificent semi-acoustic guitar line that they were just beginning to unleash. I saw lots of pros starting to play that model too, so I was just about to ask Carvin when I could check one out when they asked me if I wanted to continue to help with the design and make my own Craig Chaquico guitar based on that beautiful line they had just come out with. I have actually been using that model now for a few years on several of my CDs, so, you have been hearing that guitar for awhile without maybe knowing it. We came out with the Official Craig Chaquico model after years of top secret research and development in my laboratory and Carvin's. "Igor, prepare the guitars! We shall now unleash them upon the world. Hoo, hoo, hoo, ha, ha, ha, ha. They all scoffed at my work, let them laugh now, now we shall see who is crazeee!"
Oops, sorry about that! Seriously, before the guitars came out, we would compare notes and when we got just the right one done that we both loved, with all of our best ideas, feel, look, and sound, Carvin had the prototype scanned in 3D using a LASER beam by this amazing Sci-Fi computer! (True story!)
It took all night but with the information all in the computer now all my guitars are made to specs accurate to 1/10 the thickness of a human hair! Each one is perfect. They are all made in the USA, and I can wear my Harley T-shirts again when I ride my motorcycle! You can also order the guitars with your very own choice of wood and various other combinations if you so desire. I hope this answers your question Janis. Hope to see you at a show sometime soon where you can check out the guitars in person. All the best to you until then!" Cheers, Craig