What Are We Waiting For? Jefferson Starship's Cathy Richardson On New Album 'Mother Of The Sun'

Jefferson Starship's first new album in 12 years is being released today, also the first album to be released since the passing of founding member Paul Kantner who played a massive role in Jefferson Airplane and in bringing members of that band, as well as new members, into the expanded venture that became Jefferson Starship.

The new album, Mother of the Sun, is written and recorded by current members of the band, which includes original member David Freiberg, drummer Donny Baldwin (whose Jefferson Starship roots go back to 1982), keyboardist Chris Smith (who joined in 1998), guitarist Jude Gold (who joined in 2012), and singer and guitarist Cathy Richardson who joined in 2008. Songs also appear on the album that have been co-written by original members Grace Slick and Marty Balin.

The new album is a powerhouse, and a very uplifting kind of powerhouse in terms both of sounds and of ideas. And it's that much more inspiring to hear of the multi-faceted way in which the band members have each contributed to songwriting and performance on Mother of the Sun, as detailed below in our album-welcoming interview with Cathy Richardson. 

Hannah Means-Shannon: Congratulations on the single, “It’s About Time” and the album release. Did the changes in the world affect the album recording and release plans at all, or was it all wrapped up before that?

Cathy Richardson: Our plans were to release the record and be on a major tour, so the tour, obviously, stopped, but we decided that we didn’t want to keep from putting out the record, because we wanted to do something, and this gave us something to do, plus this record has been delayed already. The vinyl manufacturing took longer due to back up. Because I can’t go to the printer and talk to them, but have to do everything on the phone, that took longer. It’s kept us pretty busy. And we’ve made a couple of videos remotely, too, which has kept us busy.

HMS: What was your approach to making the videos?

CR: The music videos for the record were already done. We filmed those at the end of last year, and everything was edited at the beginning of the year, so we’ve been holding onto those, waiting to unveil them.

But during the quarantine, we did something for the Red Sox, for Fenway Park. They wanted to do a concert series as a fundraiser. They did a broadcast on their web channels, and we recorded “Somebody To Love”. Everybody recorded it at home to a click track and filmed themselves. Then everybody sent me their footage, and I edited it together to a split screen video. It was really fun and exciting. We did a green screen video, “Miracles”, but decided not to release that for a while, since we’re focusing on the new album right now.

HMS: That’s all really impressive. The question seems to do split screen or to do green screen right now. Either way it’s a fair amount of work! In an even bigger apocalypse, you all would be the ones to survive, because you have the adaptation skills.

Now, the band had toured in 2019, I think. Did you get a chance to play any of the songs from Mother of the Sun live, or is that still for the future?

CR: We had been playing, “What Are We Waiting For?”, the second single, for a couple of years, and we had just started playing the other two singles, “It’s About Time” and “Setting Sun”, which David sings. Then, we got shut down. We were hoping that they’d be super-tight by the time the record came out, but you know. The one we’ve been playing for a couple years has really evolved over time. It changes. We wrote these songs based on the idea of recording them, so we hadn’t played them live yet. People also come to hear us with the idea of hearing the hits, so it’s better to play the new songs coinciding with the release of the new record.

HMS: Well, people who are releasing records during this time are doing so with the idea that it’s giving people something to look forward to, something to hold onto. I think it’s a good dose of positivity to have new music out.

CR: I totally agree and thank you for saying that. It’s giving us something to look forward to, too. It’s a way to keep connecting and reaching out to our fanbase and it’s getting a lot of very positive responses. The two first songs are what some people might call political.

HMS: So they are quite relevant, quite timely?

CR: They are frighteningly relevant, even with the delay of the record coming out. We made the videos at the end of 2019, and at the end of the video for “What Are We Waiting For?”, we used the stock footage of people peacefully protesting in the streets, carrying signs. They are laughing, smiling, and flashing the peace sign. I can’t wait for people to hear it, it’s very powerful.

HMS: It sounds like an anthem for our times. When people approach Mother of the Sun, is there a specific importance to the track order that they should look out for, or are the songs more independent and separate?

CR: I don’t think that we’re trying to weave a narrative of any kind. Jude and I wrote “Runaway Again” and brought it to the band. I wrote “Setting Sun” with David, and “What Are We Waiting For?” with Donny. “Embryonic Journey” is a Jefferson Airplane instrumental, but Jude takes it to a whole other dimension, and we really wanted to hear that. For people who haven’t seen us live, I hope they understand what a freak he is on the guitar. [Laughs] “Don’t Be Sad Anymore” is a song that Chris, our keyboard player, wrote with Marty Balin.  

We had just gotten off stage somewhere, and I got this text that Marty Balin died. I said, “Oh my God, you guys, Marty died.” We were stunned. We didn’t know he was close to dying at all.

HMS: I’m so sorry you went through that.

CR: Thank you. Chris told me, “I wrote this song with him.” I said, “Let’s record it.” He said, “You haven’t heard it yet.” I said, “I don’t care. I’m sure it’s good.” He played this song for me, and it’s got these traditional jazz kind of Big Band changes. It’s sort of this Big Band arrangement, and I said, “Well, we can’t do that. What if it’s just piano and David’s beautiful voice singing, and it’ll be a lovely tribute to Marty at the end of the record? And it really is, it’s a tear-jerker. With the phrase, “Don’t be sad anymore”, and Marty singing it from the beyond. We love that one.

HMS: Wow.

CR: The extended version of “What Are We Waiting For?” is because that’s the way we recorded it originally, and everyone wanted to trim it down for radio. But this is the way it’s supposed to be! So we put it on the end as a sort of a bonus track.

HMS: That’s awesome. Everything you’ve just described about how different people collaborated on different songs, and brought them forward to the band, sounds really in keeping with the traditions of the band itself. That’s always how it’s been, right? That makes me happy to hear.

CR: Yes, we try to do it like they did it. Everyone brings their songs in, and on the publishing side, we split everything equally, because everyone’s part is contributing to the outcome. I think that’s how the original band always did it.

HMS: I feel like the band is really interesting and distinctive in preserving that wide collaborative feel. I noticed on the band’s website there is a quote from Paul [Kantner] about the idea of fluidity that he felt was part of the band’s identity and key to the band surviving so long. That idea of “fluidity” also made me think of resilience and inclusivity. Are those things you feel are part of the band’s identity now?

CR: Absolutely. I totally agree that Paul was a very generous collaborator. He just wanted the best people who were available in his band. I think Marty was that way too, and I think Grace was that way, too. They were energized by the younger people coming into the band and taking them musically forward into new decades. Times change, tastes change, but somehow they managed to have nine lives. It’s really exciting to think that there’s new Jefferson Starship music in 2020 that’s being played on the radio.

HMS: For sure.

CR: I’m excited!

HMS: It’s really special. From 2016 onward, after Paul passed, you all have mentioned that continuing is in tribute to Paul and Grace’s work. How was that a change at all, or was it just a renewal of focus on the same goals?

CR: Our record is dedicated to Paul. The spirit of Paul is definitely a driving force. I think it does definitely add to the legacy to create new music and new ways to bring people into the old music. I don’t see our mission being any different, but we also don’t consider ourselves a tribute band. We play the music of Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship. David was in all of those bands, and played on every single record. Donny played all the way to the end of Starship. So we touch on all those legacies.

I was a huge fan of Jefferson Airplane growing up, and I saw them one time on tour before they became Starship.

HMS: That’s so cool!

CR: It’s just such a trip for me. I loved the Airplane stuff; I loved the Grace Slick spooky ice-queen vibe. She was just so cool. It’s a trip now to be part of it. I probably got sucked into their world by listening to their records so much. It’s a weird fate to be in the band now and be writing a song with Grace. I’d love to write more with her.

HMS: That’s so great. I’d like to ask you about Grace, and about Janis Joplin. You’ve done so much work with Janis’ music, and you’re working with Grace now.

What do you think when you look at those women and the role they played in their generation, defying expectations and shaking things up? It’s not that things are so wonderful now for women, but I feel like they cracked that door open a little and opened it for future generations.

CR: Absolutely. To me they are almost on a deity level, beyond human, for what they represent. They are like goddesses, the matriarchs of Rock ‘n Roll, and coming from such different angles, too. Janis was from the South and was really into the Blues. She was going into the library and checking out the old, scratchy Blues records and trying to make her voice sound like that. I really think that part of her sound was emulating the sound of the needle on the vinyl.

Grace was a whole different vibe. She was more of a fashion person that was into music. I don’t think she ever meant to be a singer. She was going to art school, and it was the scene she fell into. Her angle is different, but still extremely valid, about creating and image, and being outspoken, and shocking people. Like going out on stage with no underwear and a skirt on, and going and sitting on the corner of the stage. [Laughs] Really pushing the envelope on societal norms that way and just being a bad girl. That’s very Rock ‘n Roll, too.

I think of some of the Jefferson Airplane stuff, and even some of the Jefferson Starship stuff, where she was going in a Punk direction, which I think is really interesting. When you listen to the end of Jefferson Airplane, where they have these super fuzz tones, and it feels really low-fi, it feels like the beginnings of Punk, or that Punk was happening around them and they were being influenced by it.

Obviously, Janis died at age 27, so we never got to where she evolved as an artist, but Grace went through so many eras and was able to adapt to the times, even being an icon the whole time. Even singing, “We Built This City”.

HMS: That’s incredible. Yes.

CR: That’s Grace Slick. Her daughter China [Kantner] and I are the same age, and I said to her one night, “When I was a teenager, I was so jealous of you. I mean, your parents are Paul Kantner and Grace Slick??” She said, “Yeah, let me tell you something. She used to mortify me. She had one of those Deloreans with the doors that would fly up, and she’d pull up at school to pick me up. Then the doors would go up, and she’d have the blue hair piled up on top of her head like a pencil eraser!” We were just dying with laughter. If you’re a mom, you can’t even be considered cool by your kids if you’re Grace Slick. I thought that was pretty funny.

HMS: Kids will always go the opposite way of their parents. It doesn’t even matter what it’s about.

CR: She was like, hiding. [Laughs]

HMS: I love it.

In some ways it feels like the lessons of the 60s have come around again in ways we probably should have expected, especially now with the Black Lives Matter movement. It seems more relevant than ever to reconsider those voices. I wondered if you feel that way about those traditions right now.

CR: Yes, we definitely look to those times as a touchstone for these new songs, and there’s the idea of using your microphone and your ability to reach an audience to sing about social change, or justice, or to call out hypocrisy. I think that’s what artists do. You have to pay attention to the times you’re living in and what’s going on, it can’t always be love songs. There’s plenty of room for that, too, but I felt like there was always the relevant element with Jefferson Starship, and that goes back to Paul Kantner. He was always such an influence, absolutely guiding us spiritually through this process.

The song “What Are We Waiting For?” came from Paul always saying, “What are we waiting for?”, kind of impatiently on stage, if we didn’t go right on to the next song. He’d look at our drummer, Donny, and say that. In a session after Paul died, we had a little prayer, asking him to be with us while we wrote these songs, and Donny, in that spirit, started yelling out Paul-isms.

Then he started singing, “What aaaaarre we waitinnnnng foooor?” I started coming in, and David started harmonizing. That song was born of us all just chanting, “What are we waiting for?” in all these harmonies.

HMS: That’s so awesome.

CR: Then I took it home and tried to write a verse that I thought Paul would agree with me on. Then there’s the album art, and the title, Mother of the Sun. Cassiopeia is a constellation and she’s a goddess, who goes back to the beginning of time. Her name was Ether in ancient times, but she got demoted to a kind of vain princess in Greek times. She’s the mother of the Sun and the Moon.

We were actually given a psychic message about Cassiopeia, and when we looked at the constellation, it looked like a “W”, and there are five stars, and there are five of us. “What Are We Waiting For?” is something we would write as “WWW4” on the setlist. I really had to fight for the title Mother of the Sun, but I did prevail. And all the artwork for the album has the constellation in it somewhere, including the background art on the lyric books. The Cassiopeia nebula is a really beautiful thing, and it’s on our Facebook photo. Paul loved space, he loved Science Fiction.

HMS: Oh, absolutely.

CR: He named the band Jefferson Starship from Blows Against the Empire. It was about a starship coming to Earth, and hippies taking it over and flying away, getting off the planet!

HMS: Yes, it’s a great mythology to be part of. Are there specific songs on the album that tie to that cosmic theme, or is it a broader title?

CR: It was definitely a title that was more tied to Paul and his messages. It’s hard to talk about without people saying, “Yeah, yeah. Whatever, weirdo.” [Laughs]

HMS: [Laughs] You’re talking to the right person, then, since I’m really into mythology and Science Fiction. I think that’s all really cool.

CR: Well, whether you believe in psychics or not, we ran with it for the album.

HMS: That’s wonderful that all of you found something that felt right as a direction for the album.

By the way, are you still working on any of your other musical projects at all, or is Starship your full commitment right now?

CR: Right now, I’ve got to do anything I can do to stay alive. I’m playing more solo shows and house concerts. Fortunately, I can pick up an acoustic guitar and just play a whole show by myself, since I did that for many years. But I’m not actively working on any writing projects right now.

I’m really involved in so many aspects of the band and everything that is going on behind the scenes, from every aspect of the artwork, to the video production, business stuff, writing music, mixing sometimes. I usually am on the road and so busy that it’s hard to find time to sit down and work on my own stuff.

Especially with this pandemic. I actually did get COVID in March and I was sick for a few weeks. I was thinking, “It’s summer. I’m here with my kids. I get to go to every baseball game.” Since I miss so much being on the road all the time, I tried not to run around too much.

HMS: I don’t know how anyone ever gets to write songs when on tour. That seems almost impossible.

CR: Jude would be stalking me in the halls and making me do it. [Laughs] It was good, though, since a couple of songs came out of it.

HMS: Is there anything that fans should look out for regarding support for the album release online?

CR: Yes, we’re planning to partner with somebody to do something for the release, and that will probably be around the release date. We are looking into some streaming possibilities. We’re going to be gradually be rolling out the videos, too, and trying not to dump it all out there at once.

HMS: I’m so glad you’re doing alright after being ill.

CR: It was a mild case, and I was lucky. It was so new at the time, and you would hear these stories of people dying suddenly at age 36. I just lay in bed trying not to move, so I just kind of stayed there in my bed for a few ways.

HMS: That sounds like the smart thing to do.

CR: One day, I just felt better. I had a sore throat that hurt to swallow for 21 days, then one day I realized my throat wasn’t sore. I stopped getting the fevers. It was all crazy.

HMS: It has been so unpredictable. It is really scary.

I have to ask you our Tower Records question, which you might remember. Our motto is ‘No Music, No Life’ and we like to ask musicians how they feel that applies to their lives.

CR: Not to get morbid, but when I was a teenager, I had a bout with suicidal depression, and music was, literally, the thing that made me think that I had something to look forward to in my life. I had this talent, and I had this dream, and I thought, “I might as well see if I can do it.” And I think it worked out pretty well.

HMS: I’m so happy that it kept you going. I think music helps a lot of people. And I think it’s helping people right now, so it’s great to have the new album out there.