In Memoriam|

From Colorado Walleye on Fb, 01/30/16: It is with a very heavy heart to inform you, our member Lory Phillips passed away Monday, January 25th. He was the President of Phillips Broadcasting. His radio stations broadcast from Pueblo, CO to Las Vegas, NM. He FREELY advertised for the CWA announcing all tournament dates, meetings and kids’ events. He fished tournaments with Warren. He offered to help with kids’ events down south. He was an amazing man, avid outdoorsman and an excellent fisherman. He was also a Colorado native. You will truly be missed, Lory. Rest in Peace my friend.

http://www.obitsforlife.com/obitu…/1250255/Phillips-Lory.php

Lory David Phillips age 65, departed this earth on January 25, 2016 surrounded by loved ones.

Lory was born on March 8, 1950 to J.J. Phillips and Virginia Wilson, who preceded him in death as did his sister Georgia. Lory is survived by the love of his life Anita, his loving wife, best friend and shotgun rider for over four decades of fun and adventures. Lory’s legacy and the family name he was so proud of will be carried on by his sons David and wife Michelle of Houston, Texas, and Jason and wife Tenelle of Raton, and his four special grand children Stone, Abigail, Samantha and Ella Phillips. He leaves behind his brother and best friend Jackie Phillips of Raton, sister Jo Ann and husband Wayne Bomar of Texas, as well as his sister-in-law Lucille Gabol and brother-in-law Johnny Quartieri and wife Rachel. He truly embraced the role of being an uncle and will be greatly missed by his nieces and nephews of whom some were almost like a second set of children. Numerous cousins will also feel the loss of Lory.

Lory was an avid outdoorsman who loved to hunt and fish. He dedicated his early years to training race horses and even managed to merge his passions for photography and horse racing into a paying job. He spent 13 years working for the Raton Public Service Company before joining with his wife and sons to enter the broadcasting field where together they owned and operated KCRT and KBKZ-Coyote Country for the last 25 years. These years required a lot of hard work but also provided him the opportunity to spend large amounts of time with family and friends and to do tons of really cool things. Lory was best known for his kindness and his generosity for helping others . He enjoyed the company of good friends and spending time at the Raton Elks Lodge. He had a great sense of humor and an undying commitment to his family and friends.

Lory and the Phillips family also sponsored the Country Showdowns held in Trinidad and Raton each year, including for the last few years, the Regional Country Showdown held at the historic Shuler Theater in Raton. Lory loved country music and was an inspiration to musicians of the area as well as from as far away as Maryland who came to compete in one of the best-run Showdowns in the U.S.

A Memorial Service will be Saturday February 6, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. at the Yaksich-Long Funeral Home Chapel in Raton with Dr. Monty McGowen officiating. All are invited to also attend a celebration of Lory’s life at the Raton Elks Lodge at noon.

Arrangements and celebration of love for Lory Phillips are under the direction of the Yaksich-Long Funeral Home of Raton, 1310 South 2nd  Street, Raton, New Mexico 87740

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JEFFERSON AIRPLANE’S PAUL KANTNER DIES AT 74

Paul Kantner, one of the giants of the San Francisco music scene, died Thursday. Mr. Kantner, a founding member of the Jefferson Airplane, was 74 and had suffered a heart attack this week.

His death was confirmed by longtime publicist and friend, Cynthia Bowman, who said he died of multiple organ failure and septic shock.

Mr. Kantner had a string of health problems in recent years, including a heart attack in March.

With Jefferson Airplane, Mr. Kantner pioneered what became known as the San Francisco sound in the mid-1960s, with such hits as “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit.”

The Airplane was renowned for thrilling vocal gymnastics by singers Marty Balin, Grace Slick and Mr. Kantner, the psychedelic blues-rock sound developed by guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bass player Jack Casady and the LSD-spiked, ’60s-era revolutionary fervor of its lyrics.

The band was formed in 1965 in a Union Street bar called the Drinking Gourd, when Balin met
Mr. Kantner and expressed his interest in creating a “folk-rock” band. It didn’t take long for the Airplane to attract a sizable local following, enough so that when fledgling promoter Bill Graham opened his legendary Fillmore Auditorium, the Jefferson Airplane served as the first headliner.

The Airplane was the first of the so-called “San Francisco sound” bands to sign a recording contract with a major label, and in August of 1966, its debut album, “Jefferson Airplane Takes Off,” was released. Slick joined the band a year later and songs like “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit” became national hits as the love children came streaming into San Francisco.

Headliner at festivals
The group quickly became an integral part of the ’60s rock scene, from the Matrix club to Golden Gate Park’s “Human Be-In” to Monterey Pop. The Airplane’s high point may have been its sterling early-morning performance at Woodstock, while its nadir may have come only months later, at the violence-plagued Altamont concert, when Balin was knocked unconscious by the rampaging Hells Angels.

After the band was grounded by feuds and a lawsuit, Mr. Kantner and Slick transformed the group into Jefferson Starship in 1974, taking the name from a Kantner solo album.

When Mr. Kantner left the Starship in 1985, he accepted an $80,000 settlement in exchange for a promise not to use the names “Jefferson” or “Airplane” without Slick’s consent.

Slick stayed with the Starship and had a hit with “We Built This City” before the band folded in the late 1980s.

Stayed in San Francisco
A sometimes prickly, often sarcastic musician who kept his own counsel and routinely enraged his old bandmates — they sued him for trademark infringement (and settled) after he started his own version of Jefferson Starship in 1991 — Mr. Kantner became something of a landmark on the San Francisco music scene, the only member of the band still living in town.

“Somebody once said, if you want to go crazy go to San Francisco,” he said. “Nobody will notice.”

Mr. Kantner was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 for his work with the Jefferson Airplane during the band’s glory years — from the breakthrough 1967 “Surrealistic Pillow” album through Woodstock and Altamont.

“We never made plans,” said Mr. Kantner. “Well, we made plans, but they went awry. It was good to have a plan in case they didn’t go awry.”

He maintained a strenuous touring schedule, performing regularly with some version of the Jefferson Starship name. His group sometimes included Balin, as well as David Freiberg of the Quicksilver Messenger Service, another leading Bay Area band from the ’60s.

“When I look back on it, that’s probably longer than any of the other bands I’ve been in,” Mr. Kantner said.

Paul Lorin Kantner was born in San Francisco on March 17, 1941.

His father, a traveling salesman, sent Mr. Kantner to military school after his mother’s death. He sought escape in science fiction books and music, before being inspired by Pete Seeger to become a folk singer. He attended Santa Clara University and San Jose State College before dropping out to pursue music.

When not on the road with his band, Mr. Kantner was a fixture at Caffe Trieste in North Beach.

“I’ve always loved San Francisco better than anywhere,” he said. “It’s always had its problems, but just the weather alone, the views. This corner alone has proved so nourishing.”

Mr. Kantner is survived by three children; sons Gareth and Alexander, and daughter China.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

By Aidin Vaziri

Aidin Vaziri is the San Francisco Chronicle’s pop music critic. E-mail: avaziri@sfchronicle.com.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/music/article/Jefferson-Airplane-s-Paul-Kantner-dies-at-74-6791483.php
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SIGNE TOLY ANDERSON, SINGER OF JEFFERSON AIRPLANE’S VERY FIRST LINEUP, DIES

As Slipped Disc reports, Signe passed away on January 28, the same day when the group’s guitarist and co-founder Paul Kantner died.

Oddly enough, Anderson was also 74 at the time of her death.

Airplane co-founder Marty Balin stated:

“One sweet Lady has passed on. I imagine that she and Paul woke up in heaven and said ‘Hey what are you doing here? Let’s start a band,’ and no sooner then said Spencer [late drummer Spencer Dryden] was there joining in! Heartfelt thoughts to all their family and loved ones.”

Signe spent about one year in the band, and left in October 1966 after giving birth to a daughter.

She defeated cancer in the ’70s and suffered from a string of health problems prior to passing.

Rest in peace, lady.

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/another_member_of_jefferson_airplane_died_rest_in_peace_signe_anderson.html
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Other Notable Musicians’ Deaths…

February 2016

3: Big Kap, 45, American hip hop DJ (Tunnel), heart attack; Saulius Sondeckis, 87, Lithuanian violinist and conductor.

1: Jon Bunch, 45, American rock musician (Sense Field, Further Seems Forever); Dušan Velkaverh, 72, Slovenian lyricist.

January 2016:

31: Janusz Muniak (pl), 74, Polish jazz saxophonist.

29: Billy Faier, 85, American banjo player; Aurèle Nicolet, 90, Swiss flautist.

28: Signe Toly Anderson, 74, American singer (Jefferson Airplane); Paul Kantner, 74, American musician (Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship) and songwriter (“Wooden Ships”), multiple organ failure; Peter Robinson, 57, New Zealand musician (The Tin Syndrome).

27: Georgy Firtich, 77, Russian composer and pianist; Joe Harris, 89, American jazz drummer;  William E. Martin, American musician, songwriter (“All of Your Toys”), screenwriter and actor.

From http://www.wikipedia.com

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