Quicksilver Messenger Service - Later Years

Later Years

The band continued with the lineup of Gary Duncan, Greg Elmore, Dino Valenti and David Freiberg until September 1971 when Freiberg was jailed for marijuana possession. He was replaced by Mark Ryan (bass) and the group added Mark Naftalin (replaced in 1972 by "Chuck Steaks") on keyboards, and this lineup recorded two more albums, Quicksilver (Nov. 1971) and Comin' Thru (Apr. 1972), a mere 36 minute album with Doin' Time in the USA as the album's most familiar cut. Harold Aceves, formerly a roadie for the band, was added in 1972 as a second drummer to Greg Elmore. Mark Ryan was fired in 1972 after missing a plane, and was replaced by Roger Stanton. Stanton had played with Aceves in a popular Phoenix, Ariz. band known as Poland. Stanton was then replaced in 1974 for a brief period, by Bob Flurie, who was a well known east coast virtuoso guitar player, who was called upon for this brief period to take on bass player duties (the trio of Aceves, Stanton and Flurie were later to be found in another great San Francisco band formed by ex-Country Joe and the Fish guitar player, Barry "the Fish" Melton) after which the group disbanded.

In 1975, original members Greg Elmore, Gary Duncan, Dave Freiberg, John Cipollina, and Dino Valenti reunited for the album, Solid Silver featuring cameo performances by Nicky Hopkins on a couple of tracks, plus contributions from various San Francisco area musicians, including Jefferson Starship's Pete Sears. By this time Freiberg had become a member of Jefferson Starship -- he had worked with Paul Kantner and Grace Slick to form a trio on the album Baron Von Tollbooth and the Chrome Nun, leading to full-time membership in the dying days of Jefferson Airplane as the band evolved into Jefferson Starship.

Since Solid Silver, Gary Duncan assembled various lineups performing as Quicksilver Messenger Service still performing today.

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