Jefferson Starship lands at Cache Creek

BROOKS, Calif. – the celebrated rock group Jefferson Starship sprung from a lineage of their legendary forefathers Jefferson Airplane and prevail as one of the most critically acclaimed touring acts today. The current incarnation of Jefferson Starship (appearing at Cache Creek Casino Resort’s Club 88 on May 1 at 8 p.m.) features a stellar cast of old and new players, including songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Paul Kantner, vocalist David Freiberg both of whom founded the original Jefferson Starship and were crucial in developing the renowned "San Francisco Sound" that changed the course of pop music forever.

It all started in 1965 when Kantner formed Jefferson Airplane, a mainstay at the San Francisco nightclub The Matrix. Airplane became the first San Francisco rock group to sign a recording contract with a major label with their first album in 1966 “Jefferson Airplane Takes Off.” Vocalist Grace Slick joined the Airplane in 1967, bringing with her the hits "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit," anthems that announced the "Summer of Love" and permanently altered the perspective of an entire generation.

Both songs hit the Top 10 that year, making Jefferson Airplane the most successful rock band in America. Born of the decade marked by civil rights activism, the war in Vietnam and the
Counter-culture Mecca of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, the group defined the psychedelic nation with their appearances at the Monterey Pop, Woodstock and Altamont music festivals. Airplane disbanded in 1972, leaving in its wake a canon of work that includes "It's No Secret," "My Best Friend," "Comin' Back To Me," "Plastic Fantasic Lover," "We Can Be Together," "Today," "Wooden Ships" (with David Crosby and Steven Stills) and "Volunteers."

The follow up group, Jefferson Starship, was formed by Kantner in 1974. Joined by Balin, Slick, lead guitarist Craig Chaquico, bassist Pete Sears and drummer John Barbata, this original incarnation of the band reigned as one of the most artistically and commercially successful
rock groups for a decade. The band's initial release, “Dragonfly,” spawned the rock radio staples "Ride the Tiger" and "Caroline." The band's breakthrough album came a year later with “Red
Octopus,” which featured the hit single "Miracles" and catapulted the group to the top of Billboard's album chart four separate times in 1975. The band's subsequent record releases generated the hits "With Your Love," "St. Charles," "Count on Me," "Runaway" and "Jane."

Since reforming in 1992, Jefferson Starship has performed over 1,000 concerts in 21 countries. They not only perform all the timeless hits of the original Jefferson Starship, but also the entire repertoire of Jefferson Airplane. In 2010 the band celebrates its 40th Anniversary with a special tour and a stop at Cache Creek Casino Resort’s Club 88 on May 1 at 8 p.m.

Tickets are available now through Tickets.com on the web: www.Tickets.com or by phone: (800) 225-2277 or at: www.CacheCreek.com or Cache Creek Casino Resort at the guest services desk for $55, $45, and $35.
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Almond Festival a Capay Valley ‘culinary tour’

BROOKS, Calif. – One memorable sign of spring’s arrival is the brilliant, colorful display of almond blossoms which dot the landscape across the Capay Valley each year, lining the highways and country roads that wind through the region’s fertile green hills. The Capay Valley Almond Festival has celebrated this special time of year by entertaining visitors to the Valley for over 90 years.

This year the festival takes place on Sunday, March 14. The Capay Valley towns of Esparto, Capay, Brooks, Guinda, Madison and Rumsey all take part in the celebration, which is once again being sponsored in part by Cache Creek Casino Resort and the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation.

Napa Valley may have their wine tours, but festival organizers encourage lovers of good food to take a culinary tour of the Capay Valley by visiting all of the participating locations and sampling a unique food or wine at each stop along the way. Tour takers can make their way down Highway 16 along the tour route and enjoy favorites like barbequed ribs, steak, tri-tip sandwiches, barbequed oysters, local organic produce and baked goods like the valley’s famous Almond Roca, or participate in wine tasting and tours at Capay Valley Vineyards. The Esparto Regional Chamber is also providing visitors with an Almond Blossom Trail Map for those who want to take a scenic tour of the valley and view all the varieties of colorful blossoms (available at www.blossomtrail.org).

Once culinary tourists have filled their stomachs they can enjoy free activities for the kids, a classic car show, and plenty of vendor booths filled with locally crafted items and fresh valley-grown produce. The day long festival kicks off on Sunday morning with a community pancake breakfast at Esparto High School. Later, there’s a parade reigned over by the newly crowned Almond Queen. Other attractions include a petting zoo in Guinda and interesting sights such as the old engine demonstration. Rock, R&B, Blues, Country or Jazz music greets guests in several of the locations.

For more information on any of the Almond Festival events surf to the Esparto Regional Chamber website at: www.espartoregionalchamber.com or call: (530) 787-3242.

Contacts: Cean Burgeson, Communications Manager: (530) 796-5333; cburgeson@cachecreek.com