It’s no longer “up against the wall” for rock’s rowdy singer Grace Slick of the legendary Jefferson Airplane. Now, it’s “see you at the mall” for the music icon’s debut showcasing her unique works of art.
Better known for her classic 1960s’ songs such as “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love,” Slick will be selling her artwork at West County Westfield Center at the Wentworth Gallery (Lower Level, Space 53) in Des Peres on Saturday, June 16, from 6 to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, June 17, from noon to 3 p.m.
“I’ve painted a lot of rock stars that I’ve known – Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Peter Townshend, Sting,” explained Slick. “At first, I didn’t want to do it. It sounded corny: ‘Old rock star, who paints rock stars.’ But then I started getting into it.
“I like painting the rockers of the past, because they had character and they weren’t worried about looking perfect,” said Slick. “They didn’t have to have six-pack abs or be beauty queens. They just were themselves.”
Slick certainly remains herself these days: candid, outspoken, shrill at times – and always very real. She said she has no interest in fighting the onslaught of old age or hitting the road again for one last, blowout tour of Jefferson Airplane or the Starship.
“It’s harder for an ageing woman rocker to hit the road than it is for a guy,” observed Slick. “But I do have some questions for Mick Jagger, when he’s out there singing, ‘I Can’t Get No Satisfaction,’ at age 65. What does he expect? And why can’t a multi-multi-millionaire get no satisfaction?”
According to Slick, a lot of women her own age, some of them former rock stars and fans, just need to grow up: Stop wearing halter tops and clothes that are no longer flattering. One of Slick’s mottos: “Keep your city beautiful: Wear slacks.”
“I saw Cher with her butt hanging out on the aircraft carrier music video. She was able to pull it off,” said Slick. “Most people can’t do that. Everybody has a mirror. Use it. Look at your thighs. If you’ve got a lot of cellulite and stuff flapping around, wear some clothes.”
According to her biography, “Slick: Somebody To Love,” the legendary rocker finds herself at that age of going inside oneself, learning to laugh at things which are beyond control, and heeding the call to transition. Slick has lived life to the hilt, and through it all, she’s been a survivor.
“When we were young in the ’60s, we thought we were indestructible,” said Slick. “We also thought we could change the world with a little love and education. We didn’t reckon on how much fear is built into our DNA, and how that overcomes our brains.”
Got To Revolution
Slick was in the forefront of the 1960s’ “sex, drugs and rock ’n roll” generation, with heavy doses of protest politics to boot. Her songs were anthems at demonstrations, and most of her contemporaries sang plenty of critical songs about “Tricky Dick” Nixon and his war policies in Southeast Asia.
“Right now it’s even worse than the era of Tricky Dick,” said Slick. “Because we haven’t learned. We’re still marching around in other countries telling them how to live and what to believe. Can you imagine how we would react if another country did that over here?
“The American people voted to get out of Iraq in 2006, but it’s just not happening. Where is the will of the people?” asked Slick. “I believe in the U.S. Constitution, but I have doubts about our system. I still have some hope and will vote for Barack Obama in 2008, but our system now with Bush is just a corporate monarchy.”
Slick still takes some heat for her part in the “sex, drugs and rock ’n roll” craze of the 1960s. Entertainer Art Linkletter once blamed Slick and Timothy Leary for his daughter committing suicide by jumping out of a window on a bad drug trip.
“That was just stupid to blame us,” said Slick. “If you have a daughter who dies of alcoholism, do you blame Smirnoff? And I’m tired of the people who blame everything that’s wrong on the influence of the 1960s. My daughter, China, is a product of a mother of the 1960s and she has a 4.0 college grade average and is studying theology in graduate school.
“My daughter loves studying Jesus,” said Slick. “Some friends of hers turn their nose up at that. They don’t understand that she is not talking about churches and what churches say; she is studying the actual words and message of Jesus.”
While Slick said China is a product of a 1960s’ mother, she said that she herself is a product of “straight, 1950s’ Republican parents.” Slick said she loved the parents who raised her in California, but never understood them.
“Go Ask Alice”
Among the paintings Slick will be showing at Westfield Center are her “Alice & the White Rabbit.” Paintings and sketches will remind fans of her famous bolero-style ballad of Alice, who encounters “white knights talking backwards” and a dormouse advising her to “feed your head.”
“As a youngster, I was into wearing costumes,” said Slick. “I could be Robin Hood or a pirate or Alice in Wonderland. The white rabbit thing has always kind of stuck with me. Costumes taught me a lot: If you’re tired of who you were yesterday, be something different today.”
Today, Slick is putting the high energy and creativity, that once made her a rock star, into a new career amassing an impressive collection of paintings, drawings, giclee’ prints and limited editions. And, as if to show that she has closed the door on her past life, at least partially, she will not be signing rock memorabilia while in St. Louis.
“I’ll just be there at the gallery, talking to people, selling my art and being an entertainer,” said Slick. “I won’t be signing any old albums or biographies. If I did that, that’s what I would be doing all day. The gallery would not like that.”
Of course, it would take all day to sign all of the albums on which Slick provided a major vocal presence. Her “discography” career stretches from 1966-1995, from “Surrealistic Pillow” to “Woodstock” to “Blows Against The Empire” and many more.
In “Blows Against The Empire,” Slick joined Paul Kantner in singing about an escape from earth to a new life beyond the solar system. Slick believes there is life beyond the solar system, but it’s keeping some light years distance away from earthlings.
“It takes a lot of hubris for us to think we are the only intelligence in the universe,” said Slick. “I do think that if aliens are looking down on us now, they’re saying: ‘Forget that. We’ll come back in a thousand years and see if they are doing any better.’”
