Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs formed as an ensemble of longtime Northern California players tied to the leading San Francisco acid-rock outfits of the 1960s. Barry “The Fish” Melton (b. 1947), guitarist and singer who helped establish Country Joe and the Fish in 1965, had qualified as a lawyer by 1982 yet kept performing around the Bay Area, frequently alongside bassist Peter Albin (b. Jun 6, 1944), a founding member of Big Brother and the Holding Company. When a July 1982 engagement on the Russian River lost its drummer, the pair contacted Spencer Dryden (b. Apr 7, 1938), veteran of Jefferson Airplane’s peak years and a co-founder of the New Riders of the Purple Sage. During that show an audience member inquired whether the group knew a certain tune; Melton answered, “No, we’re just a bunch of old Dinosaurs.” They next invited guitarist John Cipollina (Aug 24, 1943-May 29, 1989), a founding member of Quicksilver Messenger Service who was already active in several local bands and welcomed the additional outlet. Billing the performance as Dinosaurs drew numerous friends and area musicians, among them Robert Hunter (b. Jun 23, 1941), a singer, guitarist, and harmonica player chiefly recognized as the Grateful Dead’s lyricist. Hunter became the fifth member and stayed roughly two years before singer-keyboardist Merl Saunders (b. Feb 14, 1934), who had co-led a group with Grateful Dead leader Jerry Garcia, took his place.

The project was never meant as a steady professional commitment but rather a busman’s holiday for participants who maintained separate pursuits inside and outside music. Their sole studio album appeared on Relix Records in 1988. Following Cipollina’s death the musicians paused, then recruited violinist Papa John Creach (May 8, 1917-Feb 22, 1994), formerly of Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship, and resumed work chiefly in the Northwest. Over subsequent years other San Francisco veterans sat in briefly, among them Greg Elmore (b. Sep 4, 1946) of Quicksilver Messenger Service, David Getz (b. 1938) of Big Brother and the Holding Company, David LaFlamme (b. May 4, 1941) of It’s a Beautiful Day, and Jerry Miller (b. Jul 10, 1943) of Moby Grape. Dinosaurs dissolved in June 1996. In October 2004 Acadia Records issued Friends of Extinction, a two-CD collection that paired the original album with assorted live recordings.