I can tell you exactly when our interview with John Cipollina took place - it was May 1989. Old friend and regular Terrascope contributor Chip Lamey got in touch with me and asked if I'd like him to interview John, as he happened to be in hospital for a short stay and Chip had been visiting him. Obviously I said "yes" immediately - as Terrascopic heroes go, they don't come much bigger than John Cipollina, easily one my five favourite guitar players of all time, and co-founder of one of my favourite bands, the Quicksilver Messenger Service.

What we weren't to know was that John's brief stay turned out to be terminal. Literally within days of our chat with him he was dead. On May 29th, 1989, the world was robbed of one of the greats - and of course the music press went into overdrive by way of a tribute. We left it a whole year before publishing our interview with John as a mark of respect - it finally saw the light of day in Ptolemaic Terrascope issue 6 (otherwise known as Volume 2 Number 2) in the Winter of 1990, and is reproduced here for the first time since. (Phil McMullen, November 2009)

     
     
     

  

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