FEW GROUPS THAT formed in 1969 are still going strong with their founding members intact. Hot Tuna are an exception. Aside from a hiatus from 1978 to 1985, the band has been an ongoing collaboration between guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady. Through all that time, they’ve been a hybrid act of sorts, performing in both electric and unplugged formats for their devoted fan base.
But this fall’s 14-date tour will be the group’s last time on the road playing electric. Beginning next year, the band’s shows will be acoustic only. While no one is coming right out and saying it, those quieter, seated unplugged appearances are likely more to Kaukonen and Casady’s liking, now that they are, respectively, 82 and 79. For that matter, Hot Tuna’s electric days are already nearly a thing of the past, as is Kaukonen’s regular use of electric guitars.
“Hot Tuna doesn’t do that many electric shows, so I’m not as emotionally invested in guitars as I used to be,” he tells when we catch up with him before a July 20 performance at Great South Bay Festival in Patchogue, New
