The rolling hills and tall trees of Appalachia were not where Vanessa Kaukonen had intended to spend years living with husband Jorma Kaukonen — until he bought the deed to a chunk of land in Meigs County on a whim.
The couple purchased the land in 1989 without a clue as to what they were going to do with it. Regardless, they packed up their things from New York and moved to Ohio.
“I’m an East Coast girl. ... Before we left, I thought jokingly that, ‘This is it; if I don’t divorce him, I’m going (to Ohio),’ ” Vanessa said. “Because really, I had thought he’d lost his mind.”
Jorma started his music career with the psychedelic-rock band Jefferson Airplane, known for their charismatic front woman Grace Slick and hits such as “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love.”
But Jorma quickly shifted his interest to Hot Tuna, a side project with high-school friend Jack Casady who played bass for Jefferson Airplane. Jefferson Airplane broke up in 1974, allowing Jorma to focus on Hot Tuna.
It wasn’t until 1989, when the Kaukonens bought the property in Southeast Ohio, that they conceived the idea for Fur Peace Ranch.
“I’ve taught off-and-on all my life and I’ve really enjoyed that. When we had the opportunity to build a venue to do stuff, we sort of jumped at the chance,” Jorma said. “It took a while to get it going, but we’ve been open since 1998, and so far so good.”
The ranch is primarily a camp for students to learn guitar from industry legends. It also puts on live performances that are recorded and broadcast on WOUB Public Media, and occasionally teaches one-day workshops, all while Jorma tours with Hot Tuna.
“The goal was to be able to give back, to give Jorma an outlet (to teach),” Vanessa said. “We’ve stepped beyond what we ever thought Fur Peace Ranch was.”
The ranch draws musical acts of all sorts to perform at its stage and studio at the ranch. The recordings are done in front of an audience that buys tickets, usually selling out the 200-seat venue within days.
This year Jorma and Vanessa are bringing in acts such as Country Joe McDonald, Tommy Emmanuel, The David Bromberg Quartet, and, of course, Hot Tuna; however, five of the 15 shows this summer are already sold out along with season passes.
Rusty Smith, the program director for WOUB who handles recording for Fur Peace Ranch, said he was just in the right place at the right time to join up with the legendary guitarist. And it is the opportunity to work with Jorma, Smith said, that attracts musicians every year.
“(What draws these acts is) the opportunity to work with Jorma — a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Rolling Stone top-100 guitarist of all time, and influential guitar player,” Smith said.
Jorma keeps busy touring in Virginia and has played at large festivals, including Bonnaroo with Hot Tuna and Woodstock when he was with Jefferson Airplane.
“Bonnaroo is a great festival. ... They have more people than Woodstock did, and it is run so much more efficiently. If we played a show like Woodstock again today, we’d say that this sucks and we’re never playing here again,” Jorma said. “But you can’t really compare it because Woodstock was Woodstock.”
But every now and then, the Kaukonens take a break from touring to be parents, taking the time to attend parent-teacher conferences for their 15-year-old son and watch their daughter act in a production of The Lion King at East Elementary.
Jorma will be touring until he can return to the rolling hills of Southeast Ohio and start the summer workshops all over again with his wife.
Despite her initial misgivings about the move to Ohio, Vanessa said that, 15 years after opening Fur Peace Ranch, she considers herself lucky to be working and living here.
“It’s like a field of dreams; even after 15 years, I pinch myself every day I drive over that hill,” Vanessa said. “I go to work and think to myself, ‘Wow, this is pretty great.’?”
wh092010@ohiou.edu
