Singer-songwriter Classically trained in violin and viola, Freiberg began his career moonlighting as a
coffeehouse singer-songwriter (playing acoustic guitar) during the
American folk music revival while working for a railroad. During his time as a coffee house folk singer, he was part of the duo David & Michaela. David & Michaela made a demo at
CBS studios, and "
Elektra producer
Paul Rothchild proposed fitting them into a bigger folk group. But the onset of the
Beatles spelled the end of David & Michaela, and incentive for Freiberg to switch to rock and electric instruments." He would play on six of the eight Quicksilver albums. His most notable songwriting contributions include "The Fool" and "Light Your Windows", both co-written with Duncan. He remained with the group for nearly eleven years, departing shortly after the formation of
Starship in early 1985 due to creative differences over the selection and recording of "
We Built This City" with
Grace Slick (who, according to longtime manager Bill Thompson, considered Freiberg to be "dead weight") and the atypically outsized role of producer
Peter Wolf; during this period, Wolf had in effect superseded Freiberg as the band's principal keyboardist in the studio and select live performances. Freiberg would later say of the departure: "The only thing real on that song were the vocals and the guitar. I was useless, so I left." Freiberg himself elaborated upon this distinction in a 1997 interview with John Barthel: "I am not really a keyboard player. I use it for input to a computer now, and stuff like that, but it never was my instrument. I just did it for writing songs because it is a musical typewriter, basically, that is what it is." Following his departure from Jefferson Starship, Freiberg built and operated a studio in
Marin County, often working with local musicians. According to Freiberg, Kantner had been "absolutely right" in leaving Jefferson Starship in the 1980s, and he "apologized." He became a permanent member of the reformed band. On December 4, 2018, the lawsuit concerning the use of the name Jefferson Starship was dismissed after an undisclosed settlement was reached between Chaquico and the current members of the band. The band was still touring in July 2018, with Freiberg singing lead on tracks such as "We Built This City". In November 2018, Freiberg is collaborating with the Dayton Symphony. ==Personal life==