“Blows Against the Empire” marked the debut of the Jefferson Starship moniker, though not of the band of that name itself, since it predates the actual formation of the band Jefferson Starship by four years. The album was recorded at Pacific High Recording Studios and Wally Heider Recording Studios in San Francisco. The result derives from a period of cross-collaboration during late 1969 through 1971 by a collection of musicians from various San Francisco bands including Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young recording at the same time in the city. These musicians included Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Peter Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Joey Covington, David Crosby, Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Graham Nash & others.
