after leaving quicksilver in october 1970, cipollina formed copperhead, which was initially a loose and variable aggregation before coalescing around the less transitory lineup of cipollina, gary philippet (vocals, guitar and organ), jim mcpherson (vocals, bass and piano), pete sears (bass, piano), and david weber (drums). although clive davis was particularly enamored of the group and signed them to a lucrative deal with columbia records, their eponymous 1973 debut failed to gain traction in the marketplace despite heavy touring, leading to columbia refusing to release their second album and hastening their disbandment. unable to secure a major label contract in the aftermath of the 1975 quicksilver reunion, cipollina continued to perform regularly with many other bay area acts, including one billed as thunder and lightning, a joint venture with nick gravenites, who had co-produced quicksilver's debut, and another billed as fish and chips, with barry melton; greg elmore played drums for the former, spencer dryden for the latter, with peter albin on bass; various bass players, including albin and roger troy, played with the former. during the same period cipollina became a founding member of the dinosaurs in 1982 while continuing throughout the 80s to play club gigs with both other bands. in 1974, cipollina guested with quicksilver-idolizing welsh progressive rock group man, playing with them at their 1974 winterland concerts and on a subsequent uk tour; these efforts resulted in the 1975 live album "maximum darkness". he died in 1989 at the age of 45 from complications of emphysema exacerbated by alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency. some of cipollina's equipment is displayed at the rock and roll hall of fame.