Elvis and Michael better watch out. Jimi is making a move.
Forty years after his death,
Last week, Hendrix’s estate released the first bona fide “new” Jimi
album in decades (the often awesome, occasionally underwhelming
“Valleys of Neptune,” recorded mostly in 1969) as well as deluxe
remastered versions of his three landmark studio albums. A Hendrix “
There’s a concert tour called “Experience Hendrix” — an all-star revue of guitar heroes, including
Isley said the mission of “Experience Hendrix” is to
prove that the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was well rounded — a
first-rate songwriter, imaginative interpreter and, as any rock fan
knows, a pioneering guitar virtuoso.
“He brought to the electric guitar what
said Isley, who is making his first foray on this tour, which also did
brief runs in 2007 and ’08. “He got out every sound that the instrument
or amplifier could make. He was like
Isley knew
Isley, who was 11 at the time, remembers watching
the Beatles’ debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show” with Hendrix sitting on
the couch between him and his younger brother Marvin.
Recalled Isley: “After that, there was a meeting
with the band and my brother Kelly said, ‘They’ve got two guitar
players but we’ve got Jimmy.’ When he said that, Jimmy started
grinning.”
Hendrix, who was 10 years older than Ernie, used to
stay in a back room at the Isley house. Self-taught, he’d practice his
electric guitar without an amplifier and listen to a 5-foot-high stack
of blues 45s by
Ernie, who didn’t take up guitar until he was 15,
remembers Hendrix practicing how to play guitar behind his back and
between his legs — moves that’d later break out with the Isleys onstage.
Hendrix liked to watch TV, too — “Bonanza,” “Wild Kingdom” and cartoons.
“He got along well with kids,” Isley said. “He was polite. Great sense of humor. I can talk about
One of the boys might ask “Can you play the ‘Beanie
and Cecil’ song?” and Hendrix would take out his guitar and play it.
“Didn’t hit a wrong note. That was fascinating as a kid.”
After leaving for
“He looked different in terms of his clothes,” Isley
recalled. “He had a hat, scarf, rings on every finger, stuff around his
neck. He walked down the hallway sounding like (cowboy character)
Shane. ‘Man, is that Jimmy?’ ‘Yeah, he’s killin’ ’em in
Isley opens the “Experience Hendrix” show, backed by
and played with him in 1969 and ’70. Isley says he doesn’t necessarily
try to replicate Hendrix’ work, but Satriani says that’s unavoidable.
“Some of the stuff I love so much and I just have to
hear it played as close to the way Jimi had played it,” Satriani said.
“Having said that, Jimi played it a million different ways. I imagine
if (tour producer)
I go on and says, ‘We have twice as much time as I thought, so have
fun,’ then I can think about some more outrageous, exploratory versions
of the songs and stretch it out.”
Music historian McDermott is catalog director for
which is run by Jimi’s younger stepsister, Janie. After each performer
submitted a request list, McDermott decided who would play which songs
— and with whom, to create special moments. Satriani gets “Third Stone
From the Sun,” “Foxey Lady” and “All Along the Watchtower” backed by
the band Living Colour, featuring guitarist
Satriani, 53, who started as a drummer, was profoundly affected by Hendrix’ death from a drug overdose at age 27 in 1970.
“The day he died was so devasting to me,” he said,
“that I remember quitting the (high school) football team — I was a
tight end — and marching home and announcing to my family that I was
going to become a guitar player.”
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(c) 2010, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
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