Honoring Jimi Hendrix, one solo at a time
Chrissie Dickinson, Chicago Tribune
on
Mar 24, 2017
Published in
Entertainment News
Zakk Wylde performs at the Experience Hendrix show at the Luther Burbank Center
for
the Arts on Feb 23, 2017 in Santa Rosa, Calif. (Sterling Munksgard/Zuma
Press/TNS)
Jimi Hendrix was only 27 when he died in 1970, but his stratospheric impact
still
reverberates throughout the rock ranks. The traveling multiartist concert
Experience
Hendrix Tour is a testament to the legacy of the iconic guitarist.
The tour features a large rotating cast of musicians that includes Chicago blues
legend Buddy Guy, former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde and Mato Nanji from
the
blues-rock band Indigenous. Billy Cox -- who played bass for Hendrix in a couple
of lineups -- leads the rhythm section on stage.
The rock extravaganza plays 29 dates across the country. Others on the tour
include
Jonny Lang, Dweezil Zappa, Chris Layton, Noah Hunt, Beth Hart, Ana Popovic,
Henri
Brown, the Slide Brothers, Scott Nelson, Tim Austin and Toronzo Cannon.
The event first took to the road in 2004 as a three-date tour on the West Coast.
In 2008 it blossomed into a major national tour, and it has been going
full-steam
ever since.
One of the show's mainstays is blues-rock guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd. With a
career that began when he was still a teenager, Shepherd, now 39, has a string
of
hit blues albums under his belt and five Grammy nominations. He considers it an
honor
to participate in the Hendrix tribute shows.
"The amazing thing is sharing the stage with some of the greatest guitarists on
the
planet," Shepherd says, calling from a tour stop in Colorado. "It's an old-time
revue
type of show -- a revolving door of talent. Sometimes the musicians play
together,
sometimes they are solo. It's three hours of music. You get your money's worth."
Each artist does three to five songs. The material consists of songs Hendrix
either
wrote or covered during his career.
"Fans love the tour," Shepherd notes. "The lineup gets them fired up. You see
players
on stage you wouldn't expect to see together, like Buddy Guy and Zakk Wylde."
Shepherd says one of the perks of participation is seeing firsthand how much
Hendrix
has influenced disparate players. Jimi's reach stretches beyond genres and
styles.
The guitar slingers assembled on the Experience tour individually absorbed the
lessons
of Hendrix. A native of Serbia, Popovic grew up jamming to her father's blues
and
rock records in her home country before finding international fame as a player.
In
2000 she contributed to the tribute album "Blue Haze: Songs of Jimi Hendrix."
Also on the tour, Zappa is a musician in his own right and the son of rock
iconoclast
Frank Zappa. The Hendrix connection runs in the family -- Dweezil's late father
bequeathed
him a Fender Stratocaster guitar once owned by Frank's pal Jimi.
The different generations of players on the Experience tour highlight the
guitarist's
wide-ranging impact. Some knew and worked with the legend. Others were born
after
Hendrix's death and discovered him only through his recordings. No matter the
relationship,
the connection is a powerful one.
"The tour has Buddy Guy, who influenced Hendrix," Shepherd observes. "There's
Billy
Cox, who played with him. There are the younger musicians who were influenced by
Hendrix."
Born in Seattle in 1942, Hendrix did a short stint in the Army, then became a
backing
musician for a number of R&B and soul artists including rock 'n' roll pioneer
Little
Richard. He also spent time in New York, working on his solo career and making
industry
connections. In 1966 he went to Britain, formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience and
released
such indelible work as "Hey Joe" and "Purple Haze." His experimental,
feedback-laden
live performances at the Monterey Pop Festival and Woodstock cemented his place
as
one of the most singular and electrifying forces in the rock world.
It was a fast rise and a tragic fall. Hendrix died of complications caused by
barbiturate
intoxication in London in 1970. His passing was during a tumultuous era marked
by
the deaths of several of rock's mightiest figures, among them vocalists Janis
Joplin
and Jim Morrison and Rolling Stones' guitarist Brian Jones.
Hendrix' career as a frontman was brief. But the enduring power of his catalog
continues
to shape the genre.
"Jimi had everything," says Shepherd. "Great songs. Great guitar riffs. Grooves.
Passion. He didn't observe boundaries. Whether he was playing blues or rock, he
always
took it to the next level. He accomplished so much in such a short amount of
time."
For his part on the tour, Shepherd plays a mini-set of Hendrix material
including
"Gypsy Eyes" and "Castles Made of Sand." He'll also play "Voodoo Child (Slight
Return),"
a perennial in his own career. The guitarist has been ending his set with the
song
since his teenage years.
His own love for Hendrix began in childhood. Shepherd was born and raised in
Shreveport,
La.
"My dad was a disc jockey on the radio, so music was always played in the
household,"
he recalls. "Hendrix was part of the soundtrack along with James Brown and Hank
Williams."
Shepherd began playing at the age of 7. "The guitar chose me as much as I chose
the
guitar," he says. Within a few years he was trying to learn Hendrix's "Purple
Haze."
His father's profession gave the young Shepherd a firsthand view of the music
business.
Whenever his dad went to a show, he would tag along.
"I was around every musician who came through town," he says. "My dad had
backstage
passes, so I met everyone. It was an example for my future life."
That life now includes his annual participation in the Experience Hendrix Tour.
When
his wife and kids join him on the road, he rents his own bus. Otherwise he rides
the communal buses with the other artists.
As a fan of Hendrix, it's a win-win to play the legend's songs with other
like-minded
guitarists. "It's a slew of terrific musicians playing tribute to great music,"
Shepherd
says.
(c)2017 Chicago Tribune
