Tough Job Touring With Jimi Hendrix

[Westerly Wood]

Townsend was prepared to be pissed till he saw Jimi play, later saying something along the lines of, "He wasn't stealing from me -- hell, there was nothing I could teach him."

love this!

 

[Westerly Wood]

At the end of the day, one cannot really compare Townshend guitar to Hendrix guitar. They are apples to oranges. They were both really raw and great and had tons of life in their playing. Nobody really strummed like Townshend back then and nobody solo'd like Hendrix back then or leveraged feedback and volume the way he did. both guitarists relied on sheer volume. But their chording and playing and styles are nothing alike. Now I can see Clapton being all in a tizzy over Hendrix, but Pete? nah. Not for long. Besides, Pete was more of a songwriter than player, thought he happened to excel at both. But guitar was just a tool to get across he stories.

 

[walrus]

Here's "Wild Thing" from Montery Pop. At 5:12 you can see a bit of "grinding". But when you watch this whole clip and many other performances in his "early" days, he's not just getting some sound effects, etc. He's clearly putting on a show that in it's day, was extremely "erotic".



walrus

 

[adorshki]

In addition to being an almost supernaturally gifted player, Hendrix was flamboyant and devised his own version of "stagecraft." Remember he worked with Little Richard, the Isley Brothers and many others in his early "chitlin circuit" days. He knew how to put on a show and how to impress an audience. This came back to bite him later when he just wanted to play without resorting to the tricks that had first established his notoriety -- destroying guitars, playing with his teeth, etc.

When he first came to the UK, all the "hot" guitarists lined up to see him, including Clapton, Beck and Townsend. Townsend recounted running into Beck leaving a club where Jimi was playing just as Pete was arriving. Beck said to Pete, "He's stealing your act, man!"

Townsend was prepared to be pissed till he saw Jimi play, later saying something along the lines of, "He wasn't stealing from me -- hell, there was nothing I could teach him."

That's in the move "Jimi Hendrix". Never seen it confirmed anywhere else and suspect it may be apocryphal with a couple of potential "possibles".

For one thing it sounds like the same show Beck recounts, and Beck never mentions this, nor does Clapton (that I've seen, I'm much more familiar with the Beck and Hendrix bios),

From here:
http://rockandrollgarage.com/how-jeff-beck-reacted-when-he-first-saw-jimi-hendrix-play/

"Eric Clapton was with Jeff Beck at that show as Beck recalled in an interview with Classic Rock in 2021, saying it was ‘quite devastading’ to see Hendrix do all his tricks with the guitar: “When I saw Jimi we knew he was going to be trouble. And by ‘we’ I mean me and Eric (Clapton), because Jimmy (Page) wasn’t in the frame at that point.”

I think Pete was having a memory lapse, as he's cited as griping about Hendrix "ripping him off" frequently, but Beck never mentions Townshend. Maybe he was yanking Pete's chain, having nearly poached Entwhistle and Moon from the Who during the "Beck's Bolero" session barely 4 months earlier?

Pete was said to be quite hacked off at Beck over that.

 

[wileypickett]

At the end of the day, one cannot really compare Townshend guitar to Hendrix guitar. They are apples to oranges.

I agree. I think this is what Townshend quickly realized when he saw Hendrix, thus his comment.

Pete was more of a songwriter than player, thought he happened to excel at both.

You're not suggesting Hendrix was a slouch as a songwriter I hope! I would argue he was one of the best of his era. In the three+ short years since his career began in ernest in the UK, he wrote enough songs to fill the six albums he oversaw (barring the occasional cover, and Noel Redding composition), and since his death any number of "works in progress" have been issued. He was prolific -- and what songs!

 

[adorshki]

You're not suggesting Hendrix was a slouch as a songwriter I hope! I would argue he was one of the best of his era. In the three+ short years since his career began in ernest in the UK, he wrote enough songs to fill the six albums he oversaw (barring the occasional cover, and Noel Redding composition), and since his death any number of "works in progress" have been issued. He was prolific -- and what songs!

Saw something just a couple of days ago about a new compilation of Jimi tunes done acoustic by various artists, Producers said they wanted to emphasize his song-writing abilities.

Hell I figured that out when I was 17, that all the special effects were meaningless without the framework of a good song. Had the Hendrix songbook and was actually adapting what I could to a classical guitar. Quickly realized the progressions were excellent, especially "boiled down". Some of the first were tunes like "Belly Button Window" and "Up From the Skies" , both had easy progressions. "Wind Cries Mary" is one of the most beautiful ballads ever written and I'm not a big ballad fan.

When I got a flattop a couple of years later, then I could start trying some of the trills and slides that just weren't possible on a classical. I started concentrating on getting as clean a sound as I could from a flattop, somehow intuiting that was necessary as the base of any distortion when I finally got an electric. As it turned out I discovered just exploring the potential of a pure un-enhanced flattop is a lifelong journey. Kenny Burrell and Montgomery could get pretty good growls from their jazzboxes, though.

Tuck and Patty did a Hendrix acoustic collection a few years back too.

 

[wileypickett]

His classic rock numbers aside (Purple Haze, Fire, Manic Depression, Voodoo Child, etc.), his ballads are knockouts: Little Wing, One Rainy Wish, Wind Cries Mary, Castles Made of Sand, Drifting, Angel, Night Bird Flying.

There's a lot of stuff I listened to as a teenager that I don't care much about now, but I've never lost my appreciation for Hendrix.

(Saw him live twice.)

 

[Westerly Wood]

His classic rock numbers aside (Purple Haze, Fire, Manic Depression, Voodoo Child, etc.), his ballads are knockouts: Little Wing, One Rainy Wish, Wind Cries Mary, Castles Made of Sand, Drifting, Angel, Night Bird Flying.

There's a lot of stuff I listened to as a teenager that I don't care much about now, but I've never lost my appreciation for Hendrix.

(Saw him live twice.)

Wind Cries Mary, Castles Made of Sand are definitely two of my faves. Good point, he was quite the song writer. I remember watching a movie re Jimi, and Lou Reed chimed in: "Well, Jimi had his guitar around his neck all day long, making eggs, breakfast etc. He was always playing it."

 

[walrus]

Wind Cries Mary, Castles Made of Sand are definitely two of my faves. Good point, he was quite the song writer. I remember watching a movie re Jimi, and Lou Reed chimed in: "Well, Jimi had his guitar around his neck all day long, making eggs, breakfast etc. He was always playing it."

"Where's my guitar?"



walrus

 

[adorshki]

Wind Cries Mary, Castles Made of Sand are definitely two of my faves. Good point, he was quite the song writer. I remember watching a movie re Jimi, and Lou Reed chimed in: "Well, Jimi had his guitar around his neck all day long, making eggs, breakfast etc. He was always playing it."

Right. McCartney'd just confided the working title for "Yesterday" to him.

 

[Westerly Wood]

"Where's my guitar?"



walrus

got to be on the other side of him, hanging down behind that sweet dinner coat.

 

[adorshki]

"Where's my guitar?"



walrus

And that's actually Ringo's place. He rented it out for a couple of months when he first arrived 'til he found Handel's old place.

 

[adorshki]

Back to the rigors of touring.

Noel Redding mentioned that one of the perks of the '68 tour was a gift of portable TV's, as they were still very uncommon in hotels at the time, especially in the wheatfield "heartland".

Prior to that one had to try to have fun with one's roadmates in a quiet town:

Greensboro, NC, 1967.
Mike Nesmith coaches Jimi on the changes for "Mary, Mary" (Butterfield Blues Band had already covered it on East/West so Nesmith already had hip songwriting creds) as Peter hums along.
The real story here: http://www.tvparty.com/fall-monkees-hendrix.html

The last hurrah for the original Experience was at the 1969 Denver Pop Festival. From here https://www.jimihendrix.com/encyclo...ped-the-bill-at-the-1969-denver-pop-festival/:

"An inspired set by the Experience was marred by a riot following the group’s performance. Police officers began firing tear gas at the audience while Eric Barrett, a roadie for the Experience, rushed the band off stage and into the back of their rented equipment truck. Fans climbed all over the vehicle, nearly buckling the roof before the Barrett and the road crew could whisk the group away. The Denver Pop Festival would prove to be the last performance by the original Jimi Hendrix Experience. Immediately afterwards, Noel Redding elected to leave the group and returned to London. Redding cited Hendrix’s stated desire to expand the group without consulting him as one of the factors influencing his decision."

 

[DrumBob]

Sadly, Jimi was a little before my time... Some of these stage antics just seem weird to me. Grinding a stack of amp cabinets just doesn't really compute for me. But then again, neither does smashing guitars and drummers spontaneously combusting.

I saw Jimi live twice, and yes, he did grind the amp stacks, burn guitars and smash them, although not when I was there. It's show business.

 

[wileypickett]

I saw him live twice too, but after Electic Ladyland. At those shows it seemed to me Hendrix was more interested in playing than being a showman. No burning, no smashing, no playing with his teeth, no amp grinding -- a lot facial contortions as he soloed though!

 

[DrumBob]

The first time I saw Jimi live, was the night after MLK was assassinated. He was very somber, and pretty much just stood there the whole time, until the end of the show, when he threw his Strat into the amp stacks. The second time was the Randall's Island rock festival, and he was somewhat restrained then also. He was clearly moving away from the shtick.

 

[PreacherBob]

I had this same model Gretsch for a couple years, left in my care by my deceased bosses wife til she got the probate worked out to keep it out of the hands of wayward kids and wind up as trade material for drugs. Her grandson got it in the end, as intended and all was well.
It was a 1964 Gretsch 75th Double Anniversary 6118T in Smoke Green, 6124 Single Anniversary was a single pickup. Lightest electric hollow body I’ve ever held. Came out in ‘58 but the anniversary model kept going through the 60’s. There are a huge selection of this anniversary model reissue for sale now online.
I wonder if this is his or borrowed it. He’s obviously playing upside down, but is it restrung? Did he have the ability to play with strings reversed?

 

[FNG]

Jamming with the Monkees!

 

[Rocky]

"Where's my guitar?"

Ah, smoking while cooking. Unless he's cooking up some blue cheer, that velvet is going to be a mess in a minute.

 

[adorshki]

Ah, smoking while cooking. Unless he's cooking up some blue cheer, that velvet is going to be a mess in a minute.

Photog probably told him to wear it. For "human interest"