Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yeah, Hi there, Detroit Wheels.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Hey, it's John McDermott.
Speaker 3 (00:02):
John, great to talk to you. Thank you for checking
in with us here at Detroit's Wheels. We're talking to
John McDermott this afternoon. I guess a biographer curiator. I mean,
I don't know what your title is, but I want
your job. Okay, you oversee all of the Jimmy Hendricks catalog.
I mean, how does one land a job like that?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
John? Well, you know it's interesting. In nineteen ninety two,
Eddie Kramer and I, Jimmy's recording engineer, we wrote a
book called Hendrick Side of the Records. Trade was very popular.
We followed that up with a tribute album to Jimmy
Hendrix called Stone Free. Attribute to Jimmy Hendrix had Eric Clapton,
Jeff back Pearl, Jimin's Soundgarden, Buddy Guyle, these great artists,
(00:45):
and the purpose of that was to create scholarships in
Jimmy's name at the United Negro College Fund. We made
that record, it was very successful. We then went back
to our respective projects and that was that. Shortly thereafter,
I got win that there was and there was litigation
that was happening where the rights to Jimmy's music and
his songs were being sold out from under the family's
(01:07):
control by their former lawyer. So they litigated to stop
this and they did. I volunteered to help in that
process in you know, to help them get those rights back,
and in nineteen ninety five they asked me to stay
on and organize the music catalog with them, and I
have done so now for the last thirty years. So
it is the greatest job in the world, without question.
But you know, it is something that it's just it's
(01:30):
wonderful to be able to kind of share Jimmy's music
with fans around the world, you know, because I'm a fan,
So to be able to do that and work on
all these projects is really just it's very fulfilling. It's
a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Yeah, it sounds like it is. I am a big
Jimmy Hendrix fan too.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
My very first concert nineteen sixty eight Cobo Hall, Detroit,
Jimmy Hendricks experience, and I've never forgotten it. I've actually
found photograph of it that I've purchased from a photographer
that was there that night, and I remember distinctly going
there at the time. The axis Boulders Love album was out,
(02:10):
so I was expecting no songs.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
But correct, That's correct.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
He didn't do that.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
How he did the new one before it came out,
he did Electric Lady Land pretty much half of it anyway, yea,
And I mean, in hindsight, I didn't even know that
at the time, but when I think back.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Upon it now, just what a special night that was.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
I hope that somewhere someday in that archives are going
to find that Detroit concert.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Maybe you can put that out.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
I would ask you to ask the good people of
Detroit if there's a recording of Jimmy at the Cobo Hall,
please let us know, because we don't have one and
we would love to find one. Yeah. No, Jimmy definitely.
You know. You know what's interesting when you talk about
like the songs that you saw, you know, this is
a guy that, you know, he really never self promoted
in that way. Even when he did the few American
(02:59):
television appearances that he did, like on Dick Cavit and
The Tonight Show, he didn't play a record that was
out that the public had heard before. He was always
very much in the moment musically.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
So you've got this I know, we got a couple
of things to talk about because Experience Hendrix is coming
to town, and I got a lot to talk about
with that too. But this Electric Lady Studios, the Jimmy
Hendricks Vision box Set, I mean, John, over thirty years,
we've seen Hendricks releases almost every year, every single record
(03:30):
store day that I can remember, from the beginning right
up until now, there's always been something from Jimmy Hendrix.
I think the family has done a fantastic job. There's
all this bootleg stuff out there, there's these new releases.
How do you continue to find this stuff? And now
it looks to me that you find you're bringing out
(03:51):
some of the best stuff he's ever recorded.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Well, you know, this particular project was important to us
because Electric Lady Studios is really signific getting the Hendricks
legacy in this way. Jimmy was the first artist to
fund and build a commercial recording studio. Now, everybody and
their brother has a studio in their home, their garage,
the basement, all of that stuff. But back then, a
guy like Jimmy Hendrix couldn't walk into a bank and
(04:15):
get you know, six hundred and seven hundred thousand dollars
alone to be able to do this. So he put
up his own money and made it. You know, That's
what was important to him. He didn't chase celebrity, He
didn't have fifty homes. He wasn't that kind of guy.
He he had been denied the opportunity to record his music.
Owning his own studio gave him that chance. We knew,
you know, we had to tell the story of how this,
(04:38):
you know, came from this rubble in Greenwich village of
a defunct bankrupt nightclub into this underground spaceship, you know,
like that. It's interesting that, you know, with so much
from that that era that it's all hyperbole, like, oh
it was it was a mess, it was a disaster,
it was this In this instance, it really was, you know.
I mean he you know, he took on this this
(04:59):
space which had been the Generation club that had gone
bankrupt and was completely a mess. But Adie Kramer walked
in there and said, we could make this the best
studio in the world, and they did, and he loved it.
And I think the tragedy of all of this is
is that on that box that you hear how excited
they are. You hear the the interaction. I mean, Jimmy
was a guy I didn't read or write music. He
(05:20):
needed a place like this because like an author who
has to write multiple drafts, that was him in the studio,
like he had to keep going after it, going after it,
going after it, and then he would finally kind of
win it down to exactly what he was hearing in
his head. And that's what the studio gave him. Now
go forward past his death. You've got led Zeppelin there,
Stevie Wonder and they are all these great acts. They
(05:42):
would have been the kind of people that Jimmy would
have popped in a Jimmy said, hey, you could play
on our record, write a song with us, produce us,
do this. That's the real tragedy. That place would have
been ground zero for creativity for him.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Well, this is this box that is going to really
concentrate on nineteen seventy with Billy Cox, Mitch Mitchell, well,
thirty eight or thirty nine unreleased tracks. This is just
mind boggling to us Hendricks fans, But you still keep
finding it. I love it, and I love the fact
that we're now looking at, you know, nineteen seventy and
(06:15):
because it was you know, some of the music never
made it right, never got out well.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
I think I think that in sixty nine, as the
studio was being built, Jimmy was writing, writing, writing, recording, recording, recording,
and you know, part of that process was the development
of these new songs. And I think, you know, Buddy
Miles and Billy Cox's they were great with the band
of Gypsy's. I think that Jimmy really, you know, wanted
to pair Mitch with Billy and that really became the
(06:41):
Reformed experience in seventy. I think their live shows were
obviously very dynamic, and the and the studio recordings. Billy
was so supportive, so willing to stay with him for
as long as need be. And Mitch, you know, Jimmy
and Mitch. Mitch's style had evolved. I think he understood
what Jimmy liked in Buddy Miles else is playing and
tried to bring some of that. So when you listen
(07:02):
to Freedom or Dolly Dagger, you know, Mitch has a
different sound. He's evolved. And I think that that's the
exciting thing that you hear in this box that too,
because it's not just songs you haven't heard before, but
you're hearing songs you know, being built from the ground up,
so you get a window into Jimmy's you know, creative
process that the other records didn't because when you know,
(07:23):
when Jimmy made all you experienced with Chess Chandler, you know,
they were doing it on a wing, on a prayer
with a limited budget, and they didn't spend a lot
of time in the studio. Chaz was very careful about that.
So hearing Jimmy interact with the band, show them what
he wanted, interact with Kramer in the studio, that's that's
the bonus here. I think the fans will really enjoy.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Yeah, a lot of us love Mitch Mitchell, of course.
And it's funny you touch on Buddy Buddy Miles because
last year there was a show here in Detroit called
for the Love of Buddy Miles and it featured this
army of guitar players, including Jim McCarty who was in
the Them Chained.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
His band and the Express That's right, yep.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
And that's coming back. So there is some love for
Buddy Miles here in the Motor City as well. But
I was at that show, the Hendricks Experience, where Billy
Cox and I believe that was probably one of the
last shows that Mitch Mitchell played. He was ill that night,
came out late, and then I think a couple of
(08:23):
days later he passed away.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Well, he at the end of the OA tour. Mitch
passed away in Portland, Oregon. He had stayed on after
the tour ended because he loved the Northwest and he
wanted to, you know, spend time in Portland before he
actually was heading back to New York before he went
back to England because he was going to sit down
on the David Letterman Show. So in the morning he
was supposed to fly back from fly back from Portland
(08:46):
to New York. He sadly passed in his sleep. So,
you know, he was a wonderful guy and much missed.
But we loved having him out with us on the tour.
I mean, he just you know, for the participating artist,
it was great because you had somebody like Mitch that
you could you know, he was a great storyteller and
people really enjoyed him and and fans loved him because
he was that connection to the past, certainly with Billy
(09:08):
as well. You know, Billy retired a couple of years ago.
But he you know, he was somebody that was on
every one of these tours that we ever did. Yep.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
And I'll tell you there was a Detroit connection too
of Kenny Olsen, who was in the Kid Rock band.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Oh yeah, we love Kenny.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Kenny was great, and.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Of course everybody always loved Zach Wilde when he would start,
you know, just trudging up the aisle.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
You know, Andanda.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
So the Hendricks experience has always been fun. And we've
got another win coming here Saturday, March twenty second and
Experience Hendricks with Kenny, Wayne Shepherd, one of my favorites,
Eric Johnson, Marcus King. Tell me a little bit about
rounding up the people for this year's Experience Hendricks.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Well, this is this is an idea that I had
like twenty odd years ago to you know, celebrate Jimmy's
music via his songs. That's the connecting point for the
artists for the audience. So every year, we you know,
we don't do this every year. We haven't done this
for six years. Actually it was prior to COVID when
we did our last tour in nineteen and you know,
the Fox is always on our list, you know, I mean,
(10:13):
the the Detroit audience is wonderful. You know, they really
have always supported the show. So when we put a
show like this together, I'm looking to have a diverse
group of people that I can present in a collaborative setting,
so that when you see Eric Johnson or Eric Kenny
Wayn Sheppard, as you mentioned, you know, you can always
see them playing at Jimmy HENDRICKSONNG on their own set,
(10:35):
but seeing them play with other people outside of that,
playing songs they don't normally play, you know, that's the
exciting thing about it. We bring in special guests all
the time, you know, to add to the to the
core artists that we have, and you know, there are
also folks like Devin Allmon that are gonna you know
that people may not be familiar with. They're going to
leave that theater thinking, damn, that guy was good.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Toll.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
He's nice to see some new talent that is part
of it that has the same passion and love for
the Hendrix music that the fans do and the way
they present it.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
So I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
And it's always sold out in Detroit, so this has
got to be one of your best markets for the experience.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Hendrix No doubt.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
You know, it's funny. It's such a beautiful building and
there is an energy in that building. You know, Detroit
folks they love the music and you know, it's always great,
like like Rick Franks, who's the promoter there, has always
been so supportive of our show, and you know, it's
it's really a privilege to play there. I don't mean
that just because I'm on the phone with you and
we're in Detroit. I think it's something that you if
you can't get out for playing the Fox, you really,
(11:36):
you know what I mean, you can't be in this
business because it's a special place and that energy that
you feel. You know, I'm on the side of the
stage organizing this whole thing, and I feel it. So
you can imagine what the musicians are feeling out there
on the stage.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
You know, tell me, what, what on of all of
these thirty years of music that you've compiled and you've
listened to and you've you know, spent your life working on,
what one album would you pick out to say is
your favorite Hendricks ound?
Speaker 2 (12:04):
You know, I have to go back to when I started.
I came to the Hendricks legacy shortly after he passed
because you know, I didn't get to see him live
as you did. But for me a record that I
bought early on was Hendricks in the West, which was
a live album. Yes, and to me, I thought the
diversity on that record of like, you know, an amazing
(12:24):
version of Red House, yep, the Beauty of Little Wing,
Johnny be Good. I mean, there were so many things
on there that just showed you how, you know, unique
and different. Jimmy Hendricks was I would say, that's my
Desert Island record now, you know, look, at the end
of the day, sure would I love to bring Cryle Love,
Electric Ladyland any of these records, of course, But you know, honestly,
(12:45):
if you asked me, that's still my go to record.
I still love the you know, I just remember the
feeling of listening to that and thinking, man, could you
imagine having seen this guy in concert? It must have
been unforgettable.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Oh, it absolutely was, no question it. I actually have
kind of went back to that wild what is it though, Wild.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Night, Wild Flight, the Wild Blue Angel.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Yes, the Wild Blue Angel.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Oh that's a tremendou Yeah, no, no, that was that
was you know, a lot of fun to be able
to work with Murray Lerner and present all of that
great footage of Jimmy at the Isle of Wight. I
mean the all on the Watchtower from that show is
and the Red House in from the Storm. Those are
some magic moments in that show. Boy.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Yeah, during the holidays, PBS had a just a marathon
of concerts, and I believe that was one of them
because I just just caught I believe Red House and
just went crazy. I said, I've got you know, and
I went in my archives and I didn't have that copy.
So I have found a pristine new copy, got it,
(13:47):
And I've just fallen in love with all that stuff
from the Isle of Wight.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Yeah, that that was just fantastic.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
I guess in wrapping this up, what do you think
John Jimmy would be doing today? Would he still be
making music, would he be doing the blues?
Speaker 1 (14:02):
Where do you think he'd be right now?
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Well, I think you answered two of the things. I
think blues was his passion, and I think he absolutely
would have I think like Eric Clapton, like you know,
even a Paul McCartney as a solo edist, he would
have had periods of great commercial success and then other
periods that were more artistically driven things he wanted to do.
But I really do feel, given his love for the
recording studio, that you know, even if he was just
(14:27):
a producer, a writer and somebody like that, he'd still
have a huge impact. I can't see. I mean, Electric
Lady studio is still going used by people, you know,
like even Taylor Swift and Beyonce. You can't tell me
that he wouldn't a cross Paths with Prance, with Stevie
ray Vaughan with I mean, good lord, you know, the
list is one hundred long, you know, so I do
(14:49):
feel that, you know, there there was something about him
that captivates people, that interests people, and I think that
that would have been the fuel for a lot of
really interesting creative pursuits that he would have made. You know,
people think, oh he would have made this, or he
would have been that. I think the one thing we
knew about Jimmy Hendricks is that every album he did
(15:09):
was different from the previous one. So it's hard to predict,
but you would have seen music coming out of him
like a fire hose had he lived and been able
to use Electric Lady in the manner in which I
think he had in.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
His dreams, maybe he would have done something with Paul McCartney.
You know, Paul obviously loves him because he's still he's
doing Foxy Lady every tour, you know, and telling the
story of when Jimmy played England.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
So he was den and you know also too. It
should never be forgotten. It was Paul McCartney who lobbied
for Jimmy Hendrix, a total unknown, to be given a
slot at the Monterey Pop Festival. And then once Jimmy
got there, he took it from there, had an amazing performance,
burned his guitar, became a legend. But that was Paul
pushing Jimmy to Lou Adler and John Phillips saying you
(15:54):
gotta have this guy. He's tearing it up here.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Wow, there's a fast fact I did not know. Thank
you for that well, John McDermott, thank you. Just a
fantastic job over all of these years. You know, we
all envy you and continued success in continuing to find
more stuff and get it out. And we're all excited
about the upcoming experience Hendricks show at the Fox and
(16:18):
more importantly, the new Vision box said I can't wait
to pick it up so well.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it and looking
forward to seeing everybody come out in Detroit.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Thank you, John McDermott from the Hendricks Experience and the
Jimmy Hendrix family and Hendricks Vault.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Thank you so much, my friend, all the best, take care.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Thank you,
Yeah, Hi there, Detroit Wheels.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Hey, it's John McDermott.
Speaker 3 (00:02):
John, great to talk to you. Thank you for checking
in with us here at Detroit's Wheels. We're talking to
John McDermott this afternoon. I guess a biographer curiator. I mean,
I don't know what your title is, but I want
your job. Okay, you oversee all of the Jimmy Hendricks catalog.
I mean, how does one land a job like that?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
John? Well, you know it's interesting. In nineteen ninety two,
Eddie Kramer and I, Jimmy's recording engineer, we wrote a
book called Hendrick Side of the Records. Trade was very popular.
We followed that up with a tribute album to Jimmy
Hendrix called Stone Free. Attribute to Jimmy Hendrix had Eric Clapton,
Jeff back Pearl, Jimin's Soundgarden, Buddy Guyle, these great artists,
(00:45):
and the purpose of that was to create scholarships in
Jimmy's name at the United Negro College Fund. We made
that record, it was very successful. We then went back
to our respective projects and that was that. Shortly thereafter,
I got win that there was and there was litigation
that was happening where the rights to Jimmy's music and
his songs were being sold out from under the family's
(01:07):
control by their former lawyer. So they litigated to stop
this and they did. I volunteered to help in that
process in you know, to help them get those rights back,
and in nineteen ninety five they asked me to stay
on and organize the music catalog with them, and I
have done so now for the last thirty years. So
it is the greatest job in the world, without question.
But you know, it is something that it's just it's
(01:30):
wonderful to be able to kind of share Jimmy's music
with fans around the world, you know, because I'm a fan,
So to be able to do that and work on
all these projects is really just it's very fulfilling. It's
a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Yeah, it sounds like it is. I am a big
Jimmy Hendrix fan too.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
My very first concert nineteen sixty eight Cobo Hall, Detroit,
Jimmy Hendricks experience, and I've never forgotten it. I've actually
found photograph of it that I've purchased from a photographer
that was there that night, and I remember distinctly going
there at the time. The axis Boulders Love album was out,
(02:10):
so I was expecting no songs.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
But correct, That's correct.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
He didn't do that.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
How he did the new one before it came out,
he did Electric Lady Land pretty much half of it anyway, yea,
And I mean, in hindsight, I didn't even know that
at the time, but when I think back.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Upon it now, just what a special night that was.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
I hope that somewhere someday in that archives are going
to find that Detroit concert.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Maybe you can put that out.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
I would ask you to ask the good people of
Detroit if there's a recording of Jimmy at the Cobo Hall,
please let us know, because we don't have one and
we would love to find one. Yeah. No, Jimmy definitely.
You know. You know what's interesting when you talk about
like the songs that you saw, you know, this is
a guy that, you know, he really never self promoted
in that way. Even when he did the few American
(02:59):
television appearances that he did, like on Dick Cavit and
The Tonight Show, he didn't play a record that was
out that the public had heard before. He was always
very much in the moment musically.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
So you've got this I know, we got a couple
of things to talk about because Experience Hendrix is coming
to town, and I got a lot to talk about
with that too. But this Electric Lady Studios, the Jimmy
Hendricks Vision box Set, I mean, John, over thirty years,
we've seen Hendricks releases almost every year, every single record
(03:30):
store day that I can remember, from the beginning right
up until now, there's always been something from Jimmy Hendrix.
I think the family has done a fantastic job. There's
all this bootleg stuff out there, there's these new releases.
How do you continue to find this stuff? And now
it looks to me that you find you're bringing out
(03:51):
some of the best stuff he's ever recorded.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Well, you know, this particular project was important to us
because Electric Lady Studios is really signific getting the Hendricks
legacy in this way. Jimmy was the first artist to
fund and build a commercial recording studio. Now, everybody and
their brother has a studio in their home, their garage,
the basement, all of that stuff. But back then, a
guy like Jimmy Hendrix couldn't walk into a bank and
(04:15):
get you know, six hundred and seven hundred thousand dollars
alone to be able to do this. So he put
up his own money and made it. You know, That's
what was important to him. He didn't chase celebrity, He
didn't have fifty homes. He wasn't that kind of guy.
He he had been denied the opportunity to record his music.
Owning his own studio gave him that chance. We knew,
you know, we had to tell the story of how this,
(04:38):
you know, came from this rubble in Greenwich village of
a defunct bankrupt nightclub into this underground spaceship, you know,
like that. It's interesting that, you know, with so much
from that that era that it's all hyperbole, like, oh
it was it was a mess, it was a disaster,
it was this In this instance, it really was, you know.
I mean he you know, he took on this this
(04:59):
space which had been the Generation club that had gone
bankrupt and was completely a mess. But Adie Kramer walked
in there and said, we could make this the best
studio in the world, and they did, and he loved it.
And I think the tragedy of all of this is
is that on that box that you hear how excited
they are. You hear the the interaction. I mean, Jimmy
was a guy I didn't read or write music. He
(05:20):
needed a place like this because like an author who
has to write multiple drafts, that was him in the studio,
like he had to keep going after it, going after it,
going after it, and then he would finally kind of
win it down to exactly what he was hearing in
his head. And that's what the studio gave him. Now
go forward past his death. You've got led Zeppelin there,
Stevie Wonder and they are all these great acts. They
(05:42):
would have been the kind of people that Jimmy would
have popped in a Jimmy said, hey, you could play
on our record, write a song with us, produce us,
do this. That's the real tragedy. That place would have
been ground zero for creativity for him.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Well, this is this box that is going to really
concentrate on nineteen seventy with Billy Cox, Mitch Mitchell, well,
thirty eight or thirty nine unreleased tracks. This is just
mind boggling to us Hendricks fans, But you still keep
finding it. I love it, and I love the fact
that we're now looking at, you know, nineteen seventy and
(06:15):
because it was you know, some of the music never
made it right, never got out well.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
I think I think that in sixty nine, as the
studio was being built, Jimmy was writing, writing, writing, recording, recording, recording,
and you know, part of that process was the development
of these new songs. And I think, you know, Buddy
Miles and Billy Cox's they were great with the band
of Gypsy's. I think that Jimmy really, you know, wanted
to pair Mitch with Billy and that really became the
(06:41):
Reformed experience in seventy. I think their live shows were
obviously very dynamic, and the and the studio recordings. Billy
was so supportive, so willing to stay with him for
as long as need be. And Mitch, you know, Jimmy
and Mitch. Mitch's style had evolved. I think he understood
what Jimmy liked in Buddy Miles else is playing and
tried to bring some of that. So when you listen
(07:02):
to Freedom or Dolly Dagger, you know, Mitch has a
different sound. He's evolved. And I think that that's the
exciting thing that you hear in this box that too,
because it's not just songs you haven't heard before, but
you're hearing songs you know, being built from the ground up,
so you get a window into Jimmy's you know, creative
process that the other records didn't because when you know,
(07:23):
when Jimmy made all you experienced with Chess Chandler, you know,
they were doing it on a wing, on a prayer
with a limited budget, and they didn't spend a lot
of time in the studio. Chaz was very careful about that.
So hearing Jimmy interact with the band, show them what
he wanted, interact with Kramer in the studio, that's that's
the bonus here. I think the fans will really enjoy.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Yeah, a lot of us love Mitch Mitchell, of course.
And it's funny you touch on Buddy Buddy Miles because
last year there was a show here in Detroit called
for the Love of Buddy Miles and it featured this
army of guitar players, including Jim McCarty who was in
the Them Chained.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
His band and the Express That's right, yep.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
And that's coming back. So there is some love for
Buddy Miles here in the Motor City as well. But
I was at that show, the Hendricks Experience, where Billy
Cox and I believe that was probably one of the
last shows that Mitch Mitchell played. He was ill that night,
came out late, and then I think a couple of
(08:23):
days later he passed away.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Well, he at the end of the OA tour. Mitch
passed away in Portland, Oregon. He had stayed on after
the tour ended because he loved the Northwest and he
wanted to, you know, spend time in Portland before he
actually was heading back to New York before he went
back to England because he was going to sit down
on the David Letterman Show. So in the morning he
was supposed to fly back from fly back from Portland
(08:46):
to New York. He sadly passed in his sleep. So,
you know, he was a wonderful guy and much missed.
But we loved having him out with us on the tour.
I mean, he just you know, for the participating artist,
it was great because you had somebody like Mitch that
you could you know, he was a great storyteller and
people really enjoyed him and and fans loved him because
he was that connection to the past, certainly with Billy
(09:08):
as well. You know, Billy retired a couple of years ago.
But he you know, he was somebody that was on
every one of these tours that we ever did. Yep.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
And I'll tell you there was a Detroit connection too
of Kenny Olsen, who was in the Kid Rock band.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Oh yeah, we love Kenny.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Kenny was great, and.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Of course everybody always loved Zach Wilde when he would start,
you know, just trudging up the aisle.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
You know, Andanda.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
So the Hendricks experience has always been fun. And we've
got another win coming here Saturday, March twenty second and
Experience Hendricks with Kenny, Wayne Shepherd, one of my favorites,
Eric Johnson, Marcus King. Tell me a little bit about
rounding up the people for this year's Experience Hendricks.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Well, this is this is an idea that I had
like twenty odd years ago to you know, celebrate Jimmy's
music via his songs. That's the connecting point for the
artists for the audience. So every year, we you know,
we don't do this every year. We haven't done this
for six years. Actually it was prior to COVID when
we did our last tour in nineteen and you know,
the Fox is always on our list, you know, I mean,
(10:13):
the the Detroit audience is wonderful. You know, they really
have always supported the show. So when we put a
show like this together, I'm looking to have a diverse
group of people that I can present in a collaborative setting,
so that when you see Eric Johnson or Eric Kenny
Wayn Sheppard, as you mentioned, you know, you can always
see them playing at Jimmy HENDRICKSONNG on their own set,
(10:35):
but seeing them play with other people outside of that,
playing songs they don't normally play, you know, that's the
exciting thing about it. We bring in special guests all
the time, you know, to add to the to the
core artists that we have, and you know, there are
also folks like Devin Allmon that are gonna you know
that people may not be familiar with. They're going to
leave that theater thinking, damn, that guy was good.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Toll.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
He's nice to see some new talent that is part
of it that has the same passion and love for
the Hendrix music that the fans do and the way
they present it.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
So I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
And it's always sold out in Detroit, so this has
got to be one of your best markets for the experience.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Hendrix No doubt.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
You know, it's funny. It's such a beautiful building and
there is an energy in that building. You know, Detroit
folks they love the music and you know, it's always great,
like like Rick Franks, who's the promoter there, has always
been so supportive of our show, and you know, it's
it's really a privilege to play there. I don't mean
that just because I'm on the phone with you and
we're in Detroit. I think it's something that you if
you can't get out for playing the Fox, you really,
(11:36):
you know what I mean, you can't be in this
business because it's a special place and that energy that
you feel. You know, I'm on the side of the
stage organizing this whole thing, and I feel it. So
you can imagine what the musicians are feeling out there
on the stage.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
You know, tell me, what, what on of all of
these thirty years of music that you've compiled and you've
listened to and you've you know, spent your life working on,
what one album would you pick out to say is
your favorite Hendricks ound?
Speaker 2 (12:04):
You know, I have to go back to when I started.
I came to the Hendricks legacy shortly after he passed
because you know, I didn't get to see him live
as you did. But for me a record that I
bought early on was Hendricks in the West, which was
a live album. Yes, and to me, I thought the
diversity on that record of like, you know, an amazing
(12:24):
version of Red House, yep, the Beauty of Little Wing,
Johnny be Good. I mean, there were so many things
on there that just showed you how, you know, unique
and different. Jimmy Hendricks was I would say, that's my
Desert Island record now, you know, look, at the end
of the day, sure would I love to bring Cryle Love,
Electric Ladyland any of these records, of course, But you know, honestly,
(12:45):
if you asked me, that's still my go to record.
I still love the you know, I just remember the
feeling of listening to that and thinking, man, could you
imagine having seen this guy in concert? It must have
been unforgettable.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Oh, it absolutely was, no question it. I actually have
kind of went back to that wild what is it though, Wild.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Night, Wild Flight, the Wild Blue Angel.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Yes, the Wild Blue Angel.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Oh that's a tremendou Yeah, no, no, that was that
was you know, a lot of fun to be able
to work with Murray Lerner and present all of that
great footage of Jimmy at the Isle of Wight. I
mean the all on the Watchtower from that show is
and the Red House in from the Storm. Those are
some magic moments in that show. Boy.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Yeah, during the holidays, PBS had a just a marathon
of concerts, and I believe that was one of them
because I just just caught I believe Red House and
just went crazy. I said, I've got you know, and
I went in my archives and I didn't have that copy.
So I have found a pristine new copy, got it,
(13:47):
And I've just fallen in love with all that stuff
from the Isle of Wight.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Yeah, that that was just fantastic.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
I guess in wrapping this up, what do you think
John Jimmy would be doing today? Would he still be
making music, would he be doing the blues?
Speaker 1 (14:02):
Where do you think he'd be right now?
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Well, I think you answered two of the things. I
think blues was his passion, and I think he absolutely
would have I think like Eric Clapton, like you know,
even a Paul McCartney as a solo edist, he would
have had periods of great commercial success and then other
periods that were more artistically driven things he wanted to do.
But I really do feel, given his love for the
recording studio, that you know, even if he was just
(14:27):
a producer, a writer and somebody like that, he'd still
have a huge impact. I can't see. I mean, Electric
Lady studio is still going used by people, you know,
like even Taylor Swift and Beyonce. You can't tell me
that he wouldn't a cross Paths with Prance, with Stevie
ray Vaughan with I mean, good lord, you know, the
list is one hundred long, you know, so I do
(14:49):
feel that, you know, there there was something about him
that captivates people, that interests people, and I think that
that would have been the fuel for a lot of
really interesting creative pursuits that he would have made. You know,
people think, oh he would have made this, or he
would have been that. I think the one thing we
knew about Jimmy Hendricks is that every album he did
(15:09):
was different from the previous one. So it's hard to predict,
but you would have seen music coming out of him
like a fire hose had he lived and been able
to use Electric Lady in the manner in which I
think he had in.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
His dreams, maybe he would have done something with Paul McCartney.
You know, Paul obviously loves him because he's still he's
doing Foxy Lady every tour, you know, and telling the
story of when Jimmy played England.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
So he was den and you know also too. It
should never be forgotten. It was Paul McCartney who lobbied
for Jimmy Hendrix, a total unknown, to be given a
slot at the Monterey Pop Festival. And then once Jimmy
got there, he took it from there, had an amazing performance,
burned his guitar, became a legend. But that was Paul
pushing Jimmy to Lou Adler and John Phillips saying you
(15:54):
gotta have this guy. He's tearing it up here.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Wow, there's a fast fact I did not know. Thank
you for that well, John McDermott, thank you. Just a
fantastic job over all of these years. You know, we
all envy you and continued success in continuing to find
more stuff and get it out. And we're all excited
about the upcoming experience Hendricks show at the Fox and
(16:18):
more importantly, the new Vision box said I can't wait
to pick it up so well.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it and looking
forward to seeing everybody come out in Detroit.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Thank you, John McDermott from the Hendricks Experience and the
Jimmy Hendrix family and Hendricks Vault.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Thank you so much, my friend, all the best, take care.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Thank you,
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