Electric Church

You can change the world in a limited period of time. Jimi Hendrix did everything he was known for in five years. The first year was session work. My formative years were not spent in school.

It happened in used record stores. Later, in nightclubs. Many hours were wasted in therapy. Never did music let me down. The Beatles did more to help navigate the Hell of an abrupt divorce than any therapist who acted like every divorce is the same.

Jimi Hendrix was also instrumental. The advantage of used record stores when many were upgrading to Compact Discs (guess what is worth more now?) was access to inexpensive LP's.

I did not bother with the posthumous releases. There is no shortage. The three albums from The Jimi Hendrix Experience are essential. Band of Gypsies is even better. If I were to bother selecting Desert Island Discs that would be included.

Stevie Ray Vaughan took Little Wing somewhere else. Jimi Hendrix set the bar. Guitarists are not as revered as they should be at this point. I was fascinated by left handed guitarists. Jimi Hendrix restrung his guitar to play with the dominant hand.

In my brief foray into guitar, adults (they gave such horrific advice is it no surprise I never went to college or considered marriage?) suggested I play right handed. They said I would use my left hand on the neck.

With that logic why didn't all right handed guitarists play Jimi Hendrix style? Because those adults did not see the big picture. They probably thought this music was "Noise". Jimi Hendrix made sure not to create a shrill sound.

Concerts were not too loud. Some bands ran the risk of deafness. Pete Townsend has dealt with hearing problems because of touring with The Who. Jimi Hendrix was prolific and part of a community.

Music is not as communal as it was in the sixties. Laurel Canyon had a lot of great musicians living and working together. I cannot think of any scenes anymore. Part of that is the decline and fall of record labels.

Jimi Hendrix built a recording studio. That meant he laid down many tracks. No one knows what his output would have been if he lived. Would an eighty-one year old Jimi Hendrix have one hundred records under his belt?

There would have been more blues and he probably would have slowed down. Stevie Wonder released an album per year through the seventies. He released two in the eighties. There are creative periods.

We shall always have the output. The concerts on YouTube- I shall not watch a concert in person again. Not by a major act. I can't afford it. At least there are recordings. Howard Stern wanted to see The Band of Gypsies as a teen. His parents wouldn't let him go into the city and he missed one of the great concerts.

I would have taken multiple trains from Roosevelt, Long Island to see that show. I am reminded of a quote from Lou Reed. "The drug culture was cool until people started dying." Losing Jimi Hendrix at twenty-seven was far too soon. He did all he could in the time allotted and the music will live forever.

There are still new mixes of his music released. He has quite a catalog. Radio might play All Along the Watchtower and little else. Seek it out for yourself. Musicians keep going even when airplay dissipates. "And you never have to hear surf music again."