Jimi Hendrix fans treated to a local birthday party

Published 9:06 am Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Beethoven, Mozart and Hendrix: One of these things is not like the other, right?

Jimi Hendrix lovers don’t think so.

“He’s like the Beethoven and Mozart and Wagner of the 20th century,” said half-brother Leon Hendrix. “Original great music can never be denied.”

“I feel the same way, exactly,” said Randy Hansen, a Hendrix impersonator. “I feel like Jimi was like a modern day Beethoven or Amadeus Mozart, just by his choice of notes.”

Hansen and Leon Hendrix plan to celebrate the late guitarist’s birthday on Saturday with a show at Everett’s Club Broadway. The concert shouldn’t be confused with the Hendrix celebration already held in Seattle, featuring guitarists Jonny Lang and Buddy Guy, highlighting Hendrix’s impact on modern greats. No, the Everett show shines a light on odder aspects of Hendrix’s legacy — on impersonators and legal battles.

Hendrix would have turned 66 on Thanksgiving Day had he not died from drug-related complications in 1970. Despite the early death, or perhaps because of it, the Seattle-born guitarist has become a legend.

Leon Hendrix said fascination with his sibling will never die.

“They’ll be playing him for centuries, as long as humans are on the Earth,” he said.

In a way, Hansen serves as an early testament to that. Based in the Auburn area, the Hendrix impersonator grew up listening to surf rock like the Ventures before buying a copy of “Are You Experienced.” That did it for him.

Hansen has been imitating Hendrix since the 1970s. His act has taken him across the globe. He even cameoed in the Devo video for “Are You Experienced,” popping out of a coffin for a few brief seconds. He never tires of playing Hendrix songs or donning a Hendrix costume, he said.

“I always felt it was kind of an honor,” he said, speaking from Germany before a show. “I’ll put on all these crazy clothes and everything, and I don’t know if my friends are just trying to be nice. They tell me I’m the only one who can wear it.”

Hansen said the Club Broadway celebration will give him another opportunity to pay tribute to Hendrix.

“Anything that draws attention to that guy’s name, to me is a good thing,” he said.

While Hansen plans to mix popular Hendrix hits with rarely heard covers in Everett, Leon Hendrix is more likely to play original compositions, his own hybrid of psychedlic 1970s rock and metal.

Leon didn’t play guitar for a long time after his older brother’s death; the threat of comparison was too intimidating, he said. Then Jimi visited him in a dream and told him to play guitar, Leon said.

“Jimi gave me the scepter,” he said.

Despite that endorsement, Leon, 60, said he steers clear of playing Hendrix originals. He’s not so much afraid of comparison as he is legal repercussions, he said.

Leon has been in and out of the news because of a battle over his brother’s fortune. Upon his death, Hendrix’s father, the late Al Hendrix, gave control of the estate to his adopted daughter, Janie Hendrix, triggering a legal battle that received worldwide attention. Thus far, Leon has lost that fight.

He brought up the experience several times during a Herald interview. While he portrayed the verdict as unjust, he also said it has led him to perform more frequently.

“That’s why I’m doing this,” he said. “I’m out here climbing a … mountain, but with no help, no Sherpas. I’m just up there in the snow and I keep on climbing.”

Reporter Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455 or arathbun@heraldnet.com.