Jimi Hendrix, in his own words: 'I dig Strauss and Wagner – those cats are good' | Music | The Guardian 2013

This Just In From Seattle Music History!!! When I was 17 I formed this group with some other guys, but they drowned me out. I didn't know why at first, but after about three months I realised I'd have to get an electric guitar. My first was a Danelectro, which my dad bought for me. Must have busted him for a long time. But I had to show him I could play first. In those days I just liked rock'n'roll, I guess. We used to play stuff by people like the Coasters. Anyway, you all had to do the same things before you could join a band. You even had to do the same steps. I started looking around for places to play. I remember my first gig was at an armoury, a National Guard place, and we earned 35 cents apiece and three hamburgers. It was so hard for me at first. I knew about three songs, and when it was time for us to play onstage I was all shaky, so I had to play behind the curtains. I just couldn't get up in front. And then you get so very discouraged. You hear different bands playing around you, and the guitar player always seems like he's so much better than you are. Most people give up at this point, but it's best not to. Just keep on, just keep on. Sometimes you are going to be so frustrated you'll hate the guitar, but all of this is just a part of learning. If you stick with it you're going to be rewarded. If you're very stubborn you can make it. 23 September 1966. That's when I came to England. They kept me waiting at the airport for three or four hours because I didn't have a work permit. At one point there was talk of sending me back to New York until it was all sorted out. They carried on like I was going to make all the money in England and take it back to the States!I moved into a flat with Chas Chandler. It used to belong to Ringo [Starr]. In fact, they only took the drums away the other day. There's stereo all over the place and a very kinky bathroom with lots of mirrors. Immediately complaints started to pour in. We used to get complaints about loud, late parties when we were out of town! We'd come back next morning and hear all the complaints. Chas got real mad about it, but I didn't let it bug me. The first time I played guitar in England I sat in with Cream. I like the way Eric Clapton plays. His solos sound just like Albert King. Eric is just too much. And Ginger Baker, he's like an octopus, man. He's a real natural drummer. I couldn't work too much because I didn't have a permit. If I was going to stay in England I had to get enough jobs to have a long permit. So what we had to do was line up a lot of gigs. Chas knows lots of telephone numbers. He helped me find my bassist and drummer and form the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was very hard to find the right sidemen, people who were feeling the same as me. 18 June 1967. Monterey, California. Paul McCartney was the big bad Beatle, the beautiful cat who got us the gig at the Monterey Pop Festival. That was our start in America. Everything was perfect. I said: "Wow! Everything's together! What am I gonna do?" In other words, I was scared at that, almost. I was scared to go up there and play in front of all those people. You really want to turn those people on. It's just like a feeling of really deep concern. You get very intense. That's the way I look at it. That's natural for me. Once you hit the first note, or once the first thing goes down, then it's all right. Let's get to those people's butts! Jimi Hendrix, looking serious, leaning against railings at Montagu Place, London Jimi Hendrix: 'We made it, man, because we did our own thing. We had our beautiful rock-blues-country-funky-freaky sound, and it was really turning people on. I felt like we were turning the whole world on to this new thing'. Photographed in London, in 1967. Photograph: David Magnus/Rex Music makes me high onstage, and that's the truth. It's almost like being addicted to music. You see, onstage I forget everything, even the pain. Look at my thumb – how ugly it's become. While I'm playing I don't think about it. I just lay out there and jam. You get into such a pitch sometimes that you go up into another thing. You don't forget about the audience, but you forget about all the paranoia, that thing where you're saying: "Oh gosh, I'm onstage – what am I going to do now?" Then you go into this other thing, and it turns out to be almost like a play in certain ways. I have to hold myself back sometimes because I get so excited – no, not excited, involved. When I was in Britain I used to think about America every day. I'm American. I wanted people here to see me. I also wanted to see whether we could make it back here. And we made it, man, because we did our own thing, and it really was our own thing and nobody else's. We had our beautiful rock-blues-country-funky-freaky sound, and it was really turning people on. I felt like we were turning the whole world on to this new thing, the best, most lovely new thing. So I decided to destroy my guitar at the end of the song as a sacrifice. You sacrifice things you love. I love my guitar. Race isn't a problem in my world. I don't look at things in terms of races. I look at things in terms of people. I'm not thinking about black people or white people. I'm thinking about the obsolete and the new. There's no colour part now, no black and white. The frustrations and riots going on today are all about more personal things. Everybody has wars within themselves, so they form different things, and it comes out as a war against other people. They get justified as they justify others in their attempts to get personal freedom. That's all it is. It isn't that I'm not relating to the Black Panthers. I naturally feel a part of what they're doing, in certain respects. Somebody has to make a move, and we're the ones hurting most as far as peace of mind and living are concerned. But I'm not for the aggression or violence or whatever you want to call it. I'm not for guerrilla warfare. Not frustrated things like throwing little cocktail bottles here and there or breaking up a store window. That's nothing. Especially in your own neighbourhood. Jimi Hendrix - "Hear My Train A Comin'" on MUZU.TV. I don't feel hate for anybody, because that's nothing but taking two steps back. You have to relax and wait to go by the psychological feeling. Other people have no legs or no eyesight or have fought in wars. You should feel sorry for them and think what part of their personality they have lost. It's good when you start adding up universal thoughts. It's good for that second. If you start thinking negative it switches to bitterness, aggression, hatred. All those are things that we have to wipe away from the face of the earth before we can live in harmony. And the other people have to realise this, too, or else they're going to be fighting for the rest of their lives. Advertisement I hope at least to give the ones struggling courage through my songs. I experience different things, go through the hang-ups myself, and what I find out I try to pass on to other people through music. There's this song I'm writing now that's dedicated to the Black Panthers, not pertaining to race, but to the symbolism of what's happening today. They should only be a symbol to the establishment's eyes. It should only be a legendary thing. My initial success was a step in the right direction, but it was only a step. Now I plan to get into many other things. I'd like to take a six-month break and go to a school of music. I want to learn to read music, be a model student and study and think. I'm tired of trying to write stuff down and finding I can't. I want a big band. I don't mean three harps and 14 violins – I mean a big band full of competent musicians that I can conduct and write for. I want to be part of a big new musical expansion. That's why I have to find a new outlet for my music. We are going to stand still for a while and gather everything we've learned musically in the last 30 years, and we are going to blend all the ideas that worked into a new form of classical music. It's going to be something that will open up a new sense in people's minds. I dig Strauss and Wagner, those cats are good, and I think they are going to form the background of my music. Floating in the sky above it will be the blues – I've still got plenty of blues – and then there will be western sky music and sweet opium music (you'll have to bring your own opium!), and these will be mixed together to form one. And with this music we will paint pictures of earth and space, so that the listener can be taken somewhere. You have to give people something to dream on. Advertisement The moment I feel that I don't have anything more to give musically, that's when I won't be found on this planet, unless I have a wife and children, because if I don't have anything to communicate through my music, then there is nothing for me to live for. I'm not sure I will live to be 28 years old, but then again, so many beautiful things have happened to me in the last three years. The world owes me nothing. When people fear death, it's a complete case of insecurity. Your body is only a physical vehicle to carry you from one place to another without getting into a lot of trouble. So you have this body tossed upon you that you have to carry around and cherish and protect and so forth, but even that body exhausts itself. The idea is to get your own self together, see if you can get ready for the next world, because there is one. Hope you can dig it. People still mourn when people die. That's self-sympathy. All human beings are selfish to a certain extent, and that's why people get so sad when someone dies. They haven't finished using him. The person who is dead ain't crying. Sadness is for when a baby is born into this heavy world. I tell you, when I die I'm going to have a jam session. I want people to go wild and freak out. And knowing me, I'll probably get busted at my own funeral. The music will be played loud and it will be our music. I won't have any Beatles songs, but I'll have a few of Eddie Cochran's things and a whole lot of blues. Roland Kirk will be there, and I'll try and get Miles Davis along if he feels like making it. For that it's almost worth dying. Just for the funeral. It's funny the way people love the dead. You have to die before they think you are worth anything. Once you are dead, you are made for life. When I die, just keep on playing the records. This is an edited excerpt from Starting at Zero: His Own Story (Bloomsbury, £12.99). To order a copy for £14.99, with free UK p&p, go to theguardian.com/bookshop or call 0330 333 6846

‘Music is a lifesaving mechanism’: Screaming Trees drummer traveled globe for new book

This Just In From Seattle Music History!!!

The marriage of landscape, culture and sound is at the heart of Seattle musician Barrett Martin’s new book, “The Singing Earth,” which comes with a soundtrack. Martin’s best known as the drummer for Screaming Trees and Mad Season. Share story By Nicole Brodeur Seattle Times columnist Barrett Martin is always listening. “I can shut it off,” he told me. “But I have always been that way.” Martin, best known as the drummer for Screaming Trees and Mad Season, swiveled slightly on the picnic bench we were sharing on Alki Beach the other morning. AUTHOR APPEARANCE Barrett Martin The author of “The Singing Earth” will appear at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24, at KEXP’s Gathering Space, 472 First Avenue N., Seattle; free “Like, even now,” he said. “Do you hear the wind in the trees, and the ocean, and the ding of the bicycle bell in the distance? The rumbling of cars? The murmur of people? Featured Video Rock star to farmer: Danny Newcomb finds success on his own terms (7:10) Most Read Stories Emirates wavers on A380 deal; concerned Airbus may scrap jet A daring betrayal helped wipe out Cali cocaine cartel Amazon's announcement of HQ outside of Seattle sends ripples through state's political circles Could Amazon’s HQ bombshell let the air out of Seattle’s housing and development boom? Alaska congressman calls Rep. Pramila Jayapal 'young lady,' lectures her on House floor WATCH Unlimited Digital Access. $1 for 4 weeks. “There’s sound,” he said. “That’s what’s amazing for me. I was lucky to grow up in a place like this and appreciate the natural landscape first, and then I became a musician. Or maybe they went hand in hand.” That marriage of landscape, culture and sound is at the heart of Martin’s new book, “The Singing Earth,” which will be formally released Aug. 25. On Thursday, Aug. 24, KEXP DJ Kevin Cole will interview Martin about the book at the station’s Gathering Space. He will also perform with his jazz band, The Barrett Martin Group, as well as Seattle phenom Ayron Jones and former Screaming Trees bandmate Van Conner. The event is free and co-sponsored by The Elliott Bay Book Company. “The Singing Earth” is part travelogue, part memoir and part textbook that not only chronicles the origins of music around the world, but speaks of what could be lost if we don’t take better care of the cultures and the landscapes that birthed those sounds. In a promotional videoabout the book, Martin says, “I wanted to understand how music helps us to connect with our natural environments, our communities and with each other.” That quest took him to 14 musical regions across six continents, including Africa, Cuba, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. He also spent time with bluesman Cedell Davis in the Mississippi Delta, and sat with Seattle musicians like Kim Thayil of Soundgarden, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam and Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses to talk about putting a sound to what the city looked like before tech slicked it up and tore it down. “People are the intermediaries between earth and music,” Martin explained. “They are the conduits. People express the music of that localized place, so it’s a direct reflection of their environment. “And that environment could be the Amazon rain forest or the African Sahel or the arctic refuge. Or it could be Detroit, you know?” Sign up for the Morning Brief Delivered bright and early weekday mornings, this email provides a quick overview of top stories and need-to-know news. Sign up The book chronicles Martin’s travels in Central America, where he experimented with trance drumming; Brazil, where he toured with acclaimed songwriter Nando Reis; the Peruvian Amazon, where he recorded shamanic music; and the Palestinian West Bank, where he recorded in a studio surrounded by barbed wire and machine-gun checkpoints. “You can learn everything about a culture by listening to the music,” he continued. “All of the semiotic cues of a culture are embedded in it. Everything about their culture, their spiritual beliefs, their connection to the landscape, to each other, it’s all in there.” The book — written not in chapters, but verses ­— comes with a soundtrack of rare, unreleased songs from his bands and field recordings from his travels. The digital download has more than 40 songs and spoken-word stories. “I just looked at it like maybe the Earth was asking me to visit these places,” he said, “and to write what I saw and give a message. I wrote it so that it could pull you through one long songline that circumnavigates the earth.” Part of that message is that places are drying up and melting. When Martin visited the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, it was 80 degrees, full of streams and lakes — not snow, as it should be. “You don’t have to be a scientist to tell what is going on with the planet,” he said. “You can see it with your own eyes. You can feel it with your body.” Martin, 50, a native of Olympia, lives in West Seattle with his new wife, psychologist Lisette Garcia. In addition to playing drums, he has produced records for Davis, who is 91, and Jones. He’s also a Zen Buddhist and a painter. For the last seven years, Martin has taught classes in music and culture at Antioch University in Seattle. “The Singing Earth” was built from the research Martin did for those classes, as well as papers he wrote while working on his master’s degree in anthropology and pursuing — for now — his PhD. Despite all his experience and knowledge — his grasp of music theory and the years he spent touring with some of the biggest rock bands in the world — Martin was humbled by the experiences he captures in “The Singing Earth.” “You go out into the world and you meet people that do it not because they’re paid to be a professional musician or because they have a record contract,” he said. “They are doing it because it keeps them alive. Music is a lifesaving mechanism. It pulls us together and gives us a common understanding of each other. “And that’s what helped us survive when we could have been taken out by so many things,” he said. “By wild animals, and even ourselves. Music is the thing that prevents that.” Martin doesn’t think he could have written “The Singing Earth” if he hadn’t experienced so many setbacks. Rock bands imploding. People dying. Losing record contracts and having to start all over again. “The breaking down of the ego and having to go through some really hard lessons tenderizes you,” he said, “and it opens your heart and makes you more open to hearing what other people have been through. The terrible things that have happened to them, to their environment, to their economy, to their jobs, to their livelihoods. “They’ve been there,” he said. “And then you sit together and just play.” Nicole Brodeur: nbrodeur@seattletimes.com. We need your support In-depth journalism takes time and effort to produce, and it depends on paying subscribers. If you value these kind of stories, consider subscribing. Subscribe View Comments

Alice In Chains’ Mike Inez Discusses The Loss Of Layne Staley: ‘We Were Supposed To Grow Old Together’

This Just In From Seattle Music History!!!                                                                            Alice In Chains bassist Mike Inez discussed the loss of Layne Staley and Mike Starr to drug addiction in a new interview with the Lucas H Gordon Show.

“Drug addiction is beyond the music business. Whether you’re a washer, dryer, or repair man, drug addiction and alcoholism seems to go through all walks of life. It’s a pretty crazy business we’re in already, it’s just such a shame when your friends pass away so young, we’re supposed to grow old together.” He added, “It’s just sad.”

Inez also discussed the Seattle Grunge scene and Los Angeles music scene.

“The difference between the LA scenes and Seattle scene, is a band like Soundgarden was together for 10 years before they got signed by a major label, so they had a lot of time to get together and gel as a band.”

“Even all of the bands like Nirvana, Alice In Chains in the early days, Pearl Jam, and Mother Love Bone they had a lot of time to jam before they release their music to the world. So I think that was very important, where here in Los Angeles they were trying to mix and match bands like, ‘Oh we need a bass player with long blonde hair, we need a singer with curly hair.’ They were just trying to do that, so the music started lacking I think because of it.”

“But I tell you one thing about the LA scene, there were more girls in the 80’s here than I’ve ever seen in my life, it was a really fun time to see that. I was very young at the time, but it was nice in high school to see a band like Van Halen play a backyard party, or Motley Crue playing the Whiskey. It’s really cool to see these bands. Me and Slash are the only two guys born and raised here, everyone else comes here, but we’ve been here the whole time, we’ve seen it come and go.”

▶ Stone Temple Pilots - Unplugged & Acoustic (Full Album) - YouTube

▶ Stone Temple Pilots - Unplugged & Acoustic (Full Album) - YouTube

This Just In From Seattle Music History

Seattle's Own "Stone Temple Pilots"

Alice in Chains - EMP Private Concert Show/Listening Party Photo Documen...

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Тhis was a great night in +Seattle Music History ! The fella's from Alice In Chains thought they would throw a one of a kind shin-dig for their  friends, families, and fans when it was time to release their over due, long awaiting, almost never happened album Black  Gives Way To Blue in 2009! It was the boys first album since Layne's passing on to Heaven and it automatically was under fire and scrutiny  around the world  not just in our little rainy city we all like to call home! so just to tell ya a little about the show! 1-VERY SMALL CROWD, 2-ACOUSTIC GIG SOMEWHAT UNPLUGGED= ESQUE IF U WILL, PAUL ALLENS EMP EXPERIENCE MUSIC PROJECT MUSEUM IN THE SHADOWS OF THE SPACE NEEDLE,  & THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS MARCHING BAN. 

"THE MEAT PUPPET'S" LIVE!!!!! November 21, 2013 At The Crocodile Cafe in Downtown Seattle!

There is only one city in thee entire world that you can go to a bar owned by Sean Kinney of Alice In Chains, to see one of Kurdt Cobain's most favorite bands and good friends "The Meat Puppets" and go to some local celebrations for Jimi Hendrix's Birthday all in the same week! Welcome to Seattle, please leave your ego at the door! The Croc is a great venue for many reasons, the best reason to me is the history of this joint! When Seattle was beginning our launch into the worlds tape decks in the mid 1980's - early 1990's this was one of the many places around Sea*Town that gave you a feel you would leave with and you would know that not only were you witnessing history in the making; but also that you were a part of it! Pen Cap Chew which is a NIRVANA song also was a name they performed under before Nirvana was Nirvana! Pen Cap Chew played at the Croc, band members practically lived there because the struggles of a band traveling and trying to make it often leave them with no funds at thee end of their days to be able to afford a roof or hotel room. This place is Seattle's Music History's Home! If your ever in Thee Emerald City be sure to catch a show here!

Jack Endino Seattle Producer, Member of the band "Earthworm" as well as "The Godfather of Grunge"

 Jack played/plays a crucial role in Seattle's music history he recently retired from producing(sure u did Jack!)and is focusing on his  band he is a member of called "EARTHWORM" HE HAS EARNED & WEARS THE NICKNAME "THE GODFATHER of GRUNGE" whatever the ___ grunge is??? SMH... nevermind

PEARL JAM COVERS FELLOW SEATTLE MUSICIAN JIMI HENDRIX’S SONG “LITTLE WING”

 

Layne & Sean talking shit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwyqZGN-C8M&feature=youtube_gdata_player

NIRVANA Live at Seattle's Moore Theater 1990

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uNk8QlAE2c&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This is the Wiki Page for Mia Zapata of "The Gits" Who was murdered in Seattle

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mia_Zapata

MIA ZAPATA: YEARS LATER HER KILLER FINALLY ARRESTED

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Police-make-arrest-in-1993-Mia-Zapata-slaying-1105109.php