26 Jul 09 Foul play; first Brian Jones, now Hendrix?
Image via Wikipedia
In 2005 it was revealed that Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones did not commit suicide but may well have been murdered. Now it emerges that Jimi Hendrix, arguably the greatest guitarist ever also met with foul play.
Jimi Hendrix’s former road manager has claimed that Hendrix was murdered and did not die an accidental death, as has been commonly believed. In the book ‘Rock Roadie’ by James “Tappy” Wright, (a former road manager who worked for Jimi Hendrix’s manager, Mike Jeffery) Wright rejects the widely held notion that the guitarist died accidentally, choking on his own vomit after a drug overdose. He claims Hendrix was murdered by a gang who broke into his girlfriend’s Notting Hill flat in the early hours of September 18, forcing enough sleeping pills and wine down his throat to kill him. The gang, Wright alleges, was organised by Jeffery, a shady character who was heavily in debt and feared that Hendrix wanted to end his management contract.
The Australian doctor who attempted to revive Hendrix, John Bannister, the theory the guitar legend was murdered is “plausible from a medical perspective at least”. At the time of his death, says Bannister, Hendrix was saturated with wine.
“He drowned, no question. His hair and his clothes were full of red wine, his lungs and his stomach were full of red wine. You couldn’t think about mouth-to-mouth because there was so much wine coming out of him.” smh July 25 2009
I personally had no idea that Hendrix was completely soaked in red wine when he died. I’d read he had choked on his own vomit and had always understood that he was so far gone on drugs that he basically forgot to breathe. Tragic, yes, but it fitted Jimmi’s live fast, die young, wild man image like a glove. The current revelations are suspicious on more than one level.
Tags: Guitarist, hendrix murdered, Jimi Hendrix, John Bannister, Mike Jeffery, murder, Suicide
13 Jan 09 Dan Zanes at Riverside
When I first noticed Dan Zanes’ music clips on cable TV, I remarked to my daughter; who is that hipster dufus? However, it didn’t take me long at all to warm to Dan and his unique brand of psychedelic folk. Dan has a warm and gentle personality and it really comes across in his music. He comes across as a very genuine person, plays a range of instruments (including guitar, banjo, mandolin and blues harp) very well and writes a great many fun and entertaining songs. Despite his understated performance style, Dan exudes charisma on stage. When I heard he was playing at the Parramatta Riverside theatre as part of the Festival of Sydney, I grabbed tickets for my family straight away.
Dan started out playing music with a group of other he had met in West Village playgrounds who were also there with their kids. These fathers playing music together eventually became The Wonderland String Band, which played at parks and parties and on a tape of songs that Zanes recorded at his home. Dan is an inspiration to parents like me, proving parenthood does not have to mean calling an end to creative pursuits.
The New York Times Magazine, said, “Zanes kids music works because it is not kids music; it’s just music – music that’s unsanitized, unpasteurized, that’s organic even.” Unlike many who make ‘kids music’, Dan Zanes feels no need to dumb down his music for his audience. While kids may enjoy other performers, many parents (like me) find enduring them quite an ordeal. Zanes music appeals to young and old alike; the parents at the performance I attended enjoyed every minute and just as much as the kids. All are able to participate and dance and be completely involved.
The other members of the band Dan is currently touring with (colin brooks: drums, john foti: accordion, saskia sunshine lane: stand up bass and sonia de los santos: vocals, guitar & mandolin) are also very entertaining; excellent musicians with easy going, friendly personalities. All made themselves available after the performance and chatted with anyone who approached them. I bought a CD and have all their signatures. Read more about the band members here:
If you want to introduce your child to a fun and enlightening musical experience, I can’t recommend Dan Zanes enough.
Details of Dan Zanes’ Australian tour here:
Tags: childrens music, dan zanes, dan zanes photos, festival of sydney, kids music
01 Mar 08 Fin de Siecle?
Wikipedia defines “fin de siecle” thus:
Fin de siecle is French for “end of the century,” also implying the end of an era. The English term “turn-of-the-century” is sometimes used as a synonym, but applies to the beginning of the next century, so the 19th century fin de siecle is the turn of the 20th century. In both languages, the term generally encompasses both the closing decades of a century and the opening decades of the following century. In general, fin de siècle is often used to refer to the end of the 19th century and the era of the Belle Epoque: (French for “Beautiful Era”) was a period in European history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. the Belle Epoque was considered a “golden age” as peace prevailed between the major powers of Europe, new technologies improved people’s lives, and the arts underwent a revolution. In visual art movements such as Post Impressionism, Expressionism and Art Nouveau blossomed. Composers like Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Igor Stravinsky came to prominence, and in America Jazz began to form into a cohesive movement. Literary realism and naturalism achieved new heights.
It was certainly a time of great innovation and creativity, but what has happened to the 20th century fin de siecle? Certainly technology has undergone revolutionary transformations, but one can hardly compare the arts of today with that of the late 19th/early 20th centuries. This seems paradoxical as anyone now has the ability to produce and publish works of art, literature, music etc. to a mass audience without the need for a contract from a publishing or record company. With a word processor, piece of free audio software or an video camera you can easily broadcast your creations to the world. I sometimes wonder if my lack of appreciation of modern culture is just a measure of how out of touch I, but I really don’t sense anything like a modern day belle epoque surrounding me. Perhaps there’s just so much out there that we are not presented with a crystallised view of the great creations of the age, and sure, one or two good things pop up here and there, but to be honest, one would have to admit, the wheels have kind of fallen off. If this years entrants to the Archibald Prize are anything to go by, most people would agree. It is very ironic that in an age where almost anybody has the ability to create almost anything, almost nobody is.
Tags: arts, fin de siecle, technology
