Ana Popovic still has three tour dates on the Experience Hendrix Tour in Buffalo, NY, Northfield, OH and Detroit, MI, but she took the time to give American Blues Scene readers the backstage look at the magic that goes on behind the scenes in the Experience Hendrix tour.
Experience Hendrix is more than I ever expected it to be… and I had high expectations. This is, in contrary to what people expect, the summit of the kindest, most modest, down to earth people onstage, who happen to be killer guitar players, bass players and drummers. There’s no such thing as ‘head cutting’ as some might assume. No one is trying to outplay the other; we’re all in this together. They all are gentleman on and off stage, showing their respect to each other and, what’s most important, showing their “A game” because of Jimi. It’s almost like you’re on a mission… to keep Jimi’s spirit alive and, more that anything, to play those songs – those masterpieces – the way they are meant to be played, the very best way you can. Bring out the best in you. Not for the people, not for yourself, but for Jimi.
The tour is very well led by a great crew who put this together and who make sure we’re all happy on and off stage: Janie Hendrix and John McDermott. They make sure we all feel comfortable, on ease, we get enough time to go over the songs. They even know the personalities and have (secretly) divided the busses into the ‘wild one’ and a ‘quiet one’! I’m in the ‘quiet one’ together with Dweezil, Doyle, Tony, Billy, Stan and Dani. Chris Layton is, for example, on a ‘wild one’.
Back in the bus, we watched Jimi’s DVD Hear My Train A’Comin that almost brought tears to my eyes. With so little time, he did so much, leaving behind the ultimate rock history performances of all time. Watching his masterful performance of closing Woodstock at 9AM just leaves you speechless.
I think for all of us, it’s great to get of our own tour schedule, our own tour busses, our recording studios and our own comfort zones, take time to remember what Jimi did, to play and listen to his songs again and again, night after night. You get into the zone and forget about the rest of the world for a second and relive the energy.
It is truly an honor to be a part of this, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s the tour of the year for me.
