Hendrix, the smiling, young dandy was the greatest and coolest guitar player ever to strike a chord. Or, indeed, play the instrument upside down, with his teeth, set it on fire, or show such a wizard-like mastery of touch that even feedback seemed to fall under his command. Nobody played like him, nobody connected with the music like him, nobody had the same kind of cool. To all who heard and saw him, Jimi Hendrix was simply God.
Now cult filmmaker Fabrizio Federico who has been called 'the Jimi Hendrix of cinema' due to his insane fluid psychedelic visuals and habit for burning and smashing video cameras, has been in talks with making a film about the late guitar hero. ''He's a massive inspiration in my movies, he brought an erotic, carnal energy to music, it goes beyond psychedelic, he taught people to reach for the stars'', says the filmmaker, ''I'd focus the movie on his onstage charisma, and magic to move audiences like a titan.''
When Jimi Hendrix (1942-70) began playing London, he pulled out all the tricks he’d learned. That included playing the guitar on his back on the ground; playing in between his legs; and playing with his teeth picking the guitar strings. His wild performances helped launch him on the British scene in ’66.
He loved flashy stage routines — the flashier, the better. Over the years, Hendrix’s friends and bandmates from his “Chitlin’ Circuit” days recalled how he honed his techniques. Guitarist Alphonso Young recalled the day Hendrix caught Young’s stage antics. “Jimi’s eye lit up when he first saw me play the guitar with my teeth and behind my back,” Young said. “I was always a show-off. The girls loved it.”
When Hendrix played shows in New York and other spots in the North, his stage antics didn’t wow the crowds as much. And Hendrix told a friend the Isley Brothers fired him in ’64 because he was always upstaging them. (Later, Hendrix admitted he’d gotten bored with playing in the Isleys’ band.)
All the while, of course, Hendrix was also cultivating his musical flash. His use of feedback and otherworldly technique would chart his path forward. After he arrived in London, he added the destructive stage antics that The Who’s Pete Townshend had become famous for.
Hendrix’s past in R&B show bands meant he hit London with a bag of tricks, including soloing between his legs, behind his back and using his teeth. Watching slackmouthed, Britrock’s class of ’66 shared the same thought: ‘Well, that’s us screwed, then…’
Jimi Hendrix would sometimes set fire to his guitar. On March 31st,1967 at performance at London Astoria Hendrix sustained hand burns and visited the hospital. Hendrix was also known for having a very erotic stage presence. Audiences would see him slowly sweeping his hand similar to Townshend's windmill, rolling his head, and "wiping" the guitar's neck in order to create some extra fuzz. Jimi Hendrix would also play guitar with his teeth. In 1967 at the Monterey International Pop Music Festival he played the guitar solo from his popular song "Hey Joe" with his teeth.
