what zappa thought of hendrix (non-harp)

[BARISAXJIM2@xxxxxxx]

I found this interesting - thought you might too.  Zappa was such an 
insightful person who could express himself in a way that put things into 
perspective.  Enjoy - Jimmy
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Throughout his life Frank kept expressing his admiration for Jimi's 
originality, and what Frank admired in Jimi perhaps best summed up in a few 
words he said during an interview by Martin Perlich (probably conducted in 
late 1972).
When Frank was asked how he managed to keep the attention of his audience 
with the advanced type of music he performed, he answered...
"How do you know? All you got to do is keep a strong backbeat to it; it 
doesn't make too much difference what the pitches are. As a matter of fact, 
you start defining terms like serial or atonal and things like that, well - 
feedback is atonal and Jimi Hendrix used to do that up the ass, so what's 
the
difference? He had the right showmanship to present with that and going into 
a serial framework might be just another logical extension."
- -----------------------------------
"Hendrix is one of the most revolutionary figures in today's pop culture, 
musically and sociologically. His success is a curious paradox in view of 
historical prejudices. He dropped out of a Seattle high school in the 11th 
grade. He was raised strictly by his parents... 'They taught me to have 
manners.'  He is reasonably sincere and humble... 'We are lucky to be 
listened to.'  He is apparently very happy with his commercial success. 
Partly because it allows him to act out some of his childhood fantasies (in 
his
clothing, for instance)... 'I always wanted to be a cowboy or a hadji baba 
or the Prisoner of Zenda.'

"His strongest appeal is to the white female audience ranging in age from 13 
to 30, with the highest concentration of victims between 19 and 22.  'I just 
carry advantages with me in my back pocket when I go off at a gig.'  His 
charisma also extends to a white male audience, 15 to 25.
"Hendrix's music is very interesting.  The sound of his music is extremely 
symbolic... orgasmic grunts, tortured squeals, lascivious moans, electric 
disasters and innumerable other audial curiosities are delivered to the same 
mechanisms of the audience at an extremely high decibel level. In a live 
performance environment, it is impossible to merely listen to what the 
Hendrix group does... it eats you alive... Hendrix will frequently be 
asked... 'Do you think of any particular girl while you're playing, or do 
you
just think of sex itself?' Meanwhile, the boys will ask... 'What kind of 
equipment do you use? Do you get high before you go on stage?'

"The boys seem to enjoy the fact that their girl friends are turned on to 
Hendrix sexually; very few resent his appeal and show envy. They seem to 
give up and say... 'He's got it, I ain't got it, I don't know if I'll ever 
get it but if I do, I want to be just like him, because he's really got it.' 
They settle for
vicarious participation and/or buy a Fender Stratocaster, an Arbiter Fuzz 
Face, a Vox Wah-Wah pedal, and four Marshall amplifiers."