Friday, February 21, 2003
Concert, DVD Pay Tribute To Guitar Legend
By Amy M. Cotham
The Morning News/NWAonline.net • acotham@nwaonline.net
FAYETTEVILLE -- When Oreo Blue takes the stage Saturday for a concert featuring the music of Jimi Hendrix, audience members can expect a show that is a fitting tribute to the legendary guitarist.
With a special set design, burning guitars and cameras recording the entire event, "it won't be your normal club concert," promises Brian Crowne of Oreo Blue. "We're going to try to re-create some of the original (Hendrix) momentum." The concert at Dave's On Dickson is being recorded for a DVD/CD called "The Oreo Blue Experience: A Tribute to Hendrix."
Crowne admits it's an ambitious project to perform and record the music of one of the greatest guitar players of all time, but he adds that his band wouldn't be attempting it if it were not for Oreo Blue guitarist Gary Hutchinson. Hutchinson not only has the required musicianship down, Crowne says, the guitarist already puts the mannerisms, stylistic approach, demeanor and soul of Hendrix in each and every performance.
"He has an incredible charisma and the energy of a 16-year-old," Crowne says. "He personifies Hendrix's energy and his passion for his music."
The other three members of Oreo Blue are "more confident than cocky," Crowne says, that the band will give a more than adequate performance. "There's an energy level when we get on stage; we give 110 percent no matter where we are." Oreo Blue has been playing together since 1991, and the band has won several awards over the years. Although based in Northwest Arkansas, Oreo Blue has a regional fan base and enjoys radio airplay in the Midwestern United States, Alaska, Seattle, Europe, Slovenia, Australia and South America.
The success of "The Oreo Blue Experience: A Tribute to Hendrix" will also owe a lot to Douglas Haase, who is co-producing the project with Crowne. "He's got a tremendous history in his career and his life in performing," Crowne says of Haase.
Haase has promoted numerous movies and national music tours, and he also has a history in local music. As a student at the University of Arkansas in the 1970s, Haase did many Broadway revues as well as the annual summer jazz festival on Dickson Street. Recent projects in Northwest Arkansas include producing Frederick Knott's "Wait Until Dark" and two CDs with The Tyrones, for whom Haase is the drummer.
Haase says he is extremely excited about the Hendrix project with Oreo Blue. "It's an honor to be involved with these guys and a great project. I grew up in the Hendrix era when full expression of music/speech was bursting at the seams. It was a healthy time that produced some of the most creative forms of art in every medium," the producer says.
The idea to record the concert for DVD release came because "Hendrix was a visual experience as well as a musician," Crowne says. "He was very theatrical, with costumes and his facial expressions. (Our) show, with that visual context, has more impact."
Some of Hendrix's best known works, including "Red House" and his rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner," are on the program for the 75-minute tribute concert, as are covers of "Watch Tower and "Hey Joe."
"We've also got a couple of his more obscure ones," Crowne says, including "Strataboogie," an instrumental song captured during one of Hendrix's studio sessions. "Unless you're a diehard Hendrix fan, you may not know that one."
"I don't feel like we're rehashing old material, we're just putting our own spin on it," Crowne adds. "Oreo Blue is a blend of rock and blues, soul and funk, plus it will be a somewhat different because we're adding in my saxophone."
Oreo Blue members hope "The Oreo Blue Experience: A Tribute to Hendrix" will be released as a full-length concert DVD in late spring of this year. Crowne is confident the project will be approved by those who handle the Hendrix estate.
"We're putting out a first-class project, so I think they're going to put their stamp of approval on it," he says. "We hope to release something that will give Oreo Blue and Hendrix fans alike something very enjoyable to add to their collection.
"This is about us paying tribute to a pioneer in the business," Crowne says, adding Hutchinson is expected to break into on-stage antics typical of Hendrix, including the destruction of at least one guitar.
"They'll be at least one sacrificial lamb to close the show out," he says with a laugh.
Although they will not be part of the DVD recording, The Tyrones will open for Oreo Blue Saturday. A "party show," Crowne says, will follow the tribute show with Oreo Blue playing original music and local musicians sitting in on a variety of songs.
If the project is approved by Hendrix's estate, $1 from each sale of "The Oreo Blue Experience: A Tribute to Hendrix" will be donated to the Save the Music Foundation.